At the beginning of the semester, I had only a vague idea of ​​the impact that classical music had on history. Throughout this course, I was constantly surprised by the things I learned about different eras of music. We talked a lot about how society functioned in each of these eras and the expectations that musicians had to meet. The pieces I selected are the few that moved me emotionally because of their beautiful arrangements and their profound impact on society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay My favorite piece of the semester, Josquin's "Kyrie" for his Missa Pange Lingua, shaped the music produced under the control of the Catholic Church. In the early Middle Ages, this polyphonic piece would have been sung during mass as part of the regular litanies of the high service. This music is important because the composition of this work marks one of the first times the organum appeared and changed the way of the church. Originally, the medieval church community was very annoyed by the vocal impermanence of polyphony and by the idea of ​​secular music mixing with the sacred and appearing in the church. They thought the harmonies were too frivolous for worship and disrupted the perceptibility of the words. But when important religious leaders began to accept the change, it gave church music a lighter quality and uprooted the serious worship the church was accustomed to. This piece stands out so much because it demonstrates how beautiful the music of the divine office became once the organum was accepted; it is a great contrast to the dull, monotonous drone of the initial chants. Another piece I really enjoyed was Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. I initially didn't like this piece because I had heard Movement 1 so many times over the years, but I really fell in love with it after hearing Movement 2. Listening to the entire the work made me appreciate Movement 1 again because of the raw emotion that Beethoven sows into his music. Unlike other composers of his time, he truly saturated the composition with his thoughts and feelings caused by his true mental state. Beethoven took a hard look at society and criticized it by becoming an outcast and creating beautiful music that differed from that of others. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized Essay These pieces not only changed the way society viewed music at the time, but the way I view music today – a thousand years later. And yet, it was a deaf person who did it. I mean, really, I can't even compose something that incredible and I have the hearing capacity of not one, but TWO ears. This class has really changed my outlook on music and I now have some of the songs on my iPod because I really enjoy them..