What is Baroque Music?

What is “baroque,” and when was the Baroque period?

Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or “oddly shaped pearl,” the term “baroque” has been
widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in Western European art music
from about 1600 to 1750. Comparing some of music history’s greatest masterpieces to a
misshapen pearl might seem strange to us today, but to the nineteenth century critics who
applied the term, the music of Bach and Handel’s era sounded overly ornamented and
exaggerated. Having long since shed its derogatory connotations, “baroque” is now simply a
convenient catch-all for one of the richest and most diverse periods in music history.

In addition to producing the earliest European music familiar to most of us, including
Pachelbel’s Canon and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, the Baroque era also greatly expanded our
horizons. The acceptance of Copernicus’s 16th century theory that the planets didn’t revolve
around the earth made the universe a much larger place, while Galileo’s work helped us get
better acquainted with the cosmos. Advances in technology, such as the invention of the
telescope, made what was believed to be finite seem infinite. Great thinkers like Descartes,
Hobbes, Spinoza, and Locke tackled the big questions of existence. Geniuses like Rubens,
Rembrandt, and Shakespeare offered unique perspectives through their art. European nations
grew more and more involved with foreign trade and colonization, bringing us into direct
contact with parts of the globe that were previously unfamiliar. And the growth of a new
middle class breathed life into an artistic culture long dependent on the whims of church and
court.

The Classical period itself lasted from approximately 1775 to 1825. The name classical is
applied to the period because in art and literature, there was keen interest in, admiration for,
and emulation of the classical artistic and literary heritage of Greece and Rome.

Intellectually, this era has also been labeled the Age of Enlightenment. Philosophers such as
Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu wrote of the value of the common person and the power
of human reasoning in overcoming the problems of the world. This revolution in thinking
inevitably led to conflict between the old order and new ideas. The French and American
revolutions in the last quarter of the eighteenth century were stimulated by this new attitude.

The musical scene in the classical period reflected the changes occurring in the society in which
the music was being written. This was the first era in music history in which public concerts
became an important part of the musical scene. Music was still being composed for the church
and the court, but the advent of public concerts reflected the new view that music should be
written for the enjoyment and entertainment of the common person.
Unlike the Renaissance or Baroque eras, which included many important composers and
trends, the choral music of the classical era was dominated by three composers: Franz Joseph
Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-
1827). For the first time, during the Classical period most of the important stylistic advances
that occurred can be observed most clearly in the instrumental forms: the symphony, concerto,
sonata, and in instrumental chamber music (e.g., the Beethoven string quartets). Church music
tended to be more conservative than secular compositions, which also helps to explain why
stylistic innovations were seen most clearly in instrumental music but were less prevalent in the
choral music of the period.

Choral and instrumental forms overlapped during the Classical period to an unprecedented
degree. Forms developed in the instrumental area were appropriated and used to good effect
in choral music. Sonata allegro form, for example, often found in sonata or symphony
movements, is also used in sections of classical masses. Beethoven included choral sections in
two instrumental works, his Choral Fantasia and the Ninth Symphony.

This period in music history is sometimes referred to as "the Viennese Classic period," and it
was centered in Vienna. Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart, though none was a native Viennese, all
worked in Vienna for significant periods in their careers. Although Vienna was the focal point
for musical activity of the period, classical music is not parochial but universal in spirit and in
style

.Romanticism (also known as the Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical and
intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, and in
most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. Romanticism was
characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the
past and nature, preferring the medieval rather than the classical. It was partly a reaction to
the Industrial Revolution,[1] the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of
Enlightenment, and the scientific rationalization of nature—all components of modernity.[2] It
was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact
on historiography,[3] education,[4] the social sciences, and the natural sciences.[5][not in citation
given] It had a significant and complex effect on politics, with romantic thinkers

influencing liberalism, radicalism, conservatism and nationalism.[6]

The Greatest Composers of the Classical Period

1. JOHANNES BRAHMS 1833-97

Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period, but he was
more a disciple of the Classical tradition. He wrote in many genres, including symphonies,
concerti, chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions, many of which reveal the
influence of folk music. Some of his best-known works include Symphony No. 3 in F
Major, Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4, and Hungarian Dances.

2. Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

The French composer Claude Debussy is often regarded as the father of modern classical music.
Debussy developed new and complex harmonies and musical structures that evoke
comparisons to the art of his contemporary Impressionist and Symbolist painters and writers.
His major works include Clair de lune, La Mer, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and the
opera Pelléas et Mélisande.

3. Frédéric Chopin (1810–49)

Frédéric Chopin was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period. He was one
of few composers to devote himself to a single instrument, and his sensitive approach to the
keyboard allowed him to exploit all the resources of the piano, including innovations in
fingering and pedaling. He is thus primarily known for writing music for the piano,
notably Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2 in E-flat Major, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, B. 49, and Heroic
Polonaise.

Baroque Period Composers

1. Johann Sebastian Bach

known of all composers in classical music.

Bach was born into one of the great musical families of the day. A natural genius at the
keyboard, he mastered the organ and harpsichord and was simply a brilliant composer. Bach
brought baroque music to its climax, writing over 1,000 compositions in nearly every type of
musical form.

