The history of Western art music begins with Christian music. At the beginning of the 4th century, with the decline of the Roman Empire, Christianity emerged as an emerging force within the empire. In 313, the Roman Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, granting Christians freedom of belief, and he himself was baptized into Christianity before his death. Christianity took advantage of the situation to build churches in various places and preached extensively. As a tool to spread beliefs, music is attached to religious rituals and has developed rapidly. Early Christian music absorbed elements from ancient Greek, Jewish, Byzantine, Eastern countries, and local Christian church music.
The main functions of ancient Greek and Roman music were sacrifices, entertainment and ceremonies. Its musical form is monophonic, and the instrumental music adds decoration to the melody sung by the human voice to form branch polyphony. The musical instruments include the plucked instrument lyre and its improved type kisara; the wind instruments include avros and syringes. Musical genres include epic, ode, lyric and tragedy. Musical performances are basically improvisational in nature. Music is always combined with poetry and dance. The Christian church rejected ancient Roman music that reminded believers of pagan life. The form of early Christian music is very close to that of ancient Greek music. They are also monophonic, and the melody is closely related to the lyrics in terms of rhythm and beat. There is no fixed notation and mainly improvisation. Although no musical examples of ancient Greek music can be seen in the Middle Ages, ancient Greek music theory was the basis of medieval music theory. It includes the philosophy of music as well as the theory of scales, modes, and musical terminology. This theory believes that music is an orderly system related to nature. Music has moral power and can affect people's ideological quality. It is worth noting that the myths, epics, and tragedies of ancient Greece and Rome have always been a great inspiration to Western music.
As for the legacy of Jewish music, music historians have long believed that Christian rituals were modeled after synagogues, but without documentary support, today's scholars are skeptical. The Byzantine influence deserves attention. Byzantium (or Constantinople) was designated as the capital of the Roman Empire in 330. The music there incorporated a large number of musical elements from Eastern countries and spread to the West. For example, Syrian hymns spread to Rome and Milan, especially the eight modes of Christian chant transmitted to Byzantium, are considered to have originated from Eastern countries. The Middle Ages began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 467. At this time, the Western countries were fragmented and the liturgy and chants were not uniform across the country. There were several local centers for the development of doctrine and chant in the 5th and 6th centuries: Gaul in the Frankish Kingdom, Benevento in Italy, Mozabique in Spain, the Roman city of Rome, and Milan. In 590, Gregory became pope. According to legend, he sent people to collect and compile psalms from various places into a collection of psalms, unify the ordinances and psalms of the Roman Church, and rebuild the singing school of the Roman Church. Christian chants are named after his surname, called Gregorian chants or plain songs. Gregorian chant is used in liturgical services. Its content is taken from the Bible and sung in Latin. It is a monophonic song without a fixed beat and without accompaniment. Its melody can be divided into syllabic, newm and flower singing styles according to the relationship between lyrics and music. Starting around the 8th century, psalms were classified according to their modes. In the development process of monophonic chants, there have been recitative chants with lyrics for inserted melody passages; additional sections as prefaces to regular chants or interspersed in the middle of chants; religious ritual dramas developed from additional sections. .
According to relevant records in 900, Western music had developed a polyphonic music genre called Organon at that time. Organon consists of adding voices above or below Gregorian chant. Its form is gradually complex and rich. According to the stage of development, it can be divided into parallel organon, free or reverse organon, flower singing (or gorgeous) organon and volume organon organized by rhythmic pattern. . When rhythmic patterns organize not only the contrapuntal voices but also the Gregorian chant as the melodic melody, a contrapuntal texture of note against note is often formed. This contrapuntal style is called disconte. A polyphonic song written in the Discount style called Clausura. In the mid-13th century, Latin or French lyrics were added to Clausura's upper voice, developing a new, long-used genre of motet. As the forms of music became increasingly rich, a notation system was formed through the continuous exploration of church musicians. The alphabetic system proposed by Otto in 935 is the basis of modern phonetic names. From the 8th to the 14th century, Newm notation, which specified melody intervals and pitches, gradually formed line notation. Guido (of Arezzo) invented roll call, scales and modal systems, etc.
