Development of the Music in the 18th Century
Music is an art that experienced growth throughout ages. The film by Howards Goodall gives an account of how different musicians transformed the nature of music to meet various human needs (Goodall 0:00-1:30). The18th Century was
in enhancing and refining the quality of music. Besides, famous artists like Johann Stamitz, Joseph Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Clara Schumann played an instrumental role in ensuring that music allowed humans to meet their diverse needs. Towards the end of the 18th Century, artists faced a dilemma between impressing or accept critical judgment from the audience.
Goodall notes that the mid-18th and early 19th centuries were essential periods for music development. Social upheavals, revolutions, and wars transformed Music (Goodall 2:00-3:18). People took their time to think about music. They adopted tones that enabled the music to invoke emotions among the audience. The social and political changes that occurred between 1750 and 1850 had a dramatic influence on the music revolution (Goodall 4:11-5:37). Composers saw the need to use their music to criticize experiences and search for sexual satisfaction. The result was an emergence of sensual music. However, this new genre lacked meaning and significance during this period. Other artists focused on music that could calm people’s emotions (Goodall 5:37-6:26). Such developments marked an evolution in music from the compositions that focused on lamentation. Instead, musicians created pieces of emotional and satisfactory music. Therefore, the Goodall presents a chronological transformation in music that occurred in the 18th Century.
Goodall gives an account of how the complexity of music changed in the late Eighteenth Century. Musicians focused on replacing complexity in music with simplicity (Goodall 7:00-10:00). In this case, they adopted extensive use of simple language and cords. They departed from using many and complex cords in opera music. One common feature noted was the widespread use of cord 1, 4, and 5 by 1762, as observed in the piece “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” (Goodall 10:33-11:00). The new style showed a shift in interest in transparent form and structure of music. Most artists did not consider the clarity of words as an essential aspect of enhancing the overall quality of opera music. Artists like Johann Stamitz and Joseph Haydn valued symbolism and symmetry over the meaning of words (Goodall 11:00-20:00). The accounts given in the film show that artists intended to enhance the overall quality of music. They achieved symmetrically in music through the repetition of simple notes. The result was an emergence of simple striking and guileless tunes. Therefore, Goodall gives an account where artists invented an extensive use of the simple melody in their music.
The period between 1770 and 1780 saw most artists reduce notes in their music and express their feelings. For instance, the majority of the musicians used C and primary cord (Goodall 20:00-28:05). The approach allowed them to use constituent cords of F and G to enhance the overall sounds. In practice, the strategy ensured that the music achieved a uniform sound throughout. Single cords were instrumental in allowing people to express turmoil and bad temperance (Goodall 28:05-28:32:00). This application of dramatic aspects in music appeared in the Venetian Music. Composers focused on revealing the presence of demonic and spiritual influence in their lives. Beethoven supported the new invention in music between 1798 and 1804 (Goodall 32:00-37:08). Beethoven increased the length of the allelic in his music. Later he developed complex and unpredictable tunes that evoked different human emotions like grief, pain, sadness, and fear. His new style depicted an excellent presentation of diverse human experiences (Goodall 37:08-40:00). This statement implies that music focused on expressing what people went through in their lives. Such influences continued for approximately one hundred years. Therefore, Goodall gives an account of how artists transformed music by reducing the number of cords to achieve simplicity and relevance.
Goodall gives details on how women became composers of music as opposed to being objects in art. Shubert was the first female artist who focused on developing simple folk songs (Goodall 40:00-41:02). Her efforts marked a period where society accepted females as people with the potential to create songs. Besides, she introduced the aspects of imagery through music. Shubert developed music with a short distance in form and expression (Goodall 41:03-43:00). The approach allowed her to paint a picture using words, which influenced folk music for the next two hundred years. Besides, her work was instrumental in allowing people to express their emotions strongly. Shubert’s music contrasted with the more massive and powerful orchestral songs created by Beethoven (Goodall 43:00-44:00). This statement implies that Shubert did not focus on amazing the crowed used unique symphony. Besides, she avoided the long-distance in form and expression adopted by the male artists who concentrate on revolutionizing music. From a practical perspective, Shubert promoted the traditional styles of folk music by incorporating new concepts. Therefore, Shubert was among the first women to focus on enhancing the quality of folk music.
Beethoven Frederick Shopper and Clara Schumann were instrumental in setting the stage for contemporary music. For instance, Fredrick Shopper and Beethoven simplified music to express intimacy (Goodall 44:00-46:00). Their efforts revealed that music was instrumental in promoting humanity. These artists advanced music from being a tool of entertainment to communicating how people felt about their lives. Clara Schumann was a woman who enhanced the quality of music by including the concept of feminism (Goodall 46:40-53:00). She allowed people to appreciate females as partners in developing and promoting music. Besides, her efforts marked an era where artists had to disregard how people perceived their actions towards music. Schumann and her colleagues focused on attaining the balance between amusing the crowd and being judged (Goodall 54:00-56:00). The statement implies that most artists’ intended to create a new form of music that would continue to influence their audience in the future. They departed from the norms and invented new styles of music. Beethoven relied on the dilemma to revolutionize music during his last two years. Therefore, Goodall provides details of the artists who focused on transforming the music.
In summary, Goodall provides a detailed account of how music evolved during the Eighteenth Century. From a personal perspective, the report is essential for music scholars since it explains early developments. Besides, the film allows one to contemplate the use of different instruments and methods of composing songs.
Works Cited
Goodall, Howard. “BBC Howard Goodall’s Story of Music 3of6 The Age of Elegance and Sensibility.” YouTube, 2018, youtu.be/Xntvurc7jmU. Accessed 8 June 2020.