Baroque Period

1
Baroque Period

• 1600-1750

2
Historical Background

• Reformation
• WarfareProtestants stormed Catholic churches,
  destroying beautiful works of art and musical
  instruments they considered profane.
• Catholics established the infamous court of the
  Inquisition, which tried and condemned dissenters
  according to its own harsh rules.
• Tension between Protestants in the north and
  Catholics in the south
• Cool, detached emotional atmosphere of the
  renaissance was soon replaced by the vivid,
  passionate expression of the affections-human
  emotions or states of the soul.

3
Historical Background

• Three fifty-year periods
• Early (1600-1640)
• Middle (1640-1680)
• Late (1680-1750)
• Known as the Age of Reason or Age of Absolutism
  because many rulers exercised or had absolute
  power over their subjects.
• The earliest period was the most
  revolutionarybut our focus will be on the late
  period. The Baroque period begins with Monteverdi
  (birth of opera) and ends with the deaths of Bach
  and Handel.

4
Transition

• Baroque society revolved around the idea of the
  absolute monarch. King and Queen had all-powerful
  status in their domain. This resulted in the
  increased separations between classes.
• Between the Renaissance and Baroque artists
  discarded the boundaries that controlled
  expression in classical art.
• Distortion and exaggeration enhances their newly
  dramatic approach. Baroque is considered to mean
  distorted or irregularterm applied by the
  Classicists.

5
People Bytes

• Galileo-the scientific man of reason and science,
  ran up against the religious dogma.
• He studied the effects of gravity and therefore
  made important experiments with the measurements
  of time.
• Newton-developed the scientific method.
• People were extremely superstitious (witchcraft,
  astrology and alchemy).

6
Characteristics and Elements

• Mood Affectations (to impress the mind or move
  the feelings of human emotions, emotional
  response). The philosophy of the era is that it
  represents the affections of real life and in
  doing so, excites the listeners emotions. Music
  must move the listener.
• Baroque music expresses one basic moodand
  remains throughout. Renaissance music was
  structured and rigid.
• Composers of the time shaped or molded a musical
  language to depict the affectations similar to
  word painting of the Renaissance
• Tonal System was developed (Middle Baroque) A
  move from the medieval (church) modes

7
Tonal System

• One of the most significant changes in all music
  history the transition from medieval church
  modes to major-minor system of tonality Middle
  Baroque
• The tonal system was developedevery note of the
  major or minor scale bears a specific
  relationship to every other note, and all of the
  pitches are specifically related to the first
  note or tonic.
• The keynote do became the most powerful force.
• Now each chord could assume a function in
  relation to a key center.
• Church modes gradually replaced by major and
  minor scales.
• By 1680, major minor scales were the tonal
  basis for most compositions.

8
Characteristics

• Rhythm
• The unity of mood is conveyed by the continuity
  of rhythm.
• Rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning of a
  piece, are repeated throughout itwhich provides
  a compelling drive and energya forward and
  perpetual motion. This motion is continuousno
  rests.
• The beat is emphasized to a greater degree.

9
Characteristics

• Melody
• Melody also creates a feeling of continuity
• An opening melody will be heard again and again
  as it expands, unfolds, and unwinds.
• Melodic sequence (repetition of a musical idea at
  a higher or lower pitch)
• Elaborate and ornamental and not easy to sing or
  remember

10
Characteristics

• Dynamics
• Terraced dynamics Volume stays constant for a
  length of time and then immediately shifts to
  another level (which is usually sudden)
• The main instruments of the dayorgan and
  harpsichord could not obtain a crescendo or
  decrescendo by finger pressure on the keys (as
  pianists today can do)

11
Characteristics

• Texture
• Predominantly polyphonic.
• Soprano and bass lines most important
• Imitation between the various lines or voices
  of the texture is common.
• A melodic idea heard in one voice is likely to
  appear in another voice as well.
• A piece could shift in texturebecause not all
  late Baroque music was polyphonic.

12
Basso Continuo

• Chords became increasingly more important
• The emphasis on chords and the bass part resulted
  in this new feature.
• Basso continuo (figured bass) made up of a bass
  part with numbers (figures) which specified the
  chords to be played with the bass line.
• The continuo (abbreviation for basso continuo) is
  usually played by at least two instruments an
  organ or harpsichord and a low melodic instrument
  like a cello or bassoon.
• With the left hand the organist plays the bass
  part, which is also performed by the cellist or
  bassoonist.
• With the right hand the keyboard player
  improvises chords or even a melodic line
  following the indications of the numbers.
• The numbers only indicate a basic chord, and not
  the exact way it should b played.

