Instrumental

Music
Objectives
After the completion of this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify the various genres in music

2. Make a creative interpretation of the different of different
musical genres
3. Translate sound or music into a new form and context
What is Instrumental Music?
An instrumental is a recording without any vocals,
although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as
shouted backup vocals in a Big Band setting. Through
semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may
refer to instrumentals. The music is primarily or exclusively
produced using musical instruments. An instrumental can
exist in music notation, after it is written by a composer, in
the mind of the composer (especially in cases where the
composer themselves will perform the piece, as in the case
of a blues solo guitarist or a folk music fiddle player).
BAROQUE
MUSIC
WHAT IS BAROQUE?
The English word baroque is derived from the Italian barocco,
meaning bizarre, though probably exuberant would be a
better translation more accurately reflecting the sense. The
usage of this term originated in the 1860s to describe the
highly decorated style of 17th and 18th century religious and
public buildings in Italy, Germany and Austria, as typified by
the very baroque angelic organist heading this column and
adorming the Gottfried Silbermann organ completed in 1714
for the Cathedral in Freiberg, Saxony.
Listen to music of the 1200s and 1300s. It's relatively primitive in
terms of melody and harmony. If we move to the 1500s, we find a
great difference, as Italian music began to blossom and English
composers like Dowland, Morley and Tomkins produced the
wonderful melodies and surprisingly sensitive poetry which
accompanied them or vice versa. A major theme underlying music at
that time however was the exploration of form. There was still so
much new to discover: new melodic lines and harmonic progressions
to be explored, new combinations of instruments, and new forms in
music such as the fugue, canon, and variations on a bassline, a
popular tune or a chorale.
Two geographical influences were at work here. In north Germany
and Holland, composers such as Froberger, Kerll, and particularly
Dietrich Buxtehude were concentrating mainly on the art of
counterpoint, especially the fuque. Here, organ and voice were the
major elements. At the other end of Europe, in Rome, the
instrumental forms of the sonata and concerto were formalized.
Every period in music has certain recognizable clichés, and much of
what is typical in baroque music, specific cadences and snatches of
melody, can be traced back to one Arcangelo Corelli, who seems to
have influenced just about everybody, from his Italian
contemporaries and students to Handel who sojourned in Rome
from 1704 to 1710.
It is also important, when studying the composers
and their music of the baroque or indeed any age,
to review the circumstances in which composers
worked. Take Vivaldi for example. Though he
wrote many fine concertos (like the Four Seasons
and the Opus 3) he also wrote many works which
sound like five-finger exercises for students. And
this is precisely what they were. Vivaldi was
employed for most of his working life by the
Ospedale della Pietà. Often termed an
orphanage", this Ospedale was in fact a home for
the female offspring of noblemen and their
numerous dalliances with their mistresses.
Two major influences in Germany were the Church and the State, or
rather, States. Neither Italy nor Germany existed then as we know
them today. Germany was a complex mass of small princely states,
each with its own Court and, with any luck, Court Musicians. Alliances
came and went as princely families inter-married thus uniting, for a
time anyway, their respective territories. That is why so many
princely titles of those days were hyphenated, as for example,
Anhalt-Köthen or Saxe-Coburg. Many a composer's fortunes rose or
fell with the status accorded to music at the court in which he was
serving, and composer- musicians would try to seek a position in a
city or court where music was known, for the time being anyway, to
be thriving under the patronage of an enthusiastic king or prince.
A brief look at the life of Handel illustrates both
the mobility, and the influence of royal patronage
on a composerendal typical of the baroque age.
Georg Friederich Händel was born in Halle
(Germany), on February 23rd, 1685, just a month
before JS Bach was born in Eisenach, not so far to
the south. Handel's father intended him for the
law, but his own musical inclinations soon
prevailed. Following his studies in Germany,
Handel went to Italy where he spent more than
three years, in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice.
In Rome he studied with Corelli, and no doubt met
and exchanged ideas with a number of other
Italian composers.
Handel became deeply involved, both
artistically and commercially, in the
growing London opera scene. Later,
during the 1730s he would lean more to
the English musical forms, the oratorio,
ode and the like, and his Messiah
belongs very much to the anglican
anthem tradition. When Handel died on
April 14th, 1759 he was buried in
Westminster Abbey, recognized in
England as the greatest composer of his
day.
In the music of JS Bach, the different forms and
styles of the baroque came together and were
brought to perfection. Johann Sebastian Bach
came from a musical family stretching back
through many generations, and the Bachs were
well-known throughout their "home ground of
Thuringia in what is now southeast Germany.
The Bach family members were church and court
musicians, teachers, and one or two were
instrument- makers. Though Bach himself
traveled less than some of his contemporaries,
he seems to have been able to draw freely and
widely on the developments taking place
throughout the western musical world as indeed
were all the other major composers.
When Bach died in 1750, he left a legacy
which summarized his art, his life's work in
which he had, by general recognition,
brought baroque musical forms to the peak
of their development. He left 48 Preludes
and Fugues for the keyboard adopting the
new "equal temperament enabling all keys
to be played equally and modulation
between keys; he left us the Art of the Fuque
(complete, though many deny this, attaching
an incomplete fugue which is not part of the
"Art"), and the Goldberg Variations, a set of
30 Variations on a popular tune.
After Bach music took a different turn.
Even the music of his sons, with the
possible exception of Wilhelm
Friedemann, was quite different in
character, expressing the new "gallant"
style which was lighter, with less stress
on pure form - and having its own set of
"clichés"! Here we find composers such
as Haydn and Mozart, to be followed by
the "romantic" composers such as
Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
Music which is melodious yet so constructed as to reflect
the "perfect order" of the universe: that is the essence of
the baroque. In the words of baroque composer and
theorist Johann Joseph Fux: "A composition meets the
demands of good taste if it is well constructed, avoids
trivialities as well as willful eccentricities, aims at the
sublime, but moves in a natural ordered way, combining
brilliant ideas with perfect workmanship."
These days more and more people are seeking a return to
music for the mind, music combining beauty with the
order of an underlying architecture and structure. So we
are witnessing a resurgence of interest in the baroque,
and those who are fortunate enough to be as yet
unfamiliar with it have a wonderful experience awaiting
them.
Classical
Music
What is Classical Music?
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western
world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular
music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical
music, as the term "classical music" can also be applied to non-
Western art musics. Classical music is often characterized by
formality and complexity in its musical form and harmonic
organization, particularly with the use of polyphony. Since at least
the ninth century it has been primarily a written tradition, spawning
a sophisticated notational system, as well as accompanying
literature in analytical, critical, historiographical, musicological and
philosophical practices.
Famous Composers of Classical
Music
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–
1827)
The German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven is
widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He
expanded the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn, one of his
teachers, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and experimented
with personal expression, a characteristic that influenced the
Romantic composers who succeeded him.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
(1685–1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and
organist of the Baroque period. His contemporaries
admired him for his talent as a musician but thought his
compositions were old-fashioned.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
(1756–91)
An Austrian composer of the Classical period, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart is widely recognized as one of the
greatest composers of Western music. He is the only
composer to write and excel in all of the musical genres
of his time.
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–97)
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist
of the Romantic period, but he was more a disciple of
the Classical tradition. He wrote in many genres,
including symphonies, concerti, chamber music, piano
works, and choral compositions, many of which reveal
the influence of folk music.
RICHARD WAGNER (1813–83)
The German composer and theorist Richard Wagner
extended the opera tradition and revolutionized Western
music. His dramatic compositions are particularly known
for the use of leitmotifs, brief musical motifs for a
character, place, or event, which he skillfully transformed
throughout a piece.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)
The French composer Claude Debussy is often regarded as
the father of modern classical music. Debussy developed
new and complex harmonies and musical structures that
evoke comparisons to the art of his contemporary
Impressionist and Symbolist painters and writers.
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840–93)
Writing music with broad emotional appeal during
the Romantic period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
became one of the most popular Russian
composers of all time.

