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)