Scribd
Upload
412 views3 pages

Baroque Period Music

Baroque music developed between 1600-1750 and was characterized by functional tonality, elaborate ornamentation, and changes to notation and performance techniques. Key composers included Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. The Baroque orchestra had around 10-30 players using strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Concerto Grosso featured a contrast between soloists and full orchestra. Opera emerged as a genre and church music included cantatas and oratorios performed with choir and small orchestra.

Uploaded by

Mohd Haffiszul Bin Mohd Said
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
412 views3 pages

Baroque Period Music

Baroque music developed between 1600-1750 and was characterized by functional tonality, elaborate ornamentation, and changes to notation and performance techniques. Key composers included Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. The Baroque orchestra had around 10-30 players using strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Concerto Grosso featured a contrast between soloists and full orchestra. Opera emerged as a genre and church music included cantatas and oratorios performed with choir and small orchestra.

Uploaded by

Mohd Haffiszul Bin Mohd Said
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Baroque music [1600-1750]

• The original meaning of "baroque" is "misshapen pearl", a strikingly


fitting characterization of the architecture of this period; later, the
name came to be applied also to its music.

• Composers : Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric


Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

• 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. Many musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use
today.

The Baroque Orchestra

• A performing group based on the violin family.

• Flexible instrumental makeup, vary from piece to piece.

• 10 – 30 players.

• The nucleus: basso continuo (harpsichord + cello or double bass


or bassoon) & upper strings (violins & violas).

• Use of woodwind, brass and percussion was variable.

• Trumpets & timpani joined the orchestra mainly when the music was
festive.

• 1 instrument was treated like another – an oboe would play the same
melody as the violins; or the flute & trumpet would imitate each other
for extneded sections of a piece.
Genres

Concerto Grosso

musical material is passed between a small group of


soloists (the concertino) and full orchestra (the
ripieno or tutti).

1. Contrast between loud & soft sounds.


2. Consists of several movements that contrast in speed & character. Usually in 3
movements : fast - slow – fast
3. Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D by J.S.Bach

- Tutti Soloists
- String orchestra flute, violin, harpsichord

OPERA

1. Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment.


2. Fusion of music, acting, poetry, dance, scenery & costumes, a theatrical
experience offering overwhelming excitement & emotion.

Listening: Monteverdi’s Orfeo 1607, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas(1689)

The Chorale and Church Cantata

In Bach’s time, the Sunday Lutheran Church service was a social event of the week.
• Typical Sunday Services

7 am motet, hymns, organ solo.


8 am Cantata and/or Chorale
9 am Sermon, at least one hour
10 am – 12 noon Cantata and/or Chorale, Communion
• Small orchestra (14 -21 players) to accompany a choir (around 12 men & boys).
• German religious text, newly written or from Bible or familiar hymns.
• Chorales were easy to sing & remember, syllabic & moving in steady rhythm.
• Last 25 minutes with several movements – choruses, recitatives, arias & duets.
• Closely resembled the opera of the time- a typical Baroque fusion of sacred & secular
elements in art & music.
• Cantata No.140: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, a voice is Calling Us, 1731) –
J.S.Bach
•
Oratorio
• A major development in Baroque vocal music together with the opera and cantata
• Large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists.
• Similar to the opera - the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various
distinguishable characters, and arias.
• Differences - opera is musical theatre, while oratorio is strictly a concert piece..
 There is little or no interaction between the characters, no props or
elaborate costumes.
 Opera tends to deal with history and mythology, including age-old
devices of romance, deception, and murder, whereas the plot of an
oratorio often deals with sacred topics, making it appropriate for
performance in the church.
• Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers
looked to the lives of saints.
• Oratorios became extremely popular in early 17th century Italy partly because of
the success of the opera. E.g .Handel’s Messiah (1741)

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy