Page 128 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

Figure 7.7
Many major artists of the eighteenth century journeyed to Rome to absorb the ancient classical style, and what they created in painting and architecture we now call “Neoclas- sicism.” Among such classically inspired painters was the Englishwoman Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807), whose The Artist [Angelica Kauffmann] in the Character of Design Listening to the Inspiration of Poetry (1782) shows classical balance (two women and two columns). Not coincidentally, the complementary figures in this painting function as do antecedent–consequent phrases in Classical music: they are somewhat different, but they balance each other.
Melody
Perhaps most striking about the music of Haydn and Mozart is the fact that the melody is usually tuneful, catchy, even singable. Not only are melodies simple and short, but the phrases are balanced, often organized into matching antecedent–consequent, or “question– answer” pairs. Antecedent and consequent phrases are units that operate together: one opens, the other closes (again, “away”-“home” if you wish). To see how this works, think of the first two phrases (the first ten words) of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” the folksong set by Mo- zart. During the eighteenth century the simple structure of the folksong came to influence the organization of melody in art music—more of the eighteenth-century democratization of music. As a result, classical melodies tend to be short, balanced phrases of 2 1 2 measures, or 3 1 3, or 4 1 4. The brevity of the phrases, and the frequent pauses at the end, allow for ample light and air to penetrate the melodic line. Such balance extended as well to Classical art, as seen in Figure 7.7.
Example 7.1 is the theme from the second move- ment of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C major (1785), heard in the online chapter-opening animation. It is composed of two three-bar phrases—an antecedent phrase followed by a consequent one. The melody is light and airy, yet perfectly balanced. It is also singable and quite memorable—indeed, it has been turned into a popular movie theme often played in airports and shop-
LiSTeN TO . . . Example 7.1 online.
ping malls. Contrast this to the long, asymmetrical melodies of the Baroque that were often instrumental in character (see Examples 6.1 and 6.3).
Example 7.1 > antecedent and consequent phrases Antecedent ˙. Consequent œ œ
b4œ..œœ..œ œœœœ#œœÓ ˙ œœ ˙ œ œ#œœœ
& 4 J J
‰œœœœœ‰œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ 3333 œœœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœ œœœœœ
? 4 ˙œœœœœ˙œœœœœ ˙œœœœœ˙œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰œœœœœ ˙œœœœœ
b4
˙œœœœœ˙œœœœœ ˙œœœœœ˙œœœœœ ˙œœœœœ˙œœœœœ
106
IVI
Harmony
After about 1750, all classical music assumed a more homophonic, less polyphonic character. The new tuneful melody was supported by a simple harmony. Notice in Example 7.1 that only two chords—tonic (I) and dominant (V)—support Mozart’s lovely theme. The heavy bass and basso
chapter seven introduction to the classical style: haydn and mozart
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Mary Evans Picture Library/The Image Works
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