Music History Timeline

By Madhavis
  • 500

    Medieval Period begins

  • 1030

    Guido of Arezzo's Micrologus

    This piece introduced the 4 line staff, sight singing syllables with the Hexachord system, relative pitch, round b (flat) and square b (natural)
  • 1098

    Hildegard of Bingen is born

  • 1179

    Hildegard of Bingen dies

  • 1323

    Ars Nova Treatise

    There were new additions to Time and Prolation. A new note shape was created called the minim and with it, syncopation could be done. Meter changes were also added with triple being perfect because of The Holy Trinity and duple being imperfect.
  • 1450

    Medieval Period ends

  • 1450

    Renaissance Period begins

  • 1485

    Josquin's Ave Maria... Virgo Serena Motet

  • 1529

    Martin Luther Chorale Ein feste burg (A Mighty Fortress...)

  • 1538

    Arcadelt Madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno

  • 1567

    Palestrina Pope Marcellus Mass

    This piece was dedicated to the pope and the significance is it showed that sacred words could be intelligible in polyphonic music with 6 voices

  • Victoria Missa O magnum mysterium

    This is a parody mass of O magnum mysterium which was composed in 1572.

  • Gabrieli Sonata Pian'e forte

    Composed at St. Mark's, this was the first piece in history to specify what instruments play what part and to designate dynamics.

  • Renaissance Period ends

  • Baroque begins

  • Monteverdi's L'Orfeo

    Based on the story of Orpheus; it wasn't published until 1609 and revised in 1615

  • First Public Concerts in England

    They happened throughout the 1670s

  • J.S. Bach born

  • Antonio Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico

    Along with being a harmonic inspiration, this was the most harmonic influential publication of any music in the early 18th century. It launched the popularity of Italian concerto throughout Europe

  • Bach's The Well Tempered Clavier Vol. 1

    There were two publications of Volume, one in 1722 and the other ca. 1740. Each has 24 preludes and fugues of each major and minor key. They demonstrate possibilities for playing in all the keys using an instrument tuned in near-equal temperament.

  • Rameau's Traite de l'harmonie

    This was the most influential of all theatrical works. It became the basis for teaching functional harmony. It has triads and 7th chords, fundamental baseline, defined root of chord and recognizing inversions, and consonance vs. dissonance. Tonic, dominant, and subdominant are chords used as pillars of harmony - V7 - I. Even though the piece could modulate, each had a central tonic key. This piece is the first to bring all of these theoretical ideas together.

  • Franz Joseph Haydn born

  • Handel's Messiah

    It was completed in 1741, but premiered in 1742 during Lent in Dublin. It doesn't tell a story, but presents a series of contemplations on Christian Ideas. The texts extend from the prophecies of a messiah to the resurrection.

  • Baroque ends

    It ends when Bach dies

  • J.S. Bach dies

  • WA Mozart born

  • Viennese Classical Period begins

  • Period: to

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

    The Concerts des Amateurs was one of the finest orchestras in Europe. Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a virtuoso violinist. he composed 12 violin concertos and 18 string quartets. He was known as the "Le Mozart Noir" or The Black Mozart.

  • Mozart's Don Giovanni

    It's based on the legend of Don Juan, a libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It's a jocular drama that is sung in Italian.

  • WA Mozart dies

  • Haydn's Symphony No. 91 "Surprise"

    It premiered in 1792 in London, but it was written in 1791.

  • Viennese Classical Period ends

  • Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor

    It premiered in 1808 and is said to describe his fate and impending deafness

  • Franz Joseph Haydn died

  • Schubert Erlking

    It was composed in 1815. He set the songs to texts written by JW Goethe. This is the first one he tried to publish, but didn't work

  • Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia

    It premiered in 1816 and is a patter aria.

  • Nicole Paganini 24 Caprices for violin, op. 1

    The first complete publication

  • Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

    It was composed in 1830 and is one of the first programmatic symphonies.
  • Period: to

    Frederic Chopin Mazurkas op. 7

    It was composed in between 1830-1831 and is a homage to his native land (mother's side).

  • Fanny Mendelssohn - Hensel Das Jahr

    It was composed in 1841 and translates to "the year".
  • Period: to

    Louis Moreau Gottschalk Souvenir de Porto Rico

    He composed it while on tour in the Caribbean. The theme is based on a Puerto Rican song playing by wandering bands on Christmas Eve. The form suggests the sound of the band of musicians in the distance is gradually approaching, passing by, and then marching away

  • Musorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

    This is the original piano version, which was then later orchestrated by Ravel. It is a set of piano pieces.

  • Bizet Carmen

    It was premiered in 1875 and is an opera comique, which has spoken dialogue instead of recitative and the plots are comedies or semiserious dramas

  • Wagner Der Ring Dea Nibelungen

    Lord of the Rings sounds very similar to it. It is a cycle of four music dramas.

  • Brahms' Symphony No. 4

    It premiered in 1805.

  • Mahler Symphony No. 1

    Premiered in 1889 in Hungary

  • Claude Debussy "Voiles" from Preludes Book 1

    "Voiles" pertains to sails, sailboat, masks, veils. It is a tribute to Chopin and his Preludes on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Each piece has a descriptive title at the end to suggest images to leave interpretations to the audience.

  • Arnold Schonberg Pierrot Lunaire

    An atonal and expressionistic work, that uses the Sprechstimme technique.

  • Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

    It premiered in 1913. It has two parts: The Adoration of the Earth and Sacrifice of the Chosen One.

  • Manuel de Falla Homenaje (Homage)

    A solo guitar collection of 10 works in memory of Debussy, who died of cancer.

  • George and Ira Gershwin "I Got Rhythm"

    Tin Pan Alley Song

  • Margaret Bonds "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

    It is a poem by Langston Hughes written at the age of 18 in 1920.

  • Dimitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

    It premiered in 1937; "A Soviet artist's reply to just criticism"

  • Duke Ellington Cottontail

    It is a contrafact

  • Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring

  • John Cage Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

    There are precise instructions for altering 45 piano strings to produce percussive sounds.

  • Miles Davis Kind of Blue

  • George Crumb's Ancient Voice of Children

    It is a cycle of five songs with two instrumental interludes. It uses unconventional sound sources.

  • John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine

    Orchestral fanfare

  • Wynton Marsalis "Devotional" from In This House, On This Morning

    Part of an album