Music of the Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was a time when people advocated reason as The Primary way of thinking. The Enlightenment saw breakthroughs in philosophy, science, and the arts. The music of the Enlightenment era can be broken down into two different genres: the Baroque Period and the Classical Period. As philosophers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were making headway in their field of study, composers such as Johan Sebastian Bach and Ludwig Van Beethoven were making MusicAL ProgresS. The innovations these men made, along with many others, has changed the history of music forever.

The Baroque Period

Similar to the Philosophy of that time, Baroque music is characterized by reason, logic, and proportion. The Baroque Period of music started in the early 1600's and ended around 1760 A.D. During this period, composers began to use more elaborate musical ornamentation, change musical notation, and develop new styles of playing INSTRUMENTS. This period expanded the size, range, and complexity of compositions. Many of the musical terms that are used today were developed during the Baroque Period. The term "baroque" means "pearl of irregular shape". They call it this because of it's broad range of music. There is a great sense of emotion put into this music even though it is controlled and disciplined. Although many artists have emerged from with period, two stand out among them all.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach(1685–1703)became one of the premier composers to come out of the Baroque Period. Bach has made famous advancements to the music world in his compositions. Living in Germany, Bach had access to a number of musicians and instruments from an early age. Bach might be best known for his improvisational work on the keyboard, and his combining of German and Italian styles. His intense religious life is known to have played an important role on his music. He was a devout Lutheran and placed sacred music at the center of his repertory.

George Frideric Handel

Hailing from Germany, Handel became one of the most important composers of the Baroque Period. Handel has composed forty two operas, twenty nine oratorios, more as 120 cantatas, trios and duets, chamber music, a large number of ecumenical pieces, odes and serenatas and sixteen organ concerti. His most famous work is the oratorio Messiah with the Hallelujah chorus. This can be heard by many choirs today, and especially during the Christmas season. The works of Handel have gone on to become some of the most influential compositions of the Baroque era.

The Classical Period

The Classical period started around 1750 A.D and ended around 1810 A.D. Moving away from the polophony of the Baroque period, musicians in the Classical period combined melodies and harmonies now described as homophony. During this period, chords began to become a major part of music, making the tone more audible. In the Baroque period, all of the movements of a work combined to give the listener a single effect. On the contrary, during the Classical period musicians established contrasts between sections of a work. However, Classical music is often characterized as clearer and less complicated than Barouqe. Classical music saw the beginning of variety within works as well as the emergence of the piano. Classical music is also often reffered to as "Viennese Classicism" beacause Joseph Hadyn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig Van Beethoven all spent time working in Vienna.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart's own style closely related to the style of the Classical Period as a whole. Although he explored a number of different genres, he almost single-handedly developed the piano concerto. Similar to many philosophers of the Enlightenment, Mozart used clarity and balance in his works. Although Mozart was influenced by Baroque styles of music, he resented the complexity of it and sought out to make his music more clear.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

Beethoven is one of the more prominent figures of the Classical Period and a master of musical construction. He is said to have been heavily influenced by the work of Mozart. Even while deaf, Beethoven was able to combine different forms of music into a single work. He is recognized for interlocking thematic devices to achieve a distinct sound in his compositions. Beethoven has created a number of innovative works which have became the most popular works of their period.