By Melonie K. Murray
While most of us automatically think of “classical” music as an all-encompassing term for any music that doesn’t fall into genres such as pop, jazz, or rock music, it actually refers to a specific period of time. The Classical period, when referring to musical composition, lasted from 1750 to 1830. Not specific to music, the Classical period was an era which also saw a change in architectural style. The rich, heavily ornate Baroque period gave way to a serenely proportionate architectural style based on the lines of the ancient world. The eighteenth century saw the upper class sending their young men off on the “Grand Tour” where they were exposed to Roman and Greek architecture revealed during contemporary archaeological excavations. While architects were designing homes with Classical façades and furniture developed a more graceful and delicate look, composers were focusing on clarity, balance, and order in their work. A short period of transition between the Baroque and Classical periods became known as the Rococo era, which defined furniture that became more delicate but still incorporated elaborate details.
Society’s taste in music often reflects change in decorative arts, and the new orderly compositions were exemplified by the Classical symphony, solo sonata, and string quartets. Most new classical listeners recognize the names of the “Big Four” of the Classical era: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Lesser known composers abound, however, including a few who fall within the Rococo label, such as Gluck and Rameau, who were known primarily for their operatic works. Classical, as a genre, is frequently stereotyped as the music of the wealthy and the scholarly but is fast becoming a household word, thanks to research about the effects of classical music on the mind and products for children.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. While Mozart’s father, Leopold, is often portrayed as a domineering father who forced him to display his musical talents for any aristocrat within a radius as a tot, the relationship between the two actually appears to have been central to his life. In 1763, the entire family traveled to Paris and London, where the boy performed for French and English monarchs. In Paris, he published four keyboard sonatas, and his first symphonies were written in London. Mozart was taken to Italy in December 1769, where he received his first opera commission. He later married Constanze Weber, and the marriage produced two surviving sons (four other children died in infancy). For a time, Mozart’s career was very successful, and he embarked upon a new project in his first love: opera. Mozart’s arrogance made him enemies in Vienna, but in 1787, the music lovers of Prague became enraptured by La Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). The city of Prague commissioned Don Giovanni, and a new symphony known as the Prague (No. 38) came to life. By 1790, Mozart’s career was slipping, as was his mood. In 1791, the commission of a requiem mass by a young nobleman for his deceased wife led to Mozart’s obsession that the requiem was his own. Believing he was being poisoned, he died on December 5, 1791, in the arms of his wife. The prolific composer of 21 piano concertos, 41 symphonies, 24 string quartets, and several famous operas was buried in an unmarked grave with few mourners to mark his passing. His requiem was later finished by one of his pupils. Ironically, the man who is now recognized worldwide for his contributions to music was overshadowed by his contemporary, Beethoven, until the mid-twentieth century. Today we find Mozart’s influence in various types of media, from books such as The Mozart Effect for Children (HarperCollins, 2000) to videos for children by The Baby Einstein Company (www.babyeinstein.com).
Christoph Willibald Gluck shared Mozart’s love of the opera. Born in Erasback, Germany, in 1714, Gluck’s career spanned the Rococo period between the Classical and Baroque eras. born to a family of German foresters in Upper Bohemia, he ran away from home at the age of 13 and became attached to a nobleman’s household in Vienna. He later moved to Italy with the family and discovered his calling as an opera composer. By 1744, he had produced eight operas, and he journeyed to England in 1745. Nine years later, the Empress Maria Theresa appointed Gluck composer to the court theater, and his operatic style began to evolve. Feeling that opera had been taken over by the star singers and that the opera seria had run its course, Gluck set out to “reform” opera as the world knew it. He began to collaborate with poet Raniero de Calzabigi (1714-1795) and to write comic operas in the French style. His first major collaboration with Calzabigi was the ballet Don Juan in 1761, which actually influenced Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. In 1762, the opera Orfeo ed Euridice arrived, and another “reform” opera (Alceste) came of the collaboration in 1767. His famous preface to the score of Alceste saw Gluck clearly defining the principles of this new type of opera. The next opera, Paride ed Elena (Paris and Helen) followed true to the new form in 1770. Gluck moved to Paris in 1774 and wrote three new operas in six years as well as revisions of Orfeo and Alceste. He then returned to Vienna and died in 1787 after the last of several strokes.
As educators, we have a wealth of resources to use to introduce our families to classical music. Whether musicians or not, as parents we benefit from encouraging our children to branch out into the “realm of the scholars.” Software such as Mozart’s Magic Flute (www.interactiveclassics.com) brings classical music to life for those who enjoy computer-based learning. Child-friendly versions of compositions are available in The Kids Collection of Greatest Classics (www.greatestclassics.com) or from Naxos of America, Inc. (www.naxosusa.com). The entire family can learn about composers of various eras with the Themes to Remember series (www.classicalmagic.net). And what homeschooling family could not benefit from the order and balance inspired by the Classical period of music?
** Melonie K. Murray is a homeschooling mom and a freelance writer. She can be found blogging at www.SmallBizMentor.com, www.TheHomeCast.com and www.HomeschoolBlogger.com/MelM. She is an avid reader, surburban homesteader, and compulsive organizer. When she’s stressed, she sorts, so don’t let her near your sock drawer. Email Melonie at Melonie@SmallBizMentor.com.
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