Classical Music and Architecture— A Historical Perspective

Arts Teaching Kit for Senior Secondary Curriculum

[Student notes]

Organized by Funded by Research Team

Music

ContentsPreamble

Learning plan i

DisclaimerCreate Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.© 2012 Hong Kong Institute of Architects

Cover: Parco Della Musica designed by Renzo Piano, Rome

DisclaimerCreate Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.© 2012 Hong Kong Institute of Architects

Lesson 1: Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective

1.1 Baroque period (1600-1750)

1.2 Classical period (1750-1820)

1.3 Romantic period (1820-1900)

Lesson 2: Contemporary Music and Architecture

Summary, Key words and further reading

Appendix: Timeline of Development of Music and Architecture

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Arts | Classical Music and Architecture —

A Historical Perspective

Topic 03Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective

Major teaching areas

Learning planLesson Contents

Lesson 1

Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective

• 1.1 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Renaissance and Baroque periods

• 1.2 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Classical period

• 1.3 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Romantic period

Lesson 2

Contemporary Music and Architecture

• Overview of modern art movements’ influences on music and architecture

Appendix

Timeline of Development of Music and Architecture

• Historical and cultural events, musical and architectural development since 1300

Music• Developing Creativity and Imagination

• Cultivating Critical Responses in Music

• Understanding Music in Context

Visual Arts

Appreciation and Criticism in context• Formal knowledge

• Signs and symbols

• Types of image and image development strategies

• Knowledge of history and ways of seeing

• Knowledge in context

Learning objectives• To appreciate music and architectural styles from different historical contexts

• To understand the influences of contemporary art movements on other disciplines of the arts

• To develop a broad perspective of appreciation across different disciplines of arts

Interdisciplinary teaching areasDesign and Applied Technology

• Strand 1 Design and Innovation

• Strand 3 Value and Impact

Physics

• Chapter III Wave Motion

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Arts | Classical Music and Architecture —

A Historical Perspective

Painting, sculpture, digital art, theatre, music, dance, architecture, film, and literature are all disciplines of ‘the arts’, a phrase that summarises all the forms of human creativity. (Here we distinguish ‘arts’ from ‘art’, the word which normally denotes visual arts only.) Although these disciplines can vary greatly in form — for example, music is an audible but intangible experience while a sculpture is usually a defined object with volume, texture and colour — they are inter-related in the sense that they all reflect the conceptual framework of their particular time and place of creation.

1 Can you think of any examples of how different forms of art relate to each other and to society?

Examples: The emergence of media art with the invention of television in the 50s Pop art and the consumer and media culture of America in the 60s Religious music to be played in churches Opera as a mix of drama, music and fashion design

Examples of relationships between different art forms: Examples of art in relationship to society:

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”— Albert Einstein, scientist

[Discussion]

Lesson 1Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective

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Arts | Classical Music and Architecture —

A Historical Perspective

The overlapping terrain of the arts

What are the special properties of each discipline? Link them up to see the complex web of arts.

These different forms of art interweave in complex ways, but they do share certain limitations:

All art - indeed, all life - must exist in a particular space and within a particular time frame, because space and time are the bases of our existence and our understanding of the world.

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A Historical Perspective

How would you interpret Goethe’s statement above? How is music similar to architecture?

“I call architecture frozen music.”— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author

Activity: music to fill a space

Listen to excerpts of the following pieces of music and study the photographs below, each showing a particular architectural space.

Gabriel Fauré: ‘Requiem in D minor’, op. 48, composed between 1887-90 Peret: ‘Saboreando’ or other songs from the album ‘La Salsa De La Rumba’, released in 2001

1. Which piece of music is more suitable for each space?

2. What makes you associate a certain type of music with a certain type of space?

p The Pantheon, Rome p Park Güell by Antonio Gaudí, Barcelona 03

Arts | Classical Music and Architecture —

A Historical Perspective

1.1 Baroque Period (1600-1750): Ornaments, theatricality & formulation

Renaissance architecture Characteristics

Baroque architecture Characteristics

Renaissance music Characteristics / development

Baroque music Characteristics / development

You will listen to a piece of Renaissance music, followed by a Baroque piece. The teacher will show you images of buildings from these two historical periods.

How do Baroque architecture and music differ from those of the Renaissance, and in what ways do they reflect the spirit or the major ideas of the time?

Please give the name of one Renaissance musical instrument and draw its appearance:

Please give the name of one Baroque composer and an example of his work:

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Neoclassical architecture (1700—1900 or 18th—late 19th century)Characteristics

1.2 Classical Period (1750-1820): Balance and elegance

p Parthenon, Greece p White House, Washington D C

*Drawings not to scale

Classical music (1750—1820) Characteristics

p Old Supreme Court building, Hong Kong

Please name the classical architectural elements of the Old Supreme Court building.

