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lecture on baroque music
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LIFE IN THE BAROQUE ERA
Absolute monarchs
Social hierarchy
Elaborate codes of dress and manners
International peace/economic expansion
Rulers supported the arts
PHILOSOPHICAL/SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Measurement/Mathematical Analysis
Sir Isaac Newton: gravity, calculus, light spectrum
Comparable principles applied to human thought/society
Order and organization valued above all else in society & arts
ART
Emotion could be objectively classified: specific emotions can be
aroused (grief, joy, passion, despair)
Painting: dramatic contrasts between light and dark
Illusion: false depth
CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE MUSIC
Composers wanted to portray specific emotions
Contrast and Illusion through dynamics and timbres
Examples of contrast:
1) Concerto form
2) Echo effect (f-p)
Only lasted 150 years (shorter than Middle Ages and Renaissance)
Only the last 50 years of the era is represented in most orchestras
Early Baroque: experimentation
Late Baroque: organization and control, forms become standardized
Forms: Opera, Cantata, Concerto, Sonata, Dance Suite, Chorale, Oratorio,
Passion
Technique: basso continuo
EARLY BAROQUE (1600-1700)
Argument over Renaissance-style polyphony vs. ignoring rules in
favor of expressing text
Monody: solo voice + basso continuo
Imitates natural speech pattern
Example: Francesca Caccini: Maria, dolce Maria
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
The first great opera composer
Also wrote pieces in Renaissance style
Orfeo (1607) first great opera, based on ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice
Recitative: closely imitates freedom and expressiveness of speech…one singer, basso
continuo provides punctuation
Recitative ideal for setting dialogue and quick interchanges between people in the
drama
Aria is lyrical, usually full orchestra accompaniment, ABA form
EXCERPT FROM ORFEO
0:00-2:11 – Orfeo’s recitative: “O Rose of Heaven”
2:12-3:16 – Euridice’s recitative: “I shall not say how much”
3:17-3:48 – Chorus of nymphs and shepherds: “Leave the hills”
3:49-4:10 – Instrumental ritornello with dancing
ENGLAND
Music in England was fragmented because of unstable political
condition and Civil War (1642-1649)
Charles I beheaded, Puritan Commonwealth took over
Music positions abolished and opera houses closed
Charles II returned (The Restoration), rebirth of English music life
HENRY PURCELL
1659-1695 (only lived to be 36)
Most talented English composer of late 17th century
Organist at Westminster Abbey in London
Composed large amount of vocal and instrumental music: sacred
music for Anglican church, secular songs and cantatas, chamber music
for instrumental combos and solo harpsichord music
Best-known work was opera Dido and Aeneas (1689)
DIDO AND AENEAS
Based on part of the great epic poem by Virgil, Aeneid
Love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage and Aeneas, a Trojan
warrior
Three acts with arias, recitatives, choruses, dances and instrumental
interludes
Only four main singers required + small orchestra of strings and
harpsichord
About an hour long
DIDO AND AENEAS EXCERPT
Aria: “Dido’s lament”
Dido abandoned by Aeneas and has decided to kill herself
“Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest
More I would, but Death invades me:
Death is now a welcome guest.
When I am laid in earth,
May my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast.
Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.”
THE RISE OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Violin family most important (Stradvari and Guarneri)
Genres:
1) Sonata
a. Solo Sonata (solo instrument w/ b.c.)
b. Trio sonata (two instruments w/ b.c.)
Contrasting movements: sonata da camera (chamber sonata) based on dance
rhythms and sonata da chiesa (church sonata), more serious in nature.
2) Concerto
a. Concerto grosso – orchestra w/ small group of soloists
b. Solo concerto – solo instrument with orchestra - virtuosic
ARCANGELO CORELLI
(1653-1713)
Brought Italian violin music to international prominence
Expanded technique of violin playing
Repeated notes, fast scales and double stops
He wanted to “Show off the violin”
Only wrote sonatas and concertos
Famous exclusively for instrumental music
EXAMPLE
Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 7, for two violins and basso continuo
I. Grave (slow and serious)
II. Allegro (fast)
III. Adagio (slow)
IV. Allegro (fast)
FRANCE
Louis XIV
Reigned 1643-1715
Avid supporter of the arts
He loved to dance!
