preview

The History of Music

Good Essays

The History of Western Music

Music has been around since the dawn of time, ever since man first inhabited this planet we have learned to communicate in ways other then conventional speaking. Different Cultures all have there own specific way of communicating through music. Music is basically broken into two specific groups Eastern Music and Western Music. Eastern music is mainly derived from the orient and India. While, Western music first emerged from Europe. Western music has developed in many ways since the middle ages through its form, sound, and message.
The Middle Ages
In 500 A.D., western civilization began to emerge from the period known as "The Dark Ages," a time in which many invading forces ruled Europe and brought an …show more content…

Harpsichord music achieved new heights, due to the intricate works of such as Domenico Scarlatti. Dances became formalized into instrumental suites and were composed by many composers of the era. Yet, vocal and choral music still reigned supreme during this age, and culminated in the operas of German-born composer George Frideric Handel. Who according too Alfred Einstein in A Short History of Music was the set up man for musical genius Ludwig Van Beethoven, " Handel 's achievement is the preparation for what Beethoven afterwards did with the symphony; and it is on this eminence that these two masters, so utterly unlike, meet conquerors."(69)

The Classical Period
From 1750 to 1820,musicians moved away from the heavily ornamented styles of the Baroque age instead embraced a clean, and uncluttertered style they reminiscent of Classical Greece. The new aristocracies were replacing monarchs and the church as patrons of music, and were demanding an impersonal, but tuneful and elegant music. Dances such as the minuet and the gavotte were fashioned in the forms of entertaining serenades and divertimenti.
At this time the Austrian capital of Vienna became the musical center of Europe, and works of the period are often referred to as being in the Viennese style. Composers from all over Europe came to train in and around Vienna, and gradually they developed and formalized the

Get Access