Romantic Piano Music
- Created by: S_Bluck
- Created on: 22-07-20 12:20
Developments of Piano
• cast iron frames as opposed to wooden frames which allowed for larger and stronger strings under increased tension
• felt instead of leather on the hammers
• seven octave range (as opposed to five)
• establishment of the sustaining and una corda pedals.
Results of piano development
• a more sonorous tone offering a broader palette of colours
• a better sustaining power to support legato phrasing (of longer note values) and an espressivo cantabile
• a greater dynamic range with more sensitive gradations from ppp to fff and an ability to balance textures
• greater expressive direction given by the composer to the performer on the printed score
• pianistic techniques involving wrists and forearms (as opposed to a purely digital action).
Chopin - Typical attributes
-
Slow tempo with regular rhythmical flow in the left hand creating a ,elancholic and reflective character
-
melody – dominated texture, above a largely unvaried homophonic accompaniment
-
extensive ornamentation, somewhat improvisatory in feel and imitative of the ‘bel canto’ style
-
very wide range of pitch (in the left hand arpeggio patterns as well as the melodic tessitura)
-
significant rhythmic variety in the melody, including twos against threes and use of sextuplets etc
-
largely conjunct melodic shapes, full of yearning appoggiaturas
-
slow moving, functional harmony with chromatic inflexions
-
clearly designed tonal scheme
-
overall arch shape with a quiet start, building to an impassioned climax before subsiding to a final repose
Romantic Period Characteristics
- Between 1830 and 1900
- Composers, artists and authors moved away from the formal restraint of the Classical period
- intense energy and passion
- greater emotional expression
- longer, virtuosic phrases with more varied pitch and dynamics
- New structures such as the rhapsody, nocturne and song cycle were introduced
- Used increasingly elaborate harmonic progressions
- Reflect the tension and nationalism of war and revolution throughout Europe
- The orchestra expanded in size and more instruments were added (Piccolo, contrabassoon, bass drums and triangles)
- Materials used to construct woodwind instruments also improved and expanded their musical quality and variability.
Melody
- Bel Canto Style - lyricism (shown through the short, singable 2 bar phrases and the arched melodic contours) and fioroturas
- Chopin’s Fioraturas in bars 31-37 use broken chords, chromaticism, trills, and highly complex cross-rhythms -makes the melody very technically challenging and help to create a climax for the listener.
- Structured into two main tunes, both of which are developed throughout the piece.
- Sometimes Chopin alters the rhythm of the original melody. For example, the melody from bar 2 is changed from straight quavers into triplets
- Bar 31, Chopin adds Fioraturas to the melody in bar 2, and towards the end of the piece, in bar 47, Chopin uses a version of the melody from bar 23 in the tonic major to modulate back to the home key. This creates variety and keeps the melody interesting.
Structure
- Abridged sonata form (a sonata form without the central development section)
- Melody develops slightly every time we hear the recapitulation - adds intensity to the mood of the piece via new dynamics and fioritura’s in the higher tessitura of the piano.
Introduction - Bar 1 - E minor
A Section: exposition - Bars 2 - 22 - E minor
B Section: exposition - Bars 23 - 30 - B major
A Section: recapitulation - Bar 31 - 46 - E minor
B Section: recapitulation - Bar 47 - 54 - E major
Coda - Bars 55 - 57 - E major
Harmony
- Mostly diatonic harmonies moving at a slow harmonic pace - create a stable foundation for the melody.
- Most of the chords are tonic or dominant chords. ( Bars 1 - 4, only two chords are used- I and V7) - Calming mood which reflects the calm of the night
- Occasionally there are some more chromatic chords (Diminished chord in bar 5 - tension, 4-3 suspension in bar 8, Tierce de Picardie in the final bar of the piece)
- Chopin only uses chromatic harmonies at the melody’s climax, so overall the harmony is functional and extremely stable.
Rhythm
- Characterised by the triplet quaver ostinato in the left hand, which often creates cross rhythms with quavers or semiquavers in the right hand.
- Steady andante tempo - steady rhythmic foundation throughout
- Use of rubato - Chopin implies through ritenuto and calando markings - pianist can highlight the more expressive moments of the piece and this helps to tell the story
Texture
- Melody dominated homophony throughout
- Occasional moments of polyphony
- Throughout the entire piece, there is a triplet, broken chord accompaniment in the left hand with pedal points with the melody in the right hand play extract - Texture inspired hugely by John Field.
- Field introduced Chopin to the use of ostinatos and pedal points, something that Chopin then continued to write in the rest of his pieces.
Comments
Report