After a long period of music practice in the Middle Ages, based on church music, vocal polyphony and notation unique to Western art music were developed.
The secular music of the Middle Ages was mainly songs with dialect lyrics. The writers include French troubadours, German love poets and famous singers, and professional folk artists and troubadours. The lyrics of secular songs are in rhyming verse, have a lively rhythm, and the tunes are ballad-like. It inherits the church mode, but uses more major and minor modes. The singing is often accompanied by musical instruments. There are obvious differences between secular songs and church hymns, but they influence each other. For example, there are secular elements in religious ritual dramas; from the 11th to the 13th century, both religious and secular monophonic songs used the fixed melody of Kondoctus instead of Gregorian chant, which was a newly created ballad style. It can be divided into two stages: the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance (1300-1450) and the Renaissance period (1450-1600). In the 14th century, the papal power declined, secular culture rose, and humanism sprouted. Reflected in France as the debate between "Art Nouveau" and "Ancient Art", the central content is the issue of rhythm division. Art Nouveau opposed the trichotomy of ancient art dominated by theological concepts, and advocated a more scientific dichotomy. Therefore, the 14th century is also called the "Art Nouveau" period. The techniques of Art Nouveau were first used in motets, resulting in the "isorhythmic motet" which uses a fixed rhythm pattern to organize fixed melody parts. Composers of this period composed more secular songs than religious music. The representative figure G. de Machaud first wrote the medieval fixed-format ballads, rondos, and villelays into polyphonic songs. The main genre of his writing was also There is French secular song Chanson.
In the 14th century, among intellectuals in the cultural center cities in central and northern Italy such as Padua, Bologna, Milan, and Florence, there was a trend of thought to revive the classical culture of the Roman Golden Age, setting off an early Renaissance movement. Musically, this manifests itself in the flourishing of secular songs in the mother tongue. The main musical genres are madrigals, hunting songs and balata. The representative figure is the Florentine musician F. Landini.
The parallel six-chord effect known as "Farberton" has existed in three-part motets in England since the 14th century. The motets written by J. Dunstable, the most famous British composer in the 15th century, do not have conventional fixed melody parts, but are mainly tonic textures and contain a large number of sounds with a three-chord structure. British music at this time had an influence on the European continent. At the same time, the musical center of continental Europe shifted to the Duchy of Burgundy. The palace chapel has 15 to 27 musicians, as well as a band composed of folk artists. Many European musicians studied in that area or worked in the cathedral, and are called the "Burgundy School". The representative figure G. Diffie has superb counterpoint writing skills. His works involve secular music and church music, and his main achievement is the polyphonic regular mass suite.
In art history, the period from 1450 to 1600 is generally called the Renaissance. The original meaning of Renaissance is "rebirth", which shows that the artists of this period believed that their goal was to revive the art of ancient Greece and Rome. It also reflected that people were equally concerned about the enjoyment of real life and salvation after death. Musicians He writes works on both religious and secular themes. As early as the period of the Principality of Burgundy, a cultural circle was formed in northern Europe. After the Duchy of Burgundy was incorporated into France, musicians from this region (northern France, southern Holland and Flanders, known as the Flemish School) were active throughout Europe and were at the forefront of Western music. It has had a significant impact on the development of music in various countries. The Flemish School used imitation techniques to balance the various parts of polyphonic music and create a new musical style. They are good at writing motets and masses, as well as secular songs such as chansons, madrigals, and villelays. The main composers include J. Occidental who has been working in the French court chapel for a long time, Josquin Despre who is active in Italy, J. Obrecht who first came to Cambrai and then to Italy. He also worked in Italy and Germany. Isaac and O.di Lasso served at the Austrian court. They brought the achievements of Flemish vocal polyphonic writing to other countries, forming an international style; at the same time, they combined it with local music to have the characteristics of their respective nations.
