Part 1: Listening
The following 15 excerpts present one of the most popular melodic formulas from the 18th century. This is a melody that immediately signals the 18th century! In what ways do all of these melodies sound similar? Can you figure out what makes it work just by listening to many examples of it?
Immerse yourself in this idiom by listening to these melodies repeatedly. You are done when you can hum to yourself a basic melodic line that captures what these melodies share with one another.
The examples given span the years 1722 to 1827, but focus your listening especially on those from the years 1760-1790
Excerpt 1: Leonardo Vinci, "Si' masto mio" from Li zite n'galera (1722)
Excerpt 2: Pescetti, Sonata in E major, mvt 3, Menuett (1739)
Excerpt 3: Carl Heinrich Graun, "Anime innamorate" from Cleopatra e Cesare (1742)
Excerpt 4: Christoph Willibald Gluck, "Che farò senza Euridice?" from Orfeo ed Euridice (1762)
Excerpt 5: Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 35 in Bb major, mvt. 1, Allegro di molto (1767)
Excerpt 6: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony in A major K. 201, mvt. 4, Allegro con spirito (1774)
Excerpt 7: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Sonata in G major K. 283, mvt. 1, Allegro (1774)
Excerpt 8: Josef Mysliveček, "Se cerca, se dice" from L'Olimpiade (1778)
Excerpt 9: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Sonata in C minor K. 457, mvt. 3, Allegro assai (1784)
Excerpt 10: Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G major, mvt. 2, Largo (1788)
Excerpt 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, "Soave sia il vento" from Così fan tutte (1790)
Excerpt 12: Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata in Eb major Op. 31 No. 3, mvt. 3, Menuetto (1802)
Excerpt 13: Gioachino Rossini, String Sonata No. 2 in A major (1804)
Excerpt 14: Gaetano Donizetti, "E puoi goder, tiranno" from Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (1827)
Excerpt 15: Hector Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique Op. 14, mvt. 1, Rêveries – Passions (1830)