Classic Verses Romantic Periods Essays Examples

Introduction

Classic and romantic era was a period when music experienced a lot of developments. This was witnessed through the manipulation of many musical elements such as texture, rhyme, tempo, tonality structure, melody and different instruments. Besides, during those periods contrast could also be seen through the composers of music, emotional content, the size of the orchestra and non-musical development. Although there were some similarities during these periods, there are many differences between classic and romantic period.

Comparing and contrasting on the basis of history, ideals, musical elements and composers

First, classic music composers were getting away from chaotic music that came from the baroque period. In contrast, romantic composers did not move away from this kind of music. This showed a difference in philosophy in the two styles of music
Classic music composers also sought to create something that is completely new, unlike romantic period that was still content with developing ideas from the classical period. This overlapping sometimes made it hard to differentiate romantic music from classical composers. Although classic music composers were concerned with preserving order and making sure that the melody was presented in the perfect way, romantic composers began to expand in terms of sonata structure, obscuring the melody by creating new style of music.
Romantic composers also cast away ideas that the thought did not serve their immediate need while preserving the concepts that they believed were useful to them. This was opposed to classical music composers. Moreover, classic music composers were contented at staying within a particular boundary of what was required by the music rules and regulations that included chord resolutions, keys and relationships between movements. On the hand, romantic composers went beyond these boundaries by introducing new chords and new keys.
The classic music had a constant musical style. This is because any composer during his period knew what was required of them. For instance, Haydn was a huge influence during this period. This was unlike the early romantic composers who kept themselves entirely to the classical tradition and chord structure that existed. While Haydn was a huge composer of classical music during this time; Brahms and Schubert were the leading composers of the romantic music during this time. Romantic expression put a lot of emphasis on self-expressions and individual equality style. They created music that sounded unique and reflected much on the personality. In contrast, the classic era was not like this. Romantic music took its name from France, which was lingua romana; this meant a free and imaginative music. This was a period when music was more of instinct and not of reason. This was unlike classical music which was of reason and not instinct. The classic era was much more productive than romantic era because during this period quality music was produced, and instruments used were much more refined. This did not correspond to the romantic era. Finally, romantic music came with an increased use of melodies and themes at the time when orchestra expanded. During this time, each music instrument had its role in the industry. This was in contrast to a classic that did not put emphasis on melodies and themes.

Conclusion

The Romantic period was a very important period for the transformation of the music industry. This is because of industrial revulsion, emphasis on emotions and color hence it influenced many composers throughout history. Additionally, they no longer looked at themselves as artists who were writing music to suit audience but rather as artists who were comfortable expressing their ideas and feelings to the world. Ideally, unlike the classic era, this was an era of greatness.