Classical Instrumental

Ok, it's sort of looking like I'm posting about every 2 weeks. This may improve, but I am not making any promises. Anyway, to continue my history of instrumental music:

Let’s face it, we really don’t know much about actual music from the ancient world. But by the time we get to the Renaissance, things change, and our knowledge increases.

The big reason, as I see it, for this increase in knowledge is the development of systems of notation. While some forms of notation did apparently exist in the ancient world, by and large we don’t know enough about them to recreate music (except for speculation). Knowledge of these ancient notation systems was lost, so that by the 7th century, at least one musical scholar opined that noting music was impossible. However, by the 9th century, methods to put plainchant from church services down on paper (or perhaps parchment). While at first this notation was more of a memory aid to assist someone already familiar with the music, over time it developed to where someone who knew the system could be reasonably expected to be able to sing a work he previously didn’t know. Eventually, the idea of musical notation extended from vocal, sacred music to included instrumental and secular music as well. By the 1600’s, notation enough like our modern system that many musicians today can read with as much ease as say reading a facsimile of a Shakespeare folio existed, and many examples of works of this period exist in both manuscript as well as printed form.

Concurrently several forms of tablature developed for instruments such as the lute. Tablature, for those unfamiliar with it, is a form of music which instead of representing the noted to be played, shows how to finger the instrument to produce the desired notes. This of course assumes knowledge of how a particular instrument was tuned.

This body of manuscript and printed works shows development of both vocal music (including instrumental only portions) and pure instrumental music. I see three reasons for instrumental music at this time:

1. Dance, both social as well as performance (i.e., ballet).

2. As a chance for a skilled musician to demonstrate his talent.

3. To allow someone without vocal skills to step to the front in a musical performance.

Dance music was developed into forms, while retaining elements of the dance from which they were derived, where not actually intended to be danced to; and these were then collected into suites. Various forms of music, like the toccata, fantasy, prelude, etc., being rather free in form, allowed both the composer as well as the performed (enough one and the same) to show his chops, as it were. And since at this time, it was considered an important of a well-developed life style (at least for the upper classes) to have some musical skills, someone who wished to be musical but lacked a good voice for singing would naturally turn to an instrument.

Classical music (in the broadest sense of the term) is very much instrumental. The symphony concert, the piano recital, the string quartet and other forms of chamber music are all almost purely instrumental. Yes, Beethoven did include choral music in the last movement of his 9th symphony, and occasionally other composers did similar; but name any classical composer and a large about of his works are instrumental.

In many ways, what happened during these periods sets the stage for what comes later. IN particular, I think the 3 reasons mentioned above, dance music, demonstration of skill, and giving a “voice” to those lacking vocal abilities, are important also in terms of instrumental music.