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–49)

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist
of the Romantic period. He was one of few composers to
devote himself to a single instrument, and his sensitive
approach to the keyboard allowed him to exploit all the
resources of the piano, including innovations in fingering
and pedaling.
JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809)
The Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was one of the
most important figures in the development of the
Classical style of music during the 18th century. He
helped establish the forms and styles for the string
quartet and symphony.

ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678–1741)

Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer and violinist of the
Baroque period. He wrote music for operas, solo instruments,
and small ensembles, but he is often celebrated for his
concerti, in which virtuoso solo passages alternate with
passages for the whole orchestra.
Romantic Music
What is Romantic Music?
Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western orchestral
music associated with the period of the nineteenth century
commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic Period).
It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism-the
intellectual, artistic and literary movement that became
prominent in Europe from approximately 1800 until 1910.
Famous Composers of
Romantic Music
CLARA SCHUMANN
Clara Schumann was a gifted composer at a time where the
profession was highly male-dominated. Her career began as a
child prodigy pianist, taught by her father Friedrich Wieck
who insisted on spending time teaching her harmony and
counterpoint so she could go on to perform her own works.

RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner was a revolutionary operatic composer. He
worked according to his theory that music, poetry
and drama are inseparable. He used Leitmotifs
throughout his music.
FRANZ SCHUBERT
Schubert wrote over 600 songs in total, and was at
the forefront of the Romantic Lieder tradition. He is
also known for his thrilling orchestral and chamber
works. Schubert had a gift for shaping a melody and
creating beautiful themes.

