A character piece is a

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

which is expressive of a specific mood or non-musical idea.

History

The term "character piece" was coined by

Marin Marais Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colomb ...

in the ''avertissement'' to his fifth book of

viola da gamba The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch ...

music published in 1725. He writes that ''pièces de caractère'' are now received favorably by the public, so he has decided to insert many of them. Marais's pieces such as "La Petite Badinage" and "Dialogue" have descriptive, literary titles which differ from the ordinary stylized dance pieces of the time. In German, ''Charakterstück,'' was originally used for a broad range of 19th-century

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

music based on a single idea or

program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Programm ...

, although attempts to use musical effects to describe nonmusical subjects are “probably as old as music itself.” Character pieces are a staple of

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—th ...

, and are essential to that movement's interest in the evocation of particular moods or moments. What distinguishes character pieces is the specificity of the idea they invoke. Many character pieces are composed in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

, but that form is not universal in the genre. A common feature is a title expressive of the character intended, such as

Stephen Heller Stephen Heller (15 May 1813 – 14 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was ...

's ''Voyage autour de ma chambre'' ("Voyage around my room"), an early example of the genre, or Bruckner's ''Abendklänge'' ("Evening harmonies"). Many character pieces have titles based on literature ( Schumann’s ''

Kreisleriana ''Kreisleriana'', Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled ''.'' Schumann claimed to have written it in only four days in April 1838 and a revised version appeared in 1850. The work was dedicated to ...

'', 1838) or personal experiences (Schumann’s ''

Kinderszenen ' (, "Scenes from Childhood"), Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. History and description Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. The unused mo ...

'', 1838). Other character pieces have titles suggesting brevity and singularity of concept, such as Beethoven's Bagatelles, or Debussy's Préludes, or casual construction: the title

Impromptu An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...

is common. Many 19th-century nocturnes and intermezzi are character pieces as well, including those of Chopin and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, respectively. Large sets of many individual character pieces, intended to be played as a single piece of music, were not uncommon; Schumann's many works of this form (including ''

'' and ''

Carnaval Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ty ...

'') are the best known examples. In the late 19th and twentieth centuries, as piano music became ambitious and larger in scale, the scope of what a character piece could reference grew as well. The ''

New Grove ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' cites Smetana's "Festival of the Gypsy Peasants" and

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

's "The Oarsman" as examples of this later trend.

References

Sources

*Brown, Maurice J.E. "Character piece." ''Grove Music Online,'' http://www.grovemusic.com. *Randel, Don Michael. ''Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music.'' Harvard UP, 1978. {{Authority control Romantic music