The Romantic Period lasted from 1820-1900. Romantic music was characterized by extreme emotion, imagination, and individualism expressed through large ensembles and wild orchestration. Composers aimed to powerfully express emotions like love, hate, and death. The orchestra expanded and genres like symphonic poems, art songs, and song cycles emerged. Piano music became popular as the harpsichord and organ declined. Forms like etudes, nocturnes, and romances were written for solo piano performance.

1. The Romantic Period
1820-1900

2. Romantic Period
• Uses large ensembles, extreme emotion, and wild
orchestration
• Romanticism was a cultural movement that stressed
emotion, imagination, and individualism.
• The period of important wars – The Crimean War, the
Civil War in the US and the Franco-Prussian War.

3. Romantic Period
Composers aimed for strong powerful
expressions of emotion, often revealing
their innermost thought and feelings.
*love
*hate
*death

4. Characteristics
of Romantic Music
• Freedom of form and design
• Emphasis on lyrical melodies
• Sense of vagueness
• Denser textures with bold contrasts
• Expansion of the orchestra
• Rich variety of types of pieces
• Keen interest in programme
music
• Shape was brought to work
• Great technical virtuosity

5. Musical Forms
• Organ and harpsichord, which are popular in
past eras, were replaced by piano music.
• Some forms of the Classical period were
continued during the Romantic period.

6. Musical Forms
• Etude – means “study”. It is a composition
meant to help a student learn difficult playing
techniques and/or help the performer master
technical difficulties.

7. Musical Forms
• Nocturne – Means “Night piece”. Slow, lyrical
and intimate composition for piano solo.

8. Musical Forms
• Romance – Refers to a short, lyrical piece for a
piano.

9. Musical Forms
• Polonaise – Originally a Polish court dance.

10. New Genres
• Programmatic Music – Instrumental music
associated with a story of poem.

11. • Absolute Music or Non Program music –
Instrumental music written for its own sake
for which the composer did not intend a
program.
New Genres

12. • Program Symphony –Instrumental
composition in several movements based on
a literary or pictorial idea.
New Genres

13. • Symphonic Poem – Large free form in one
movement based on a literary work or legend
and usually had a descriptive title.
New Genres

14. • Incidental Music – Intended to be performed
before and during a play to set the mood for
scenes or highlight dramatic action.
New Genres

15. Vocal Music During
The Romantic Period
• Romantic Art Song – Musical composition for
solo voice and piano often set by a brief piano
introduction and summed up at the end by a
piano section called postlude.

16. • Song Cycle – Group of songs by one composer
based on poems all written by the same poet.
Vocal Music During the
Romantic Period

17. • Lied – Romantic art song with a German text.
Vocal Music During the
Romantic Period

18. Where do you usually hear this music “Ave
Maria” by Schubert?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5rusicE
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“Ave Maria”