THE BAROQUE ERA

1600-1750

LIFE IN THE BAROQUE ERA

Absolute monarchs
Social hierarchy
Elaborate codes of dress and manners
International peace/economic expansion
Rulers supported the arts

PHILOSOPHICAL/
SCIENTIFIC THINKING
Measurement/Mathematical Analysis
Sir Isaac Newton: gravity, calculus, light spectrum
Comparable principles applied to human thought/society
Order and organization valued above all else in society & arts

ART
Emotion could be objectively classified: specific emotions can be
aroused (grief, joy, passion, despair)
Painting: dramatic contrasts between light and dark
Illusion: false depth

BERNINI: APOLLO &

DAPHNE (1625)

REMBRANDT: SELF
PORTRAIT

POZZO:
TROMPE-L'OEIL DOME
AT SANT'IGNAZIO (1685)

ARCHITECTURE
Symmetry
Grandeur
Geometrically organized landscaping
Elegant pools and gardens

LOUIS XIV: VERSAILLES

HALL OF MIRRORS

GARDENS

CHARACTERISTICS OF
BAROQUE MUSIC
Composers wanted to portray specific emotions
Contrast and Illusion through dynamics and timbres
Examples of contrast:
1) Concerto form
2) Echo effect (f-p)

 Only lasted 150 years (shorter than Middle Ages and Renaissance)
Only the last 50 years of the era is represented in most orchestras
Early Baroque: experimentation
Late Baroque: organization and control, forms become standardized
Forms: Opera, Cantata, Concerto, Sonata, Dance Suite, Chorale, Oratorio,
Passion
Technique: basso continuo

EARLY BAROQUE (1600-1700)

Argument over Renaissance-style polyphony vs. ignoring rules in
favor of expressing text
Monody: solo voice + basso continuo
Imitates natural speech pattern
Example: Francesca Caccini: Maria, dolce Maria

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
The first great opera composer
Also wrote pieces in Renaissance style
Orfeo (1607) first great opera, based on ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice
Recitative: closely imitates freedom and expressiveness of speechone singer, basso
continuo provides punctuation
Recitative ideal for setting dialogue and quick interchanges between people in the
drama
Aria is lyrical, usually full orchestra accompaniment, ABA form

EXCERPT FROM ORFEO

0:00-2:11 Orfeos recitative: O Rose of Heaven
2:12-3:16 Euridices recitative: I shall not say how much
3:17-3:48 Chorus of nymphs and shepherds: Leave the hills
3:49-4:10 Instrumental ritornello with dancing

ENGLAND
Music in England was fragmented because of unstable political
condition and Civil War (1642-1649)
Charles I beheaded, Puritan Commonwealth took over
Music positions abolished and opera houses closed
Charles II returned (The Restoration), rebirth of English music life

HENRY PURCELL

HENRY PURCELL
1659-1695 (only lived to be 36)
Most talented English composer of late 17th century
Organist at Westminster Abbey in London
Composed large amount of vocal and instrumental music: sacred
music for Anglican church, secular songs and cantatas, chamber music
for instrumental combos and solo harpsichord music
Best-known work was opera Dido and Aeneas (1689)

DIDO AND AENEAS

Based on part of the great epic poem by Virgil, Aeneid
Love affair between Dido, Queen of Carthage and Aeneas, a Trojan
warrior
Three acts with arias, recitatives, choruses, dances and instrumental
interludes
Only four main singers required + small orchestra of strings and
harpsichord
About an hour long

DIDO AND AENEAS

EXCERPT
Aria: Didos lament
Dido abandoned by Aeneas and has decided to kill herself
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest
More I would, but Death invades me:
Death is now a welcome guest.
When I am laid in earth,
May my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast.
Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.

THE RISE OF
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
Violin family most important (Stradvari and Guarneri)
Genres:
1) Sonata
a. Solo Sonata (solo instrument w/ b.c.)
b. Trio sonata (two instruments w/ b.c.)
Contrasting movements: sonata da camera (chamber sonata) based on dance
rhythms and sonata da chiesa (church sonata), more serious in nature.

