Music from the 18th to the 20th century

Baroque, Romantic and Neoclassical music were styles of music during the time between the 18th century and the 20th century. Baroque music was a style of European classical music which was respected and inspirational between 1600 and 1750. Well-known and respected composers from the Baroque era were Arcangelo Corelli, Johann Sebastian Bach, Tomaso Albinoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Claudio Monteverdi and George Frideric Handel. “Baroque” comes from the Portuguese word barroco. Barrocco means ‘misshapen pearl’. The term Baroque originally described the era of time and later was used to refer to the style of music during that time. Baroque music developed just after the Renaissance which in turn was formed after Medieval music. Baroque music is known for its functional tonality which means composers expanded the complexity of the instrumental performance. It was during the Baroque era that opera was formed and accepted as a musical genre. Musical terms which were developed during the Baroque era were The Baroque Suite, Overture and Allemande. The Baroque Suite is different then the typical suite. It is defined and composed from piece to piece by its key. Overture is an introduction to a choral or dramatic piece of a Baroque Suite. An Allemande is the first step in a dance which is done to a Baroque Suite.

The Romantic music era was between approximately 1815 and 1910. Romantic music is a term used to refer to the expansion of formal structures in a composition and the pieces becoming more passionate and expressive through the years. The end of the Romantic music era was right around the time that Beethoven composed “Eroica” which was a symphony. The Romantic era of music was during the Romantic era of all things including literature, philosophy and visual arts. Some of the characteristics found within Romantic music era are a freedom in form, a freedom in design, a personal expression of fantasy and imagination and emphasis on melodies. The Romantic music era also gave us expansion of the orchestra and greater technical virtuosity from flautists, pianists and violinists. Famous composers and musicians of the Romantic era were Niccolo Paganini, Nicolas Bochsa, Robert Schumann, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Meyerbeer and Richard Wagner. The Romantic era including Romanticism in music were exactly that; romantic, emotional and sensual pieces.

Neoclassical music followed Baroque music era and Romantic music era and was formed during the years of the World Wars. It is said that Neoclassical music borrowed from Baroque music and the type of Baroque music that Neoclassical music borrowed from is sometimes referred to specifically as neo-baroque. Neoclassicism represented the signs of the times during the 20th century. The world was sparing resources and searching for ways to do more with less. Neoclassicism is a more balanced form of music. Neoclassical music is seen by some as a response to the overly emotional music of the Romantic era and is more stringent, less emotional. Famous composers of the Neoclassical music were Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith and Sergei Prokofiev. Symphony No 1 of Sergei Prokofiev is considered as beginning of the Neoclassical music era, same as Beethoven is the beginning of the Romantic music era. Neoclassical music did at times take inspiration from both the Baroque music and the Romantic music.  These were called Neo-baroque and Neo-romanticism, respectively.

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