Previously I wrote about the genre of rock music, and how I think we need to eliminate all of the sub-genres under rock music. Today I would like to write about classical music and why I am disheartened that all the music that is considered “classical” encompasses so many different styles. I dissent with this label as the music is far from just “classical.”

The study of classical music encompasses the earliest known compositions from the Pre-History and Medieval periods to present. The earliest known music in print is a tablet from the Sumerian culture. We have instruments made of bone or wood that have survived the eons of history. We know music has been a part of human culture for millennia. Classical music is far deeper than one genre. We have historical style periods and usually they are divided by era: Medieval-Renaissance, Baroque, Classical (and Rococo,) Romantic, Impressionism, Neo-classical, Serialism, Expressionism, Neo-Romantic, Electro-Acoustic, Minimalism, Musique Concrete, Atonality, Post-Modern, and one could add a whole genre to Experimental music.

Beyond the styles of classical music we have specific forms or ensembles of music. The symphony is an instrumental piece in multiple movements for band and orchestra that may include vocalists or full blown choirs. The chant, motet, cantata, mass, and oratorio are choral works with or without wind or orchestral accompaniment. The concerto may feature an instrumental soloist, an ensemble, or even the entire band or orchestra. The opera or musical theatre is a staged drama where some or all parts are sung (acted) with orchestral accompaniment. There is a chamber music genre where soloists or small groups (quartets, quintets, sextets, septets, octets, etc.) play specific pieces for smaller rooms instead of large halls. The most common are string quartets/quintets, brass/woodwind quintets, piano soloist, and vocal or instrumental soloist with piano. There are suites of music for dances, incidental music for plays, overtures, tone poems, film pieces, song cycles, and even marches or salon pieces for chamber orchestras (No winds or percussion just strings.)

It is odd to compare a symphony by American composer Philip Glass with a motet by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina under the guise of classical music. Glass employs a minimalist style where repetition and harmonic development is the norm with the polyphonic writing of a Renaissance composer. There are different rules at play for each composition, yet they occupy the same genre in a record store or vie for listenership on public radio. One can draw lines of succession between Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, and Arnold Schoenberg as each composer advances the music of their time period in similar ways. Bach was the prolific Baroque composer whose counterpoint is studied and modeled after by nearly every composer. Beethoven (following Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) expands on the forms and structures of his Classical Style contemporaries while ushering in the Romantic Styles. Brahms continues well into the Romantic period using similar traditions as Beethoven. His contemporaries are more daring in their approach (Anton Bruckner, Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, Antonin Dvorak, etc…) Schoenberg an expressionist composer pushes the envelope into a serial twelve tone technique where all 12 tones of the chromatic scale are treated equally. He practiced this theory of composition using baroque period forms in what is now called the Second Viennese School with two pupils Anton Webern and Alban Berg.

Where does one begin or end for that matter discussing such a broad topic? Well I am going to share some pieces that I think capture the style period well. I’ve included some of my favorites, and none of them are concert band music oddly enough.

Medieval Period – Chant I, II, III – The Benedictine Monks of Santa Domingo de Silos. These three recordings capture the essence of early music within the catholic church. The music is a single line of melody over which the text is sung. I use this music for relaxation when completely overwhelmed by stress. Since I am an atheist, the music serves no spiritual purpose. I appreciate the aesthetic though.

Renaissance – An important vocal work by Palestrina is the Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass.) The Kyrie is commonly studied. I remember toiling through this work as an undergraduate. It was more fun listening to it than analyzing it. I’m also partial to the Canzone per Sonars by Giovanni Gabrielli. These instrumental works are very creatively scored. I have played many of these adapted for modern instrumentation. A great example of this music is The Antiphonal Music of Giovanni Gabrielli as performed by the Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago Brass Ensembles with E. Power Biggs playing the pipe organ. This is a Sony Classical release. Many libraries may have a copy on vinyl or compact disc. Some of it is available on Spotify.

Baroque – Three pieces: Cello Suites, Brandenburg Concerti, Mass in B Minor. The Cello Suites either Yo Yo Ma or Mstislav Rostropovich are excellent recordings. There are six concerti. The Sir Neville Mariner recordings are available online to listen too. The Mass by the Monteverdi Choir online will be a good start if you love choral music. Yes, I’m leaving out George Frederich Handel’s Oratorios… Bach is the king… I still find his music engaging even though most of it is church music.

Classical – Symphony #1 – Ludwig van Beethoven, Don Giovanni Opera – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Cello Concerti – Franz Joseph Haydn. All three can be perused online. These are the three great masters of the Classical Style. I do love the symphonies by all three masters, and I have the complete symphonies by all three composers. The opera is my favorite Mozart opera with The Magic Flute a close second. I love the cello concerti by Haydn, they are a great advancement for the instrument.

Romantic – Requiem – Giuseppe Verdi, Symphony #2 – Gustav Mahler, Tristan and Isolde Opera – Richard Wagner, Concerto for Violin and Cello – Johannes Brahms. These are some favorites, but to be honest I can label more than one work by each composer as an excellent example of romantic period literature. I’m sorry opera lovers… I’ll feel like I’m ignoring so much great music…

20th century – I am going to give one piece for each style. Lamer – Claude Debussy (Impressionism,) Firebird Ballet – Igor Stravinsky (Neoclassical,) The Transfigured Night – Arnold Schoenberg (Expressionist,) Five Pieces for Orchestra – Anton Webern (12-tone,) Le Marteau sans maître – Pierre Boulez (expanded serialism,) The Canyon – Philip Glass (minimalism,) Symphony #1 – John Corigliano (Neo-romanticism) I’m purposely skipping a few styles. This list presented here will overwhelm you. Schoenberg, Webern, and Boulez by themselves will make you question is this music. It is perfectly designed music, but one must have some training in serialism/12-tone technique to pick up the patterns musically. They are great challenges for me to listen to. I have to focus everything on them, otherwise it becomes background noise. The Glass, Corigliano, Debussy, and Stravinsky titles are all very accessible.

21st century – Post modern music. Doctor Atomic Opera – John Adams, Becoming Ocean – John Luther Adams, Tales of Hemingway for Cello and Orchestra – Michael Daugherty, Sleep – Eric Whitacre (Choral work,) Violin Concerto – Jennifer Higdon. This is a few pieces in the last 25 years that make my favorites list. The most interesting work here orchestrally is Becoming Ocean. John Luther Adams’ music draws inspiration from nature. The opera by John Adams captures the days leading up to the first nuclear test in the New Mexico Desert with Robert Oppenheimer. It is a powerful work. The Eric Whitacre choral work is beautiful, but it really does not capture Post-modern. I would say it is more neo-romantic in nature.

There you have it, an enormous amount of music that barely scratches the surface of styles and developments within music that is labeled classical. When I am asked, “What is your favorite piece of classical music?” My reply is, “What style, what century?” It is too difficult to name one single piece. Classical music is too large of a genre to be pigeon holed as one narrow band. Rock music not so much. Thanks for your time, and I hope you listen to a few of these pieces. Stretch your ears, take some chances. It is quite alright if you do not like the music. The goal is to inform, not convince…

…so it goes…