main musical genres. Musical composition

In a broad sense, a piece of music is a piece (instrumental or vocal), which is the result of composer's activity. It is characterized by internal completeness, individualization of form and content, fixation of musical notation for the purpose of subsequent performance.

It can be monophonic (melody and accompaniment) and polyphonic (polyphony, homophony). It can be both an independent number and be part of a certain cinematic or dramatic action. The peculiarity and originality of each composer's creation is achieved by a number of expressive means, such as mode, tempo, harmony, meter, dynamics, rhythm, melody.

The concept of "musical genre" is used to characterize various works depending on their origin and method of performance.

Since ancient times, various songs (round dance, ritual, labor, etc.) accompanied the life of the people and inspired the soldiers to win. So there were numerous vocal genres. A characteristic feature of the songs is the repeated repetition of the tune, the main melody.

Romance is a genre of vocal music that appeared in the 19th century. This is a work for a singer with instrumental accompaniment.

Unlike a romance, choral compositions are intended to be performed by a large singing group accompanied by accompaniment or a cappella (without accompaniment).

A cantata is a rather voluminous piece of music intended for performance by a singer - a soloist (or choir) and an orchestra. Compositions of this genre were written for a long time in honor of some significant date and were of a solemn nature. However, there are also lyrical, narrative cantatas.

An oratorio is a large musical and dramatic composition. It does not involve stage action and is intended for performance by a choir, soloist and orchestra.

Opera is a musical and dramatic composition that combines theatrical action and music. The main feature of this genre is that the actors are replaced by singing.

Instrumental genres of works were formed later than vocal ones. They have an applied value. Instrumental music accompanied parades, campaigns, religious processions, city balls. In the 17th century, new, deeper in meaning and content genres appeared.

Sonata - an instrumental piece, which usually consists of three parts contrasting in tempo (fast-slow-fast). A little later, four-part works of this genre appeared in the work of L. Beethoven.

A symphony is a piece of music intended to be performed by an entire symphony orchestra. Just like the sonata, this work in the classical version consists of three movements. It is distinguished by its large volume, versatility of content and the availability of melodic language.

Concerto is a piece of music intended to be performed by an orchestra and a solo instrument. Most often, compositions of this genre are written in a cyclic three-movement form, but sometimes one-movement concertos can also be found.

musical form

This concept characterizes the ratio of parts in a work. So, the two-part form consists of two sections, usually contrasting in character. Three-part - out of three, and the first and third parts are similar in melodic language and mood, and the middle one is in contrast to them. Variations are a modified repetition of the main motive (theme).

There are other musical forms, such as rondo (the theme is periodically repeated unchanged), cyclic (consists of several independent parts, united by a single idea) and free (found in modern music).

Today's post is dedicated to the topic - the main musical genres. To begin with, let's define what we will consider a musical genre. After that, the actual genres will be named, and at the end you will learn not to confuse "genre" with other phenomena in music.

So the word "genre" is of French origin and is usually translated from that language as a "species" or genus. Consequently, musical genre- this is a type or, if you like, a type of musical works. No more and no less.

How do musical genres differ from each other?

How is one genre different from another? Of course, not only the name. Remember the four main parameters that help to identify a particular genre and not confuse it with some other, similar type of composition. It:

1. type of artistic and musical content;
2. style features of this genre;
3. the vital purpose of works of this genre and the role they play in society;
4. conditions under which it is possible to perform and listen (view) a musical work of a particular genre.

What does all of this mean? Well, for example, let's take as an example such a genre as "waltz". Waltz is a dance, and that already says a lot. Since this is a dance, it means that waltz music is not played every time, but precisely when it is necessary to dance (this is a matter of performance conditions). Why do they dance the waltz? Sometimes for fun, sometimes just to enjoy the beauty of plasticity, sometimes because waltz dancing is a holiday tradition (this is the thesis about life's purpose). Waltz as a dance is characterized by whirling, lightness, and therefore in its music there is the same melodic whirling and graceful rhythmic three-part, in which the first beat is strong as a push, and the two are weak, flying (this is related to stylistic and substantive moments ).

Main musical genres

Everything with a high degree of conditionality can be divided into four categories: theatrical, concert, mass-domestic and cult-ritual genres. Consider each of these categories separately and list the main musical genres that are included there.

