PATRONAGE SYSTEM IN THE BAROQUE AND CLASSICAL PERIODS

Patronage System in the Baroque and Classical Periods

I. Introduction

A. Current problem

Musical sponsorship and patronage serve as a double-edged sword that gives the

artists an opportunity to maximize their talent while simultaneously inhibiting their

autonomy. Music support has elicited significant discussion regarding the freedom of the

artist. The musical support attributed to the Baroque and Classical Eras enhanced the

development of Western music by providing the composers with financial resources they

could make a living off of.

The Baroque period gained dominance within the Western culture during the 1600s

and introduced the use of ornaments. The changes incorporated during the Baroque era

helped to increase the size, ranges, and enabled the performers to include a various form of

instruments. The expanded Baroque music led to significant cost implication toward the

composers. The complexity associated with the baroque culture necessitated the need for

patrons as a source of financial and logistical assistance. The early baroque patrons in Italy

included Giovanni Di Bardi who facilitated a Camerata group consisting of humanists,

composers, musicians, poets, and intellectuals. Giovanni Di Bardis involvement in the

Baroque music is praised for his role in enhancing the emergence of the opera musical genre

as he advocated for solo singing accompanied by string instruments. However, his preferred

form of musical entertainment contradicted the then contemporary styles characterized by

preference to discourse and oration.

B. Population/Area of Focus: music students, and music connoisseurs

 2

The Baroque and Classical eras patronage had a sequential relationship as the culture

foreshadowed the Classical elements. Therefore, the two forms of music often overlap

concerning the area of focus. Similarly, the Baroque element is associated with the transition

from the Renaissance genres related to the use of polyphony in addition to musical

instruments attributed to the ancient Greek culture. Necessary forms that gained preference

among the music composers during the Baroque era included the anthem that utilized

recitation, independent instrumental segments, and intricate solo passages. Conversely,

profound music composers during the Classical era included Franz Joseph Haydn and

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The former exelled in composing for many different genres,

which he then directed while working for both Count Morzin and the Esterhazy Family in

1759 and 1761 respectively. Mozart was also a celebrated composer across Vienna for his

beautiful composition. The difference between the two was that because Haydn was in

Esterhaza most of the time while working for the Esterhazy Family, Mozart was able to make

a bigger name for himself despite his being about 24 years younger in age. Mozart composed

works in just about every popular genre of his time.

Consequently, the connection of music and power, and the cultural and historical

shifts within Baroque and Classical music periods caused the change in the privatized

financial support from being used in private social gatherings and in church to the hands of

the wider public.

II Background

The drama: musical devices characterized the Baroque music, and the large

commissions necessitated the demands of several patrons1. The increased brilliance in both

instrumental and vocal level gave the composers an opportunity to experiment with new

1 Wendy Heller, Music in the Baroque, Ed. Walter Frisch (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013), 56.
 3

unique techniques that helped Baroque music to differentiate from the Renaissance style. The

use of keyboard instruments, with the most important example being the organ, was used at

church, and home permitted the increased experimentation of the up and coming opera genre.

The success of the opera form catalyzed the dominance of the baroque element during the

1600s.

Equally, the ongoing preference to authenticity and use of it also influenced the need

for patronage during the Baroque era. The complexity of Baroque culture further transitioned

the new contemporaries from the Renaissance era because it facilitated the formation of a

smaller group of artists such as the Florences Camerata who would discuss new trends with

their patrons.

Similarly, the role of the aristocracy as patrons of musicians during the Classical era

significantly affected the development of current practices during the 1700s. The present

socio-political situation allowed for a steady demand for new works, although the composers

and musicians are still not as valued, and are still seen more as servants to their patrons.

Nevertheless, the patronage system created an economic security2 that cushioned artists from

the wide-spread social-political elements. The Age of Enlightenment led to conflict between

the old order and the new ideas as the power of human reasoning become profound. The new

attitudes resulted in the emergence of music connoisseurs such as Haydn, Mozart, and

Beethoven who helped to transition from the baroque era by introducing the musical concert

concepts.

The rise of these three prominent music composers reveals the rise and fall of artistic

patronage during the subsequent periods such as Romantic and Modern. Franz Joseph Haydn

2 Leon Botsein, ''Patronage, Performance, and Scholarship'', Musical Quarterly 95, No. 4. (2012):
451-458.
 4

lived from 1732 to 1809, and at a tender age of eight years, St. Stephen Church adopted him

as a member of their choir. His left the church in 1749 and this led to his development as a

composer of sacred and secular music. Equally, Mozart, another Austrian born citizen in

1756, revolutionized the choral musical form as he dedicated his time to teaching and

performing wherever he was needed. Ludwig van Beethoven was explicitly opposed to the

patronage system because of how it inhibited the artists autonomy. Beethoven is accredited

for transitioning the Classical era to the Romantic era through his instrumental compositions.

