Contextualisation
What is the cultural and intellectual movement of the 18th century known as the Age of Reason?
The Enlightenment.
What keyboard instrument was invented in about 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori and was highly appreciated in the Classical period?
The pianoforte
What instrumental form was the most important in the Classical period and consists of three or four movements that contrast in tempo?
The sonata
In the Classical period, opera was designed to entertain audiences while maintaining what three qualities?
Balance, order and unity
In Spain, the Classical period coincided with the enlightened despotism of which two monarchs?
Carlos III and Carlos IV.
What political system involved absolutist monarchs carrying out reforms based on Enlightenment ideas without consulting the common people?
Enlightened despotism.
What woodwind instrument appeared in the 18th century and had the chalumeau as its predecessor?
The clarinet
What are the main sections of sonata form?
Exposition – Development – Reexposition
In the reform of opera, what vocal group became more relevant?
The chorus
Which Spanish composer got the nickname “the Spanish Mozart”?
Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga.
Approximately, when did the Classical period of European music last?
From 1730 to 1820.
What technical advances made the French horn very important in the orchestra?
The introduction of valves and pistons
What form has a theme A (chorus) that alternates with different episodes or verses (B, C, D…), often used as the last movement of many sonatas?
Rondo
What two liturgical vocal forms survived the Baroque period?
The motet and the mass
Which composer was well known for his works for guitar, the most popular instrument in Spanish music?
Fernando Sor
Why do we speak of the Classical period, and not of Neoclassicism, in music?
Because there were no examples of music from the past to use for inspiration, so composers had to create their own style
Why was an orchestra conductor needed in the Classical period?
Because the considerable increase in the number of musicians meant someone was needed to coordinate everybody’s performance.
What form has an ABA structure with a minuet (A), a trio (B), and the repetition of theme A?
The minuet
What is a requiem, and what does the term “requiem” originate from?
A requiem is a mass for the dead, and the term originates from the text at the beginning of the first movement (the introit): “Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine”.
What was the largest musical ensemble of the period, and which renowned Italian cellist and composer is mentioned as part of it?
The Royal Chapel of Madrid, and Luigi Boccherini
What two features of Classical music reinforce balance and clarity?
Melody-dominated homophony and short musical phrases that were symmetrical
What type of performance, created by Jean-Georges Noverre, told a story through a combination of music, dance and, above all, mime?
Ballet d’action.
What are the three basic compositional principles used to combine themes into musical structures (AB, ABA, etc.)?
Repetition, variation and contrast.
What happened with Mozart’s Requiem (who requested it, when he composed it, and what happened after his death)?
Mozart composed it at the request of an anonymous stranger, shortly before his death, when he was already very ill; when he died, it was unfinished and one of his disciples followed his instructions to finish it.
Which composer wrote numerous operas in the Italian style, shared a librettist with Mozart, and surpassed him in popularity as a composer in Vienna?
Vicente Martín y Soler.