13
Baroque Orchestra

• Evolved into a performing group based on the
  instruments of the violin family.
• The violin became the most popular solo
  instrument of the era. Violin-sidebar
• Small - 10-30 players
• Nucleus Consisted of the basso continuo
  (harpsichord plus cello, double bass, or bassoon)
  and upper strings (first and second violins and
  violas)
• Winds recorders, flutes, oboes, trumpets, horns,
  trombonesand timpani

14
Violin Makers (extra)

• The late 17th and early 18th centuries were the
  age of the great violin makers at Cremona.
• Amati, (1596-1684), Stradivari (1644-1737), and
  Guarneri (1698-1744)
• Stradivarius - Secrets were in the chemistry.
  Soaked maple wood, the use of fruit gums, and a
  concoction of chemicals from the local drug
  store.
• Made instruments for the famous-James II
  (England). Charles III (Spain), also acquired
  names for buyers. Yo-Yo Ma plays the Davidov
  (1712).
• Two of Stradivaris sons continued his work after
  his death.

15
Baroque Musicians

• Music was the main source of diversion in the
  courts of the aristocracy
• Music director supervised performances and
  composed most of the required music including
  operas, church music, dinner music, and pieces
  for court concertsand the upkeep of the
  instruments.
• Good bad features Pay and prestige were
  highand anything the composer wrote would be
  performedbut no matter how great the composer
  washe was still a servant who could neither quit
  or take a trip without the patrons permission.
• Musicians had to curry favor with the
  aristocracylike everyone else in society.
• The art was handed down from father to son and
  they had to pass a difficult examination,
  perform, and submit compositions as an audition
  for a position.

16
Baroque Forms

• Movement a piece that sounds fairly complete
  and independent but is part of a larger
  composition.
• Concerto Grosso-a small group of soloists (2-4)
  is pitted against a larger group of players
  called the tutti.
• Has several movements-usually three (fast, slow,
  fast)
• Ritornello form-based on the alteration between
  tutti and solo sections. The tutti opens with a
  theme called the ritornello (refrain)
• 1 - Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (p. 107)

17
Baroque Forms

• Fugue A polyphonic composition based on one main
  theme, called a subject.
• Throughout the fugue, different melodic lines, or
  voices imitate the subject.
• The subject may be announced by any voice
• An independent fugue often times is introduced by
  a short piece called a prelude.
• Pedal Point is when a single tone, usually in
  the bass, is held while the other voices produce
  a series of changing harmonies against it.
• 2 - Bach, Organ Fugue in G Minor
• (Little Fugue) (P. 111)

18
Elements of Opera

• A drama sung to orchestral accompaniment.
• One of the foremost innovations of the era
  because it allowed the realism of extreme
  emotions.
• Fusion of music, poetry, acting, dance, scenery,
  costumesthat offers a theatrical experience.
  (chorus and extras)
• Originated in Italy.
• Characters and plot are revealed through
  songrather than the speech used in ordinary
  drama.
• Performers have to sing and act simultaneously
• Created by composer and dramatist.
• Libretto is the text, written by the librettist
  or dramatist.
• Music is created by the composer.

19
Opera

• Serious and comic operas
• May contain spoken dialogue, but most are
  entirely sung.
• Aria- a song for solo voice with orchestral
  accompaniment (the main attraction)
• Recitative- a vocal line that imitates the
  rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech
• Prelude/Overture-most operas open with an
  orchestral composition

20
Opera Origins

• The Camerata (Italian for fellowship) wanted to
  create a new vocal style modeled on the Greek
  tragedy
• Euridice-Earliest opera that has been preserved
  was created by Jacopo Peri
• Composed for the wedding of King Henry of IV of
  France.
• Monteverdi (7 years later) composed Orfeothe
  first great operafor the court of the Gonzaga
  family.
• Most opera was composed for ceremonial occasions
  at court and was designed as a display of
  magnificence and splendor.