1. Theatrical genres (the main ones here are opera and ballet, in addition, operettas, musicals, musical dramas, vaudeville and musical comedies, melodramas, etc.)
2. Concert genres (these are symphonies, sonatas, oratorios, cantatas, trios, quartets and quintets, suites, concertos, etc.)
3. Mass genres (here we are mainly talking about songs, dances and marches in all their diversity)
4. Cult and ritual genres (those genres that are associated with religious or festive rites - for example: carnival songs, wedding and funeral laments, spells, bells, etc.)

We have named almost all the main musical genres (opera, ballet, oratorio, cantata, symphony, concerto, sonata - these are the largest). They are indeed the main ones and therefore there is nothing surprising in the fact that each of these genres has several varieties.

And one more thing... We should not forget that the division of genres between these four classes is very conditional. It happens that genres wander from one category to another. For example, this happens when the real one is recreated by the composer on the opera stage (as in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden), or in some concert genre - for example, in the finale of Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony, a very famous folk song is quoted . See for yourself! If you know what this song is, write its name in the comments!

P.I. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 - final

The most general characteristic of genres, directly referring to their content, is already given in the names: lyrical, dramatic, epic music. This also includes program music.

For more specific genre characteristics, a lot of special names have historically been developed. Sonata, symphony, overture, suite, concerto, poem, fantasy, ballad - all these are genre names for more or less large works.

Opera, cantata, oratorio, symphony - here we mean not only performing means, but also the essence of these genres.

A more definite genre characteristic is given by the double titles. For example, lyrical-psychological, epic, opera or symphony; pastoral sonata or dramatic poem.

There are countless genre titles for works of a smaller scale. For example, songs without words by Mendelssohn; preludes, etudes, nocturnes, ballads by Chopin; rhapsodies in Liszt; etudes-paintings by Rachmaninoff, fairy tales by Medtner and Prokofiev.

Some of these titles are generic, while others are more specific to the genre. For example, French and English suites by Bach, Norwegian Dances by Grieg, Italian Capriccio by Tchaikovsky, Jota of Aragon by Glinka.

In the work of romantics there are a variety of software titles with a more individualized genre characteristic. Programming is a characteristic feature of the Romantic era. Appeal to programming is caused by the desire of romantic composers to directly express a specific idea, image, character in the language of music, to bring music closer to other arts, literature, painting. The complexity of the reflected phenomena, the novelty of means and forms - all this required the author's instructions that would direct attention and help to correctly understand the meaning of the work. Composers embodied this common desire in different ways. Berlioz himself wrote a detailed program for his symphonies, like an opera libretto. Liszt's works are inspired by the images of world literature and took their own names. For example, the symphonies "Faust" (each part has a name: "Faust", "Gretchen", "Mephistopheles"), "Dante" after Dante's "Divine Comedy"; symphonic poems "Orpheus" - ancient mythology, "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, "Battle of the Huns" by the fresco of the German artist Katzlbach. Schumann came up with a title characteristic of a given play, indicating a specific content, or expressed in the title a general poetic idea, an idea. For example, the piano cycles "Butterflies", "Flowers". And sometimes, detailing the content, he gives each play of the cycle an individual title. This applies to the miniatures "Pierrot", "Pleasant Meetings", "Tender Confessions", "Coquette", etc., included in the piano cycle "Carnival".

In non-programmed music, the names of dance genres are most definite. Chopin in his piano work was limited only to the definition of the genre of the work: nocturne, ballad, polonaise, mazurka, waltz.

Genre, as a generalization of musical and social practice, is an essential means of expressing an artistic image in musical literature. For example:

In the work of Beethoven and Schubert, the march acquired great importance. – a genre associated with the era of the French Revolution, the revolutionary movement of the masses, with the era of the Napoleonic wars;

Folk song and dance genres in the work of Russian composers of the 19th-20th centuries. For example: the dance "mazurka" - as a means of creating a national color - Glinka. Opera "Ivan Susanin", II act; ditties - as a means of musical characterization of the image in connection with the text in the song - Sviridov. Poem "In memory of S. Yesenin", VII part "Peasant guys".

