9. National Styles—Italy and Germany

Overview

In this lecture, we explore some of the essential differences between Italian music and German music, differences that first truly manifested themselves in the music of the Baroque Era. Musical nationalism involves much more than the incorporation of ethnic or ethnic-sounding elements. It evolves from a composer’s native language and his or her social and cultural background. We see that the Italian-based Roman Catholic Church’s emphasis on vocal music led to the cultivation of vocal music that was profoundly influenced by both the Latin and Italian languages. The Baroque Era was dominated by Italian music, although a distinctly national style of music began to evolve in Germany with the advent of the Protestant Reformation. A new emphasis on the German language in worship led to music that followed the idiosyncratic cadences of the German language, while the Lutheran view of all music as a spiritual act had a major impact on the development of German instrumental music.

Cast