The Rise of Musical Romanticism

Having surfaced from the of the Classical period, the romantic period in music came into existence, going against musical limits and increasing orchestral powers to exemplify extra ideas in music that had never been embodied before. Musical romanticism came into existence by political and societal influences after the French revolt and the consequential patriotic patterns. Romanticism broke musical boundaries through its deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature and the examination of human personality. Romanticism also appreciated spiritual truth in culture, cultural, and ethnic origins, and the medieval era in which remote, exotic, and satanic origins were based.

Musical romanticism began at around 1830 and came to an end in 1900 even as musical compositions became increasingly expressive and inventive. Various aspects of the romanticism in music were inspired by expansive symphonies, piano music, dramatic acting scenes, and passionate songs. Being a period of dramatic thought and action, musical romanticism involved controversies between capitalism and socialism, freedom and oppression, science and social life, as well as logic and emotions. The creativity of music artists was, therefore, changed during the musical romanticism, with the goals of composers being individualistic and different. The Nineteenth-century romanticism is described in a source whose author covers romanticism in music in several pages. The book is significant in explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the romantic music. [1]

Romanticism was initially an idea that was applicable in painting and literature even as the 18th century came to an end. The term was later adopted by musicians in the description of changes that were experienced in musical styles. With the various styles that changed when the 18th century came to an end, romantic composers were determined to achieve a store powerful expression of emotion; an opposite of what the classical composers of music did. Romanticism in music gave the composers an opportunity to express their innermost feelings and thought. The innermost feelings and thoughts were not only meant to be about emotions of love but also about the expression of hate or death. Several romantic composers also opted to take the interest in art and literature to widen their range of musical composition. The possible further future of romantic music is highlighted in the source that describes the romantic era in music. The industrial revolution and the growth of Super-powers are explained in relation to the romanticism in music during the ancient times. [2]

Romantic music took almost all the features of the classical music, with some features being added to the classical music. In the romantic music, the tunes were longer and stronger than usual. The music was also characterized by the louds getting louder while the quiets got quieter. Changes in mood were much noticeable and frequent whereas the orchestras got bigger. The romantic music generally was composed to be played for a longer time as compared to the classical music.

Romantic Sound

Composers strived to create pieces of music that were of romantic sound. Researchers in the field of music note that music composers were creative enough to bring in a lot of new styles in the music played during the romantic period. Given that they embraced their passionate side, music artists who were also composers expressed their deep emotions of grief, love, and tragedy through romantic sound. The sounds used by their forefathers during the classical period were found to be relevant in the romantic music since they also conveyed the massive ideas of emotions. [3]

The Use of Romantic Instruments

Music artists composed music by the use of various instruments that would help in bringing the message home. Romantic composers made use of romantic instruments to make an emotional setting during their performances. In most cases, music artists made live performances as opposed to the modern society where artists record their music videos to be streamed online. As time passed by, the romantic music grew more expensive; hence, the standard orchestral palette could not be enough to compose romantic songs. Instruments such as the contrabassoon, piccolo, and bass clarinet are said to have added much-needed color to performances that were meant to entertain guests. Additionally, bells, drums, harps, and triangles were used to create the theme of a particular emotion during live performances. It was also believed that the bigger and more expensive the instruments used were; the better the romanticism became in music. [4]

The romantic period in music led to the composition of romantic tone in poems since the stories that were narrated in music revolved around emotional situations. Music composers found it impressive to write songs in a manner that had never been done before. They were driven by the instinct of writing more interesting and entertaining songs than those of the classical era. The film industry also managed to capture the attention of many television audiences since the operas that were produced made use of the romanticism in music. During the Romantic era, composers were said not to have used ever-increasing subject matter in their pieces of music. They managed to expand the orchestra to communicate the extreme nature of human emotions through musical works.