With the change in the content of social thought, the musical genres typical of this or that time also change - some die off (for example, Gregorian chant, ricercar) and others appear (author's song, rock opera).

A piece of music, like a piece of any other art form, is unity of content and form.

I option

Music content- display of reality in specific musical images. Artistic and incl. musical images arise in the creative imagination not by themselves, but as a result of perception reality. This perception does not automatically transfer the phenomena of reality into art (naturalism), but transforms them into artistic images through the creative processing of life impressions. Therefore, the artistic reflection of reality (even in the visual arts) is a reflection of the generalized attitude of the artist to reality, his worldview.

Musical images- the result of this kind of sensual generalization that takes place in the spiritual world of a person and creates the ground for both the creative imagination of the composer and the ethical perception of the listener. Muses. the image is already born in a musical guise and is perceived as a phenomenon of a musical order. Therefore, musical images are not only a product of reality, but also a product of musical culture with all its historically developing musical expressive means that form the "musical language".

II option

Reality is reflected in art in the form artistic images. The main features of the artistic image are usually given at the beginning of the work, but the full artistic image is revealed in the process of developing the content. The initial presentation of the artistic image in music is called musical theme(construction, which serves as an occasion for the further process of development).

concept musical form has two meanings: broad, general aesthetic and narrow, technological.

In a broad sense- the form is an integral organized system of musical expressive means, with the help of which the content of the work is embodied (a set of musical expressive means that reveal the ideological and figurative content of the work). The components of the musical form in this sense are not only the structure (type of composition) of the work as a whole and its parts, but also texture - a way of presenting musical material - (melody, harmony, rhythm - in their unity), timbre and register means, dynamic shades, tempo, methods of sound extraction, etc.

In a narrow sense- the structure of the work (type of composition - the structure of a musical or other work of art, arising on the basis of the relationship of its most important elements. The composition of the work is purposeful and helps to express the composer's intention); construction of a musical work, the ratio of its parts.

I option

Musical development in the work continuously. Continuity is supported by internal dynamics, causing a constant expectation of further development, until its final completion.

At the same time, music is articulation, dismemberment through cadences, stops at large durations, pauses. These musical punctuation marks, forming a roundness, completeness of individual constructions, are called caesuras (the moment of division between any parts of the form).

Due to the similarity in this respect with verbal speech (chapters, paragraphs, phrases and even words), musical development is called musical speech(phrases, sentences, period).

The main signs of caesura:

Stop on a continuous sound;

The repetition of melodic-rhythmic figures;

Changing dynamic shades, registers, etc.

The caesura is usually most clearly expressed in the main voice.

The part of the form delimited by caesuras is called building(regardless of duration - from bar to hundreds of bars). Parts of the form, i.e. constructions, separated from each other by caesuras, are at the same time in unity, thanks to which together they form musical whole.

The subdivision of a relatively complete musical thought into parts and their subordination to each other (unity) - musical syntax.

II option

Syntax(Greek - compilation) - this is an area in grammar devoted to the study of semantic relationships in verbal speech, the doctrine of phrases, sentences.

In music, there are also connections between the individual sounds that form musical phrases, between the phrases themselves. These connections arise on the basis of mode, metrorhythm, form of melodic movement, etc. - all this speaks of syntax of musical speech.

A piece of music can be compared to a piece of literature. A story, a novel - has a plan, idea and content, which becomes apparent with a gradual presentation. Moreover, each thought is expressed in complete sentences, which are separated from each other by dots. In the sentence, its parts are separated by commas.

In a piece of music, the content is also not presented in a continuous stream of sounds. Listening to music, we perceive moments of articulation in it - caesuras. A caesura is the moment at which one structure separates from another. Caesuras have characteristic features:

Change of registers, texture, melodic movement, tempo, timbre;

The emergence of new melodic material or its repetition;

Caesura between a construction and its literal or varied construction.

Just as in colloquial speech a thought is expressed by sentences that consist of separate words, so in a melody sentences are divided into smaller structures - phrases and motives(component elements of musical forms, cells that form the basis of a melody).

motive- the smallest part of a melody, an indivisible cell of musical speech, which has a certain expressive meaning and which can be recognized when it appears.

