My Enlightenment Paper needs a third opinion

[Sivart the Sloth Trencher]

So i have to write a paper involving the research of Enlightenment composers/artists while comparing and contrasting their works to previous classical composers. Anyone have any good pieces of art or a song that I could use to write 3 pages about. Or at least some composers/artists to compare and contrast?

Only asking help from my fellow Pavilionites due to the fact that even though I missed 4 days of school, my paper is due tomorrow like everyone else's.

[jacquel]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

... Honors high school or Honors university

'Cause if its the later I'd have to say you're just ****ed.

Edit: oic ur 15 lol

Well I'm still not helpful here regardless.

[Sivart the Sloth Trencher]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

Either way, high school or college, it's rather staggering to have to do this AND another paper by tomorrow even though I missed the whole week.

[Wavelength]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

Wasn't the Enlightenment more of a time for Scientific, Political, and Philosophical progress, as opposed to artistic and musical ones? I'm very sorry, but I can't think of a single artist off-hand from that time period.

You could probably get by if you know even one artist/composer from that time... plug them into Wikipedia, see who their contemporaries were, and see if any of those people have a long article about one of their works. Then do a little more research on that particular work.

EDIT: Actually, Bach was an Enlightenment-Age musician. Type "trio sonata" (he produced six of them, I think it said) into Wiki and you'll find something cool that you just might be able to start from.

[Sivart the Sloth Trencher]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

Thanks. Enlightenment artists were ones who not only composed during that time, but they would usually the ideas of enlightenment ni some way shape or form through their art/music.

[peachy]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

this is really easy, just find some token enlightenment piece via google in like 2 minutes, then just say youre comparing it to a piece of the earlier era and then use what you know about the enlightenment to make statements, randomly taking stuff from the music as if it proves your point. its essentially the same thing as a literature analysis, but easier because its dumber.

i mean i wrote like 5 pages an hour before class about how the lack of a third rhyme in the sestet of methought i saw me late espoused saint shows the progression from petrarchan love sonnets milton took in regards to marriage and i really have no clue what i just said.

[Sivart the Sloth Trencher]

Re: Enlightenment (Little Honors Proj. of mine)

Will someone read my paper once I'm finished? I managed to get the deadline extended and procrastinated like hell.

Ok, here it is. Note that I type this thing up in 30 minutes and am VERY tired.

The Enlightenment was a time of reformed thinking. During the Age of Enlightenment, everything that people had come to accept, be it the centralization on God, Heaven, and Hell, the strict class system, or Divine Right. As people started to question the things that were once considered God’s law, the thoughts and products of thought slowly changed.

Musical eras of the Enlightenment were known as the Baroque and Classical periods. These were preceded by the Renaissance period. John Farmer, a famous composer of the Renaissance period, and Ludwig Von Beethoven, a composer from the classical era, are very contrasting in their works.

John Farmer’s piece, “Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone”, is a song about a shepherdess going missing. Her boyfriend proceeds to search for her, and after finding her, they kiss. Beethoven’s famous song, Für Elise, is a lyric-less song, but translates out to mean For Elise. This is also a song about love, but instead of telling a story, it’s a love song.

While both songs are about love, the musical style of these songs and their composers is a different matter. Farmer’s song is mostly vocals, with three of four voices singing in an echo-like manner. The song is sung with the sound of a religious hymn. Most of Farmer’s works are religiously-influenced. With a majority of them being psalms.


Beethoven’s countless works are of a darker tone. When he employs the use voices, they sing with more gusto and have an air of darkness about them. Unlike the pre-enlightenment composer Farmer’s works, most, if not all, of Beethoven’s songs have no religious influence.

This is the case with almost all comparisons with composers before during, and after the Enlightenment. With the idea of reform and religion having less of an influence on many Enlightenment thinkers, the works of many composers changed. The mood of the time was reflected in the works as songs went from grand to a more elegant sound.