Programmatic Music in the Romantic Era

Programmatic music is music that tells a story, ““The painter turns a poem into a painting; the musician sets a picture to music.” (Robert Schumann) Program music really rose to popularity during the romantic era, and the virtuosity of romantic era composers gave this kind of music a popular edge compared to the tame compositions of the classical era before it. In the nineteenth century, musicians became much more aware of the connection of their work to the world around them, and creating program music rather than absolute (pure) music brought the composer much closer to being something of a poet and gave them more power to influence listeners emotions. (Forney and Machlis, 2011)

There are four main types of program music: concert overtures; incidental music, often used in plays and stage productions; program symphonies, multi movement works; and the symphonic poem, a one movement work. (Forney and Machlis, 2011) Program music also often took on nationalistic elements due to political unrest in Europe at the time when programmatic music reached the height of it’s popularity. The most famous example of this would be The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana. This nationalistic trend was most evident in Russia, Scandinavia, Spain, England, and Bohemia.

A brief introduction to the main varieties of program music, beginning with the concert overture. This kind of program music was used mostly in operas, plays, and other stage productions. The overture was a piece of orchestral music in one movement to introduce the main themes of the score. This piece is often called the en’tracte, and many overtures have now become popular concert pieces in their own right. An example of a concert overture would be Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. (Forney and Machlis, 2011)

Incidental music is built off of the overture and also played during a play or stage production. The music is not played throughout the whole performance, only during important scenes or in between acts. Without incidental music, stage performances run the risk of not being able to properly engage the audience, or toy with emotions. Music is so connected to human emotions that using it to the stage productions advantage could be a huge mistake. An example of incidental music could be the entire score for Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Forney and Machlis, 2011)\

Program symphony and symphonic poem are the two most influential kinds of program music in the romantic era. Program symphonies were what put absolute music in the corner, and invaded the lives of musicians everywhere. These symphonies are multi movement pieces depicting scenes or stories such as Peer Gynt or Symphonie Fantastique. Symphonic poems are merely shortened versions of program symphonies, telling the story in one movement instead of amny. (Forney and Machlis, 2011)

Bibliography:
Forney, K. and Machlis, J. 2011. The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening. 11th ed. W. W. Norton & Company.