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Era of Romantic Music

The Romantic period (1830-1900) influenced art, music, and literature with a focus on emotions and nature. It was a time for composers to be free and experiment with their music. Romantic composers based their musical creations from deep emotions and the goal of a piece was to tell a story or paint a picture through the emotion the piece evokes. The Classical period preceded the Romantic period. The Classical period's focus was on specific homophonic sounds, achieved by accompanying parts in the same rhythm as the melody. Romantic composers grew impatient with the Classical period's specific sound requirements, and aimed to create unique, odd-sounding harmonies. Romantic composer's desire for their music to sound unique and free derived from their need for liberation, and this in turn was a reflection of society's aspirations to become more independent. This focus on individualism throughout Europe was reflected in the Romantic period of music.

Sense of Nationalism

Nationalism in Europe

Nationalism: Identification with one's own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.

The French Revolution (1789-1799) inspired ideas of liberty and equality among Europe, and the people began to desire rights and the ability to be independent for their nation. After the fall of Napoleon, who led the French Revolution, the Congress of Vienna was held to balance the powers of Europe and to prevent another disastrous war from occurring. At the meeting, the European powers redrew the map of Europe, but the new boundaries disregarded the grouping of nationalities and the people it affected. Patriots who thought their political and cultural boundaries were violated rebelled, and the map was quickly rejected. This led to multiple nationalistic revolutions throughout Europe. Europeans wished for recognition of their culture and nationality, and for greater political freedom. Many tried to achieve this by becoming an independent state, but some only wished for the Great Powers to recognize their nationality. People began to recognize their individuality, and used their drive of dissatisfaction with the previous political and social norms of Europe, to implement a change. The people's goal for reform was similar to Romantic composers' ideologies that developed the unique music from the Romantic period.

French Revolution

Revolutions of 1848

Greece's Fight for Independence

Nationalism in Romantic Music

Music nationalism: Term used to describe art music that was created with the intention to promote nationalism or help inspire patriotic sentiment.

Folk Music in Romantic Pieces

Folk music is generally used to represent a nation and its culture. It became extremely popular during the 1800s-1900s, the same time of the Romantic music period, due to an increased sense of nationalism among the people. Composers slowly began to incorporate folk tunes into their works, which was a difficult task at first, but eventually full symphonies were inspired by folk music. For example, Chopin wrote a series of pieces called Mazurkas, which are peasant dances originating from Poland. Folk music was a way for Romantic composers to be creative and unique with their music. It also let composers connect with the people and their culture, which was important during this era of nationalism.

This piece is an example of one of Chopin's Mazurkas, in which he incorporated the traditional polish folk tune into his work.

Freedom of Form and Design in Romantic Music

One of the main factors of Romantic music was that it allowed composers to freely design pieces that were against the social norm. There was a general impatience with the strict tone and harmonies of Classicism, and composers began to experiment more in their works. Composers began to incorporate large chromatic scales and drastic transitions between loud dramatics and peaceful harmonies into their pieces. Nature was also a major source of inspiration for Romantic pianists following the Age of Enlightenment. This intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europeans' thinking during the 18th century highlighted the rationalization of nature and dove more deeply into how the world has evolved and developed, which is why so many composers incorporated an aspect of nature into their work. This experimentation marked the beginning of the Romantic period when composers´ goals were to be different and individualistic. However, composers were not the only ones who were longing for a sense of change. The stirrings of nationalistic feelings began to develop among the people of Europe. The desire for reform and to be individualistic were major aspects of both the Romantic Period and the nationalistic movement.

The piece La Campanella by Liszt is very dynamic and incorporates unique, wide ranging harmonies and chord progressions.

Musical Embodiment of Nationalism

The best example of a romantic composer who used his music to bolster nationalistic pride was Richard Wagner. Wagner was a proud German composer who wrote many famous operas and symphonic pieces. He was actively involved in the German nationalistic movements, including the German Revolution of 1848. His work was known for its complex texture, rich harmonies, and embodiment of German nationalism. Wagner based most of his works off of German mythology. One of his most famous works, The Ring of the Nibelung, was a drama based on the Germanic mythology of how the Gods created the world and introduced evil in order to control humanity, but ultimately failed and ended up powerless. Wagner included multiple hidden nationalistic messages throughout the opera. One of the main themes in The Ring is the incompatibility of love and power, which was a rising issue in Germany at the time because of Germany's developing military and need for power. Wagner tried to foretell the near impossibility of obtaining extreme power, and still being able to love and be loved, in his work. He also created many Germanic versions of other famous plays, such as Romeo and Juliet and the Fisher King. Wagner's music became a popular symbol for German nationalism, and in some ways its popularity represented the growing support for nationalism in Germany, which would eventually lead to forms of radical German nationalistic movements.

Above is a part of one of the four major works of The Ring of Nibelung, Gotterdammerung, which translates as "Twilight of the Gods," and is the major finale to the 15 hour opera.