Playing from the Heart: What Makes Music Romantic?

by Anne Sullivan 

On this day, Valentine’s Day, we celebrate love and romance. And we are especially fortunate, because we play an instrument that sounds every bit as romantic as it looks. The harp practically drips with romance.

Of course, not all the music we play could be considered romantic. Music history defines romantic music as music written in the Romantic Era, approximately from 1820 to 1900. Most of the harpist composers whose music we think of as “romantic,” though, are at the end of this period or even well into the 20th century. Harpist composers like Alphonse Hasselmans (1845-1912) and Henriette Renié (1875-1956) and Marcel Tournier (1879-1951) wrote music that has romantic themes or ideas or has rich harmonies and textures that call for a romantic type of expression.

Some music could be considered romantic because the title calls up a nostalgic or sentimental idea.  A title like “Contemplation” or “Reverie” or “Lullaby” would need a more romantic interpretation than a piece called “March” or “Gavotte,” even though it isn’t about romantic love. 

Interpretation is the key word in that last sentence. Romance in music isn’t limited to a time period. It’s in our interpretation of the idea behind the music. As performers we put the emotion or the feeling into the notes. We try to follow the composers’ guidelines by taking our idea from clues like the title, the tempo or the expression markings. Then we piece those bits of information together and express the idea through our music the best we can. That’s what makes our music personal to us and special to a listener. It’s playing from the heart.