21
Opera Origins

• First public opera house opened in Venice in
  1637.
• There were 17 opera houses in Venice alone
  between 1637 and 1700.
• Venetian opera houses became a great tourist
  attraction.
• Baroque opera marked the rise of virtuoso
  singers.
• Major star was the castrato (a male singer who
  had been castrated before pubertya common
  practice between 1600-1800).

22
Opera Composers

• Monteverdi (156-1643)
• Recognized as a leading composer in Mantua but
  received little pay or respect.
• Created the earliest operatic masterpieceOrfeo
  in 1607.
• Considered a monumental figure in the history of
  musicand his works form a musical bridge between
  the Renaissance and the Baroque (16th and 17th
  centuries) and greatly influenced composers of
  his time.
• All of his musicmadrigals, church music, and
  opera is all for voices, ordinarily supported by
  a basso continuo and other instruments.

23
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

• He used dissonances and with unprecedented
  freedom to create music of emotional intensity.
  To evoke the angry or warlike feelings in some of
  his texts, he introduce new orchestral effects
  including pizzicato and tremolo the special
  effects of the day
• He frequently used word painting
• 3 - Orfeo Recitative Tu se morta
• (You are dead) p. 121

24
Composers

• Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
• Called the greatest of English composers.
• Age 18 became composer to kings string
  orchestra the organist of Westminster Abbey
• He was the last English composer of international
  rank until the twentieth century
• He mastered all the musical forms of
  late-seventeenth-century England.
• Wrote church music, secular choral music, music
  for small groups of instruments, songs, and music
  for the stage
• Died at age 36, buried under beneath the organ in
  Westminster Abbey

25
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

• Ground bass basso ostinatoa repeated musical
  idea. The ground bass pattern can be as short as
  four notes or as long as eight measures.
• You will hear a ground bass in his opera which is
  considered a masterpiece of Baroque operawritten
  for students at a girls boarding school. (One
  hour in length)
• 4 Didos Lament ( Dido and Aeneas)
• P. 123

26
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) Italy

• Composer and singer side bar
• Published eight collections of songs.
• More music in print in her lifetime than even the
  most famous composers of her day
• No support from church or patronage of a noble
  house.
• She is sometimes credited with the genesis of an
  entire musical genrethe cantata.
• Died in obscurity with little wealth or property

27
Barbara Strozzi
28
Other Women Composers

• Francesca Caccini (1587-1640?) Italy
• Father-prolific composer Mother-singer.
• Played keyboard, lute and guitar and harp.
• Well trained inn composition, well versed in
  literature.
• Made a living as a singer and composer.
• Offered a salaried job at the court of King Henry
  IV of France, but her current employer (Grand
  Duke Ferdinand of Florence) would not release her
  .
• Il primo libro delle musiche (first surviving
  independent work) 1618.
• Known as the first female composer of opera.
• One of the most prolific composers of her time.
• Considered one of the greatest female composers
  of all time.

29
Women Composers

• Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729)
  France. Father was an organist
• Great reputation as a singer and harpsichordist
• Composer of one opera, cantatas, church music,
  and works for harpsichord
• At age 22, published her Premier Livre de Pieces
  de Clavessin and dedicated it to Louis XIV who
  received it with his usual goodness
• This was one of the few volumes of harpsichord
  music to be published in 17th century France.
• She enjoyed a successful career and her abilities
  and compositions were highly praised by the king
  and his court.

30
Forms (1653-1713)

• Main development in instrumental music was the
  sonata (a composition in several movements for
  one to eight instruments). Took on a new meaning
  during the next era.
• Trio sonatas they had three melodic lines two
  high ones and a basso continuoand involves four
  instrumentalists.
• Usually two high instruments (flutes, violins,
  oboes) and two instruments for the basso
  continuoa keyboard instrument (organ or
  harpsichord) and a low instrument (cello or
  bassoon)
• Originated in Italy.

31
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)

• Most prominent Italian violinist and composer of
  string music around 1700.
• Eminent teacher who laid down the foundations of
  modern violin technique.
• Wrote only instrumental music60 sonatas and 12
  concertos all for strings.
• Trio sonatas had four movements fast, fast,
  slow, fast.
• Therbo-bass lute (a plucked string instrument
  that is capable of producing chords as well as
  the bass line.

