Here, Let me try.
"Galant" is the term people who lived in the period from roughly 1720
on to 1790 ( Telemann through Mozart) used to describe certain traits,
attitudes, and manners, associated with the cultured nobility, according to
Robert O. Gjerdingen in his book, Music in the Galant Style. They did not
call their music Pre-classical,or post baroque, or modern. But they did
refer to a "galant style" that was, in short, attempting to please the
cultured, knowledgeable listener with wit, charm, and inventiveness within a
somewhat mannered framework that was merely an accepted list of chord
progressions passed down to composition students through their teachers,etc.
Now remember, this is the period when the courts were losing their
stranglehold on society with the rise of a merchant class and thus their
influence on musical tastes and tennants. So there are varying modes of this
style. And it crosses a couple generations and incorporates many
geographical influences. And...the five kinds of music...Church, Court,
Theater, Peasant (folk), and French (that's a whole different story) Music.
Mix 'em all up, a little from this, a little from that, and you get galant.
(except french, it's pre-mixed)
Lute composers who were writing in the galant style were Falckenhagen,
Hagen, Kropffganss, Durant, Martino, Daube, Straube, Baron, old Weiss wrote
some pieces that would fall into that categogy too. More later
Dale
----- Original Message -----
From: <theoj89...@aol.com>
To: <baroque-lute@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2010 9:23 AM
Subject: [BAROQUE-LUTE] Galant definition
Could anyone help me understand the definition of 'Galant' music?
Does it refer only to lute music, or to the period/style.
What are its characteristics - if they can be summed up?
Which composers would be considered most typical of Galant style?
Thanks for helping a enthusiastic beginner further appreciate such a great
literature.
trj
--
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 9.0.862 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3212 - Release Date: 10/22/10
02:34:00
