Enlightenment: Classical Music

The orchestral sound we know as “Classical Music” coalesced in the 18th century. Of particular interest to us: the symphony and sonata form. Both are musical structures, not unlike the Petrarchan sonnet, with sonata form nested inside the symphony. Today we will focus on two early and prolific symphonic masters, Mozart and Haydn. Some of you are already students of classical music, but for those who are not trained musicians, the following exercises will likely prove somewhat challenging.

Sonata Form

Listen: the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony 40, (make sure to stop the video at 8:15, or you’ll end up listening to the whole symphony).

Watch and learn: Inside the Score, “How to Listen to Music: Sonata Form” (link)

Apply the lesson: here you get two options, depending on how confident you are in your skills. Note: because this assignment is unique, it is REQUIRED of everyone. It is separate from written HW, which as usual asks you to respond to one of my prompts and to one of your peers each week.

Easier: anatomize movement 1 of Mozart’s Symphony 40, which you just heard analyzed.
Harder: anatomize movement 1 of Haydn’s Symphony 88.

Symphonic Structure

Watch and learn: Enjoy Classical Music, “The Symphony—Explained in under 5 mins” (link)

Listen: Haydn Symphony 45, “Farewell.”

Writing: After listening to Haydn’s Symphony 45, “Farewell,” respond to ONE of the following prompts. To quote from the music, you can opt to specify the time signature or, better, paste in a YouTube URL that points to just before the moment you want us to hear. Either way, give a rich verbal paraphrase of what you want us to hear when we listen:

Dynamics: point to a moment when Symphony 45 surprises the listener with a sudden shift from loud to soft or from soft to loud. What’s the emotional impact of this change?
Instrumentation: point to a moment when Symphony 45 shifts instruments. What’s the emotional impact of this change?
Key: point to a moment when Symphony 45 shifts musical key. What’s the emotional impact of this change? In your response, keep in mind that many of your peers don’t know much about Classical music, so help us understand why the musical key matters, and how it functions in this particular instance to produce an emotional response.