Mozart. Symphony No. 40, ch.p.;

Tchaikovsky "German song" (d.a.);

Chaikovsky. May. "White Nights" (d.a.);

Haydn. Minuet;

Mozart. Minuet;

Purcell. Aria;

Mordasov. Old motive.

The sequences of 2-3 motifs form a relatively closed construction - musical phrase. The phrases, in turn, are combined, and the succession of 2 phrases constitutes an even larger construction, called sentence. The succession of 2 sentences constitutes a complete section, which is called period is a simple one-part form.

Many small pieces represent a period. But for the most part, musical works consist of a chain of periods.

So the succession of two periods forms a simple two-part form (A + A 1, A + B). In vocal music, this form is called couplet.

- Chaikovsky. May. "White Nights" (d.a.) - A+B;

Maykapar. At kindergarten - A+B;

Schumann. March - A+B;

- Shulgin. October March - A + B;

- Handel. Minuet - A+A 1 ;

- Purcell. Aria - A+A 1 ;

- Bach. Aria - A+A 1

three-part form consists of three sections (most often - three periods): the 1st and 3rd sections are the same; middle - either continues the development of the thematic material of the 1st part, or builds on new, often contrasting material (A + A 1 + A, A + B + A).

Chaikovsky. "March of wooden soldiers" (d.a.) - A+A 1 +A;

Chaikovsky. "New Doll" (d.a.) - A+A 1 +A;

Chaikovsky. "Lark" (d.a.) - A+A 1 +A;

- Mozart. Minuet - A+A 1 +A;

Chaikovsky. "Sweet Dream" (d.a.) - A+B+A;

- Rubinstein. "Melody" - A+B+A;

- Mussorgsky. "Baba Yaga", "Ballet of Unhatched Chicks" ("Pictures at an Exhibition") - sl. 3-part with a contrasting middle;

Grieg. "Procession of the Dwarves" - sl. 3-part with a contrasting middle;

- Prokofiev. Dance of the Knights - sl. 3-part with a contrasting middle;

- Mozart. Symphony No. 40, 3rd part - sl. 3-part with trio

Variations- a musical form consisting of a theme and several repetitions of it in a modified form ( A + A 1 + A 2 + A 3 ...).

- Handel. Passacaglia g moll - 2957 (basso ostinato);

Mozart. Variations on a French Theme Songs. - 572;

Grieg. In the cave of the mountain king - 3641 (soprano ostinato);

Ravel. Bolero - 3139 (double variations);

Glinka. Kamarinskaya - 3578 (double variations)

Shostakovich. Symphony No. 7, part I, episode of the invasion - free variations on an unchanging theme

Rondo(fr. - round dance, walking in a circle) - a musical form consisting of repeated repetition of one theme - refrain(the topic is carried out at least 3 times), with which sections of a different content alternate - episodes. The rondo form begins and ends with a refrain, forming, as it were, a vicious circle. (A+B+A+C+D+A).

Couperin. Chaconne "Beloved" - 2874;

Mozart. Arioso Figaro "The frisky boy ...", I d. "The Wedding of Figaro" -

Glinka. Romance "Night Zephyr" -

Glinka. Rondo Farlaf, II d. "Ruslan and Lyudmila" -

Borodin. Lament of Yaroslavna, IV d. "Prince Igor" -

Prokofiev. "Juliet is a girl" -

Mussorgsky. "Pictures at an Exhibition" - a rondo with features of a suite.

Large works, consisting of separate parts, united by a common idea, belong to cyclic forms.

Music was born in ancient times as one of the ways of artistic expression of human feelings. Its development has always been closely connected with the needs of human society. At first, music was poor and inexpressive, but over the many centuries of its existence, it has become one of the most complex, expressive arts, with an exceptional power of influencing a person.

Classical music is rich in various types of works, each of which has its own distinctive features, its content, its purpose. Such types of musical works as song, dance, overture, symphony and others are called genres and.

Musical genres form two large groups, distinguished by the method of performance: vocal and. instrumental.

Vocal music is closely connected with the poetic text, with the word. Her genres - song, romance, choir, opera aria - are the most accessible and popular works for all listeners. They are performed by singers with the accompaniment of instruments, and songs and choirs are often unaccompanied.

