Baroque Era 1600s-1750

Background

• Began late 16th century, ended with the death of Bach in 1750
• Sacred and secular music = equal importance
• New opera performed for the public while concerts and opera were given in royal courts
• Music was not just functional anymore---could just listen to music to listen to music, enjoy it!!!
• Polyphony gave way to homophonic writing
• Major and minor scales began to replace church modes
• Chords, which had only really occurred by accident in the Renaissance era, became more deliberately
• Strong use of improvisation and embellishments in melodies

Instrumentation

• More independent lines in choral works
• Instrumental music became more important, and composers began to write for specific instruments (rather than just having whoever was there)
  • Orchestra was not standardized but usually had flutes, oboes, bassoons, and keyboard instruments plus strings
  • Harpsichord was the most prominent instrument---"if you hear a harpsichord, it's probably Baroque." About 9/10, they used it so often in this era.
  • Viola da gamba
  • Viola d'amore
  • Bach "brilliant" trumpets

Melody

• Melodies are flowing, sometimes very ornamental, over chordal accompaniment
• Frequent melisma
• Emotion-charged words ("death" and "cross") are frequently word-painted by chromatic contour and dissonance in the accompaniment
• Melodic subjects usually evolved via repetitions and modification of a motif

Texture

• Usually homophonic---although late works have a full harmony created by contrapuntal lines passing through chords
• Contrapuntal---one line ascending, one descending
• Basso continuo or figured bass is also used
  • Basso continuo---performer is given a bassline, and little numbers designate what the chord is.
• Recitative---talk singing, rhythm of natural speech but it is vocal. Popular in opera, where they were supposed to be talking
• Counterpoint---melodic material that is added above or below an existing melody to fit together like

Structure and Forms

• Wanted to sustain one mood and one subject throughout a work
• Some Renaissance forms, such as the passion, fantasia, and toccata are further developed
• New forms: opera, oratorio, cantata, chorale prelude, trio sonata, concerto grosso, and overture. All stemmed from earlier forms
• "Aria da capo"---ternary form with only two contrasting sections, the second has a "da capo" at the end that tells you to go to the top
• Aria---a solo vocal piece with instrumental accompaniment
• "Italian overture"---three sections, fast-slow-fast
• Fugue---polyphonic composition
• Musical dramas:
  • Opera---secular, fully staged with sets, casts, etc.
  • Oratorio---like Opera. Based on religious works. NO sets, casts, etc.
  • Cantatas---smaller-scale. Started secular (though now they are often religiously-affiliated) with only a solo voice and a basso continuo instrument. Performed at private social events.
• Sonata---a work in several movements, for one or more instruments (usually violins) and a basso continuo.
• Concerto---One instrumental soloist and an orchestra
  • Concerto grosso---small group of soloists with a larger ensemble (fell out of fashion following this period).

Composers

• Jean Baptiste Lully
  • Founder of French Opera
  • Italian, but lived in France
  • Introduced more dance types---minuet, bourree
• Alessandro Scarlatti
  • Italian
  • Founded Neapolitan Opera (dominant for nearly a century)
  • Increased importance of strings, decreased importance of harpsichord
• Antonio Vivaldi
  • Italian
  • Established the three-movement fast-slow-fast form with the solo concerto
  • Many elaborate virtuoso passages with lots of wide melodic leaps, expansion of violin technique
• Johann Sebastian Bach
  • German
  • Wrote for almost all Baroque forms except opera (which is weird)
  • Lots of sacred compositions
  • Relatively high degree of dissonance
  • Wrote the Well-Tempered Clavier, which was exercises in every key for keyboard players
  • Lots of his works influenced how we think about harmony today.

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