Out of the six historical periods, I find the Romantic Era as the most interesting. I love the embrace of musical extremes and the focus on emotions by amazing the audience or moving them to tears with the story portrayed through the music. I love that the individual experience of listening to each song was valued! Some historical events within this time period include the start of the French Revolution and the creation of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. The textbook describes the music as “infused with emotional intensity.” New sounds and new genres were developed to meet the people’s expressive demands. Composers incorporated their ethnic or national identities into their music by using folk melodies and rhythms.
I chose to listen to Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major: Adagio by Mendelssohn. This seven minute piece starts off with a simple, woeful melody played by the piano, then grows in emotional intensity as the violin comes in. The violin uses trills, extends high notes with grace, and builds with volume, invoking a complex melancholy emotion through the beauty of its melody. There is a wide use of dynamics, from delicately soft to heavy, accented notes. The song takes you through a dramatic journey, which I think reflects how the textbook describes the era’s sound.
I also agree that the feelings of emotion that the music from the Romantic Era was able to accomplish is very interesting. When music is able to portray a story, it is a very special piece. I also like how composers were able to incorporate their ethnic or national identities into their music because it expanded the knowledge and exposure of different forms of music. The personal and emotional intensity that music can portray is something still focused on to this day. When people are able to relate to music and feel what is happening in the piece it makes for an incredible listening experience.
Hi ! It was very interesting to read your opinion on the Romantic period, as that was the same era that I chose to write about, and it was fascinating to compare on what we both liked about it. I liked how you explained that your composer brought in a “steady” tone in their music, in the beginning, and then they intensified it, which made you emotional later on. I also agree on your idea that most composers during this time, were making their music more expressive, as my composer during this era was also very expressive with his music, and made me very emotional as well.