How do neoclassical architecture and classical music reflect the spirit or the major ideas of the time? Which of the two buildings shown on the left is a classical building? Which one is Neoclassical? How do you tell?

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Which of the above is/are in Neo-Gothic style? How can you tell?

The teacher will play a piece of piano music from the Romantic period.

Please name the composer and the form of the piece (e.g. etude, impromptu, sonata).

What is the difference between a modern piano and a harpsichord? How did the improvement of the piano influence the development of musical styles?

p a modern piano © Gryffindor - Wikipedia user

p a spinet (a small harpsichord)

1.3 Romantic Period (1820-1900): Passion and Diversity

What were the reasons for the resurgence of interest in Gothic and Medieval culture in the 19th century?

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A Historical Perspective

Lesson 2Contemporary Music and Architecture— Exploration and evolution

The teacher will play a piece titled ‘4’33’’ (four minutes, thirty-three seconds)’, composed by John Cage in 1952. After listening to the piece, please discuss the following:

The world is filled with all kinds of sounds, including those made by the functioning of our own bodies. Is absolute silence possible?

1 What did you hear when the piece was played?

2 Recall what you heard in the classroom during the 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

3 What is your definition of ‘music’?

4 Do you consider what you just heard ‘music’?

[Discussion]

“There is no such thing as silence.”— John Cage, composer

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Style matching: Please match the names of the modern architectural styles with the correct images.

Bauhaus/International Style (1920-70s)• Rectilinear forms• Asymmetry• ‘Truth in materials’• Functionalism — ‘form follows function’

Art Nouveau (1890-1910)• Nature-inspired, organic patterns, full of curves

Art Deco (1930-70s)• Use of geometric shapes and stepped forms• Use of ornaments in clean and modernised forms• Symmetry and a sense of grandeur

High-tech (1970-present)• xposed structure, emphasis on functional elements• Prefabricated building parts• Use of ‘high-tech materials’: steel, aluminium, and

glass

Minimalism (1920s-present)• Strip down ornaments and retain only the essential

elements• Emphasis on the ‘void’, or the ‘space’, through

careful composition of planes and structures• Influenced by Japanese Zen aesthetics

Postmodernism (1980-present)• A response to the rational and ‘boring’ International

Style• Return of ornaments and use of colours• Reference to architectural styles from the past

“Form follows function.”—Louis Sullivan, architect

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2 Please share your own experience of enjoying music in a particular time and space.

Do you go to classical concerts in a concert hall? Do you listen to your own mp3s while travelling on the MTR? Do you like singing in the bathroom with the special acoustics? Or, like modern composers, do you like listening to the sounds of the city?

1 Of the major periods of classical music, which do you like best? Why? Which style do you think is most relevant, or is the best representation, of our time?

3 How would you compare space and time in architecture and music in terms of the following aspects: - Experience (how do we experience a building or a piece of music?) - Composition (how are different building parts put together? How is a piece of music composed? Does music have a structure just like a building? Does composition affect our experience of architecture or music?)

[Discussion]

p St Paul’s Cathedral, London in the Baroque style

p Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona in minimalist style

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A Historical Perspective

This page: Parco Della Musica

Organizer Sponsor Reseach Team

1. All arts deal with space and time. Music and architecture have both passed through stages of tangible and intangible development in response to their time.

2. Music and architecture from the Baroque period (1600-1750) feature elaborate ornamentations and strong emotions.

3. Classical music and architecture (1750-1820) display a search for balance and elegance.

4. Romantic music and architecture described by Passion and diversity (1850-1900).

5. In the 20th century, new forms of music and architecture were tested. Many distinctive styles have evolved due to new technology and innovations.

Renaissance Baroque Classical Romantic Contemporary Modernism Neo-classical Architecture

1. TED Talk: David Byrne: how architecture helped music evolve h t tp : / /www. ted . com/ ta l ks /dav id_byr ne_how_ar ch i t ec tu r e_he lped_mus i c_evo l ve .h tm l

2. 律動的建築空間：世界音樂廳巡禮　李文枝著　 台北 : 科技圖書股份有限公司　2009

3. 巴哈蓋房子：建築與音樂的對話　李清志、高晟著　 台北 : 田園城市文化　2004

4. Performing architecture: opera houses, theatres and concert halls for the twenty-first century. Hammond, Michael. London: Merrell, 2006.

5. Where modern Hong Kong began: the City Hall and its 50-year story. Chow Fan Fu. Hong Kong: Hong Kong City Hall, 2012. 現代香港的起跑點：大會堂五十年的故事　 周凡夫著　香港：香港大會堂　 2012

Summary

Key words

Further reading

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A Historical Perspective