Exploring The Musical Baroque And Classical Periods
April 28 - May 5
Wednesdays 10:45 - 12:45 & 14:00 - 16:00
£130 – £210
Morning coffee and afternoon teas are inclusive. Lunch at your own expense is available at the Club but requires advance booking. Please contact Club Receptionist once your lecture booking is confirmed. There are cafes nearby if you prefer.
Description
By discussing a range of important works, as well as relating music of these eras to the other disciplines in the arts, Peter Medhurst examines two of the greatest moments in the history of music.
“Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed it and very informative. Subject was brought alive by lecturer”
Course Outline
The Baroque Period In Music 1600 ‐ 1750 – 28 Apr 2021
The Baroque era was a comparatively lengthy one in the history of music and ‐ as with other disciplines in the arts at the time ‐ was hallmarked by the desire to evoke strong emotional states, by appealing to the senses, and often in very dramatic ways. This was especially so in the field of opera and religious music where words directly inspired the rhythmic and melodic shapes of the music as well as the overall flow of the music’s harmonic structure. By relating music to the world of architecture, sculpture and paintings, and by looking at a range of key compositions of the period, we will examine the various strands that make up the musical Baroque.
The Classical Period In Music 1750 ‐ 1830 – 05 May 2021
The Classical period, by contrast to the Baroque, was very nearly the worst moment in the history of Western music, since the re‐action against the music of the previous era introduced a shallowness and a transparency of style that potentially removed gravity and depth of expression from the music. Fortunately, the genius of composers such as JC Bach, Haydn and Mozart overcame the limitations of the era and produced works of astonishing force and originality. However, the close of the Classical period was marked by the first stirrings of Romanticism and it is noticeable how Schubert and Beethoven adapted the abstract mediums of the early Classical period in order to introduce subjective elements into their music. We will discuss the concept of Classicism in music against a backdrop of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the demise of patronage.