Etymologico-etiological assumptions of the galant style

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight certain issues that arise when discussing the origins and developmental stages of the galant style, as well as the significance and status this style holds within the history of music. This will be achieved by consulting selected and predominantly Anglophone musico-theoretical and musicological literature. Special attention in this paper will be given to the writings of Charles Rosen, Leonard G. Ratner, William Newman, and David Sheldon. In addition to presenting and confronting the opinions of various authors and questioning the validity of their arguments regarding the position of the galant style in the periodization of music history, the paper will provide a special review of the problem of understanding the stylistic matrix of the galant style and its aesthetic paradigm from two perspectives: 1) based on the analysis of the semantic nuances of the term galant and 2) by indicating the (possible) origin of the galant style.

Keywords

• galant style
• baroque
• classicism
• rococo