In reference to music, the Romantic era was a period of music that started in the early 19th Century. The exact dates of this era are given, as 1815-1910. One of the greatest composers of this period was Franz Schubert. The music of the Romantic era was quite distinct from music of this Classical era, which had just preceded this era. There was a lot of freedom exhibited in the composition of the music of this era. The music placed more importance on the expression of emotion. There was also a tendency to explore imagination, adventure and fantasy though the music of this period. Another distinct characteristic of the music of the Romantic period was that it placed great emphasis on the use of lyrical melodies. The melodies were richer in texture and were often comprised of chromatic harmonies and the use of discords. The music of this era displaced some sense of vagueness when it came to the harmony and the tonality of the music. This aspect was also minimally present to the meter and the rhythm. The other major musical development that took place during the Romantic era was the expansion of the classical orchestra. This was particularly in regards to the brass section, which from this period onwards tended to dominate most of the composition’s textures. There was also the development of a distinct music shape that was exhibited through the utilization of recurrent themes such as religion, nature and nationalism.
As observed, the romantic era displayed unique elements. To get a better outlook of these characteristics, one sample music from the Romantic era is going to be analyzed. This is Franz Schubert’s symphony number 5 in B flat major. This exemplary piece of music exhibits most of the characteristics of the Romantic era music. The piece exhibits great advancement in power and freedom, two of the most distinct characteristics of Romantic era music. The piece contains a very attractive physiognomy and a keen listen and analysis reveals the joyous and buoyant spirit. There is the use of spontaneous melody in this piece of music. As mentioned earlier, one of the most distinguishable characteristics of Romantic era music was the emphasis on one theme and Schubert’s symphony is a depiction of this where there is the use of only one principal theme. There is constant use of repetition in the piece and a prevalent use of discords and chromatic harmonies.
The one aspect of the Romantic period that is however not utilized in this piece is the use of the expanded orchestra. Schubert largely utilizes a smaller orchestra, which derives most of its characteristics form the Classical period but the arrangement, and content of music in spite of this orchestra displays almost all other romantic characteristics.
The most distinguishable aspect of Schubert’s Symphony Number 5 in B flat major is the amount of emotion that is present in this piece. The emotion aspect of the piece is brought out through the use of several techniques that include a slow and smooth introduction played out by the string section, the tossing of the theme frequently between members of the strings section, specifically the bass and the cello. The use of chromatic harmonies is another aspect that helps to bring the emotional aspect of the song.
Schubert’s symphony is considered to be one of the best Romantic period music compositions and from the analysis above it is clear why. By his use of exquisite musical technique and some minor borrowings from the classical era, Schubert was able to a Romantic music era masterpiece.
References
Ferris, J. (2008). Music: The art of listening (8th ed.). New York, N.Y: McGraw-Hill.
