How are the Arts Reflected by Historical Events?

Historical events have had an influence on the various genres of arts and such can be reflected in the manner specific works of art have been done or created. Historical events, owing to the ideas or reasons for occurrence can result in enlightenment or introduction of new perspectives that are expressed in works of art. For instance, certain songs, which belong to the genre of art known as music, are based on the influence of historical events, which is sometimes reflected in the messages or themes of such songs. The Romantic Movement can be deemed a historical event, which was a literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that rose in the 18th century in response to industrial revolution. The movement was established in an effort to revolt against social and political norms of the age of enlightenment, thus its influence on the creation, use of instruments, as well as composition music created/ composed at the time. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to describe how the onset of the Romantic Movement has influenced music as an art by showing its influence and reflection in three different songs composed as a result.  In response to the social and political norms of the age of enlightenment, as well as the rationalization of nature through science, romantic music was created. Various composers as an act of revolting, composed certain songs whose major themes revolved around explicit expression. The onset of the Romantic period influenced the composition of music that expressed the artistic, philosophical, as well as literary themes of the time. Influence on music owing to the onset of the Romantic Movement is based on a revolt against social and political norms. As a result, one of the changes in the art of music was with regards to the use of musical material. As opposed to classical composers, romantic composers increased the number of the musical material. As a result, their compositions were characterized by more passionate melodies, richer harmonies, as well as greater use of chromaticism. As opposed to classical compositions, romantic compositions saw a significant increase in the size of the orchestra. Similarly, the music scene due to the onset of the Romantic Movement saw the addition of the tuba to the bass section, thus a change with regards to the use of musical material unlike the Classical era of music. Other than influencing musical material, the Romantic Movement’s influence is reflected in the development of the German Lied. In the romantic period, the music changed in a manner that songs began to develop for solo voice and piano. The two types of songs that developed for solo voice and piano were strophic and through-composed, which were characterized by the same music for every verse and different music for each verse respectively. Music in this period, owing to the nature of the artistic, philosophical, as well as literary themes expressed, depicts more connection with instruments such as the piano. This is as opposed to how the piano was previously used merely as an accompanying musical material rather than a partner to the voice as was in Romantic music. During this era, music composers could even set an entire group of poems that contained the same idea in an attempt to sketch a story such as Winter Journey by Schubert. The purpose of doing so is because romantic composers, unlike the classical ones, were more expressive and their compositions served a purpose of revolting against social and political norms, as well as the scientific rationalization of nature. Therefore, the idea of setting an entire group of poems that contained the same idea in an attempt to sketch a story was a form of musical revolt in protest of the issues at the time. Another work of art within the music genre that developed and changed music as a result of the Romantic Movement is programme music. The nature of music during the Romantic period associated with relaying and expressing powerful emotions brought about new developments associated with the art of music. With the creations of links between literature, paintings as well as music during this era, romantic composers began to develop programme music. Programme music was developed in an effort to tell stories, which was a significant influence to music that had developed as a result of the onset of the Romantic Movement. Unlike the music that was there before, which was mostly absolute music, which is music that does not tell a story, romantic music conveyed more of the composers’ innermost emotions and thoughts. There are three main types of programme music for orchestra that developed included the programme symphony, the concert overture, as well as the symphonic poem, also known as the Tune poem. The programme symphony is characterized by an 'idée fixe', which is a melody that has a recurring theme, thus the reflection of the message of the time in songs. An example of a programme symphony is Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. The concert overture is a one-movement programme piece for orchestra that is composed for performance at a concert. An example of a concert overture is Fingal's Cave by Mendelssohn. Lastly, the symphonic poem, also known as the tune poem, is also a one-movement programme piece for orchestra that was invented by Liszt. Using a device called thematic transformation, Liszt to invent the symphonic poem, which was characterized by a basic theme that continuously underwent change with regards to mood and character.