VOCAL MUSIC OF
THE ROMANTIC
PERIOD
⮚ Composers interpret poems, mood, atmosphere and
imagery into music.
⮚ Romantic artists found inspiration in landscapes.
⮚ Their subjects were traditional myths, legends and folklore
usually dealing with the supernatural, grotesque, and less
ordinary.
⮚ Vocal music in this period require singers to perform a
greater range of tone color, dynamics and pitch.
⮚ Opera became an important source of musical expressions.
⮚ The birth of the opera houses came.
COMPOSERS OF
VOCAL MUSIC
ROMANTIC
PERIOD
⮚ Schubert was born on the 31st of January 1797
Franz Peter in Himmelpfortgrund, Austria
⮚ The proper name for Franz Schubert songs is
Schubert lieder, which is the German word for song.
⮚ He is considered the last of the classical
composers and one of the first romantic ones.
⮚ His famous vocal music works/ Lieder were:
“Gretchen am Spinnrade”, “Erlkonig”, “Ellens
Gesang III” (“Ave Maria”) and “Schwanenge
sang” (“Swan Song”).
⮚ He also wrote piano pieces, string quartets,
operetta and the Symphony No.8 in B minor
(“Unfinished Symphony”)
⮚ He died in 1828 in Vienna, Austria at 31.
⮚ Verdi was born in Parma, Italy on October
9, 1813.
Giuseppe Verdi ⮚He studied in Busseto and later went to Milan
where his first opera “Oberto” was performed
in La Scala, the most important opera house at
the time.
⮚His final opera ends with “All the world’s
a joke.”
⮚His famous works are La Traviata, Rigoletto,
Falstaff, Otello and Aida were he wrote for the
opening of the Suez Canal.
⮚Expressive vocal melody is the soul of a Verdi
opera.
⮚He died in Milan, Italy on January
27,1901.
⮚ Giacomo Puccini was born in a
Giacomo poor family on December 22, 1858
in Lucca, Italy.
Puccini ⮚He studied at the Milan Conservatory.
⮚He belonged to a group of composers
who stressed realism, therefore, he
drew material from everyday life,
rejecting heroic themes from
mythology and history.
⮚Puccini’s famous operas were: “La
Boheme”, “Tosca”, “Madame
Butterfly”, and “Turandot”.
ROMANTIC
OPERA
ROMANTIC
PERIOD
OPERA
■ became increasingly popular during the Romantic period.
■ It is a story (libretto) told by the composers through music
while using the words of the librettist. They work closely
together to tell the story.
■ The book that the composer and librettist put together is called
a score.
■ The score has all the musical notes, words and ideas to
help the performers tell the story.
COMPONEN
TS OPER
A
Components:
⮚the texts of an
opera.
⮚Librettist and the
Libretto composer work
closely together to tell
the story.
⮚the book that the
Components: composer and librettist put
together.
⮚has all the musical notes,
words and ideas to help
the performers tell the
story.
Score ⮚Often, there are operas
with overtures, preludes,
prologues, several acts,
finales and postludes.
⮚Declamatory singing, used in
the prose parts and dialogue
Components: of opera.
⮚Different roles in operas are
created taking into account
different types of voices.
⮚Each role requires a different
Recitative type of singer, not only able
to sing a given vocal range
but also with certain voice
characteristics, color and
power.
⮚Declamatory singing, used in
the prose parts and dialogue
Components: of opera.
⮚Different roles in operas are
created taking into account
different types of voices.
⮚Each role requires a different
Aria type of singer, not only able
to sing a given vocal range
but also with certain voice
characteristics, color and
power.
⮚an air or solo singing part
Components: that the public will
remember best when
leaving the opera house.
⮚Properly and well sung, a
Aria beautiful aria can bring an
audience to its feet and
decide the fate of an entire
opera.
Components:
⮚Main division
Acts
of an opera
Components:
⮚Setting or place
Scene
OTHER
COMPONENT
■ Duet, trio, and other small
S:
ensemble
■ Chorus
■ Orchestra
VOICE
CLASSIFICATION
S
For MALE
Tenor ⮚highest male voice
⮚Middle male voice, lies
between Bass and Tenor
Baritone voices. It is the common
male voice.
Bass ⮚lowest male voice
For FEMALE
Soprano ⮚ highest female voice
⮚ most common female voice;
Mezzo strong middle voice, tone is
darker or deeper than the
soprano
Soprano
⮚ lowest female voice and most
unique among female
Contralto
MUSICAL
TERMS
⮚one or more singers
A Capella performing without
instrumental
accompaniment
Cantabille ⮚Singing style
Capo ⮚Head, the
beginning
Coda ⮚Closing section
appended to a
movement or
song
Dolce ⮚sweetly
⮚A weaker and
Falsetto more airy voice
usually in the
higher pitch
ranges
⮚Sliding quickly
Glissando between two
notes
⮚Parts of singing
Passagio voice where
register transition
occur
⮚Slight speeding up
or slowing down
Rubato of the tempo of a
piece at the
discretion of the
soloist
⮚Most comfortable
singing range of a
Tessitura singer
⮚Rapidly
repeated slight
Vibrato pitch variation
during a
sustained note
