An Overview of the String Quartet from the Classical to 19th Century Period
History Essay
Write a historical overview and explanation of one of the following genres or topics. Be sure to discuss significant composers, cultural contexts, stylistic influences, and representative works, with extensive use of musical examples.
a) String quartet from the classical era to the late nineteenth century
The genre of the string quartet is one that was tremendously popular during the mid to late 18th century. Instrumental music during this time held many social purposes and roles. During this time of enlightenment where the new middle class was flourishing, the learning and enjoyment of music became much more popular. Music was now purchased and performed purely for the enjoyment of the players at social occasions, musicians began to be employed to play light hearted music at parties. For these reasons the string quartet became so popular. The simple combination of two violins, a viola, and a cello were the perfect combination for a group of friends to sit around and enjoy music together. This small ensemble was also unimposing enough to create easy background listening at social events. Composers during this time also wrote ‘concertante’ quartets where all the parts had equal importance therefore creating more enjoyment for every player. This was opposed to the typical style of the first violin holding the melodic substance, cello having bass line and second violin and viola filling out texture. Strings quartets were also constructed where short motives were exchanged like a conversation between players to add to the fun of playing.
Although the classical era the blooming time for the string quartet, it continued to remain popular throughout the romantic period. String quartets continued as a form of home entertainment but it also became vastly more popular in concerts by professional groups. The genre started getting treated as seriously as symphonies with composers using it as a vessel for pushing music to the boundaries of the time. Through
Write a historical overview and explanation of one of the following genres or topics. Be sure to discuss significant composers, cultural contexts, stylistic influences, and representative works, with extensive use of musical examples.
a) String quartet from the classical era to the late nineteenth century
The genre of the string quartet is one that was tremendously popular during the mid to late 18th century. Instrumental music during this time held many social purposes and roles. During this time of enlightenment where the new middle class was flourishing, the learning and enjoyment of music became much more popular. Music was now purchased and performed purely for the enjoyment of the players at social occasions, musicians began to be employed to play light hearted music at parties. For these reasons the string quartet became so popular. The simple combination of two violins, a viola, and a cello were the perfect combination for a group of friends to sit around and enjoy music together. This small ensemble was also unimposing enough to create easy background listening at social events. Composers during this time also wrote ‘concertante’ quartets where all the parts had equal importance therefore creating more enjoyment for every player. This was opposed to the typical style of the first violin holding the melodic substance, cello having bass line and second violin and viola filling out texture. Strings quartets were also constructed where short motives were exchanged like a conversation between players to add to the fun of playing.
Although the classical era the blooming time for the string quartet, it continued to remain popular throughout the romantic period. String quartets continued as a form of home entertainment but it also became vastly more popular in concerts by professional groups. The genre started getting treated as seriously as symphonies with composers using it as a vessel for pushing music to the boundaries of the time. Through
Bibliography: Burkholder, Grout, Palisca. A History of Western Music. 8th Edition. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1960. Harris, Stephen. The Origins of String Quartets. http://www.quartets.de/articles/origins.html (accessed 2013)http://www.raptusassociation.org/stringprehist_e.html (accessed 2013). Langlois, Jeffrey B. History of the String Quartet - MusicAnthology. April 26, 2008. http://www.musicanthology.org/?p=48 (accessed 2013). Ler, Boon Sin. A Brief History of the String Quartet. http://quarternotez.com/index.php?p=8_8 (accessed 2013). Schmid, Fritz, Ernest Ernst, and Sanders. "Mozart and Haydn." The Musical Quarterly, 1956: 145-161. Beethoven 's String Quartet in C# minor, Op. 131. http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Oeuvres_Presentation/Presentation-StringQuartet-14-Opus131.html (accessed September 2013). IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library. www.imslp.org (accessed September 2013).