French dance influenced all
instrumental music
French opera contained ballet and
elaborate scenery and constumes
FRENCH DANCES
Allemande 2/4, 4/4 Moderate Continuous motion
Bourrée 2/4, 4/4 Moderate to fast Short, distinct phrases
Courante ¾ Moderate to fast Motion running in scales
Gavotte 2/4, 4/4 Moderate to fast Bouncy
Gigue 6/8 Fast Lively, imitative
Minuet ¾ Moderate Elegant
Sarabande ¾ Slow Stately, 2nd beat accented
JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY
Louis XIV’s music director
Ballet scenes from operas were so popular that they were played
independently
Died from gangrene caused by smashing foot with conducting staff
Example: Marche pour la Ceremonie Turcs
LATE BAROQUE (1700-1750)
Fixed musical forms flourished in hands of masters: Vivaldi, Bach
and Handel
Opera continues to grow in popularity: Italian opera seria was the
favorite style. Arias were the main reason to go now
Solo concerto became more popular
Flute, oboe, trumpet and keyboard instruments had concertos
ANTONIO VIVALDI
1678-1741
Trained for the priesthood, known as “Red Priest” b/c of hair
Appointed director of Ospedale della Pieta in Venice
600 concertos
Girls in orphanage gave frequent concerts
VIVALDI’S CONCERTO FORM
Three movements:
I. Fast
II. Slow and expressive, like an opera aria
III. Even faster than the first movement
First and third movements use ritornello form: orchestra comes in
with same or similar theme in between solo episodes, usually in
related keys
EXCERPT FROM “THE FOUR SEASONS”
Published in 1725 (Vivaldi was 47)
Most popular set of concertos
For solo violin
Programmatic – designed to tell a story
Poem written for each movement with lines written in the score
1S T MOVEMENT FROM LA PRIMAVERA (“SPRING”)
“Spring has arrived, and full of joy
The birds greet it with their happy song.
The streams, swept by gentle breezes,
Flow along with a sweet murmur.
Covering the sky with a black cloak,
Thunder and lightning come to announce the season.
When all is quiet again, the little birds
Return to their lovely song.”
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
1685-1750
One of the most influential composers of all time
His death marked the end of the Baroque Era
Never considered himself a genius, only a hard-working craftsman
Never wrote an opera
Had two wives and over 20 children (11 died during childhood, 4
became famous Early Classical musicians)
Hired in 1723 as music director for St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig
Required to compose, rehearse and direct a new cantata for every
Sunday and feast day of the year
Head of music school attached to church: taught Latin,
composition, maintained instruments, played organ and prepared
choirs for the other three churches in town
BACH’S MUSIC
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
“Little” Fugue in G Minor
Prelude in C Major from The Well Tempered Clavier
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st Movement
Chorale from St. Matthew’s Passion
Prelude from Unaccompanied Cello Suite in G Major
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
1685-1759
Life overlapped Bach’s, but led a much different existence
Travelled extensively, international celebrity
Wrote nearly 40 operas
Born/grew up in Halle, studied opera in Italy, eventually ended up
in London, England (buried in Westminster Abbey w/ Elizabeth I
and Charles Dickens
EXCERPTS
BBC PROMS CONCERT “Water Music” suite
English National Opera Recitative and aria “Where ere you walk”
from Semele
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge Hallelujah Chorus from
Messiah
FUNDAMENTALS OF BAROQUE MUSIC
Instrumental music is as important as vocal music
Opera was invented, with vocal forms divided between recitative and aria
Unifying feature of all Baroque music is basso continuo
Principal vocal genres are opera, cantata and oratorio
Principal instrumental genres are sonata, suite and concerto
The music is organized by hierarchy of chords and keys (tonal harmony)
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