French classical music
Encyclopedia
French classical music began with the sacred music of the Roman Catholic Church
, with written records predating the reign of Charlemagne
. It includes all of the major genres of sacred and secular, instrumental and vocal music. French classical styles often have an identifiably national character, ranging from the clarity and precision of the music of the late Renaissance music
to the sensitive and emotional Impressionistic styles of the early 20th century. Important French composers include Pérotin
, Machaut, Josquin des Prez
, Lully
, Couperin
, Rameau, Leclair
, Grétry, Méhul
, Auber
, Berlioz, Alkan
, Offenbach
, Franck
, Saint-Saëns
, Fauré
, Massenet, D'Indy, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Roussel
, Milhaud
, Poulenc
, Messiaen, Dutilleux and Boulez.
liturgical
and secular music
, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became codified between approximately 1600 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period
.
European classical music, including music from France is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular music
al forms by its system of staff notation
, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch
, speed
, meter
, individual rhythm
s and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices, such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music
and Japanese traditional music
), and popular music.
(only one voice) chant
was the dominant form of music, followed by a sacred polyphonic (multi-voices) organum
. By the thirteenth century, another polyphonic style called the motet
became popular. During the Ars Nova
era of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the trend towards writing polyphonic music extended to non-Church music. In the fifteenth century, more secular music emerged, such as the French chanson
.
In the late sixteenth-century, composers attempted to recreate Greek drama using a style called monody
. In the seventeenth century, Italian opera styles such as opera seria
, opera buffa
were very important. This Italian opera was taken up in France, where Lully developed a French national opera style. In the seventeenth century, instrumental music developed a great deal, and vocal music was usually accompanied by a written bassline called the basso continuo. Instrumental works included keyboard suites, which were based on dance suites, sonatas, organ music, and music for small groups (trio sonatas) or orchestra (e.g., sinfonias and concerto grosso
s). Baroque music
from the eighteenth century moved towards a simpler, lighter style of instrumental music. Later in the eighteenth century, the Classical style dominated, with the main forms being sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets.
The nineteenth century is often called the Romantic era
. During this era, the symphony developed, and a new style of music called "program music
" (music that tells a story) developed. Other types of music that became important in the nineteenth century were grand opera, small pieces for piano; piano sonatas, often with the exploration of new harmonic or tonal ideas. In the late Romantic era, the Austro-German tradition of Wagner dominated musical composition. Composers began exploring different, looser approaches to tonality (the key-centered-ness of a piece of music). During this era, French composers such as Debussy and Ravel developed a style called Impressionism, which emphasized tone "colours", and which used chords purely for their sound (as opposed to for their harmonic role).
During the twentieth-century, composers took many different paths. Some composers looked backwards to the light, elegant Classical works, with the Neoclassicism
of the Russian-French composer Stravinsky. Austro-German composers such as Schoenberg
and Berg
and used a tortured, dramatic style called Expressionism
. The French composer Boulez abandoned the entire tonal (key-centered) tradition of Western music with a style called Serialism
. Other composers explored electronic music
(Stockhausen); chance-based or random (aleatoric
) music and indeterminacy (Cage
); and minimalism (Reich
, Glass
).
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, with written records predating the reign of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. It includes all of the major genres of sacred and secular, instrumental and vocal music. French classical styles often have an identifiably national character, ranging from the clarity and precision of the music of the late Renaissance music
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given that its defining characteristics were adopted only gradually; musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.Literally meaning...
to the sensitive and emotional Impressionistic styles of the early 20th century. Important French composers include Pérotin
Pérotin
Pérotin , also called Perotin the Great, was a European composer, believed to be French, who lived around the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century. He was the most famous member of the Notre Dame school of polyphony and the ars antiqua style...
, Machaut, Josquin des Prez
Josquin Des Prez
Josquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
, Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...
, Couperin
Couperin
The Couperin family were a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era...
, Rameau, Leclair
Jean-Marie Leclair
Jean-Marie Leclair l'aîné, also known as Jean-Marie Leclair the Elder, was a Baroque violinist and composer. He is considered to have founded the French violin school...
, Grétry, Méhul
Étienne Méhul
Etienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer, "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution." He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic".-Life:...
, Auber
Daniel Auber
Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
, Berlioz, Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French composer and one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of his day. His attachment to his Jewish origins is displayed both in his life and his work. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of six, earning many awards, and as an adult became a famous virtuoso...
, Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
, Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
, Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
, Fauré
Faure
Faure or Fauré is a French family name and may refer to:People:* Edgar Faure, French politician* Élie Faure, French art historian and essayist* Émile Alphonse Faure, lead battery pioneer* Cédric Fauré, French football striker...
