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The Romantic Era1820-1900By Adam LloydThe Romantic Era (also known as Romanticism or the Romantic period) was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that began to appear in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. What is it?The movement was about intense personal expression, so artists could focus on whatever triggered emotion.The Romantic period was the first time in history that art focused on teaching people to care about each other. In this sense, Romanticism was "art with a heart." Romantic artists were also concerned with promoting individual liberty, ending slavery, and supporting democratic and independence movements.ArtSome Artwork

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Freidrich

The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole

The Forging of the Sampo by Akseli Gallen-KallelaAfter Beethoven, composers turned their attention to the expression of intense feelings in their music. This expression of emotion was the focus of all the arts of the Romantic period.Composers embraced their passionate side and attempted to use music to express deep emotions like love, grief and tragedy, and found the rigid forms used by their musical forefathers too restrictive to convey these massive ideas. Romantic MusicRHYTHM: Rhythmic complexity and changing tempos were frequently used during the Romantic period. Some music featured strong beats, meter and rhythm, and other compositions employed fluid rhythm and meter that obscured the use of the barline. During this era, the increased technical facility of virtuoso performers led to faster tempos than prior eras.MELODY: During this period, melodies became subjective, emotional and often were virtuosic (with long runs, arpeggios and ornamentation). Greater technical proficiency by performers led to an expansion in the range of melodies, and changes in dynamics and wide leaps between notes were frequently used to heighten the expressive qualities of the melodies. Many composers also used folk songs or programmatic ideas as the basis for their melodies.Stylistic FeaturesHARMONY: Although a considerable amount of music from this period used traditional harmonies based on major and minor scales, new and complex harmonies were introduced, and harmonic variations such as the use of modulations and chromatic tones were commonplace.TEXTURE: As in the Classical period, during the Romantic era, homophonic texture was primarily used (melody with accompaniment), and development sections sometimes used polyphonic texture.FORM: Genres used included large forms from prior eras such as concertos, sonatas, symphonies (often with programmatic titles), and operas. New forms emerged such as character pieces for piano or strings such as the nocturne, waltz, and etude. Other new forms included programmatic works such as symphonic poems and programmatic pieces.

Stylistic FeaturesFelix Mendelssohns A Midsummer Nights Dream: Wedding Marchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIM5cWB2wmMPeter Tchaikovskys Danse des Mirlitonshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_BQOKTZ8DMRichard Wagners Ride of the Valkyrieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P73Z6291Pt8

Some MusicA typical romantic orchestra included: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor Anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon; 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba; timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, glockenspiel; harp, 14 violins 1, 12 violins 2, 10 violas, 8 cellos, 6 double basses. The later romantic orchestra consisted of the same instruments however there were a few additions and duplications. A late romantic orchestra had keyboard instruments such as a piano or a celesta.Romantic OrchestraFranz LisztFryderyk ChopinRichard WagnerFelix MendelssohnEngelbert Humperdinck (not the singer)Gabriel Faur

Famous Composers

Around 1820, Beethoven began to write passionate compositions which were very different to the classical form that he usually composed with. His 1824 Symphony No.9 is noted for its length and complexity (around 75 minutes) He also introduced vocal soloists and a chorus into the final movement, since the orchestra itself could not express all that he felt. It was after this that other composers felt free to experiment with their compositionsFinal movement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChygZLpJDNELudwig van BeethovenIn architecture, Romanticism often evokes past styles, such as the Gothic style, seen in the mid-19th-century Gothic Revival. Other types of Romantic architecture are illustrated in a variety of styles considered "exotic" due to their displacement into a "foreign" setting in a more fanciful, less accurate format. Examples of exotic architectural styles include Egyptian-influenced homes, Asian-styled homes, and even Swiss chalets. These homes contain such "exotic" elements as Egyptian columns and small sphinx sculptures, or Japanese-inspired rooflines, or a Swiss chalet A-frame as a decorative overlay to the traditional European building type. ArchitectureThe simplicity and restraint of classical design began to be valued once more and architects were called "romantic" for seeking to replicate styles popular in ancient Roman and Greek buildings such as the Acropolis and Pompeii. Romantic churches built during the 18th and 19th centuries feature strong walls, sharp lines and separate "identities" for each part of a building. Well known examples of 19th century architecture are La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany.ArchitectureArchitecture

Semperoper, Dresden

Baslica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famlia, Barcelona