Folk song is the most ancient form of musical art. Long before professional music began to develop, bright musical and poetic images developed in folk songs, truthfully and artistically convincingly reflecting the life of people. This is also manifested in the nature of the tunes themselves, in the bright originality of the melodic structure. That is why the great composers valued folk songs as a source of development of national musical art. “We do not create, the people create,” said M. I. Glinka, the founder of Russian opera and symphonic music, “but we only arrange” (process).

An essential feature of any song is the repeated repetition of a tune with different words. At the same time, the main melody of the song remains in the same form, but each time the slightly changed poetic text gives it new expressive shades.

Even the simplest accompaniment - instrumental accompaniment - enhances the emotional expressiveness of the song melody, gives its sound a special fullness and brilliance, "finishes" those images of the poetic text that cannot be conveyed in the melody by means of instrumental music. Thus, the piano accompaniment in Glinka's well-known romances "Night Marshmallow" and "The Blues Fell Asleep" reproduces the movement of rolling waves, and in his song "Lark" - bird chirping. In the accompaniment of Franz Schubert's ballad "The Forest King" one can hear a frantic gallop of a horse.

In the work of composers of the XIX century. along with the song, romance became a favorite vocal genre. This is a small piece for voice with instrumental accompaniment.

Usually romances are much more complicated than songs. The melodies of romances are not only of a wide song warehouse, but also of a melodious declamatory (“I'm not angry” by Robert Schumann). In romances, one can also find a contrasting juxtaposition of musical images (“Night Zephyr” by M. I. Glinka and A. S. Dargomyzhsky, “The Sleeping Princess” by A. P. Borodin), and intense dramatic development (“I remember a wonderful moment” by Glinka on Pushkin's poems).

Some genres of vocal music are intended for a group of performers: a duet (two singers), a trio (three), a quartet (four), a quintet (five), etc., and in addition - a choir (a large singing group). Choral genres can be independent or be part of a larger musical and dramatic work: operas, oratorios, cantatas. Such are the choral compositions of the great German composers Georg Friedrich Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach, the choirs in the heroic operas of Christoph Gluck, in the majestic epic and heroic-dramatic operas of the Russian composers M. I. Glinka, A. N. Serov, A. P. Borodin, M P. Mussorgsky, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. I. Taneyev. In the famous choral finale of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, glorifying freedom (to the words of the ode "To Joy" by Friedrich Schiller), a picture of the majestic festival of millions of people ("Hug, millions") is reproduced.

Excellent choirs were created by Soviet composers D. D. Shostakovich, M. V. Koval, A. A. Davidenko. The Davidenko choir "On the tenth verst from the capital" is dedicated to the victims of the execution on January 9, 1905; his other choir, imbued with a great upsurge - "The Street is agitated" - depicts the jubilation of the people who overthrew the autocracy in 1917.

The oratorio is a major work for the choir, solo singers and symphony orchestra. It resembles an opera, but is performed in concerts without scenery, costumes and stage action (the oratorio "On Guard of the World" by the Soviet composer S. S. Prokofiev).

The cantata is simpler in content and smaller than the oratorio. There are lyrical, solemn, welcoming, congratulatory cantatas created in honor of some anniversary date or social event (for example, Tchaikovsky's "Cantata for the opening of the Polytechnic Exhibition"). Soviet composers also turned to this genre, creating cantatas on contemporary and historical themes (Shostakovich's Sun Shines Over Our Motherland, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky).

The richest and most complex genre of vocal music is opera. It combines poetry and dramatic action, vocal and instrumental music, facial expressions, gestures, dances, painting, lighting effects into a single whole. But all this is subordinated in the opera to the musical principle.

The role of ordinary colloquial speech in most operas is performed by singing or speech in a singsong voice - recitative. In such operatic genres as operetta, musical comedy and comic opera, singing alternates with ordinary colloquial speech (“White locust” by I. O. Dunaevsky, “Arshin mal alan” by Uzeyir Gadzhibekov, “Tales of Hoffmann” by Jacques Offenbach).

Opera action is revealed primarily in vocal scenes: arias, cavatina, song, musical ensembles and choirs. In solo arias, accompanied by the powerful sound of a symphony orchestra, the subtlest shades of spiritual experiences of the characters or their portrait characteristics are reproduced (for example, Ruslan's aria in Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila, Igor and Konchak's arias in Borodin's Prince Igor). Dramatic clashes of interests of individual actors are revealed in ensembles - duets, tercets, quartets (the duet of Yaroslavna and Galitsky in the opera "Prince Igor" by Borodin).