JOHANNES BRAHMS
Brahms followed the principles of form and
counterpoint that were familiar to composers of the
Classical era. The spirit of his music is, however,
much more Romantic.
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Italian composer Puccini made his mark on
opera. His music is effortlessly lyrical,
influenced by Wagner and Verdi, and sharing
similarities with more contemporary composers
such as Debussy and Stravinsky.
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz’s music is often technically difficult.
His use of harmony was seen at the time as
unconventional. He treated harmony as a
tool for expression rather than function.
ANTONIN DVOŘ ÁK
Czech composer Dvořák was experimental
in his early compositions. As his primary
job was as a viola player, he did not rely on
these works for an income.

JEAN SIBELIUS
When studying literature, the Finnish composer
discovered Kalevala, a mythological epic about
Finland. This influenced his composing as many of
his tone poems are inspired by it, including the
Lemminkäinen Suite.
FELIX MENDELSSOHN
Felix Mendelssohn was the most talented child
prodigy of all time. At fifteen his teacher
claimed Mendelssohn’s talents were equal to
those of Bach, Haydn and Mozart.

FANNY MENDELSSOHN
Fanny Mendelssohn was the older sister of
Felix Mendelssohn. Despite often being
overlooked, she composed around 500
brilliant works.
Modern Music
WHAT IS MODERN MUSIC?
It is an aesthetic stance underlying the period of
change and development in musical language that
occurred around the turn of the 20th century, a period
of diverse reactions in challenging and reinterpreting
older categories of music, innovations that led to new
ways of organizing and approaching harmonic,
melodic, sonic, and rhythmic aspects of music, and
changes in aesthetic worldviews in close relation to
the larger identifiable period of modernism in the arts
of the time.
Famous Composers
of Modern Music
MAX RICHTER
Composer, pianist, and producer, Max Richter is
one of the best-known classical composers at
work this century, with over one billion streams of
his music online, and a further one million album
sales.
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
Since the release of his debut album for solo
piano, Le Onde, in 1996, Ludovico Einaudi’s
name has become synonymous with
hypnotically minimalist piano music.
HILDUR GUÐNADÓTTIR
Born to a family of musicians, the Icelandic composer,
cellist, and vocalist Hildur Guðnadóttir is best known for
her award-winning film and TV scores. In 2019, her score
for the film Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert de
Niro, won both the Golden Globe Award and Oscar for Best
Original Score, as well as a BAFTA for Best Original Music.

ERIC WHITACRE
Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre is
responsible for some of the most glorious choral music of
the 21st century. Known for his close, crunchy, complex
harmonies, which form what he calls ‘the golden brick’, his
most famous works include Sleep, Cloudburst, and Lux
Aurumque.
HANS ZIMMER
The composer behind many of the 21st
century’s finest film scores, from Pirates of
the Caribbean and The Lion King to Gladiator
and Inception, Hans Zimmer holds 23
industry awards for his soundtracks.

YOKO SHIMOMURA
Japanese composer and pianist Yoko Shimomura is best
known for her emotive and highly beloved music for
video games. She began piano lessons aged between
four and five, and soon began noodling in her practice
sessions, coming up with her own original compositions.
WYNTON MARSALIS
Wynton Marsalis is an American trumpeter, composer,
and teacher, working in both jazz and classical genres.
With nine Grammy Awards under his belt, he is the only
musician to have won in both jazz and classical categories
in the same year at the awards – a feat he achieved aged
just 22, in 1983.

RACHEL PORTMAN
English composer Rachel Portman began writing
music as a teenager, becoming interested specifically
in film music at university in Oxford, where she began
composing for fellow students’ films and theatrical
productions.
ALMA DEUTSCHER
17-year-old composer, pianist and violinist Alma Deutscher
is one of the brightest young stars of her generation. She
wrote her first piano sonata at the age of five, with a short
opera, The Sweeper of Dreams following just two years
later. In 2016, when Deutscher was 11 years old, Zubin
Mehta sponsored the European premiere of her first full-
length opera, Cinderella.
JAMES MACMILLAN
Composer and conductor Sir James MacMillan is one of the
most eminent Scottish classical musicians of the 21st century.
His first major appearance on the classical scene came in
1990 with the premiere of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie –
an emotionally charged and powerful account of a young
woman in 17th century Scotland, who was accused and later
executed for witchcraft.
Conclusion
Instrumental music is an integral part of human life in many
different ways. It is used at a number of important events in
people's lives including weddings, graduations, and funerals to
name a few. Whether it be because of tradition or the comfort it
gives to us, music is present. People who listened to this type of
music experienced lower anxiety, depression, and stress levels. In
addition, classical and instrumental music have also been found to
improve cognitive function and help with pain management.
Thank
You
Activity
OUR TEAM
Lazarte, Nathaniel What are the various eras
Legaspi, Lezlie of Western classical music?
Leonido, J-Ann
Macabuhay, Mica How does learning
instrumental music help in
appreciating art