Neotonalism
Encyclopedia
Neotonalism is a manner of musical composition which spans all styles, from early in musical history to the present day. It uses a wide palette of possibilities, sometimes incorporating atonality
and tonality
in the same score.
Composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries are included in this genre. They extensively reuse tonality, after it was marginalized to a great extent by the tendencies of so-called contemporary music. Neotonalism is a broad movement that unifies and mixes very different styles. It is common founding great differences about styles between neotonal composers since they depend on the influences collected. These influences include jazz
, film and ethnic music, electroacoustics
and the atonalism of the 20th century itself. They confer not only a great richness to this type of composition, but a liberty of expression that was interrupted with the imposition of atonality in the second half of the century. There are many composers, who having started their works inside the atonal boundaries, they had come back to this style, including traditional elements that are widely welcomed by the audience.
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
and tonality
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
in the same score.
Composers of the 20th and 21st Centuries are included in this genre. They extensively reuse tonality, after it was marginalized to a great extent by the tendencies of so-called contemporary music. Neotonalism is a broad movement that unifies and mixes very different styles. It is common founding great differences about styles between neotonal composers since they depend on the influences collected. These influences include jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, film and ethnic music, electroacoustics
Electroacoustics
Electroacoustics may refer to:*Electroacoustic music*Electroacoustic phenomena* Acoustical engineering, the interdisciplinary branch of Acoustics, electronics and electrical engineering dealing with electronic devices...
and the atonalism of the 20th century itself. They confer not only a great richness to this type of composition, but a liberty of expression that was interrupted with the imposition of atonality in the second half of the century. There are many composers, who having started their works inside the atonal boundaries, they had come back to this style, including traditional elements that are widely welcomed by the audience.