The Christian Reformation movement in the 16th century broke the long-standing situation in which the Roman Church relied on unified religious rituals, religious music and church language to maintain Western spiritual leaders. Protestants also use music as a tool to spread their faith, using their own national language instead of Latin in worship services and singing songs written in dialects.
Germany produced hymns, France and Switzerland had metrical psalms, and England had hymns and liturgical music. The Catholic Counter-Reformation also affected music. The guiding opinions of the Synod of Tolant on church music led to the pure and serene style of the Roman music school. Represented by G. Palestrina and Spanish composers T. Victoria and F. Guerrero. In addition, the Venetian School of Music, formed around St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, started with the musician A. Villarte from Flanders, including A. Gabrieli, G. Gabrielli's uncles and nephews, and C. May. Runo and other generations of musicians. They greatly enriched church music, created alternating chants composed of double choirs, and formed instrumental music genres such as Toccata, Canzona, and Preludes, which were the forerunners of the Baroque style.
Under the influence of the Renaissance, Western secular music has developed unprecedentedly. Vocal genres in Italy include the madrigal developed from the secular song style flortola, France has the French secular vocal polyphonic song Chanson, Germany has the same polyphonic form of Lied, Spain has Bilancico, and the UK has In addition to the madrigals influenced by Italy, Virgina (belonging to the harpsichord family) music has formed a mature style. The main composers are W. Byrd, J. Bull and O. Gibbs. Baroque originally meant "weird", referring to the ornately decorated architectural style of the 17th and 18th centuries, and later to an artistic style period. The music characteristics of the Baroque period are: the birth of opera and the development of instrumental music, the polyphonic style gradually shifted to the main tone style, the church mode was gradually replaced by the major and minor system, and the use of digital bass gave rise to the new concept of "harmonics" . A large number of new music genres have emerged, and the language of music is constantly being updated.
The birth of opera is the result of pursuing humanistic artistic ideals. It first appeared in Florence, Italy, and then spread to other cities. In the first half of the 18th century, it was gradually stylized and shaped into "serious opera". A large number of writers are engaged in opera creation, such as C. Monteverdi, A. Scarlatti, G.F. Handel, etc. French opera is both influenced by Italy and has its own classical tragedy and ballet traditions. Therefore, it attaches great importance to the combination of singing and language phonology and the arrangement of ballet scenes in the pattern. Important composers include J.-B. Lully, J.-P. Rameau, etc. "Masquerade" and semi-opera are popular in Britain, and only H. Purcell has written an opera with music throughout. German opera developed in Hamburg. Important vocal music genres during the Baroque period included oratorio, cantata, and Passion.
Popular keyboard instruments in the Baroque period include organ, harpsichord, and harpsichord. Important genres include improvisational toccata, fantasia, and preludes; variation techniques of pasa Callia and Chaconne as well as fugues and suites. There are important composers from all countries, such as G. Frescobaldi, D. Buxtehude, F. Couperan, etc. During the Baroque period, violin and viol instruments coexisted. The main genre of chamber music is sonata. From the texture point of view, there are trio sonata (usually 2 violins and 2 continuo bass instruments) and solo sonata (1 solo instrument and 2 continuo bass instruments); the genre can be divided into churches. Sonatas and Chamber Sonatas. Ensemble music includes concertos and orchestra suites. Concertos can be divided into concertos grosso, orchestra concertos and solo concertos due to different combinations of instruments. Many musicians have adopted these themes, the most important composers being A. Corelli and A. Vivaldi. The most accomplished composers of the Baroque period were J.S. Bach and Handel. It can be divided into two stages: the early period (1730~1770) and the heyday (i.e. Vienna Classical School, 1770~1820). At the beginning of the 18th century, Western music took on a complex look. On the one hand, classical style is not a direct continuation of Baroque music. The two were developed in parallel and existed at the same time from the 1930s to 1950s. On the other hand, the early classical style itself also had its own characteristics in different countries, which were reflected in the field of instrumental music. France was known for its gorgeous Style is the main theme, Germany developed an emotional style, and Italy had an instrumental style influenced by comic opera. The most important new genres and forms formed during this period were sonata form and sonata suites, which were used not only for solo sonatas but also for chamber and orchestral music. Italian and German composers such as D. Scarlatti and C.P.E. Bach contributed to its establishment. Among the various ensembles of chamber music, the string quartet has become the most important. Classical symphonies developed and took shape on the basis of Baroque instrumental ensembles, especially Italian opera overtures. New genres and styles also began to emerge in opera.
