13 - Music of the New World; 1620 - 1850

Note: This post is the first of three parts that will ultimately cover musical developments in the United States from 1620 to 2000. These sessions will be interspersed with those covering a traditional review of the Western European classical periods of music. Though aspects of classical music are included, the main thrust is presenting America’s dominant religious and secular music traditions. The secular tradition includes both folk and popular types including those that emerged from the confluence of multiple musical styles.

Difficult Beginnings

It was in the early 1600 when Western Europeans began coming to the shores of North America in pursuit of land, natural resources and opportunities related to expanding the territories under the control of the English, French and Spanish. This was 100 years after much of the Caribbean region had already seen inhabitation by Europeans. In general, the Spanish tended to settle the area around Mexico and the northern portion of South America. The French tended to come into the area we now know to be Canada. The English tended to migrate up and down the mid-Atlantic coastline of North America. The settlements later officially became the colonies of England. As a result, what free time was devoted to the making of music included continuing the traditions and habits related to music in the homeland, England.

During the 1700’s people from other countries (France and the Netherlands) began coming to Colonial America. These settlers also brought with them their religious practices and beliefs as well as their music preferences.

12 - The Romantic Era; 1820 - 1900

The 19th Century saw several revolutions in many countries throughout Europe following America’s successful revolution from Great Britain. It was a time in which the ideals of liberty were spreading. Just prior to the 19th century the civilization also witnessed the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires. This paved the way for the growing influence of the British Empire, the German Empire and the United States, spurring military conflicts as well as advances in science and exploration. After the defeat of the French Empire and its allies in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire became the world's leading power, controlling one quarter of the world's population and one fifth of the total land area.

 The 19th century was an era of invention and discovery, with significant developments in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity, and metallurgy that lay the groundwork for the technological advances of the 20th century. The Industrial Revolution was beginning in Europe. 

It was also a time of reaction against the Classic period (Age of Reason) which emphasized the primacy of deductive reasoning. By contrast, Romanticism emphasized intuition, imagination, and feeling, to a point that has led to some Romantic thinkers being accused of irrationalism.

11 - Music of the Classic Era; 1750-1820

During the Classic period the Western European music environment saw the establishment of the standard concert formats we still recognize today: symphony, concerto, sonata, and string quartet. This period also saw music from Hayden, Mozart and Beethoven’s early career.

The Classic period is commonly know as the beginning of the modern era in music. The sounds, genres, and forms that were established then are in common use today. These include the instrumentation of the modern symphony orchestra and string quartet; the sonata, symphony, and concerto genres; and the sonata, minuet and trio, theme and variations, and rondo forms.

10 - Music of the Baroque; 1600-1750

Important Developments Before the Baroque

During the Renaissance there was an increase in secular humanism. Along with that came the questioning of the religious dogma (teachings) of the time. This led to a demise in the influence by the Roman Catholic church. In attempts to make the music more appealing, the Mass was set to music as the chants became used less and less. The secular counterpart of the Motet that developed was the Madrigal. In addition to the difference of being secular, the text was in the vernacular. The music was still mainly polyphonic though the English had begun to develop homophonic variations of the Madrigal.

Once the Church of England was established, the English Anthem was born. It was among the earliest religious music to be in the vernacular.

Other reform movements going on throughout Europe featured the development of chorales (hymns) among the Lutherans in Germany and the use of the Psalms among the Calvinists in Switzerland and the north of France.

At first, instruments were only used to accompany dances or for other forms of entertainment. Using instruments to accompany vocal works didn’t become common until the late Renaissance and early Baroque.

Keep these development of the Renaissance in mind as we move into the next period of Western musical history, the Baroque.

09 - Music of the Rennaisance; 1400 - 1600

Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment

Not only did music development flourish during the Renaissance but also the arts and sciences flourished greatly. The late Medieval’s emphasis on education was beginning to show results. Many great men offered developments or advanced theories that would change the world. They were more than craftsmen in one field, they skilled and well-versed in many fields of knowledge and work in the arts and sciences. From individuals such as these we get our contemporary term Renaissance Man.

Secular influences became important as the established church lost it’s control over society as an interest in humanism developed. As a result, arts patronage began shifting from the church to the courts. The music of the period became more secular though a great deal of sacred music was still composed.

08 - Western Classical Music: The Beginnings to 1400

The first seven sessions of Music 100 has included an overview of what music is, its essential elements and the basic building blocks. During these sessions the class has had the opportunity to listen to several examples demonstrating a variety of forms and textures. In addition, the various wind, string, percussion, and keyboard instruments used in making music have been presented. We now turn attention to a historical review of music in culture with a particular emphasis on its development in the West.

07 - Other Instruments

In the last session I introduced the instruments of the orchestra. This session continues by presenting the other instruments commonly used or heard in music in our country.

The Human Voice

The human voice, when used in singing, is certainly an instrument. Our voices produce sounds of different pitches when air from our lungs goes through the larynx (voice box) and the vocal chords are activated. When we want to go higher, the physical reaction is a tightening of the cords. To go lower, we relax the vocal cords so that they become more loose. A more technical description follows. The vocal cords are a vibrating valve that chops up the airflow from the lungs into audible pulses that form the laryngeal sound source. The muscles of the larynx adjust the length and tension of the vocal cords to ‘fine tune’ the pitch and tone. The basic timbre of our voices is determined by our physical characteristics. However, humans also have the ability to alter the timbre by using what can be called the articulators. These are the parts of the vocal tract above the larynx and consist of the tongue, palate, cheeks, lips, etc. They actually articulate and filter the sound that comes from the larynx. The degree to which a person coordinates the use of these articulators has some effect on modifying the timbre.