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Baroque Unit
1600 - 1750
Composers
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Germany
Bach 1685 – 1750
Handel 1685 – 1759
England
Purcell 1659 – 1695
France
Couperin 1668 – 1733
Rameau 1683 – 1764
Italy
Scarlatti 1600 - 1725
The Background to Baroque Music
Musicians came to use the word Baroque
to describe a period of musical history
from the birth of opera and oratorio to the
death of J.S Bach.
 The 17th Century saw the invention of
several new forms and designs including
opera, oratorio, fugue, suite, sonata and
concerto.
 The violin family replaced the viols and
the orchestra gradually started to take
shape with strings as their foundation.
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Vocal Music - Opera
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Like a play with music
where everything that
would be spoken is sung.
Libretto – the text
containing the story and
words to be set to music.
Singers – some to take
solo parts as the main
characters, and others to
make up a chorus.
Orchestra, Stage,
Costumes and Scenery.
Oratorio
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This is setting
religious text to music
but without stage
settings or costumes.
Usually performed in
churches and concert
halls.
Cantata & Passion
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Cantata: (‘sung’)
these are for soloists
and chorus
accompanied by
orchestra and basso
continuo, and are like
miniature oratorios.
Passion: a special
type of oratorio telling
the story of Christ’s
crucifixion. The text
is in German.
Recitative
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Recitative: A style of
singing in which the
main points of the plot
are given to the
listener in an Opera,
Oratorio or Cantata.
The words are set in a
way that imitates the
natural rise and fall
and rhythm of speech.
Aria
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Aria: (songs) which
portrayed the characters’
thoughts and emotions in
an Opera, Oratorio or
Cantata. Singers were
expected to add vocal
decoration, partly for
variety and partly to show
off their virtuosity.
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Da Capo Aria: written in
ternary form with only the
first two sections written
out. At the end of section
B, the composer wrote da
capo (or D.C) meaning
‘from the beginning’. In
repeating the first section
(A) the singer was
expected to add their own
vocal decorations to the
printed melody coloratura.
French/Italian Overture
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The introduction to a
large scale work e.g.
opera, oratorio.
Instrumental Music
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Basso Continuo: A
bass line, played by a
low string instrument,
such as a cello
accompanied by a
harpsichord or organ.
Fugue
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A contrapuntal piece based
on a theme (subject)
announced in one voice
part alone, then imitated
by other voices in close
succession. In a fugue, the
second time the melody
enters it is called the
answer. As the answer
plays, the first part
continues with the counter
subject above.
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In a fugue, after the
subject or answer is
played, the continuation of
that same instrument or
voice is called the
countersubject.
The entries in a fugue are
separated by sections of
music called episodes.
Stretto
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Where voices or
instruments enter
very quickly one after
the other, as in
Fugue. Each entry or
part enters closely
after the previous
part, thus adding
tension and
excitement.
Chorale Prelude
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An extended
composition for organ
based on a chorale
melody. The melody
can be treated in a
variety of ways, e.g.
fugal style and
variation form.
Suite
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A set of dances or a
collection of pieces
which are part of a
larger scale work.
Hemiola
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It is a rhythmic device
which is usually used
in dance music where
the meter changes
briefly - 2 bars of 3
beats feel like 3 bars
of 2 beats, or viceversa.
Sonata
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Written for one or two
instruments, many
Baroque sonatas were
written for two violins
and continuo and
were called trio
sonatas.
Concerto Grosso
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A group of soloists concertino showed off
their skill against an
orchestra of strings
called either ripieno or
tutti (everyone). A
harpsichord or organ
continuo filled out the
texture.
Ritornello
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Little return. A 17th-century term for a brief
introduction or interlude in a vocal composition,
or for a brief instrumental passage between
scenes in a 17th-century opera. In a Concerto
grosso, the ritornello is the main theme played by
the Ripieno group (the orchestra) and sometimes
by Concertino (the soloists). The ritornello may
return frequently throughout the movement,
similar to a Rondo.
Solo Concerto
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From the concerto
grosso grew the solo
concerto, in which a
single instrument
plays along with the
orchestra.
Ornaments
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An ornament
decorates a melody by
adding extra notes.
Acciaccatura sounds
like a crushed note
played very quickly on
the beat or just before
it.
Appoggiatura takes
half the value of the
main note
Ornaments
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Turn is four notes
which turn round the
main note with the
note above, the main
note, the note below,
and the main note
again.
Inverted turn starts
with the note below
reversing the process.
Ornaments
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Trill is the rapid and
repeated movement
between two adjacent
notes.
Mordent is an
ornament which
sounds the main note,
the note above and
then the main note
again.
The Main Characteristics of Baroque
Music
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The basso continuo becomes the foundation for
most types of Baroque music.
Viols were gradually replaced by the violin family;
the string section becomes the basis of the
Baroque orchestra, always with continuo filling
out the harmonies and adding texture.
By the end of the 17th century, the system of
modes is replaced by the major-minor system.
Main forms used: binary, ternary (da capo aria),
ritornello and fugue.
Many ornaments such as trills were added.