The time and cultural differences between the two musical generations illustrate the

increasing overlap in musical forms as well as styles used by the composers.

III The emphasis of the link between music production and patronage system:

The musical paradigm shifts throughout the human history, and portrays the force of

cultural revolution within the Western hemisphere. With the transition from the Medieval,

Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and the Romance cultural standards there led to the

adoption of a system that would enhance the development of societys fine arts. Furthermore,

the new complexity of the musical output and presentation implied an increase in cost making

a greater need for a patronage system to help promote and support the composers new

works. The use of new literature structures of the Classical era produced the need to change

the current style of music. The sonata form had formed the basis for many large-scale

instrumental works such as symphonies, concertos, and overtures.

Similarly, new the sociopolitical elements spurred the need for less musical support

from the aristocratic class, developing a new attitude toward this art in its ability to attract the

masses.3 The Classical era is attributed to the Age of Enlightenment which influenced many

3 Daniela Kaleva, ''Patronage through Dissemination: Louise Hanson-Dyers Patronage of Gustav

Holst, Context 37 (2012): 7791.
 5

of the themes seen throughout works composed during this time. The transformation of

patronage happens with the rise of a wealthier and more educated middle-class society.

Although the musician and composer is still working for others, their social status is

upgrading as well. Other essential social changes associated with the Age of Enlightenment

relates to the new role of women in the society. The Classical era witnessed the surge in some

women participating in art both as patrons and as performers.

IV. Experiences of famous artists during the transition period

Haydn is a personification of change from patronage to freelancing and then back to

the system of patronage. He eventually grew in popularity after leaving from St. Stephens

Cathedral and started his career as a freelancer. Years later Haydn was picked up an assistant

music director for the Esterhazy Family, who he stayed with until his illness became too

debilitating. However, Haydn musical career stagnated during his isolation period with the

Esterhazy patronage, which reveals the detriment of private patronage system toward the end

of a Classical era.

Conversely, Ludwig Beethoven4 was one of the first independent musicians who

wrote, composed, and sold music without the patronage system. The German-born classical

composer explicitly opposed all forms of sponsorship because he perceived that it was

inhibiting the growth and autonomy artists. Besides this, Beethoven advocated for an

objective model that paid homage toward thematic and harmonic structures to assist in

elegance as well as the professionalization of the music industry. This formalized system

facilitated the emergence of freelance work, which became an essential alternative option

from the, sometimes, inefficient patronage system.

4 Jan Swafford, Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph, (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), 32.
 6

V. The debate of the privileges and flaws working under the patron or as a free artist

The patronage system created an opportunity to promote art within the society but

also served to inhibit the artists autonomy. The social and political upheaval that dawned the

European nations during the Age of Enlightenment contributed toward the inefficiency of

musical patronage. For instance, France as an absolute monarchy becomes a field of conflict

between the style and good taste versus the taste of the majority of the population. Other

European nations that experienced this new conflict included Italy, England, and Vienna. The

latter was perceived as the epitome of the Baroque and Classical cultural variable thus

increased sociopolitical conflict dealt the massive blow to the contracted artists.

However, the patron model had underlying merits such as the safeguarding against

music infringement because of the available financial resources. The Florence Camerata

group benefited from the patronage of Giovanni Di Bardi as the consortium acquired new

means of thinking, such as the usage of figured bass. This was a new device helped to

developed a new emphasis on harmonic structures.

VI. Conclusion

The musical revolution apparent within the Western culture contributed toward the

development of innovative cultural artifacts. The role of patronage was essential in promoting

artistic development as apparent during the transition from Renaissance, Baroque, and

Classical eras. Therefore, the social, political, and economic changes witnessed in the society

had significant effects toward the cultural artifacts such as music, drama, as well as visual

arts.
 7

Bibliography

Botstein, Leon. ''Patronage, Performance, and Scholarship'', Musical Quarterly 95, No. 4.
(2012): 451-458.
Fenlon, Iain., ''Joseph Haydn and Beethoven between the court and nobility'', in Music and
Patronage The Library of Essays on Music, Politics, and Society, edited by Paul
Merkley. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2012.
Heller, Wendy. Music in the Baroque, Edited by Walter Frisch. New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 2013.
Kaleva, Daniela. ''Patronage through Dissemination: Louise Hanson-Dyers Patronage of
Gustav Holst'', Context 37 (2012): 7791.
Swafford, Jan. Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.