Italian opera composers such as N. Jomeli and T. Traetta reformed formal opera, and C.W. Gluck perfectly combined Italian opera with French opera, striving to make opera conform to the ideal of classicism. As a representative of the new style, comic opera gradually occupies an important position in musical life. Italy and France both have their own comic operas with national characteristics, Germany and Austria have popular singing operas, and the United Kingdom has folk operas.
In the 1870s, classical music entered its heyday. The mature classical style is represented by the middle and late works of J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, and the early and middle period works of L. van Beethoven. After the creation of many composers in the early period of classicism, the basic vocabulary and expression techniques of the classical style have been basically finalized. The three composers in the heyday further developed it with their own unique expression methods. Because they all had activities in Vienna, and their mature classical style incorporated obvious Austrian elements, the music of the high period of classicism was historically called the "Viennese Classical School". Beginning in the 19th century, romantic factors in music occupied an important position. Music history calls these more than 100 years the "Romanticism Period." After the baptism of the French Revolution, human value was fully affirmed. While self-expression in music was particularly popular, public concerts became an important form. In order to please the audience, musicians pursued superb skills, magnificent sound and rich Colorful style. Pure music is the best carrier to express otherworldly romantic emotions. The concept of "holistic art" and title music that are expected to be integrated with other art categories are also receiving attention. With the development of nationalist thoughts, composers from various countries attach great importance to local factors in music. In Eastern, Northern and Southern European countries, the development of national music culture has become a conscious movement. Musicians collect, organize and publish folk music, using the historical legends, people's lives, natural scenery, etc. of their own nation as themes. They prefer operas, title symphony music, art songs, instrumental pieces and other genres, and use the tones and rhythms of folk songs and dances to The practice of discovering various means of expression of national music and forming a musical vocabulary with national characteristics is called "national music school". The folk music school was an important force in the romantic music trend, injecting vitality and color into Western music in the 19th century. Music has become popular among a wider range of people, and amateur music life has become increasingly active, driving the development of music criticism and music publishing industries. Special music education institutions have been established to cultivate music, and many people are not only famous composers, performers, but also excellent teachers. The musical language used in the 19th century was both inherited and innovative from the classical period. The mode, harmony system and musical form specifications are basically the same, but the technique is richer, more personalized and freer. Various genres developed simultaneously with the music trends of the time, directly reflecting the characteristics of the music of the times.
The piano was further improved and became a beloved instrument in the 19th century. Among traditional genres, although the status of the sonata is not as important as in the classical period, it still has individual characteristics. For example, F. Schubert endowed it with lyricism and singing, F.F. Chopin maintained its huge capacity and ideological connotation, and F. Liszt integrated the multi-movement suite into a single movement; the variations developed from segmented decorative variations to through-through ones. Character changes. A large number of themes called characteristic pieces (also known as "style pieces") emerged, reflecting the preference of composers in the 19th century for the expression of personal emotions. This type of work was pioneered by J. Field, including nocturnes favored by Chopin and G. Fauré, intermezzos by R. Schumann and J. Brahms, and works by Schubert, Schumann and Balakirev. Fantasia, ballades by Chopin and Brahms, etc. It is also a common form to combine a series of instrumental pieces with related content into a set according to a certain concept, such as Schumann's "Carnival", Liszt's "Travel Years", M. Mussorgsky's "Picture Exhibition" , "The Four Seasons" by P.I. Tchaikovsky.
Chamber music in the 19th century can be said to be the field least romantic. It continues to emphasize the purity of musical thought, the contrapuntal conversation between instruments and the unfolding of thematic motivations. Since chamber music during this period was mainly played by professional musicians with superb skills and a stronger sense of color, a large number of excellent ensemble works of various types were produced. Orchestras in the 19th century continued to use the instruments that had been established in the classical period. Wind instruments were improved, technical performance and expressiveness were enhanced, and orchestral formations continued to expand in the hands of post-Romantic composers. Symphony, concerto, concert overture, symphonic poem, and symphonic suite were common genres in this period.
To deal with the contradiction between the increasingly large scale of the work structure and the relatively concise and concentrated theme, composers have adopted methods such as "leading motive" (R. Wagner), "theme deformation" (Liszt), and "expanded variation" (Brahm). Si), "circular form" (C.–A. Frank) and other methods to solve the problem.
Art songs that combine music and poetry have not only developed greatly in Germany, Austria and France, but are also loved by composers of national music schools. The prosperity of opera is one of the characteristics of this period. Each country has its own operas with its own characteristics: German romantic national opera and Wagner's "musical drama"; French grand opera, comic opera, operetta, and lyric opera; Italian opera constitutes almost all of the country's music; national music opera The rise is also of great significance. 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911. To take stock of a century of music history, you don’t have to read through tomes. Searching for terms in music dictionaries will also give you the feeling of wandering in a long river. A word comes from an era, and faithfully presents the atmosphere of the era. The word blurts out, and the trend of the time comes to life on the page. Consulting a dictionary is reading the history of Chinese music.
In 1900, "School Music and Songs" suddenly appeared, charming and eye-catching. Western concepts such as sonatas, symphonies, operas, etc. are pouring into spoken language. For a time, if you cannot hear such concepts from a person's mouth, it means that the speaker is not well-educated and open-minded. Air, string and body instruments began to replace the ancient "eight tones". Thus, piano, violin, flute, French horn, and saxophone, accompanied by the names of foreign musicians such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, as well as "Symphony of Destiny," "Moonlight Sonata," the opera "Carmen" and the ballet "Swan Lake" Wait until the title of the work becomes popular. It was not until the 1980s that the "Foreign Music Dictionary", "Chinese Music Dictionary", "Chinese Encyclopedia· "Music and Dance" has the final version, maintaining the classic wording that never goes wrong. A large number of technical terms such as staff, bar lines, treble clef, score, harmony, polyphony, orchestration and the awareness of the "four major pieces" began to enter the mind, from the edge to the hall, from the outside to the mainstream, and even penetrated into the mind. At a subconscious level, it has reached the point where it turns against the guest and makes Chinese musicians forget their ancestors.
If "enlightenment" has become a major category of new vocabulary, then "salvation" has become another major category. When the nation is in danger, national salvation songs, anti-Japanese war songs, marches, choruses, and mass songs gradually become the front row words. The melodies of "March of the Volunteers", "Yellow River Cantata", "On the Songhua River" and "March of the Broadsword" are well-known by everyone, and the names of Nie Er and Xian Xinghai are also known to women and children.
In 1930, the first round of "era music" appeared, and the first wave of modern pop songs landed on Huangpu Beach. But this trend was quickly defined as "yellow music". For a period of time, the mainstream consciousness evaluated this kind of soft "spiritual opium" in the most derogatory terms. In 1953, "lyrical light music" was equated with capitalism and was a "petty bourgeois sentiment" that was a "semi-colonial cultural product". These concepts were not abolished until the end of the 20th century, and they became old almanacs that no one cared about or consulted anymore.
In 1966, the "World's Strongest Sound" began to sound, and the "Quotation Song" spread throughout the land of China. At the same time, the strangest "Ox Ghost and Snake God Song" in the history of world music was whispered among a group of people. , a sonorous and powerful "revolutionary song" came out of the mouth of the tone-deaf child, and the roar that must "smash the world to pieces" became the strongest "power" symbol ever marked on the music score. The sound source came from the strength of 60 million compatriots. , naturally unparalleled. In contrast, "model opera" has become an exclusive "copyright" that only appears in Chinese music dictionaries and cannot be copied. In 1970, the "Educated Youth Minor" appeared, finally knowing the sadness of sadness, which means the maturity of the red teenager.
After 1980, the "Qi Sheng" singing method appeared, and "love" was no longer limited to the motherland. More and more humane vocabulary floated in. It was originally a song about "a gentleman loves to be a good man". , finally the function returned, and he began to express his personal feelings openly and openly. Along with the deletion of various color definitions before the music title, "religious music" publications are no longer marked with the mysterious words "internal reference", "for reference only" and "not for external distribution". From a sociological perspective, the functional return of the two is more in line with the newly liberated human nature. From a musical perspective, the "return of souls" of the two shows a natural channel that is more in line with artistic emotions.
Jazz, disco, punk, electronic music, and drums rolled across the Xiangjiang River. "There is nothing but vastness inside and outside the Great Wall", cheering and touting. In the early 1980s, anyone who wanted to be classified as a "singing star" was equivalent to being classified as an outsider as an "artist" and an alien without academic training. Nowadays, no matter how good or bad a singer is, they all want to join the ranks of "singing stars". "Rankings" and "fans" pursuits have become the criteria for evaluating whether one's status is "popular". Only being recognized as a "star" by the media is the recognition of future status. "Singer" and "nightclub" are no longer exclusive to capitalism. The names of a group of singers represented by Teresa Teng have become popular vocabulary. Even humble personal names have gained historical attention because of a song. "Internet music", "electronic music" and "ring tones download" cover the media, with unprecedented intensity and speed, rewriting dictionary entries that have been updated before logging in. Go alone and come alone, go my own way, words come and go on their own, spin and die.
In the early 21st century, the art of Kunqu Opera and the art of guqin were applied for UNESCO’s “Representative List of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. At that time, this was not the biggest topic in society, but in the past year, the 17th Youth Conference of CCTV The inclusion of "original singing method" in the Singer Grand Prix created an unprecedented storm, with "intangible cultural heritage" and "original singing method" becoming the terms with the highest click rate. Some people are more serious and say that the vocabulary description is unreasonable. In fact, conventions, existence is reasonable, and the rapid spread of spoken language independent of human will is the symbol of China's cultural consciousness and cultural rise, which is very "powerful". "Cultural diversity" and "cultural consciousness" have become new concepts leading a new round of art. Dong song, Fujian Nanyin, and Twelve Muqam have become well-known art varieties to the public. These words that have been out of use for a long time appear again, reappearing the establishment and inheritance of Chinese tradition, and completing a new round of defense of the dignity of national culture.
Music vocabulary is booming and varied, with no similarities. It travels through the cusp of historical trends, mainstream consciousness, social changes, and market economy, opening up the national horizons in each period, and showing a wide range of themes, themes, and concepts. A new world from genre, technology to orientation, emotion and imagination. The word became popular and the world was brightened. The time when words jumped out and their intensive presentation was the peak period of historical craze, and became a suitable sub-node to divide the era. The praise of Aiwujiwu, the disgust of Hate and Kasaya, the penetrating description, and the vivid portrayal all benefit from the people's impulse to pour out their hearts, express feelings, and express depression. As time has passed, many words have become meaningless and even ridiculous, but they have faithfully stored our historical memory.