2) Concerto
a. Concerto grosso orchestra w/ small group of soloists
b. Solo concerto solo instrument with orchestra - virtuosic

ARCANGELO CORELLI

ARCANGELO CORELLI
(1653-1713)
Brought Italian violin music to international prominence
Expanded technique of violin playing
Repeated notes, fast scales and double stops
He wanted to Show off the violin
Only wrote sonatas and concertos
Famous exclusively for instrumental music

EXAMPLE
Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 7, for two violins and basso continuo
I. Grave (slow and serious)
II. Allegro (fast)
III. Adagio (slow)
IV. Allegro (fast)

FRANCE
Louis XIV
Reigned 1643-1715
Avid supporter of the arts
He loved to dance!
French dance influenced all
instrumental music
French opera contained ballet and
elaborate scenery and constumes

FRENCH DANCES
Allemande

2/4, 4/4 Moderate

Continuous motion

Bourre

2/4, 4/4 Moderate to fast

Short, distinct phrases

Courante

Motion running in scales

Gavotte

2/4, 4/4 Moderate to fast

Bouncy

Gigue

6/8

Fast

Lively, imitative

Minuet

Moderate

Elegant

Sarabande

Slow

Stately, 2nd beat accented

Moderate to fast

JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY

JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY
Louis XIVs music director
Ballet scenes from operas were so popular that they were played
independently
Died from gangrene caused by smashing foot with conducting staff
Example: Marche pour la Ceremonie Turcs

LATE BAROQUE (1700-1750)

Fixed musical forms flourished in hands of masters: Vivaldi, Bach
and Handel
Opera continues to grow in popularity: Italian opera seria was the
favorite style. Arias were the main reason to go now
Solo concerto became more popular
Flute, oboe, trumpet and keyboard instruments had concertos

ANTONIO VIVALDI

ANTONIO VIVALDI
1678-1741
Trained for the priesthood, known as Red Priest b/c of hair
Appointed director of Ospedale della Pieta in Venice
600 concertos
Girls in orphanage gave frequent concerts

VIVALDIS CONCERTO
FORM
Three movements:
I. Fast
II. Slow and expressive, like an opera aria
III. Even faster than the first movement
First and third movements use ritornello form: orchestra comes in
with same or similar theme in between solo episodes, usually in
related keys

EXCERPT FROM
THE FOUR SEASONS
Published in 1725 (Vivaldi was 47)
Most popular set of concertos
For solo violin
Programmatic designed to tell a story
Poem written for each movement with lines written in the score

1 S T MOVEMENT FROM
LA PRIMAVERA (SPRING)
Spring has arrived, and full of joy
The birds greet it with their happy song.
The streams, swept by gentle breezes,
Flow along with a sweet murmur.
Covering the sky with a black cloak,
Thunder and lightning come to announce the season.
When all is quiet again, the little birds
Return to their lovely song.

EXCERPT FROM GLORIA

Christmas Cantata
Mvmt. I: Gloria in excelsis Deo

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

1685-1750
One of the most influential composers of all time
His death marked the end of the Baroque Era
Never considered himself a genius, only a hard-working craftsman
Never wrote an opera
Had two wives and over 20 children (11 died during childhood, 4
became famous Early Classical musicians)

 Hired in 1723 as music director for St. Thomas Church in Leipzig

Required to compose, rehearse and direct a new cantata for every
Sunday and feast day of the year
Head of music school attached to church: taught Latin,
composition, maintained instruments, played organ and prepared
choirs for the other three churches in town

ST. THOMAS CHURCH,

LEIPZIG

BACHS MUSIC
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Little Fugue in G Minor
Prelude in C Major from The Well Tempered Clavier
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st Movement
Chorale from St. Matthews Passion
Prelude from Unaccompanied Cello Suite in G Major

GEORGE FRIDERIC
HANDEL

GEORGE FRIDERIC
HANDEL
1685-1759
Life overlapped Bachs, but led a much different existence
Travelled extensively, international celebrity
Wrote nearly 40 operas
Born/grew up in Halle, studied opera in Italy, eventually ended up
in London, England (buried in Westminster Abbey w/ Elizabeth I
and Charles Dickens

EXCERPTS
BBC PROMS CONCERT Water Music suite
English National Opera Recitative and aria Where ere you walk
from Semele
Choir of Kings College, Cambridge Hallelujah Chorus from
Messiah

FUNDAMENTALS OF
BAROQUE MUSIC
Instrumental music is as important as vocal music
Opera was invented, with vocal forms divided between recitative and aria
Unifying feature of all Baroque music is basso continuo
Principal vocal genres are opera, cantata and oratorio
Principal instrumental genres are sonata, suite and concerto
The music is organized by hierarchy of chords and keys (tonal harmony)