, Massenet, D'Indy, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, Roussel
Albert Roussel
Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
, Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
, Messiaen, Dutilleux and Boulez.
Definition
Classical music usually refers to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of WesternWestern art history
Western art is the art of the North American and European countries, and art created in the forms accepted by those countries.Written histories of Western art often begin with the art of the Ancient Middle East, Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Aegean civilisations, dating from the 3rd millennium BC...
liturgical
Religious music
Religious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
and secular music
Secular music
Secular music is non-religious music. "Secular" means being separate from religion.In the West, secular music developed in the Medieval period and was used in the Renaissance. Swaying authority from the Church that focused more on Common Law influenced all aspects of Medieval life, including music...
, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became codified between approximately 1600 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period
Common practice period
The common practice period, in the history of Western art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from c. 1600 to c. 1900.-General characteristics:...
.
European classical music, including music from France is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
al forms by its system of staff notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, speed
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
, meter
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
, individual rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices, such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
and Japanese traditional music
Music of Japan
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 , combining the kanji 音 with the kanji 楽...
), and popular music.
History
During the early Christian era of the Middle Ages, sacred monophonicMonophony
In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave . If the entire melody is sung by two voices or a choir with an interval between the notes or in...
(only one voice) chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
was the dominant form of music, followed by a sacred polyphonic (multi-voices) organum
Organum
Organum is, in general, a plainchant melody with at least one added voice to enhance the harmony, developed in the Middle Ages. Depending on the mode and form of the chant, a supporting bass line may be sung on the same text, the melody may be followed in parallel motion , or a combination of...
. By the thirteenth century, another polyphonic style called the motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
became popular. During the Ars Nova
Ars nova
Ars nova refers to a musical style which flourished in France and the Burgundian Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages: more particularly, in the period between the preparation of the Roman de Fauvel and the death of the composer Guillaume de Machaut in 1377...
era of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the trend towards writing polyphonic music extended to non-Church music. In the fifteenth century, more secular music emerged, such as the French chanson
Chanson
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...
.
In the late sixteenth-century, composers attempted to recreate Greek drama using a style called monody
Monody
In poetry, the term monody has become specialized to refer to a poem in which one person laments another's death....
. In the seventeenth century, Italian opera styles such as opera seria
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
, opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...
were very important. This Italian opera was taken up in France, where Lully developed a French national opera style. In the seventeenth century, instrumental music developed a great deal, and vocal music was usually accompanied by a written bassline called the basso continuo. Instrumental works included keyboard suites, which were based on dance suites, sonatas, organ music, and music for small groups (trio sonatas) or orchestra (e.g., sinfonias and concerto grosso
Concerto grosso
The concerto grosso is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists and full orchestra...
s). Baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
from the eighteenth century moved towards a simpler, lighter style of instrumental music. Later in the eighteenth century, the Classical style dominated, with the main forms being sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets.
The nineteenth century is often called the Romantic era
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
. During this era, the symphony developed, and a new style of music called "program music
Program music
Program music or programme music is a type of art music that attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience in the form of program notes, inviting imaginative correlations with the music...
" (music that tells a story) developed. Other types of music that became important in the nineteenth century were grand opera, small pieces for piano; piano sonatas, often with the exploration of new harmonic or tonal ideas. In the late Romantic era, the Austro-German tradition of Wagner dominated musical composition. Composers began exploring different, looser approaches to tonality (the key-centered-ness of a piece of music). During this era, French composers such as Debussy and Ravel developed a style called Impressionism, which emphasized tone "colours", and which used chords purely for their sound (as opposed to for their harmonic role).
During the twentieth-century, composers took many different paths. Some composers looked backwards to the light, elegant Classical works, with the Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (music)
Neoclassicism in music was a twentieth-century trend, particularly current in the period between the two World Wars, in which composers sought to return to aesthetic precepts associated with the broadly defined concept of "classicism", namely order, balance, clarity, economy, and emotional restraint...
of the Russian-French composer Stravinsky. Austro-German composers such as Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
and used a tortured, dramatic style called Expressionism
Expressionism (music)
,Expressionism as a musical genre is difficult to exactly define. It is, however, one of the most important movements of 20th Century music. The three central figures of musical expressionism are Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, Anton Webern and Alban Berg, the so-called Second Viennese...
. The French composer Boulez abandoned the entire tonal (key-centered) tradition of Western music with a style called Serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
. Other composers explored electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
(Stockhausen); chance-based or random (aleatoric
Aleatoric music
Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
) music and indeterminacy (Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
); and minimalism (Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
, Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
).