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Wow, Richard, there's a good read. Thanks

More bold Italics, Mr Cid?

Until Guido D'Arezzo developed a means of writing down music there is no history before plainchant that we can recreate. We know music was fairly important at the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs and was developed strongly by the classical Greeks but we have no way of knowing what their music sounded like. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the music died with it.

The music that emerged from the Dark Ages was plainchant and in the Renaissance music moved away from octaves and fifths and introduced thirds and cadences, song forms were developed. The troubadours of Spain started spreading these songs in contrast to the Church's influence and strongly ruled form of music. At the end of the sixteenth century we began to develop equal temperament, a more versatile way of dividing the octave than pure tone, and dissonance. This was the birth of the Baroque period and keyboard music.

In the Baroque period, the suite became the main vehicle for music. A suite is a collection of pieces in varying speeds along the slow-fast-slow-fast plan initiated by Corelli. The individual pieces were named after popular dances of the day which was as good a way as any of indicating the general metre and tempo. Bach's French suites followed an Allemande-Courante-Sarabande-Minuet & Double-Gigue sort of format.

The suite was transformed by CPE Bach and emerged as the sonata, the main vehicle in the classical times of Haydn and Mozart. It typically consisted of an intellectually engaging thematic movement followed by a slower, usually more melodic movement and finished with something more upbeat, typically a fast piece and commonly a Rondo, the musical equivalent of a sandwich. The sonata was so versatile a gameplan, relying on tonality rather than form for its structure that it became the backbone of all music, symphonies, overtures, Concertos, and intermission music for opera.

In Beethoven's hands the final movement became even weightier than the first movement, a sort of apotheosis. It also grew to four movements as Beethoven realised the need for lighter material between the ends.

Brahms' third sonata grew to five movements and around 35 minutes in length. The sonata became too big.

The Romantics looked for shorter pieces to express their personal feelings and emotions rather than an intellectual battle trying to top Beethoven. Schubert introduced lighter and more melodic material and shorter forms with his Impromptu's and Moments Musicaux. These led fairly directly to the Songs Without Words of Mendelssohn, and shorter pieces by Schumann. Chopin took inspiration from his native Poland and some of the classical ideas and developed Mazurkas, Polonaises, Waltzes and Nocturnes. His Ballades were fairly unique. He was, I believe, the first to use the term.

Liszt developed programme music and Legends while Brahms developed the Rhapsody, Caprice and Intermezzo.

An Etude is a study. They were first introduced in the late classical period and concentrated on technical development and could follow any mood or framework.

A title is a good indicator for interpretation and is more informative the more you understand of the composer who is using it and its historical perspective.

I think I see my boss coming...