Music 3812
Study Guide #13
Sonata, Symphony, and Opera in the Early Classic Period

Assignment: Grout and Palisca, Chapter 13
            Read: 439-457
            Skim: 457-460
            Read: 461-466
            Skim: 466-469
            Read: 469-477
            Skim: 477-478
            Read: 478-479

Study Questions:

1. In general, be able to describe the philosophy of the Enlightenment and its rela-
      tionship to late 18th-century society--p.439-440

2. In what respects did the internationalization of late 18th-century life and thought
      influence the music of the period?--p. 441-442

3. In what ways did the rise of the middle class lead to greater popularization of
      music?--p. 443-444*

4. What kind of music did the late 18th-century audience desire?--p. 444

5. What are the inherent problems with the concept of a "Classic" period or a
      "Viennese" school or style?--p. 445

6. What is rococo?--p. 445-446 galant style?--p. 446 Empfindsamkeit?--p.
      446-447

7. How did the syntax of phrase structure change in the new style of the late 18th
      century?--p. 447

8. How did harmonic movement change in the late 18th century? What is an Alberti
      bass?--p. 447-448

9.What happened to the Baroque concept of the "single affection" in the late 18th
      century?--p. 448-449

10. What are the charactreristics of early opera buffa?--p. 451-452 of the inter-
      mezzo?--p. 452-453

11. What are the characteristics of the opera seria as devised by Metastasio?--p.
      455-456**

12. How did Italian da capo aria style change during the 18th century? How did it
      incorporate structural methods of instrumental music?--p. 456-457***

13. What is the historical significance of the development of comic opera?--p. 461

14. How did comic opera in Italy change after the middle of the 18th century? What
      is an intermezzo? a drama giocoso? an ensemble finale?--p. 461

15. What are the characteristics of French opéra comique?--p. 462 of English bal-
      lad opera?--p. 462-463 of German Singspiel?--p. 463 How did Singspiel dif-
      fer in northern and southern Germany?--p. 463

16. What are the elements of the reform operas of Jommelli and Traetta?--p.
      463-464

17. What are the features of Gluck’s reform style?--p. 464-465

18. What was the Querelle (guerre) des bouffons?--p. 465-466 What role did
      Gluck play in this controversy?--p. 466****

19. How did Scarlatti organize his sonatas? What are the details of the resulting
      form?--p. 469-470 (and NAWM 92)

20. Review the elements of sonata form--p. 471—472*****

21. How is the early Italian symphony related to the Italian opera overture?--p. 472
      What is the structure of the first movement of Sammartini’s Symphony No.
      32?--p. 472 (and NAWM 93)

22. What elements of the empfindsamer Stil are found in C.P.E. Bach’s works?--p.
      472-475 How does he employ ornamentation?--p. 475

23. What are the different characteristics of the Mannheim, Viennese, and Berlin
      schools?--p. 475-476******

24. What is significant about J.C. Bach’s keyboard concertos?--p. 476 How are
      elements of ritornello and sonata form reconciled?--p. 476-477

25. How did the composition of the symphony orchestra change during the late 18th
      century?--p. 478-479

*Note that this is a continuation of the trend towards public patronage that began in the Baroque era.

**Note that he was a poet (librettist), not a composer.

***Some of this material was covered in class under the late Baroque, especially with reference to Mar-
      cello’s satire and Handel’s operas.

****This matter also was covered in class under the late Baroque, especially with reference to Rameau’s
      operas.

*****Note that it is a 19th-century abstraction which individual works may not always reflect precisely.

******Note that Stamitz is the first composer to use contrasting ideas in the tonic and relative key sections
      of a sonata form, a feature adapted by Viennese composers. Berlin composers, on the other hand, were
      more conservative and avoided thematic contrasts