RE: (western) classical music discussion
March 22, 2016 at 9:46 am
(This post was last modified: March 22, 2016 at 10:02 am by Alex K.)
(March 22, 2016 at 9:38 am)Mathilda Wrote:I'm not sure what you mean by tonal complexity vs. complexity of melodies, can you explain. Initially it was already a revolution when Palestrina took Gregorian chant and constructed artful vocal counterpoints out of the themes(March 22, 2016 at 9:22 am)Alex K Wrote: If you had said "for rich people" I would almost agree at least partially. That it was mostly created by rich people seems very inaccurate.
You're probably right. But that's what it sounds like to me, probably because it was created for rich people because that's what sold.
(March 22, 2016 at 9:22 am)Alex K Wrote: This view is too simplistic for my taste. During the late 1500s all the way through the 1700s, championed by people like Palestrina, counterpoint techniques and figured bass have become extremely sophisticated, culminating in J.S. Bach's work. Then there was a rather harsh break in musical tradition and the galant style of the 1700s and the following classical period were in many ways marked by a reduction in complexity, and this is when, in my opinion, a lot of ear candy for rich people was produced. The late classical and romantic era composers again slowly built up both the complexity and the range of expression until music became interesting again (to me). Late romantic can become a bit overwrought and burdened by their sheer monumental scope.
But forgetting about the rich ear candy, in a way you are demonstrating my point. You're arguing that counterpoint techniques and figured base became extremely sophisticated over time. It's probably because of technological progress that complexity of melodies came before tonal complexity because there were fewer instruments to work with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8-IrXDAm8I
Monteverdi and his predecessors had the Cathedral of Venice to work with and made use of that by using several independent interacting choirs positioned throughout the church - something one could call a technological issue (architecture).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKz5Zbl_9r8
Bach, with an almost mathematical obsession as well as an ear for melodies, took all that to 11 just for the heck of it. Most of the time he was paid for churning out weekly Cantatas. All that technical stuff was his hobby. This was his take on using several choirs, as the guys from venice did in the old days, the beginning some of the most complex stuff ever written - not because of technology (it's a couple of traditional instruments and voices), but because he could.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm1os4VzTgA
The most obvious technological influence on style was maybe the progress in piano technology which enabled people like Liszt and Chopin to do what they did.
Quote:I suspect the rich ear candy music is also a product of technological progress. Like pop music, this could well have come about due to a new audience who were wanting easy background music rather than music to listen to in its own right.
I believe that that's the case
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition