European Music of the Romantic Period
The Romantic Period, 1825-1900, followed the French Revolution and the Classical Period. The French Revolution and Classical period were difficult times for composers, as the disagreements of the French Revolution and the rules of the Classical period did not allow them to be expressive in their music. As a result, the Romantic Period began and composers focused on expressing feeling
through music. They believed that their music should tell a story and evoke feelings in its audience. Composers communicated these feelings to their audiences through
new melodic structure, new harmonies, and more dissonance than were
used in the classical period. With these new techniques, composers
were more expressive, and had more freedom than composers of the Classical Period. The Romantic Period can be characterized by imitating sounds of nature, thick texture, weak cadences, and rich harmonies.
3 Concert Etudes III. Un Sospiro
Un Sospiro, meaning a sigh, was composed by Franz Liszt. Liszt was a late composer of the Romantic Period, and used some techniques of the impressionist period. Un Sospiro is characteristic of European music of
the Romantic Period because it uses thick texture, weak cadences, and imitates a sigh, a natural sound.
Chinese Folk Music
Chinese Folk Music was heavily influenced by geographical and environmental factors, such as rivers. The dryness, coldness, and windiness of the Yellow River area largely influenced Northern Chinese folk music to be more intense and jagged, while the mild and warm weather of the Changjiang River area largely influenced Southern Chinese folk music to be more lyrical and popular.
Liu Yang River (浏阳河)
Liu Yang River is a Chinese folk song that was composed by Bi-Guang Tang and later arranged for piano by Jian-Zhong Wang. It is characteristic of Chinese folk music because it is named after a river in Hunan, which is located in Southern China near the Changjiang River, and reflects it with its gentle
and lyrical melody.
