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The Baroque Period (1600- 1750)

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  • The Baroque Period(1600-1750)

  • Baroque music describes a style of European classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1750.This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical music era. The word "baroque" came from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning "misshapen pearl",a strikingly fitting characterization of the architecture of this period; later, the name came to be applied also to its music.

  • Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. It is associated with composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Henry Purcell. The baroque period saw the development of functional tonality.

  • During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation; made changes in musical notation, and developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre.

  • Basso ContinuoThe beginnings of the Baroque Period was marked by the emergence of the solo song. This song ws accompanied by bass instruments such as the viola da gamba, and the early keyboard instruments (the harpischord or organ). The accompaniment which is called basso continuo or figured bass or thorough bass consists of a written bass line with numerals below the notes.

  • Baroque Vocal StyleThe vocal forms of Baroque period were based on the monodic style.Recitative is a singing speech wherein the rhythm is dictated by natural pronunciation of the word. Recitative is sung in free and flexible rhythm with basso continuo accompaniment.

  • Arioso the general characteristics of recitative is declamatory, while arioso is lyrical. The tempo of arioso is steady. It has only one basic mood that tends to dwell on a single emotional stall.Aria later on, arioso expanded into aria, which is a three-part form (ABA). First section (A) was followed by second section (B) which is contrasting to the first one and goes back to first section (A) and ends in it.

  • Styles and Forms

  • Concerto GrossoIt is the most important form of orchestral music in the Baroque Period. It employs an orchestra consisting mainly of strings with a group of several solo instruments called the concertino which plays in opposition to the whole orchestra called tutti. The tutti is mainly stringed instruments with harpischord as part of the basso continuo.

  • The concerto grosso consists of 3 movements: fast; slow; fast that constrast in tempo and character. The opening movement is vigorous and determined, clearly showing the contrast between the soloist and the tutti. The slow movement is quieter than the first, often lyrical and intimate. The last movement is lively and carefree sometimes with dancelike character.

  • SuiteIt is an ordered set of instrumental pieces meant to be performed at a single sitting. In the Baroque period, it is an instrumental genre consisting of several movements in the same key where some or all of them are based on the forms and styles of dance music. Other terms for Baroque group dances include partita, overture, and sonata da camera.

  • These, however, constitute the raw material for a dance sequence rather than a sequence that would actually be played. The classical suite include allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue.

  • OratorioIt is an extended musical setting of a sacred, usually non-liturgical text. Oratorio originated in the informal meetings, or spiritual exercises, of a group founded by St. Filippo Neri in 1550. The name came from the oratory or prayer hall in which the meetings were held. It is a composition for chorus, vocal soloists and for the orchestra in a large-scale. It is a composition with narration.

  • English oratorio was essentially Handels creation a synthesis of elements from the English anthem, French classical drama, Italian opera seria and oratorio volgare, and the German protestant oratorio. For Handel, oratorio normally meant a-three-act dramatic work on a Biblical subject, with prominent use of the chorus, performed as a concert in a theater. The Messiah is the well-known oratorio of Handel where the Hallelujah chorus was taken. The Messiah deals with a New testament subject but with no plot. It is meditative rather than dramatic.

  • Renaissance Period and Palestina

  • Renaissance means rebirth. It was a period of adventure and exploration. In this period, there was an intellectual organization that was focused on individuals accomplishments which is called Humanism. Texture in music is chiefly polyphonic although homophonic style is also used in light music and dances. There is a gentle flow in rhythm and melodies are easy to sing.

  • Main forms of Sacred Renaissance are:Motet is one of the most important forms of polyphonic music. Derived from the French word mot, it originated in the practice of Perotin and his contemporaries at Notre Dame, Paris of adding words to the upper voice or voice of a Clauscula. It is an unaccompanied choral composition based on a Latin sacred text. In a motet, all the voices are singing the same text in a unified piece.

  • Mass is similar to motet but is longer. It follows the Catholic church religious service and is sung in a specific order. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was the famous Italian composer of the period, who wrote music for the Catholic Church. An example of a mass is Pope Marcellus Mass by Palestrina.

  • Characteristics of the Renaissance MusicVocal music was important than instrumental music. Renaissance composers used the word painting to denote a musical representation of a specific line or image.

  • 2. There is gentleness rhythm, singers will enjoy singing renaissance songs because melodies were easy to remember.

    3. Texture is thicker in this period, the use of polyphonic texture is very obvious because there are more than four voices arranged in a composition

  • Madrigal

  • The term madrigal has two distinct unconnected meanings: a poetic and musical form of 14th century Italy and a 16th or 17th century setting of secular verse. It is a piece for several solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love using the vernacular language. During a courtly social gatherings and meetings of learned and artistic societies, madrigals are sung.

