Introduction “Nationalism” is defined as “A social and political outlook insisting that the state should embody a national community united by some or all of the following: history, ethnicity, religion, common culture, and language” . Essentially, nationalism is an intense pride for ones’ country caused by a push for national unity. Nationalism was stirred due to the sense of loss in national origin. During the 1800’s, a ruling power, often imperialist, imposed their culture, language, and history onto their empire. An example of this is Austria’s rule over Bohemia, with the official language in Prague being German, not Czech . In order to regain identity and preserve their culture, countries under imperial rule promoted speaking in the native language and teaching history of the country in schools . Nationalism had a profound affect on the music of the Romantic period due to the revolutions, wars, and historical events that sparked national pride which lead to unity amongst those under imperial rule. The Romantic Period The Romantic period is chronologically defined by the 19th century. It was an era of great turmoil. With the French Revolution, the American Civil War, the Franco-Prussian War, the Crimean War, the Spanish-American War and various revolutions across Europe, a great sense of upheaval was felt by the bourgeoisie and upper class struggling to maintain their affluent lifestyle during this time period. The revolutionaries who were fighting for their rights and independence felt a great sense of freedom, pride and other intense emotions. These intense emotions helped identify the Romantic period. Characteristics of the Romantic period help define it as a whole, and allow for the overall appreciation for the music ... ... middle of paper ... ...rint. Kamien, Roger. "Part VI: The Romantic Period." Music: An Appreciation. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2008. 257-350. Print. King, Neil. The Romantics: English Literature in Its Historical, Cultural, and Social Contexts. New York: Facts on File, 2003. Print. Schmidt-Jones, Catherine. The Music of the Romantic Era. Connexions. 19 Sep. 2008 . Miller, Michael. "The Romantic Period." The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2008. 81-98. Print. Halsall, Paul. "Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p., Aug. 1997. Web. 31 Dec. 2012. Fuller, Richard. "Romantic Music (1850-1900)." Romantic Music (1850-1900). N.p., 15 Feb. 2010. Web. 31 Dec. 2012. .
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1Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1996) 104-105.
In Germany, the ideas of nationalism were prevented from finding an outlet in the world of political ideology and instead found outlets in music. This started in a very subtle manor. Take for example the increasing use, by Beethoven, of the German language in his instructions in his music. In his Adieux Sonata (op. 81a), Beethoven's farewe...
Willoughby, David. "Chapter 11." The World of Music. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 249-53. Print.
The Romantic period at its height extended over just a bit more than a century, from the latter half of the eighteenth century through to nearly the end of the nineteenth century. During this period, a new school of poetry was forged, and with it, a new moral philosophy. But, as the nineteenth century wound down, the Romantic movement seemed to be proving itself far more dependent on the specific cultural events it spanned than many believed; that is, the movement was beginning to wind down in time with the ebbing of the industrial and urban boom in much the same way that the movement grew out of the initial period of industrial and urban growth. Thus, it would be easy to classify the Romantic movement as inherently tied to its cultural context. The difficulty, then, comes when poets and authors outside of this time period-and indeed in contexts quite different then those of the original Romantic poets-begin to label themselves as Romantics.
Sadie, Stanley. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The. Vol. II New York: The MacMillan Company, 1928
Burkholder, Peter J., Donald Jay Grout, Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2010. Print.
Anthony, James R., H. Wiley Hitchcock, Edward Higginbottom, Graham Sadler, Albert Cohen. “French Baroque Masters.” The New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. W.W. Norton and Company, 1986. p. 1-63
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Nationalism is way of thinking both political and socially to create a community united by: history, ethnicity, religions, common culture, and language. Numerous effects occurred while establishing a Nationalist community, some effects were a long term impact on Nationalism, and other was short term impacts on Nationalism.
For almost half a century, the musical world was defined by order and esteemed the form of music more highly than the emotion that lay behind it. However, at the turn of the 19th century, romantic music began to rise in popularity. Lasting nearly a century, romantic music rejected the ideas of the classical era and instead encouraged composers to embrace the idea of emotionally driven music. Music was centered around extreme emotions and fantastical stories that rejected the idea of reason. This was the world that Clara Wieck (who would later marry the famous composer, Robert Schumann) was born into. Most well known for being a famous concert pianist, and secondly for being a romantic composer, Clara intimately knew the workings of romantic music which would not only influence Clara but would later become influenced by her progressive compositions and performances, as asserted by Bertita Harding, author of Concerto: The Glowing Story of Clara Schumann (Harding, 14). Clara’s musical career is an excellent example of how romantic music changed from virtuosic pieces composed to inspire awe at a performer’s talent, to more serious and nuanced pieces of music that valued the emotion of the listener above all else.
Taruskin, R., & Taruskin, R. (2010). Music in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roughly from 1815 to 1910, this period of time is called the romantic period. At this period, all arts are transforming from classic arts by having greater emphasis on the qualities of remoteness and strangeness in essence. The influence of romanticism in music particularly, has shown that romantic composers value the freedom of expression, movement, passion, and endless pursuit of the unattainable fantasy and imagination. The composers of the romantic period are in search of new subject matters, more emotional and are more expressive of their feelings as they are not bounded by structural rules in classical music where order, equilibrium, control and perfection are deemed important (Dorak, 2000).