1.

THE MUSIC OF EMOTIONS

Romanticism main characteristics are the exaltation of freedom, feelings and emotions. Artists from the Romantic period felt free to express their emotions without
limitations. Music was considered one of the most perfect forms to do so.
● MUSIC IN THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: CHARACTERISTICS.
Music during this period became more popular and was available to even more people. The composers achieved great social recognition and worked independently. The
main characteristics of Romantic music are:
- Expressive melodies, through them the composer transmits feelings.
- Aiming for virtuosity, mainly on the piano and the violin.
- More freedom in the structure of the melodies. The composers were more focused on the content than on the form.
- Introduction of the leitmotiv technique, which gives unity to a composition. It is a melody that appears in certain parts of a musical work and represents a
character or a situation.
- A search for musical contrasts with the aim of creating expressive melodies that transmit feelings.
- The birth of programme music. This is symphonic music that has a theme or a literary or artistic programme. The programme explains what will happen in
the story and what you will hear in the music.
- Appearing small musical forms designed for smaller venues, as well as large symphonic and operatic forms designed for concert halls and theaters.
2. ROMANTIC INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
A few musical forms from the Classical period were used and developed. However, the most important forms of the Romantic period were short pieces for the piano,
romantic symphonies, and symphonic poems.
The orchestra increased its timbre possibilities and continued to grow in response to the demand of the great orchestral forms. The brass and percussion
sections gained importance. New orchestral effects appeared as musical instruments improved technically.
2. 1. COMPOSITIONS FOR PIANO.
The piano was the most important Romantic instrument. The piano developed and achieved a great expressive ability, thanks to piano makers. The composers of the
period loved it, because their objective was to express feelings in their music and move the listener emotionally. They all developed several types of compositions:
● Short pieces for solo piano: They were simple and had a free musical structure, ideal for their intimate character. The included improvised pieces aimed at
showing the virtuosity of the performers, such as nocturnes, fantasias and impromptus. They were also sometimes based on popular dances of the period
like the waltz, the mazurca or the polonaise.
● Chamber music: the piano was also played in duets, trios, quartets and quintets with other string and wind instruments. This music was performed in concert
halls and in private concerts.
● Longer works: These works included concertos for piano and orchestra. The piano and the violin were the instruments that most frequently performed as
soloists in these types of compositions.
★ Nocturne in E Flat Major (Op. 9 No. 2) by Chopin.
2. 2. THE ROMANTIC SYMPHONY
The Romantic symphony has various movements that are not based on a structural form like the Classical symphonies; it is developed around a programme or argument,
generally a literary character.
★ Fantastic Symphony, 5th Mtv. by Hector Berlioz
2. 3. THE SYMPHONIC POEM.
The symphonic poem is a symphonic musical form of only one movement. The music is accompanied by a programme, a text that explains what you will
hear instrumentally in the work.
★ Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns.
3. ROMANTIC VOCAL MUSIC
3. 1. OPERA
In the romantic period, opera became the bourgeoisie’s favourite type of performance. There were more and more great theaters in Europe and singers to
perform in them. Each country developed its own style, but Italy, France and Germany were the creative centres.
● THE ITALIAN OPERA.
The opera was the preferred performance of the bourgeoisie. Music was no longer composed to be enjoyed by rich aristocrats; it was now open to a much
wider audience. This audience was more and more knowledgeable and because of this, more demanding.
The opera during this period is renowned for the great beauty of its melodies, the presence of choirs to accompany the soloists and for the great virtuosity of the voice.
★ Casta Diva from Norma by V. Bellini.
● THE FRENCH OPERA
In France, despite the large Italian influence, Paris was also an important opera capital since the Baroque period. Grand opéra is a type of opera seria in the
French style that combines music, dance and spectacle with elaborate staging. Operetta is a type of comic opera that includes fashionable dances.
★ The toreador song from Carmen by G. Bizet.

● THE GERMAN OPERA

Richard Wagner is the most representative composer of German opera. He is the creator of a new concept of opera: musical drama. Musical drama is a concept of
opera in which music, poetry and theatre come together to create a complete total work of art. Wagner used the leitmotiv technique in his operas: each character has a
musical motif.
★ Pilgrims’ chorus from Tannhäuser by R. Wagner.
3. 2. ZARZUELA
Spanish composers developed the zarzuela, a lyrical and theatrical musical form. Like the opera, zarzuela has instrumental interludes and choruses, but there are three
differences:
- The overture is called the prelude and the arias are called couplets.
- The recitatives are usually substituted for spoken parts.
- Zarzuela also uses folk and local elements.
In the Romantic period, there were two distinct types of zarzuelas. The zarzuela grande, in three acts, had a large amount of choruses and more singing
than spoken parts. The género chico has just one act, fewer characters and more spoken text than singing.
★ ¿Dónde vas con mantón de manila, La verbena de la Paloma by T. Bretón.
3. 3. LIED
A lied is a song written in german, based on a poetic text, very important in Germany. They are usually written for a vocal soloist and are accompanied by the piano.
★ Ständchen Lied from Schwanengesang by F. Schubert.
4. MUSICAL NATIONALISM
With the defeat of the Napoleonic Empire and the Restoration, a new map of Europe, with different borders between countries, was established. The different nations
wanted to create states with their own identities and cultural autonomy. This caused an increase in nationalism, which also appeared in music.
Nationalism composers defended the languages and musical traditions of their countries of origin, but they were also attracted to the exotic and were inspired by melodies
from other places. The nationalist movement was particularly evident in countries where the musical influence of other nations was especially dominant.
★ RUSSIA: Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov.
★ HUNGARY: Romanian Folk Dances by Béla Bartók.
★ SPAIN: Danza ritual del fuego by Manuel de Falla.