  • Lute and harpischord are usually the accompaniment of a madrigal. Lute was one of the most popular instruments of the Renaissance. Lute has a pear0shaped body with frets and a varying number of strings.

  • Troubadours and TrouveresLyric poets or poet-musicians of France in the 12th and 13th centuries. Poets working in the south of France are generally termed troubadours; those of the north, writing in French are called trouveres.

  • Troubadours were often of nobility and high social standing but they could come from any social background as long as they conformed to courtly ideals and courtly love. The main topic of troubadours poetry is love in its various aspects. Troubadour songs are strophic.

  • The principal genres are:Canso courtly love songDansa mock-popular song based on a dance formDescort a lovers apologiaGap a challengePastorela a n amorous encounter between a knight and a shepherdess

  • Plank a lamentSirvantes a satirical poem written in local language and set to music from a borrowed melodyTenso, aprtimen and joc-partit songs of debateVers an early term used by the troubadours

  • The French of the trouveres was not standardized but rather a collection of related, regional languages. The tradition is close to that of the troubadours and parallels exist, including the fact that it is essentially courtly poetry celebrating love or fine armour in a refined mode of expression.

  • TEN GREAT COMPOSERS

  • 1. Johann Sebastian BachComing in at number one is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was a genius keyboardist (mastering the organ and harpsichord) and brilliant composer. Bach brought baroque music to its culmination, writing music for nearly every type of musical form.Popular Works: Air in G String, Double Violin Concerto, Brandenburg, Concerto No.3, B Minor Mass, and The Unaccompanied Cello Suites

  • 2. George Frideric HandelBorn in the same year as J.S. Bach in a town fifty miles away, George Frideric Handel, who later became a British citizen, led a much different life than Bach. Handel, too, composed for every musical genre of his time, even creating the English oratorio.Popular Works: The Messiah, Music for the Royal Fireworks, and Water Music

  • 3. Antonio VivaldiVivaldi wrote over 500 concertos and is believed to have invented ritornello form (a theme returning throughout the piece). However, much of Vivaldis music lay undiscovered until the early 1930s; this newly discovered music earned Vivaldi the title The Viennese Counterpart to Bach and Handel.Popular Works: The Four Seasons, Gloria, and Con Alla Rustica In G

  • 4. George Philipp TelemannA good friend of both Bach and Handel, George Philipp Telemann was also a distinguished musician and composer of his time. Telemanns incorporation of unusual instrumentation in his concertos is one of the things that made him unique.Popular Works: Viola Concerto in G, Trio Sonata in C minor, and the Paris Quartets

  • 5. Arcangelo CorelliArcangelo Corelli was an Italian teacher, violinist, and composer. Corellis mastery of the tone of the newly invented violin earned him great reviews throughout Europe. He is coined to have been the first person to create basic violin technique.Popular Works: Concerto Grossi, Christmas Concerto, and Sonata de camera in D minor

  • 6. Henry PurcellWith a lifetime of only thirty-five years, Purcell achieved such musical greatness as being considered one of Englands greatest composers and the most original composer of his time. Purcell was extremely talented in word-setting and composed very successful works for stage.Popular Works: Dido & Aeneas, The Fairy Queen, and Sound of Trumpet

  • 7. Domenico ScarlattiDomenico Scarlatti, son of Alessandro Scarlatti (another well-known baroque composer), wrote 555 known harpsichord sonatas, of which, over half was written in the last six years of his life. Scarlatti made use if Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish dance rhythms throughout many of his works.Popular Works: Essercizi per Gravicembalo (sonatas for harpsichord)

  • 8. Jean-Philippe RameauA French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau]s music was known for its bold melodic lines and harmonies. Aside from harpsichord, Rameau]s greatest contribution to music was in tragedie lyrique opera. His wide use of moods and musical colors were beyond those of his counterparts.Popular Works: Hippolyte et Aricie and Castor et Pollux, Trait, and Les Indes galantes

  • 9. Johann PachelbelJohan Pachelbel taughtJohann Christoph Bach (J.S. Bachs older brother) music J.C. Bach said that J.S. Bach greatly admired Pachelbels music. Pachelbels music is considered by many to be stylistically related to J.S. Bachs.Popular Works:Canon in D, Chaconne in F minor, and Toccata in C minor for organ

  • 10. Giovanni Battista SammartiniGiovanni Battista Sammartini is one of the earliest composers of the symphony (sixty-eight of them have survived). Many believe his symphonic wroks and thematic development are the precursors to Haydn and Mozart.Popular Works: Sonata No.3, Recorder Sonata in A minor