Popular Works: "Air on a G String," "Double Violin Concerto," "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3,"
"B Minor Mass," "The Unaccompanied Cello Suites"

2. George Frideric Handel

Born in the same year as Bach in a town 50 miles away, George Frideric Handel (1685–1759),
who later became a British citizen, lead a much different life than Bach.
Handel, too, composed for every musical genre of his time. He is credited with creating the
English oratorio, most famous among these was "Messiah." Handel also specialized in operas
and often took on the Italian-style cantatas.

Popular WorArcangelo Corelli

ks: "(The) Messiah," "Music for the Royal Fireworks," "Water Music"

3. Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713) was an Italian teacher, violinist, and composer. Corelli’s mastery
of tone on the newly invented violin earned him great reviews throughout Europe. He is often
credited as the first person to create basic violin technique.

Corelli worked during the time of expressive opera known as High Baroque. He is equally
famous for his harpsichord compositions and his talent with the violin.

Popular Works: "Concerto Grossi," "Christmas Concerto," "Sonata da camera in D Minor"

Romantic composers

1.Frederic Chopin (1810–1849)

Frederic Chopin, born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, was a Polish pianist and composer known for
his pieces written for the piano. He specialized in the genres: etude, mazurka, nocturne,
waltz, and polonaise.

Because of his success, and his propensity to only perform in intimate settings for social elites,
Chopin was able to charge large sums for private instruction.

Many of his pieces were influenced by Polish folk songs, and his nationalist theme aligned with
characteristics of Romanticism. All his compositions include the piano, but the majority of them
were written exclusively for solo piano, which included sonatas, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes,
polonaises, etudes, impromptus, scherzos, and preludes.
Popular Works: Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1 (Minute Waltz), Marche Funebre, Etude in C
major, Op. 10, and Etude in C minor Op.10 (Revolutionary)

2. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805–1847)

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a German Romantic pianist and composer. Many of her songs
were published under her brother's name, Felix Mendelssohn, due to sexist attitudes of the
time. Felix was also a music composer. Rather than sibling rivalry, the two worked closely
together in providing constructive criticism on each other's works.
Popular Works: Easter Sonata

3. Clara Wieck ScAnother major female composer of the Romantic period was Clara Wieck
Schumann. She was a German composer, pianist, and prolific performer. Starting at the age
of 8, Clara began touring different cities, and she continued to perform for over 60 years.

She was married to fellow Romantic composer, Robert Schumann. They met in 1830 as
Robert was taking piano lessons from Clara's father, Friedrich.

Popular Works: Trio in G Minor, Op. 17

humann (1819–1896)

Beethoven’s Music

Some of Beethoven’s best-known compositions include:

Eroica: Symphony No. 3

In 1804, only weeks after Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of France,
Beethoven debuted his Symphony No. 3 in Napoleon's honor. Beethoven, like all of Europe,
watched with a mixture of awe and terror; he admired, abhorred and, to an extent, identified
with Napoleon, a man of seemingly superhuman capabilities, only one year older than himself
and also of obscure birth.

Later renamed the Eroica Symphony because Beethoven grew disillusioned with Napoleon, it
was his grandest and most original work to date. Because it was so unlike anything heard
before it, the musicians could not figure out how to play it through weeks of rehearsal. A
prominent reviewer proclaimed "Eroica" as "one of the most original, most sublime, and most
profound products that the entire genre of music has ever exhibited."

Symphony No. 5

One of Beethoven’s best-known works among modern audiences, Symphony No. 5 is known for
its ominous first four notes.

Beethoven began composing the piece in 1804, but its completion was delayed a few times for
other projects. It premiered at the same time as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, in 1808 in
Vienna.
Was Beethoven Deaf?

At the same time as Beethoven was composing some of his most immortal works, he was
struggling to come to terms with a shocking and terrible fact, one that he tried desperately to
conceal: He was going deaf. By the turn of the 19th century, Beethoven struggled to make out
the words spoken to him in conversation.

Beethoven revealed in a heart-wrenching 1801 letter to his friend Franz Wegeler, "I must
confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost two years I have ceased to attend any social
functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf. If I had any other
profession, I might be able to cope with my infirmity; but in my profession it is a terrible
handicap."

At times driven to extremes of melancholy by his affliction, Beethoven described his despair in
a long and poignant note that he concealed his entire life.

Dated October 6, 1802 and referred to as "The Heiligenstadt Testament," it reads in part, "O
you men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn or misanthropic, how greatly do you
wrong me. You do not know the secret cause which makes me seem that way to you and I
would have ended my life — it was only my art that held me back. Ah, it seemed impossible to
leave the world until I had brought forth all that I felt was within me."

Almost miraculously, despite his rapidly progressing deafness, Beethoven continued to

compose at a furious pace. From 1803 to 1812, what is known as his "middle" or "heroic"
period, he composed an opera, six symphonies, four solo concerti, five string quartets, six string
sonatas, seven piano sonatas, five sets of piano variations, four overtures, four trios, two
sextets and 72 songs.