Description
Generalised umbrella of traditional genres across the globe consisting of music distinct from Traditional Folk and popular music genres developed in the 20th century.
Genres are typically classified as Classical in recognition of their own culture considering them a form of art separate from and more “sophisticated” than its Traditional Folk. They usually begin as a “refined” version of Traditional Folk created for ceremonial use.
- Classical music tends to exist in a relatively unified form on territories much larger than traditional folk genres do
Meaning of ‘classical’
- A genre often ceases to be Traditional Folk and develops as something “Classical” when a style becomes preferred by priests/royalty/scholars due to perceived higher complexity and refinement.
- It is this preference and patronage that enables the musicians to train full time, setting Classical music apart from Folk in terms of performance
- Contrary to Folk genres, almost every Classical genre around the world has a rather rigid norm of a “correct” performance and “correct” compositional structure
The distinction between classical, folk and popular music can be seen as a reflection a certain society’s values and structures in its arts and culture. These concepts are not completely objective or immutable.
Preceding genres
Child genres
Only a small selection will be featured here. See Rateyourmusic for more. East Asian Classical Music, Minyue Western Classical Music
RateYourMusic #toplevelgenre