Download The Baroque Period

THE BAROQUE PERIOD
1600-1750 AD
THE BAROQUE PERIOD
 Important
developments were
underway:




The 13 American colonies were formed
Galileo was discovering new ways to
explain the universe
Fancy decorations and ornaments
were fashionable in music, art, and
architecture
Men AND women wore wigs and lace
BAROQUE MUSIC
 Johann
Sebastian Bach was the most
famous composer of the period
 Music became very complex

Composers used “decorations” and
“ornaments” in music
 Bach
composed very complex polyphonic
pieces of music
 Elaborate melodies layered on top of one
another
 Used trills and fast-moving notes to
“decorate” the music and let the
performer show off
BAROQUE MUSIC
 Chords,
or stacks of notes played at the
same time, were used to accompany
melodies
 Composers began to write dynamics and
tempo markings into music
 Making up music on the spot, or
improvisation, became popular even in
church
 Composers began using Major and minor
tonalities
THE PATRONAGE
SYSTEM
THE PATRONAGE SYSTEM
 Throughout
history, composers were
employed by the church and/or the
wealthy ruling class

Also called “patrons”
 This
was known as the Patronage
System
 Usually one wealthy person paid a
composer for each work and decided
what kinds of pieces he should write

This limited the creative freedom of the
composers
VOCAL MUSIC OF THE
BAROQUE PERIOD
OPERA
 The
Baroque Period saw the birth of
a new form of vocal music called
opera
 Opera combines music, acting,
scenery, costumes, and props
 Actors and actresses sing the script,
or libretto
 Range from serious to comical
 The very first opera was Orfeo by
Claudio Monteverdi
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
 Instrumental
music became just as
important as vocal music during the
Baroque Period
 Rise in music for flute, oboe,
bassoon, trombone, harpsichord, and
organ
 Recorders became less popular and
viols were replaced by violins, violas,
and cellos
CONCERTO GROSSO
 Music
for instruments
 Contained several contrasting
sections, or movements

Usually fast-slow-fast
 Written
for a group of solo
instruments and a small orchestra
 Important composers were Antonio
Vivaldi, Johann Pachelbel, George
Frederic Handel, and Johann
Sebastian Bach
MUSIC FOR ORGAN
 The
primary church instrument was
the organ


Could play by itself or accompanied
the choir
Helped keep the singers in tune
 Organists
regularly improvised
music because organs had multiple
keyboards
ANTONIO VIVALDI
1678-1741
ANTONIO VIVALDI
 Born
in Venice, Italy
 Father was a barber and part-time
violinist employed by the basilica of
St. Mark
 Was a violin virtuoso at an early age
 Became a priest in 1703
 Wrote 50 operas
 Rumored to have red hair
 Died poor and relatively unknown
ANTONIO VIVALDI
 Was
also a music teacher at a girls’
orphanage
 Women were forbidden to perform in
public, so his orchestra of girls
performed behind a grill
 Composed The Four Seasons

Music written to depict the four
seasons of the year
JOHANN PACHELBEL
1653-1706
JOHANN PACHELBEL
 Wrote
many vocal and instrumental
pieces
 Born in Nuremberg, Germany and
was a friend of the Bach family
 Composed Pachelbel’s Canon, the
most famous piece of music of the
Baroque Period
SAMPLE OF PACHELBEL’S CANON
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
1685-1750
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
 Came
from a long line of musicians
from Germany
 Became an organ virtuoso by the age
of 15 and composed for the instrument
 Was a Lutheran and employed by the
Lutheran church
 Loved to use symbolism in his music
 Was a superb teacher
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
 Wrote
music for instruments and
vocalists
 Baroque Period ended with Bach’s
death
 Had over 20 children!
COMPARE/CONTRAST
Medieval
Baroque
Renaissance