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Did Romantic Composers Avoid Atonality!?
This site introduces unknown Emanuel Bach (C. P. E. Bach).
Did Romantic Composers Avoid Atonality!?
Asked ChatGPT4o about the relationship between chromatic melodies and atonality in Bachʼs fugues, and also inquired about the relationship between Romanticism and atonality.
“Was there a philosophy or reason during the Romantic era to avoid atonality?”
During the Romantic era, there indeed existed philosophical and musical reasons to avoid atonality. These reasons were deeply connected to the aesthetic and emotional ideals of Romantic music and its role in engaging audiences.
1. Centrality of Emotional Expression
One of the main goals of Romantic music was to depict emotions and narratives through music. Therefore, atonality was avoided for the following reasons:
- Maintaining Emotional Direction: Tonality was essential for clarifying the flow of emotions, necessary to express changes such as joy, sorrow, anxiety, and stability. Atonality often blurred this emotional direction.
- Sensation of Resolution: The drama of tension and release was a key element in Romantic music, with tonality providing the framework for this. Atonality made it difficult to achieve a sense of release, making it incompatible with the dramatic nature of Romantic music.
2. Relationship with the Audience
Romantic music emphasized being understandable and emotionally moving to general audiences.
- Universality of Music: Tonality was a familiar musical language for people at the time and a vital means for the audience to comprehend musical messages. Moving towards atonality risked making music seem "inaccessible," potentially alienating listeners.
- Preserving Narrative: Many Romantic works were tied to program music (descriptive music based on specific stories or images) and opera, where tonality was key to conveying musical stories.
3. Exploration as an Extension of Tonality
Romantic composers did not completely abandon tonality but sought new expressions by expanding its boundaries.
- Use of Chromaticism and Modulation: Composers like Wagner and Liszt used chromatic progressions and frequent modulations to maximize tonal tension. However, they ultimately returned to tonality, providing a sense of stability.
- Aim to Expand Tonality: For example, Wagnerʼs *Tristan und Isolde* pushes chromatic progressions to the extreme, giving the impression of surpassing tonality but still remains within a tonal framework.
4. Philosophical and Aesthetic Background
The aesthetics of the Romantic era were based on maintaining a balance between order and chaos.
- Tonality and Order: Tonality symbolized order and was associated with the idea that music reflected natural laws or divine will. Atonality was seen as a collapse of this order and was not yet acceptable to Romantic composers.
- Harmony with Human Senses: Romantic composers valued music that appealed to human senses and intuition. Exceeding the framework of tonality was thought to cause confusion among listeners.
5. Late Romanticism as Preparation for Atonality
In the late Romantic period (late 19th century), composers such as Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Debussy began exploring the possibilities of atonality by pushing the limits of tonality.
- The Beginning of Tonal Dismantling: In Wagnerʼs later works and parts of Mahler’s symphonies, the framework of tonality becomes blurred, creating moments that sound almost atonal.
- A Turning Point in the 20th Century: This ambiguity in tonality eventually led to the development of atonal music and the twelve-tone technique by composers like Schoenberg and Berg.
Conclusion
During the Romantic era, the musical aesthetics centered on tonality, and atonality did not align with this philosophy. However, the exploration of tonal limits progressed throughout this period, laying the groundwork for atonality to emerge as a new musical language in the early 20th century. Romantic composers did not completely abandon tonality but sought to maximize expression within its framework.
Later, I also asked about the background behind Schoenbergʼs composition of atonal music, which includes a comparison with the Romantic era.