Download Baroque Period

1600-1750 A.D.
 Renaissance Characteristics:
 Music was written for Mass:
 The Mass Cycle, called the Ordinary:
 Kyrie
 Gloria
 Credo
 Sanctus
 Agnus Dei
 No official system for writing music.
 Fifths and fourths considered to be the holiest intervals.
 Known in music as Perfect 4ths and Perfect 5ths
 Polyphony: Equal voices
 Every voice has an individual melody
Baroque Characteristics
•The term “baroque” was
Ornate
Dramatic
coined in the 18th Century by
critics who preferred a newer,
simpler style.
•The word Baroque means
abnormal, exaggerated, or “in
bad taste.”
•In the 19th Century, the term
Expressive
Emotional
Baroque took on a positive
meaning, as critics began to
appreciate the stylistic
tendencies of the period.
1618-1648
• Thirty Year’s
War
1602
• Dutch East India
Company
Chartered
1643-1715
• Reign of Louis
XIV in France
1632
• Galileo charged
with heresy for
scientific claims
1600-1750
• Colonization of
the Americas
1642-1649
• The English Civil
War
 1657: Gian Lorenzo Bernini begins construction of St.
Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome.
 Post-Reformation: The Vatican symbolizes the
authority of the Catholic Church.
 1645-1652
 John Milton’s Paradise Lost
 Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote
 1616: Death of Shakespeare
 The Court Ballet
 Created in France
 A musical-dramatic work,
staged with costumes and
scenery that featured
members of the court
alongside professional
dancers.
 The instruments used for
Court Ballet became the
model for the modern
orchestra.
 Jean-Baptiste Lully was a
primary composer of French
ballet
 Lully created the model for
French Opera
 Secular genres expanded
 Opera is invented in Italy
 Cantata [means “to be sung”] is invented in Italy
 Instrumental styles expand
 An official system for writing music was established.
 “The look” of music comes from the notation rules invented during
the Baroque era.
 Time signatures, measures, barlines
 Chromaticism and dissonances are introduced.
 Melody and accompaniment.
 Ornamentations and Embellishments:
 Invented to let the singer “show off”
•
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Trills
Turns
Appoggiaturas
Cadenzas
 The pianoforte (AKA: piano) is invented in 1700
 Opera is a drama with continuous music that is staged
with scenery, costumes, and action.
 Characteristics of Opera:
 Aria: expresses emotion
 Solo with accompaniment
 The character’s reflection on the events
 Designed to let the singer “show off”
 The form of pop music (ABA) developed from Arias
 Recitative: tells the story
 Narration
 Declamation of poetry without concern for pitch accuracy
 Secular Genres:
 Prelude
 Fugue
 One subject (or theme) is continuously developed
 Example: Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
 Sonata
 Development of Sonata form
 Concerto
 Sacred Genres:
 The Mass Cycle continues
 Oratorio
 Contained musical elements of Opera without staging or costumes
 Religious subject matter
 Performed in Latin or Italian
 Sacred Concertos
Italian
French
Alessandro
Jean Baptiste
Scarlatti
Lully
German
J.S. Bach
Claudio
Jean-Philippe
George Frideric
Monteverdi
Rameau
Handel
Antonio
Vivaldi
English
Henry
Purcell
The Man. The Legend. The Genius.
1685-1750
 Born 1685 in Central Germany
 1700-1702: Studied at Lüneburg
 1703: Hired as a church organist
in Arnstadt
 1708: Hired as a court musician
for the duke of Weimar
 First hired as an organist
 Later, promoted to
concertmaster
 1717: appointed Kapellmeister
(music director) at the court of
Prince Leopold of Anhalt in
Cöthen
 1723: Moved to Liepzig to one of
the most prestigious music
positions in Germany
 Brandenburg Concertos
 Mass in B Minor
 Toccata in D Minor
 The Art of Fugue
 Demonstrates all types of fugal writing
 Bach absorbed into his work all the genres, styles, and
forms of his time and developed them beyond what his
peers thought possible.
 Characteristics in his music:
 Memorable themes
 A theme should be exciting and welcomed.” –Bach
 Strong rhythmic drive
 Clarify of form
 “A brilliant piece isn’t necessarily made of brilliant content. The
difference between brilliance and forgotten is the form.” –Dr.
Joseph Baber
 Careful attention to detail
 Bach’s music embodies perfection of form
The Business Man
1685-1759
 Born 1685 in Germany
 His father wanted him to




study law but he practiced
music secretly.
1702: Appointed cathedral
organist at University of
Halle.
Wrote his first opera at age
20.
Associated with leading
musicians and patrons
during his time in Florence,
Naples, and Venice.
1712: Moved to London
 The English Oratorio:
 Sacred subject matter
 Elements of Opera:
 Aria
 Recitative
 Form
 Invention of the “Chorus”
 Chorus used to narrate the story, comment on the events, or
participate in the action
 Emphasis on communal expression (not individual
expression)
 Dramatic
 Appeal to the public
 “He knew how to sell
tickets”
 This quality made him
very popular throughout
Europe
 Emphasis on:
 Melody
 Harmony
 Contrasting textures
 “Hallelujah Chorus”