"The basic difference between classical music and jazz is that in the former the music is always greater than its performance - whereas the way jazz is performed is always more important than what is being played." - Andre Previn

When we say "classical music", it is actually an ambiguous term. In one sense, we can be talking about the classical period and the music associated with it - for example, the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn. In another sense, we can talk about the music of China before any western music could influence it. The first definition of classical music, the one that we will deal with here, is perhaps the hardest to deal with. We can simply say that classical music is the music of the instrument - that is, music with no vocal in it. However, instrumental jazz or some folk songs have no vocals in them and these cannot be classified as classical. Thus, we cannot really clearly define classical music. Perhaps the safest definition of the term classical music is "music that is not subject to popular passion nor of the folk type".

During the middle ages, classical music grew out with the development of the Christian church. The very beginning ancestors of classical music didn't really have any regular rhythm to it. It was also monophonic, in other words, it was one-voiced. During the enxt four centuries however, the discovery of two or more melodies occurred and this

links - Yahoo Index: Classical Music

style of music replaced the monophonic music previously played. At first, the experimentation with the new polyphonic music was with two voices. The second voice, a fourth or fifth above the tenor voice would sing the chant melody. This was called the organum.

By the Renaissance, the now named classical music (then pop music) became firmly rooted. In the fifteenth century, the music of Josquin influenced classical music heavily. Although a latecomer, his first appearance in 1530 was a landmark event.After Josquin, Italian composers began springing up with their expressive and detailed music. Such composers as Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Wilbye, Thomas Weelkes, Orlando Gibbons, and Thomas Tomkins began their slow but steady popularization of classical music.

At this point, we'll separated classical music into three (four counting the modernists or the contemporary period) different eras: the baroque period, the classical period and the romantic period. Within each period is a whole plethora of composers, most of whom are available in this Music Magic Encyclopedia.

The Baroque Period: The baroque period lasted between the general years of 1600 to 1750. Music, like art and architecture at the time was highly mathematical and strict. The height of the baroque period is Bach. His counteracting, individual and highly complex rhythm and style closely and accurately reflects the Baroque Period.

Memorable composers of the Baroque Period are: Domenico Scarlatti, François Couperin, and Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was during the Baroque Period that the violin-family of strings became popular and mainstream. Vivaldi and Tartini began composing music for strings and sometimes solely for strings. It was during the baroque period that the gradual influence of church and christian modes began being used extensively. Two of these modes, the Greek Ionian and Aeolian, which later became the major and minor scales began being used extensively.

The Classical Era: By the second half of the eighteenth century, with the music of Joseph Haydn and his pupil Wolfgang Mozart, the classical era was in full swing. In an almost antithesis of the grand style of the baroque period, classical music was restrained, dignified, proud and clear. In response to the unrestrained polyphonic works previously composed, classical composers gradually switched to the homophonic style. This means the existence of a single, predominant melody which is accompanied by other chordal sounds.

Classical music became a pop culture at the time.

interactive - Add Information About Classical Music - Look at more Info About Classical Music

Going to operas and music concerts during the eighteenth century was a little like us going to the movies. In a sense, it was the "hip" thing to do.

The Romantic Age: Emotional. If one word was to describe the Romantic era, it would have to be emotional. With a great deal of freedom, composers of the romantic age enjoyed writing music that was more personal and pictorial. It often attempted to emulate nature and often lacked the gaity associated with the classical era. In search for oneself, the romantic composers were overly concerned with detail.

It was during the romantic era where nationalism arised in classical music. Through composers such as Dvorak and Smetana, and with such compositions as "Slavonic Dances", nation pride and prestige was shown through music.

By the late romantic era, or by the nineteenth century, such composers as Bruckner and Mahler composed large symphonies that used the newly invented harmonic innovations. During this time, the orchestras were expanded which the romantic composers took advantaged of.

The Modernists and Music of the Twentieth Century: As painters switched from realism to impressionism, composers took advantage of newer technologies and wrote in a more subtler tone. This new style was a reaction against the emotional romantic period. The first modernist, Debussy used shifting harmonies based on whole-tone scales.

Today, many subsets of music that are influenced by all previous periods and before exists. Jazz, basically a highly improvised music, also influenced classical music to a great extent as can be seen in Aaron Copland. Many movie scores today are a combination of nationlistic music, romantic styles and even baroque tempos and rhythms.