In Russian classical operas, we encounter marvelous examples of musical ensembles: the dramatic duet of Natasha and the Prince (from the first act of Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka), the heartfelt trio Don't Sleep, Darling (from Glinka's Ivan Susanin). The mighty choirs in the operas of Glinka, Mussorgsky, and Borodin faithfully recreate the images of the masses.

Of considerable importance in operas are instrumental episodes: marches, dances, and sometimes entire musical scenes, usually placed between acts. For example, in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia, a symphonic depiction of the battle of the ancient Russian army with the Tatar-Mongol hordes is given (The Battle of Kerzhents). Almost every opera begins with an overture - a symphonic prologue, in general terms, revealing the content of the dramatic action of the opera.

Instrumental music developed on the basis of vocal music. She grew out of song and dance. One of the oldest forms of instrumental music associated with folk art is the theme with variations.

Such a piece is built on the development and modification of the main musical thought - the theme. At the same time, individual melodic turns, chants, rhythm and nature of accompaniment change (varie). Let us recall the piano variations on the theme of the Russian song “Will I go out to the river” by the Russian musician of the 18th century. I. E. Khandoshkina (see article “Gus music of the 18th century”). In Glinka's symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya", first the majestic smooth wedding song "Because of the mountains, high mountains", then the fast dance tune "Kamarinskaya" varies.

Another oldest musical form is the suite, an alternation of various dances and pieces. In an old dance suite of the 17th century. dances that were opposite in character, tempo and rhythm replaced each other: moderately slow (German allemande), fast (French chimes), very slow, solemn (Spanish sarabande) and swiftly fast (gigue, known in a number of countries). In the XVIII century. funny dances were inserted between the sarabande and the gigue: gavotte, burre, minuet and others. Some composers (for example, Bach) often opened the suite with an introductory piece that did not have the form of a dance: a prelude, an overture.

A successive series of musical works, united into a single whole, is called a cycle. Let us recall Schubert's song cycles "The Miller's Love" and "The Winter Road", Schumann's vocal cycle "The Poet's Love" to the words of Heinrich Heine. Many instrumental genres are cycles: this is a variation, a suite, an instrumental serenade, a symphony, a sonata, a concerto.

Initially, the word sonata (from the Italian “to sound”) denoted any instrumental piece. Only towards the end of the 17th century. in the work of the Italian violinist Corelli, a peculiar genre of sonata of 4-6 parts developed, which became one of the most popular. Classical examples of a sonata in two or three parts in the 18th century. created by composers Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (son of J.S. Bach), Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I.E. Khandoshkin. Their sonata consisted of several parts, different in musical images. The energetic, rapidly unfolding first part, usually built on a contrasting juxtaposition of two musical themes, was replaced by the second part - a slow, melodious lyrical piece. The sonata ended with a finale - music at a fast pace, but different in character than the first movement. Sometimes the slow part was replaced by a dance piece - a minuet. The German composer Beethoven wrote many of his sonatas in four movements, placing between the slow movement and the finale a lively piece - a minuet or scherzo (from the Italian "joke").

Pieces for solo instruments (sonata, variations, suite, prelude, impromptu, nocturne), together with various instrumental ensembles (trios, quartets), constitute the field of chamber music (literally, “home”), designed to be performed in front of a relatively small circle of listeners. In a chamber ensemble, the parts of all instruments are equally important and require especially careful finishing from the composer.

Symphonic music is one of the brightest phenomena of world musical culture. The best works for the symphony orchestra are distinguished by the depth and completeness of the reflection of reality, the grandeur of the scale and, at the same time, the simplicity and accessibility of the musical language, which sometimes acquires expressiveness and colorfulness of visual images. Remarkable symphonic works by composers Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Glinka, Balakirev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and others were created for the mass democratic audience of large concert halls.

The main genres of symphonic music are overtures (for example, Beethoven's overture to the tragedy "Egmont" by Goethe), symphonic fantasies ("Francesca da Rimini" by Tchaikovsky), symphonic poems ("Tamara" by Balakirev), symphonic suites ("Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov) and symphonies.

