The Romantic period in music is particularly exciting because of its direct ties to the greater movement of Romanticism that swept through Europe in the 19th century. But before we begin to discuss the implications of this movement, we must first define it. So what is Romanticism? A 1962 article in the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism describes it thus:
"It does not want to renew or renovate; it does not want to repeat or codify; classifications are inimical to it in its extremest phases. The impulse is dynamic, and the possibilities for success seem to it endless. Romanticism is the highest degree of everything achieved by whatever means, and in realizing itself it destroys what frustrates it, and especially if these are conventions...It wants to go beyond the present in time, the present place in space, the forms of expression and speech in which it is bound, the orders, organizations, and arrangements existing in economic, religious, and political life, the forms already set and declared in art, the confines of outward public life, the restrictions placed upon the individual."
In the 19th century, the industrial revolution took hold of Europe, leading to rapid advancement in not only economic but social and moral practices. As urban centers developed, the rising forces of capitalism and mercantilism led to competition among cities, countries, and individuals. This created a heightened sense of nationalism (reflected in music via an emphasis on folk tunes and traditions) as well as a newfound desire for individuality. As social class was increasingly tied to economic status rather than birth, social standards became more malleable; the nouveau riche did not have to adhere to the strict behavioral codes of the nobility, and the poor could, for the first time, truly aspire to greatness.
Romanticism arose also as a reaction to the structured attitudes of the Enlightenment (which coincided with the classical period in music). Artists rebelled against the stringent rationality of neoclassicism as well as the impersonality of industrialization, favoring passion, spontaneity, and subjective expression over reason and order. While the Enlightenment had weakened Christianity's chokehold on Europe, the romantic period saw an unprecedented rejection of the strictures of church and state, with artists embracing religious symbolism more as a kind of mythology--a means to an aesthetic end. For the romantics, the natural world and the introspective world of the mind were home to the divine, and they sought, through their art, to glorify and explore these worlds with an emotional appeal to the senses.
The romantic period was, I believe, a creative revitalization equal in magnitude and magnificence to the Renaissance--not least for the increased opportunities it presented for women. As social mores shifted and the world began to embrace bold personal expression, Western culture became more accepting of high-achieving women in the public sphere. Individualism, atheism, and nationalism gave rise to a new spirit of egalitarianism, which in turn contributed to feminism. Where there was a dearth of female composers in the classical period, the romantic is simply bursting with the rich histories of musical women across Europe and America. I can't wait to explore this further over the next few weeks.
Schueller, H. M. (1962). Romanticism Reconsidered. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 20(4), 359-368. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/427898
Huddleston, G. H. (1993). Classicism and Romanticism. The English Journal, 82(4), 70-71. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/820856
"It does not want to renew or renovate; it does not want to repeat or codify; classifications are inimical to it in its extremest phases. The impulse is dynamic, and the possibilities for success seem to it endless. Romanticism is the highest degree of everything achieved by whatever means, and in realizing itself it destroys what frustrates it, and especially if these are conventions...It wants to go beyond the present in time, the present place in space, the forms of expression and speech in which it is bound, the orders, organizations, and arrangements existing in economic, religious, and political life, the forms already set and declared in art, the confines of outward public life, the restrictions placed upon the individual."
In the 19th century, the industrial revolution took hold of Europe, leading to rapid advancement in not only economic but social and moral practices. As urban centers developed, the rising forces of capitalism and mercantilism led to competition among cities, countries, and individuals. This created a heightened sense of nationalism (reflected in music via an emphasis on folk tunes and traditions) as well as a newfound desire for individuality. As social class was increasingly tied to economic status rather than birth, social standards became more malleable; the nouveau riche did not have to adhere to the strict behavioral codes of the nobility, and the poor could, for the first time, truly aspire to greatness.
Romanticism arose also as a reaction to the structured attitudes of the Enlightenment (which coincided with the classical period in music). Artists rebelled against the stringent rationality of neoclassicism as well as the impersonality of industrialization, favoring passion, spontaneity, and subjective expression over reason and order. While the Enlightenment had weakened Christianity's chokehold on Europe, the romantic period saw an unprecedented rejection of the strictures of church and state, with artists embracing religious symbolism more as a kind of mythology--a means to an aesthetic end. For the romantics, the natural world and the introspective world of the mind were home to the divine, and they sought, through their art, to glorify and explore these worlds with an emotional appeal to the senses.
The romantic period was, I believe, a creative revitalization equal in magnitude and magnificence to the Renaissance--not least for the increased opportunities it presented for women. As social mores shifted and the world began to embrace bold personal expression, Western culture became more accepting of high-achieving women in the public sphere. Individualism, atheism, and nationalism gave rise to a new spirit of egalitarianism, which in turn contributed to feminism. Where there was a dearth of female composers in the classical period, the romantic is simply bursting with the rich histories of musical women across Europe and America. I can't wait to explore this further over the next few weeks.
Schueller, H. M. (1962). Romanticism Reconsidered. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 20(4), 359-368. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/427898
Huddleston, G. H. (1993). Classicism and Romanticism. The English Journal, 82(4), 70-71. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/820856