Music History

By nisrael2
  • Period: 500 to 1450

    Medieval Period

  • 1030

    "Micrologus" -Guido of Arezzo

    Micrologus is a guide that teaches Guido's newly developed sight singing system, called solmization. Solmization is based on a hexachord system, and uses 6 pitches. Guido also created the 4-line staff, the idea of relative pitch and sight singing syllables, as well as accidentals.
  • Period: 1098 to 1179

    Hildegard of Bingen

  • 1323

    Ars Nova Treatise

    The Ars Nova period saw the development of a new style of music, which was opposed by older generations. The Ars Nova Treatise laid the foundation for modern music notation, including the usage of time signatures, and introduced a new note shape that resulted in a smaller division of time, the division of beats into duple or triple meter, and allowed for syncopation.
  • Period: 1450 to

    Renaissance Period

  • 1485

    "Ave Maria... virgo serena" -Josquin

    Motet by Josquin des Prez
  • 1528

    "Ein feste Burgist unser Gott" -Luther

    "A Mighty Fortress is our God," a chorale by Martin Luther
  • 1538

    "Il bianco e dolce cigno" -Arcadelt

    Madrigal by Arcadelt
  • 1567

    "Pope Marcellus Mass" -Palestrina

    A mass written by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Legend has it that this mass saved polyphony from the Council of Trent by proving that 6-voice, polyphonic music could still be intelligible, and therefore was suitable for sacred music.

  • "Missa O magnum mysterium" -Victoria

    The parody mass on Tomas Luis de Victoria's motet "O magnum mysterium," (1572).

  • "Sonata Pian 'e Forte" -Gabrieli

    An instrumental work composed by Giovanni Gabrieli, this piece was significant because it was the first music where the composer indicated what dynamic they wanted (and when/where), as well as the first time instruments were designated on the score/picked for individual parts.
  • Period: to

    Baroque Era

  • "L'Orfeo" -Monteverdi

    The first opera to enter standard repetory.

  • First Public Concerts in England

  • Period: to

    JS Bach

  • "L'Estro Armonico" -Vivaldi

    This publication was the most influential of the early 18th century because it launched the popularity of the Italian Concerto in Europe.

  • "Traité de l’harmonie" -Rameau

    Rameau's treatise codified and organized the theoretical ideas of his contemporaries, including ideas such as the importance of the triad and a central tonic key. It built the basis of functional harmony, and is still in use for teaching today.

  • "The Well-Tempered Clavier" -JS Bach

    This collection was important because it demonstrated the possibilities for playing in every key on an instrument tuned to near equal temperament, which was a new tuning system that had some notes in a scale slightly out of tune to facilitate playing in all keys without needing to retune the instrument.
  • Period: to

    Preclassical Period

  • Period: to

    Franz Joseph Haydn

  • "Messiah" -Handel

    Completed in 1741, premiered in 1742, during Lent.
  • Period: to

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • Period: to

    Viennese Classical Period

  • Period: to

    Le Chevalier de Saint-George as director of Concerts des Amateurs

    Called "the black Mozart," Chevalier was an extremely accomplished composer and musician, but struggled to gain recognition because of his race. He became the director of the Concert des Amateurs after having to withdraw his bid to work at the Paris Opera, and built it into one of the finest orchestras in Europe.

  • "Don Giovanni" -WA Mozart

  • Premiere of "Symphony No. 94" -JF Haydn, "Surprise!"

    Nicknamed "Surprise!" because of the unexpected dynamics and chords/dissonances, which he used to make the music interesting and attention-grabbing for the listener.

  • Premiere of "Symphony No. 5 in C minor" -Ludwig Van Beethoven

  • Period: to

    Composition of "Erlkönig" -Franz Schubert

    Schubert's "Erlkönig," or "Elfking," was composed in 1815 but was not publicly published/performed until 1821.

  • Premiere of "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" by Gioachino Rossini

    "The Barber of Seville," an opera buffa by Rossini

  • "24 Caprices for Violin, Op. 1" -Niccolo Paganini

    The first complete publication of the 24 Caprices.

  • Composition of "Symphonie Fantastique" -Hector Berlioz

    The piece was premiered the same year by what was a huge orchestra for the time.
  • Period: to

    Composition date range for Chopin's Mazurka Op. 7, series 5-9

  • Composition of "Das Jahr" -Fanny Mendelssohn

    Translated to mean "The Year," this is a character piece bout the the 12 months in a year. It was premiered the same year as it was published.

  • Souvenir de Porto Rico by Louis Moreau Gottschalk

    Souvenir de Porto Rico is a composition for piano by American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk. It is based on a Puerto Rican folk song often sung by local peasants, and uses melodies and rhythms from the Caribbean and West India, effectively blending different elements of his diverse upbringing.
  • Period: to

    "Pictures at an Exhibition" - Modest Mussorgsky

    A composition for piano (composed in the span of three weeks) honoring Russian artist Viktor Hartmann. The piece was not published 1886.

  • Premiere of "Carmen" by Georges Bizet

    An opera by Bizet that broke traditional conventions and was known for it's scandalous scenes.
  • Period: to

    Complete premiere of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner

    A cycle of four music dramas, loosely based on Norse sagas. The series are often performed separately, but Wagner intended for them to be performed together.

  • Premiere of "Symphony No. 4" -Johannes Brahms

  • Premiere of "Symphony No. 1" by Gustav Mahler

    The premiere of the piece was not well-received, and was initially described as a symphonic poem, not a symphony. Mahler revised it 3 times after the premiere before it was officially published in 1898.

  • "Voiles" by Claude Debussy, from Preludes, Book 1

    Part of a series of preludes published for the anniversary of Debussy's death, meaning "sails, sailboats, masks, or veils."

  • "Pierrot Lunaire" by Arnold Schoenberg

    An atonal, expressionistic work that utilizes the German "Sprechstimme" technique, a combination of speaking and singing.

  • Premiere of "The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky

    A ballet that incited a riot at it's premiere over scandalous, inappropriate scenes.

  • "Homenaje" by Manuel de Falla

    "Homage," a piece for solo guitar inspired by Debussy.

  • "I Got Rhythm" by George and Ira Gershwin

    A Tin Pan Alley song

  • "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Margaret Bonds

    A concert spiritual, based on a poem by Langston Hughes.

  • Premiere of "Symphony No. 5 in D minor" by Dmitri Shostakovich

    The premiere was a huge success, but was a sarcastic reply to socialist realism.

  • "Cottontail" by Duke Ellington

    A contrafact (a new tune composed over the harmonic progressions of another song, popular to avoid paying royalties), composed to showcase specific members of Ellington's band. This piece helped modernize jazz and improvisation.

  • "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copeland

    Originally commissioned as a ballet with an American theme
  • Period: to

    "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano" by John Cage

    A cycle of 20 pieces aiming to express the 8 permanent emotions taught in the rasa Indian tradition by using prepared piano and carefully crafted rhythms.

  • "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis

    Compositions by Davis based around modal jazz, widely regarded as the greatest jazz records of all time.

  • "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" by John Adams

    "Fanfare for Orchestra" recognized for it's use of minimalism.

  • "Ancient Voices of the Children" by George Crumb

    A virtuosic song cycle known for its difficult, odd vocal effects and using experimental sounds and instruments.