To what extent has music been written to appeal to particular

audiences?

When the composer Mikhail Glinka says ‘A nation creates music - the composer only
arranges it’ he is acknowledging the fact that music is not independent from what is
going on in society. Political, religious and scientific changes are all reflected in the
kind of music that is being made. There is a notable evolution of the audiences that
the composers wrote for and therefore adapted their works accordantly.
This is particularly noticeable in the late 18 th century where music shifted from being
only for religious purposes or pleasing private patronages and made room for
musicians that composed about what they wanted and focused more on the
message and the specific emotions that they were trying to get across. Music began
being a form of entertainment, something to enjoy for pleasure.
We will analyse specific examples trough different times in history, more specifically
two before 1750 and two after, that demonstrate how the music that was being
written was not at all static and moved along with the society.
Around 1500 Churches began breaking away from Catholicism across Northern
Europe. In the national German Church Martin Luther created a movement called the
Reformation. In this protestant movement music served a specific religious purpose
– to serve as propaganda to spread a religious message and try to convert people to
Lutheranism ‘(…) fulfilling Luther’s aim of increasing worshippers’ participation
through music.’1
He wrote chorales in German for the entire congregation to sing together because
that ‘(…)permitted for greater relationship with God trough personal faith ‘(…) and
affirming the bonds of Christian fellowship.’ 2 He also gave much importance to the
fact that people should be participants and not only observers because ‘Through
singing together, worshippers could unite in proclaiming their faith and praising
God.’2 He then used surviving Latin motets for trained choirs to sing.
The printing press also helped enormously with taking Luther’s chorales and his
message further. A clear example to show this was when Luther’s main music
consultant and assistant Johann Walther wrote a book that consisted of motets
based on previous chorales called Walther’s Geystliches gesangk Buchleyn (“Little
sacred songbook”) meant to be used for educational purposes in religious boarding
schools to teach Luther’s doctrine. ‘The book remained standard curricular fare for
many years and went through many editions.’ 2 showing how successful Luther was
in spreading this message across generations.

1
J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music (10th edition).
New York: Norton, 2019. Chapter 11 Page 232
2
Richard Taruskin, The Oxford History of Western Music vol.1: from the earliest notations to the 16th
century (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010): Chapter 18, ‘The Lutheran Chorale’
Before music became an autonomous art, it was common for composers to write
music for special occasions like aristocrat weddings or courtly entertainment and
most of these works were about pleasing their sponsor and were for immediate use.
Even tough composers were to obey to the wishes of their patrons they secured a
steady income. At this time music was still used for serving an external function and
it was seen by the aristocrats as a necessary ornament for the nobility lifestyle.
This is demonstrated when in October 1600 the composer Caccini was asked to
compose the music for the festivities celebrating the wedding of Maria de’ Medici and
King Henry IV of France, a pastoral by Gabriello Chiabrera entitled Il rapimento di
Cefalo. A great amount of people attended this event but even though it was a very
big production the performance was not very well received by the audience, ‘The
music was tedious, ‘like the chanting of the Passion’ according to one audience
member.’3
As musical performances began leaving the palace and transitioning to the concert
hall, the composer began to acquire a new role. He stopped being a servant of the
court and writing on demand. Instead with the rise of public concert, composers had
now a new place to perform their work. Music began to be a valuable art form by
itself and the composer achieve genius status contributing to this new concept of the
composer as a free and independent agent. Even though their new status the
composer still relied on ‘(…) a model for modern patronage (whether by the state via
organizations like the Arts Council or from charitable foundations and private
individuals).4
This is the case of Beethoven who wrote not to please an audience or to sell his
work to amateurs but instead he wrote to pursue his own personal artistic goals. And
even tough was not attached to a specific court was only able to compose what he
chose because of the income provided by a circle of ‘(…) patrons whose wealth
allowed him to compose ‘at the limits’ – pushing the boundaries of his own invention
and imagination at the same time as pushing the limits of his formidable abilities as a
pianist.’4
When he wrote the Battle Symphony in 1813 also known as the Wellington´s Victory
celebrating the British victory against Napoleon’s army in Spain at the Battle of
Victory he wrote it as a response to the political climate he lived in and as a way to
express his own nationalistic sentiments. His work is still ‘(…) heard most frequently
at Fourth of July celebrations in the United States to accompany fireworks and
ceremonial pageantry.’ 5 showing Beethoven success with his composition.

3
 Lois Rosow, 'Power and display: music in court theatre', in Tim Carter (ed.), The Cambridge History
of Seventeenth-Century Music (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), page 206
4
Johnson, Julian. Classical Music: A Beginner's Guide, The Classical Ideal: 1750-1810, Oneworld
Publications, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central

5
Forney, Kristine. The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening, 11th edition, W.W.
Norton & Company, page 181
With the political unrest in Europe throughout 19 th century came a wave of
nationalist composers who found inspiration in various emotions that came for
example from: winning wars and conquering lands or in the other side of the
spectrum: the search for freedom.
In Mussorgsky’s work Pictures at an Exhibition we can see how his music was
inspired in his love for Russia and Russian folk art. He had ‘(…) an interest in finding
a new artistic language that was uniquely Russian.’ 6 and intended to pay tribute to
his nation through his work.
He achieved success by using musical features that were characteristic of Russian
popular music by ‘(…) blending classical procedures with a melody that resembles a
Russian folk song and harmonies that suggest the modality and parallel motion of
folk polyphony. Later, he twice states a Russian Orthodox hymn, which adds a
prayerful tone and authentic national element to this majestic concluding
movement.’6
In conclusion, even though in this analysis we go through only a few examples we
can see obviously how different demands from different audiences motivated the
composer. It is also clear how his music translated what was going on not only
outside of him but how the external situation influenced him and by consequence
influenced his music. We then can state that music changes along with society and
will continue to do so as we are forever evolving.

6
J. Peter Burkholder, Donald Jay Grout, Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music (10th edition).
New York: Norton, 2019. Chapter 30, pages 738-39