Function of Music

During the romantic era, the music that showed elements of romanticism served a sophisticated and aristocratic society. The same role was played by music during the classic era. Romanticism in music demanded that performances were not to be done by immature people who could not fulfill the demanding needs of the romantic performances. Romantic music required that skilled performers took charge in order to bring in the emotional message of love, grief, and tragedy. Romanticism in music attracted large audiences who were eager to learn something new from the musical performance. The performers, on the other hand, are said to have been attention seekers who strived tirelessly to win the acceptance of the audience. The performers were, therefore, very attentive to what their audience liked and disliked as a way of perfecting their live performance techniques. Composers and performers were both aiming to win the acceptance of the large audiences whom they were determined to dazzle with the music. The culture of music in Britain is described in a source that also highlights the relationship between music and the occurrence of natural phenomenon in Britain. Romanticism is, therefore, described in relation to the cultures and beliefs during the romantic era in music.[5]

Other composers played a dual role of acting as performers in an attempt to win the acceptance of audiences. Initially, the church was considered the patron of music. It is noted by research articles that the romanticism in music altered the function of the church and it was not longer the patron of music. It was upon the composers to come up with ideas that would entertain and educate audiences on emotions. Romantic music was also written for liturgical purposes to preach the gospel of religion and faith. During the Romantic era in music, the teaching of music was declared a profession due to the high demands of the romantic music. Creativity in music was a requirement in music schools even as a lot of research was done by universities to make the purpose of music more appealing. Romanticism in music resulted in music composers being engaged in the teaching profession as teachers of music in various schools and colleges. [6]

Prominent Musical characteristics

The romantic period in music was characterized by romantic idealists and romantic realists. Research has it that the idealists were rigid on the suggestion that music was required to exist for its sake with no use of instrumental devices such as the piano. The realists were, however, the champions of program music. The realists thought that music could be utilized to narrate a story, imitate natural phenomenon, and express visual scenes. The views of different idealists and realists led to some composers being successful in spectacular virtuosity through the use of incredible technical performances. Some composers also opted to use the intimacy as an expression of personal feelings. Romanticism in music was characterized by composers whose aim in music was to extol national characteristics and induce various forms of feelings through songs and dance. Other romanticists are said to have specialized in the search for a universal musical language to imply as a sense of unity in music. Apparently, the music from different types of composers was meant to evocate emotion as a primary function.[7]

Common practices in romantic music were accepted by audiences who, in most cases preferred new inventions of styles of performance. Romanticism in music involved the use of the same thematic material for purposes of consistency among characters. Melodies were utilized in romantic music to induce feelings. Research information reveals that melodies play a great role in intensifying personal feelings and sometimes promoting extremely long dramatic and vibrant climaxes. The various different styles used in romantic music made the entire music interesting. With the frequent changes in romanticism in music, the emotional effect of music was achieved through various means that defined the characteristics of romanticism in music.

Subjectivity in romantic music was not an aspect that was emphasized by composers. Music during the romantic era was not objective as in the classic era. Nonetheless, extra-musical ideas had to be put to use in the music to make it more appealing to audiences. The subjectivity of romantic music led to some music composers opting to devices that could assist them in conveying pictures and ideas that imitated natural sounds. The subjectivity of romantic music is said to be the major reason why most music in the 19th century that showed some aspects of romanticism are sentimental. Different aspects of literature, science are discussed in a book that relates romanticism with the described phenomenon. In the book, the bodies of knowledge are noted to have contributed in the romantic music that became a common practice during the 19th century.[8]

Composers intensified emotionalism in romantic music by applying progression by half steps in tunes and musical tones. Changing keys in music were also exploited to create tension in romantic music and keep the audiences in a state of suspense. Nationalism was an aspect that influenced music composers, depending on the nationality of the composers. It is recorded that most nationalistic music was based in places such as Italy and Russia where people promoted the love for their country.[9]

Romanticism in music came at a time when improved musical instruments were readily available to allow composers to carry out experimentation with novel orchestral effects. The piano was the most popular instrument that was used in music since it acted as a symbol of romanticism. The concentration on the usage of the piano by music artists resulted in the enlargement of the instrument to give it a wide range of tonal variation. Almost every family was in a position to own a piano because it was affordable. [10]

In a nutshell, Romanticism in music was based on different interests of the composers, poets, writers, and artists. The existence of various forms of romantic music composers led to a relationship that promoted the composition of new music, which provided inspiration to audiences through the feelings of emotions, love, imaginations and dreams, as well as hatred.