Vocal Music of The Romantic Period

VOCAL MUSIC OF THE
ROMANTIC PERIOD
Vocal music is one of the best tools for expressing
one’s feelings. This form of expression became
more evident during the Romantic period.
The Romantic Period’s basic quality is emotional

subjectivity. Composers explore feelings of
grandiosity, intimacy, unpredictability, sad, rapture
and longing.
Romantic vocal forms like the art song and operas were
about fantasy, supernatural, romance and the nature as
mirror of the human heart.
Virtuoso performers are not only instrumentalists but also

singers.
One singer sometimes sounds like several characters by

use of different vocal register.
Opera became an important source of
musical expressions. The birth of the opera
houses came. It was the place where all
the arts converged: not only music but
poetry, painting, architecture, and dance
as well.
ROMANTIC OPERA
Opera became increasingly popular during the
Romantic period. It is a musical composition
having all or most of its text set to music with
arias, recitative, choruses, duets, trios, etc. sung to
orchestral accompaniment. The opera is usually
characterized by elaborate costumes, scenery, and
choreography.
Components of an Opera:
Libretto - the text of an opera. Librettist and the composer work closely together to tell the story.
Score - the book that the
composer and librettist put
together. The score has all the
musical notes, words, and ideas
to help the performers tell the
story.
Often, there are operas with

overtures, preludes, prologues,
several acts, finales, and
postludes.
Recitative - Declamatory singing, used in the
prose parts and dialogue of opera. Different
roles in operas are created considering
different types of voices. Each role requires a
different type of singer, not only able to sing
a given vocal range but also with certain
voice characteristics, color, and power.
Aria – an air or solo singing part sung by a
principal character. This song is what the
public will remember best when leaving the
opera house. Properly and well sung, a
beautiful aria can bring an audience to its
feet and decide the fate of an entire opera.
It is also important to know the types of voices of
singers. This will serve as a guide for singers on their
choice of songs and vocal quality expected of a singer
or opera character.
For the Male Voice:
Tenor - highest male

voice
Baritone - Middle male voice, lies

between Bass and Tenor voices. It is
the common male voice.
Bass - lowest male voice

For the Female Voice:
Soprano - highest
female voice.
Coloratura -highest soprano voice
Lyric -bright and full sound
Dramatic - darker full sound
Mezzo -Soprano - most common

female voice; strong middle voice, tone
is darker or deeper than the soprano
Contralto - lowest female voice and

most unique among female
Dynamics and vocal embellishments were used to further affect
the way singers sing. Some musical terms are used like:
• A Capella - one or more singers performing without instrumental

accompaniment.
• Cantabile - In a singing style
• Capo - Head, the beginning
• Coda - closing section appended to a movement or song.
• Dolce - sweetly
DA CAPO
CODA
• Falsetto - a weaker and more airy voice usually in the higher pitch ranges.
• Glissando - sliding quickly between 2 notes.
• Passagio - parts of a singing voice where register transitions occur.
• Rubato - slight speeding up or slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist.
• Tessitura - the most comfortable singing range of a singer.
• Vibrato - rapidly repeated slight pitch variation during a sustained note, to give a richer & more varied sound.
OPERA COMPOSERS OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Franz Peter Schubert
The proper name for Franz Schubert songs is lieder,

which is the German word for songs. Schubert developed
lieder so that they had a powerful dramatic impact on
the listeners.
His famous vocal music works/ Lieder were: “Gretchen

am Spinnrade”,
“
Erlkonig”, “Ellens Gesang III” (“Ave Maria”) and
“Schwanenge sang” (“Swan Song”).
He also wrote piano pieces, string quartets, operetta, and
the Symphony No.8 in B minor(“Unfinished Symphony”)
Franz Peter Schubert
Schubert was born on the 31st of January 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria, and died in 1828 in Vienna, Austria at
31.
Giuseppe Verdi
Verdi was born in Parma, Italy on October 9, 1813.
He studied in Busseto and later went to Milan where
his first opera “Oberto” was performed in La
Scala, the most important opera house at the
time.
His characters are ordinary people and not those of
the royal family like those found in German operas.
He insisted on a good libretto and wrote operas with
political overtones and for a middle-class audience.
LA SCALA MILAN
ITALY
Almost all his works are serious love stories
with an unhappy ending. The expressive
vocal melody is the soul of a Verdi opera.
He completed 25 operas throughout his
career. His final opera ends with “All the
world’s a joke.”
His much- acclaimed works are; La Traviata,

Rigoletto, Falstaff, Otello, and Aida where
he wrote for the opening of the Suez Canal.
He died in Milan, Italy on January 27, 1901.
Giacomo Puccini
Puccini was born in a poor family on December 22,

1858 in Lucca, Italy. He studied at the Milan
Conservatory. He belonged to a group of composers
who stressed realism, therefore, he drew material
from everyday life, rejecting heroic themes from
mythology and history.
Puccini‟s famous operas were: “La

Boheme”, “Tosca”, “Madame Butterfly”, and
“Turandot”.
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was born in

Leipzig, Germany on May 22, 1813.
Wagner introduced new ideas in harmony

and in form, including extremes of
chromaticism. He was an advocate of a new
form of opera which he called “music
drama” where musical and dramatic
elements were fused together.
He developed a compositional style in which the orchestra
has of equal importance in dramatic roles as the singers
themselves. The expressiveness is aided using
“leitmotifs” or musical sequences standing for a
particular character/plot element.
His famous works are “Tristan and Isolde”, “Die

Walkyrie”, “Die Meistersinger”, “Tannhäuser”, and
“Parsifal”.
Wagner died of a heart attack on February 13,1883 at age

of 69.
Georges Bizet
He entered the Paris Conservatory of music at a very young age.

Bizet became famous for his operas. His most famous opera is
“Carmen”.
It is now one of the most popular operas ever written.
However, when “Carmen” first opened in Paris, the reviews

were terrible. During the first round of “Carmen” performances,
Bizet died (June 3, 1875). He was only 36. Four months later,
“Carmen” opened in Vienna, Austria, and was a smash hit. It is
now one of the most popular operas ever written.

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VOCAL MUSIC OF THE

The Romantic Period’s basic quality is emotional

Virtuoso performers are not only instrumentalists but also

One singer sometimes sounds like several characters by

Often, there are operas with

Tenor - highest male

Baritone - Middle male voice, lies

Bass - lowest male voice

Mezzo -Soprano - most common

Contralto - lowest female voice and

• A Capella - one or more singers performing without instrumental

• Cantabile - In a singing style

• Capo - Head, the beginning

• Coda - closing section appended to a movement or song.

• Glissando - sliding quickly between 2 notes.

• Passagio - parts of a singing voice where register transitions occur.

• Tessitura - the most comfortable singing range of a singer.

The proper name for Franz Schubert songs is lieder,

His famous vocal music works/ Lieder were: “Gretchen

His much- acclaimed works are; La Traviata,

Puccini was born in a poor family on December 22,

Puccini‟s famous operas were: “La

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was born in

Wagner introduced new ideas in harmony

His famous works are “Tristan and Isolde”, “Die

Wagner died of a heart attack on February 13,1883 at age

He entered the Paris Conservatory of music at a very young age.

However, when “Carmen” first opened in Paris, the reviews

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