A symphony, like a sonata, consists of several distinct movements, usually four. They can be compared to the individual acts of a dramatic play or the chapters of a novel. In inexhaustibly varied combinations of musical images and in the contrasting alternation of their movements - fast, slow, light dance and again fast-fast - composers recreate various aspects of reality.

Symphonic composers reflect in their music the energetic, active nature of a person, his struggle with life's adversities and obstacles, his bright feelings, the dream of happiness and sad memories, the captivating beauty of nature, and along with this - the powerful liberation movement of the masses, scenes of folk life and folk festivals.

The instrumental concerto in its form resembles a symphony and a sonata. This is a very complex composition for a solo instrument (piano, violin, clarinet, etc.) with orchestral accompaniment. The soloist and the orchestra seem to compete with each other: the orchestra either falls silent, fascinated by the passion of feeling and the elegance of sound patterns in the part of the solo instrument, or interrupts him, arguing with him, or powerfully picks up his theme.

Concertos were composed by many outstanding composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. (Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, Haydn). However, the great composer Mozart was the creator of the classical concerto. Wonderful concertos for various instruments (most often for the piano or violin) were written by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvorak, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Rachmaninov, and Soviet composers A. Khachaturian, D. Kabalevsky.

The centuries-old history of music tells us how various musical forms and genres were born and developed over the centuries. Some of them existed for a relatively short time, others have stood the test of time. For example, in the countries of the socialist camp, genres of church music are dying out. But the composers of these countries create such new genres as pioneer and Komsomol songs, songs-marches of fighters for peace.

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Continuing the series of articles on music theory, we would like to tell you about how genres in music were formed and developed. After this article, you will never again confuse a musical genre with a musical style.

So, first, let's look at how the concepts of “genre” and “style” differ. Genre- This is a type of work that has developed historically. It implies the form, content and purpose of music. Musical genres began their formation at an early stage in the development of music, in the structure of primitive communities. Then music accompanied every step of human activity: life, work, speech, and so on. Thus, the main genre principles were formed, which we will analyze further.

Style It also implies the sum of materials (harmony, melody, rhythm, polyphony), the way in which they were used in a piece of music. Usually the style is based on the trend of a certain era or is classified by composer. In other words, style is a set of means of musical expression that determines the image and idea of ​​music. It may depend on the individuality of the composer, his worldview and tastes, approach to music. Also, the style determines the currents in music, such as jazz, pop, rock, folk styles and so on.

Now back to genres of music. There are five main genre beginnings, which, as we said, originated in primitive communities:

• Motority
• Declamation
• chant
• signaling
• Sound imaging

It was they who became the basis of all subsequent genres that appeared with the development of music.

Quite soon after the formation of the main genre principles, the genre and style began to intertwine into a single system. Such genre and style systems were formed depending on the occasion for which the music was created. This is how genre-style systems appeared, which were used in certain ancient cults, for ancient rituals and in everyday life. The genre had a more applied character, which formed a certain image, style and compositional features of ancient music.

On the walls of the Egyptian pyramids and in the surviving ancient papyri, lines of ritual and religious hymns were found, which most often spoke about the ancient Egyptian gods.

It is believed that ancient music received its highest point of development in ancient Greece. It was in ancient Greek music that certain patterns were discovered on which its structure was based.

As society evolved, so did music. In medieval culture, new vocal and vocal instrumental genres have already been formed. During this era, genres such as:

• Organum is the earliest form of polyphonic music in Europe. This genre was used in churches, and it flourished in the Paris school of Notre Dame.
• Opera is a musical and dramatic work.
• Choral - liturgical Catholic or Protestant singing.
• Motet is a vocal genre that was used both in church and at social events. His style depended on the text.
• Conduct is a medieval song, the text of which was most often spiritual and moralizing. Until now, they cannot accurately decipher the medieval notes of conducts, since they did not have a definite rhythm.
• Mass is a liturgical service in Catholic churches. Requiem is also included in this genre.
• Madrigal is a small work on lyrical and love themes. This genre originated in Italy.
• Chanson - this genre appeared in France, and initially choral peasant songs belonged to it.
• Pavane is a smooth dance that opened the holidays in Italy
• Galliard - a cheerful and rhythmic dance also comes from Italy
• Allemanda is a procession dance that originated in Germany.

