Does the thought of listening to classical music make you yawn? Your eyelids begin to droop? Isn’t adagio the word for perfectly cooked spaghetti? Weren’t Shostakovich and Stravinsky the first Russian cosmonauts?
Wrong on all counts. This is the world of classical music. Sure it can be intimidating at first. Concertos, sonatas, and overtures - what does it all mean? Who was a great composer and who was a one hit wonder? Fear not. As way of an introduction, I am going to tell you about three well known composers as well as one of each of their most popular and eminently listen-able compositions. Perhaps you too will come to love what was known as the “pop music” of its day.
A Very Basic Introduction
Today most people understand the term “classical music” to refer to music written before the beginning of the first World War or which requires an orchestra to perform. In actual fact, classical music is still being written today and can be performed by as few as three people (a trio).
Classical music is divided into “periods.” These include:
Medieval
Renaissance
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Twentieth Century
In this article we will be looking at composers from the Baroque, the Classical and the Romantic periods. Let’s get started.
The Baroque Period And Vivaldi
The Baroque period occurred between 1685 and 1750. During this time, Rembrandt was painting up a storm. Architect Christopher Wren was given the job of restoring London, which lay ravaged after the Great Fire of 1667. One of the great universities of the United States, Yale, was founded. And in 1731, Benjamin Franklin started the very first circulating library.
Music written during this period was very elaborate and energetic. The musical form known as “opera” emerged (which was either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view). Composers began to indicate the “tempo” (fast, slow, etc.) they wished their pieces performed at. This direction helped to define the mood they wanted their work to convey. Music was also being written in a way that mimicked the sounds of nature. Probably the best example of this style of music was written by the Baroque composer, Vivaldi.
Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, Italy. He was known as the “Red Priest” for his hair color and his first career choice. However, Vivaldi's days as a man of the cloth came to an end in 1737 when he was accused of conduct unbecoming a priest. Legend has it that one Sunday, while celebrating Mass, Vivaldi abruptly left the service and disappeared. The reason? To jot down a musical idea.
During his lifetime, Antonio composed over 500 concertos, of which 230 of these were constructed around the violin. A concerto is a piece of music written which features a solo instrument performing with an orchestra. Quite often the solo instrument and the orchestra are said to “oppose” each other, with the music going back and forth between them. An accomplished violinist himself, Vivaldi’s first official post involved teaching young girls in an orphanage how to play the violin as well as a number of other musical instruments.
One of Vivaldi’s best-known compositions are the first four concertos (out of 12) in his “Opus 8 – Il Cimento Dell’Armonio E Dell’Invention.” That’s a mouthful! For those of us who speak English that would be “The Trial of Harmony and Invention.”
Each of the four seasons is represented by a concerto. Listen for the sound of birds welcoming Spring as performed by three solo violins. Feel the lazy days of Summer as they are reflected in the slow moving, almost languid tempo of the second concerto. The drunken antics of peasants celebrating the Fall harvest, the sound of cautious footsteps on Winter’s ice, all are found within this beautiful composition.