Music History Resources

Use these resources to explore the rich history of western classical music

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Ancient times

Musical characteristics:

Few surviving examples of notation, early instruments, use of modes

Suggested Listening:

The Epitaph of Seikilos (1st century B.C.)

The Medieval Period (400-1400)

Main composers:

Mainly anonymous, but also Hildegard of Bingen, Machaut, Landini

Musical characteristics:

Use of modes, early instruments, mostly monophonic texture, church music, Gregorian chant

Suggested Listening:

Any selections of Gregorian Chant

Hildegard of Bingen: O ignis spiritus

The Renaissance (1400-1600)

Main composers:

Josquin des Prez, Palestrina, Dufay

Musical characteristics:

Mainly vocal music, some instrumental; use of free polyphony; moving gradually from modes to major and minor scales; use of early instruments, court and church music

Suggested Listening:

Palestrina: Super Flumina Babylonis

Ockeghem: Intermerata Dei

Dufay: Alma redemptoris mater

Josquin des Prez: Deploration sur la mort d'Ockeghem

The Baroque Period (1600-1750)

Main composers:

Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, Purcell, Scarlatti

Musical characteristics:

Music is polyphonic, now with rules (counterpoint); ornamentation and complexity valued; use of major and minor keys; more modern instruments; terraced dynamics; motivic development; music written for specific instruments

Suggested Listening:

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049, III: Presto

Handel: “Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah

Vivaldi: “Spring” from The Four Seasons

The Classical Period (1750-1820)

Main composers:

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven

Musical characteristics:

The Age of Reason, Enlightenment, elegant simplicity, balance, order, a desire for accessibility; homophonic texture; interest in structure; simple harmony; the rise of the concert tradition

Suggested Listening:

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

Mozart: Piano Sonata in C Major, K 545

Haydn: The Emperor String Quartet

Beethoven: Symphony No. 1

The Romantic Period (1820-1880)

Main composers:

Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Tchaikovsky

Musical characteristics:

Passion, sentiment, expression of emotion, rich complex harmony, extended chords, more brass and percussion in the orchestra, expression more important than form

Suggested Listening:

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

Chopin: Nocturne in E flat Major Op. 9 No. 2

Schubert: Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel

Tchaikovsky: “Waltz of the Flowers” from The Nutcracker Suite

Impressionism (1880-1920)

Main composers:

Puccini, Mahler, Ravel, Debussy, Rakhmaninov

Musical characteristics:

Experimentation, pushing the boundaries in every direction, rich experimental harmony, an interest in tone colour and orchestral effects, experiments in genre and orchestration

Suggested Listening:

Ravel: Bolero

Debussy: Clair de Lune

Rakhmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2

Puccini: “O Mio Babbino Caro” from Gianni Schicchi

The Twentieth Century and onward

Main composers:

Schoenberg, Bartok, Stravinsky

Musical characteristics:

Move towards atonality; innovation valued; complex rhythms including syncopation, electric instruments, extended tonality, many different styles including serialism and minimalism

Suggested Listening:

Schoenberg: Violin Concerto

Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Glass: “Closing” from Glassworks