AT XVII-XVIII For centuries, rural music - country music - has developed quite actively in North America. The genre has been heavily influenced by Irish and Scottish folk music. The lyrics of such songs often talked about love, rural life and cowboy life.

At the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, folklore developed quite actively in Latin America and Africa. In the African American community, the blues is born, which was originally a "work song" that accompanied work in the field. The blues was also based on ballads and religious chants. The blues formed the basis of a new genre - jazz, which is the result of a mixture of African and European cultures. Jazz has become quite widespread and universally recognized.

Based on jazz and blues, at the end of the 40s, rhythm and blues (R'n'B), a song and dance genre, appeared. He was quite popular among the youth. Subsequently, funk and soul appeared within this genre.

Curiously, along with these African-American genres, the genre of pop music appeared in the 1920s. The roots of this genre are found in folk music, street romances and ballads. Pop music has always mixed with other genres, forming quite interesting musical styles. In the 70s, the “disco” style appeared within pop music, which became the most popular dance music at that time, relegating rock and roll to the background.

In the 50s, rock bursts into the ranks of already existing genres, the origins of which are in blues, folk and country. It quickly gained wild popularity and grew into many different styles, mixing with other genres.

Ten years later, the reggae genre was formed in Jamaica, which became widespread in the 70s. The basis of reggae is mento - a genre of Jamaican folk music.

In the 1970s, rap appeared, which was “exported” by Jamaican DJs to the Bronx. The founder of rap is DJ Kool Herc. Initially, rap was read for pleasure, to throw out their emotions. The basis of this genre is the beat that sets the rhythm for recitative.

In the second half of the 20th century, electronic music established itself as a genre. It is strange that it did not receive recognition at the beginning of the 20th century, when the first electronic instruments appeared. This genre involves the creation of music using electronic musical instruments, technology and computer programs.

Genres formed in the 20th century have many styles. For example:

Jazz:

• new orleans jazz
• Dixieland
• Swing
• Western swing
• Bop
• hard bop
• Boogie Woogie
• Cool or cool jazz
• modal or modal jazz
• avant-garde jazz
• soul jazz
• free jazz
• bossa nova or latin jazz
• Symphonic Jazz
• progressive
• Fusion or jazz rock
• electric jazz
• acid jazz
• crossover
• smooth jazz

• Cabaret
• minstrel show
• music hall
• Musical
• Ragtime
• lounge
• Classic crossover
• Psychedelic pop
• italo disco
• Eurodisco
• Hi-energy
• Nu-disco
• space disco
• Ye-ye
• K-pop
• europop
• Arabic pop music
• Russian pop music
• Rigsar
• Laika
• Latin American pop
• J-pop

• Rock'n'roll
• Big Beat
• rockabilly
• psychobilly
• neo-rocabilly
• skiffle
• doo wop
• Twist
• Alternative Rock (Indie Rock/College Rock)
• Mat rock
• Madchester
• grunge
• shoegazing
• Britpop
• noise rock
• noise pop
• Post-grunge
• lo-fi
• indie pop
• Twee pop
• Art rock (Progressive rock)
• jazz rock
• kraut rock
• garage rock
• Freakbeat
• Glam rock
• country rock
• Merseybit
• Metal (Hard rock)
• avant-garde metal
• Alternative metal
• black metal
• Melodic black metal
• Symphonic black metal
• true black metal
• viking metal
• gothic metal
• Doom metal
• death metal
• Melodic death metal
• Metalcore
• New metal
• power metal
• progressive metal
• speed metal
• stoner rock
• Thrash metal
• folk metal
• Heavy metal
• New wave
• Russian rock
• pub rock
• Punk rock
• ska punk
• pop punk
• crust punk
• hardcore
• crossover
• Riot folk
• pop rock
• Postpunk
• Gothic rock
• no wave
• Postrock
• Psychedelic rock
• soft rock
• folk rock
• techno rock

As you can see, there are many styles. It will take a lot of time to enumerate the full list, so we will not do this. The main thing is that you now know how modern popular genres appeared and you will definitely no longer confuse genre and style.