32
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

• Known as the Red Priest
• Virtuoso violinist and composer, violin teacher,
  and conductor at the music school of the Pieta
  (all girl orphanage with extremely talented
  musicians-one of the finest orchestras in Italy)
• He was famous and influential.
• Wrote 450 concerti grosso and solo concertos
• A solo concerto is a piece for single soloist
  and an orchestra.

33
Vivaldi (1678-1741)

• He also composed operas and church music
• His most popular work is the concerto La
  Primavera (Spring) from the Four Seasons (a set
  of four solo concertos for violin, string
  orchestra, and basso continuo.
• Has three movements like most of his concertos
  fast, slow, fast
• A favorite piece of Louis XV, King of France
• 5 - La Primavera, from The Four Seasons - First
  movement,
• (P. 128)

34
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

• His masterpieces mark the high point of baroque
  music.
• Most important and prestigious position was as a
  court conductor of the prince of Cöthen. He
  directed and composed for his orchestra for six
  years.
• He created masterpieces in every baroque form
  except opera.
• Eminent teacher of organ and composition and
  organ recitalist.
• Recognized as the most eminent organist,
  harpsichordist, and improviser. (improvisation is
  the term used for music created a the same time
  it is performed.)

35
Bach (1685-1750)

• His vocal music (the bulk of his output) was
  written primarily for the Lutheran church and
  often based on familiar hymns.
• By his time there was little difference in style
  between sacred and secular music.
• Baroque Suites sets of dance-inspired movements.
  Written for solo instruments, small groups, or
  orchestra.
• Comprised of movements that are all written in
  the same key but differ in tempo, meter, and
  character. Typical movements
• Moderately paced-Allemande (Germany) a fast
  Courante and moderate Gavotte (France) solemn
  Sarabande (Spain) and a fast Gigue (England)
• 6 - Bach-Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major (P.
  135)

36
Chorale and Cantata

• Chorale or hymn tune was sung to a German
  religious text. Easy to sing and remember. One
  note to a syllable and moved in a steady rhythm.
• Cantata principal means of musical expression in
  the Lutheran service, and one that used chorales.
• It originally meant a piece that was sung, as
  distinct from a sonata which was played.
• We are focusing on the cantata designed for the
  Lutheran church service (there were many kinds of
  cantatas written during the day)
• The cantata was written for chorus, vocal
  soloists, organ, and a small orchestra with a
  German religious text drawn from the Bible or
  familiar hymns.
• Sermon in music that reinforced the ministers
  sermon, also based on the readings.
• Included different movements with choruses,
  recitatives, arias, and duets.

37
Cantata

• The cantata closely resembled the opera of the
  time
• The cantor or music director had to provide
  church cantatas for every Sunday and holiday.
• Bach wrote about 295, and 195 are still in
  existence.
• Cantata No. 140 Wachet auf, ruft uns die
  Stimme (Awake a Voice is Calling Us)
• (P. 137)
• 7 Fourth Movement Tenor Chorale
• (P. 141)
• 8 - Seventh Movement Chorale (P. 142)

38
Oratorio

• Major development in baroque vocal music
• Large-scale composition for chorus, orchestra,
  vocal soloists, and orchestra usually set to a
  narrative text.
• Different from opera in that it has no scenery,
  costumes, or acting.
• Based on biblical stories but usually not
  intended for religious services.
• Today they are performed in concert halls or
  churches. First appeared in 17th century Italy as
  musical dramatizations ob biblical stories.
• During this period it spread to other countries
• Most famous, best known, and best loved
  Oratoriois Handels Messiah.

39
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

• Master of Italian opera and English Oratorio
  (German)
• Traveled to Italy when he was 21 years old and
  wrote widely acclaimed operas and mingled with
  the nobility
• Returned to Germany in 1710 and took a well-paid
  position as a music director for the Elector of
  Hanover
• Requested a leave for Londonwhere his opera
  Rinaldo was a great success, and requested a
  second leave for London and never returned
• He became Englands most important composer and a
  favorite of the Queen (Anne)
• Became Director of the Royal Academy of Music (a
  commercial opera company) and composed a number
  of brilliant operas.

40
Handel

• When opera fell out of favor he parlayed his
  musical ability into composing oratorios.
• The core of his huge output consists of English
  oratorios and Italian operas (39).
• He also wrote quite a bit of instrumental music
  including suites, organ concertos, and concerti
  grossi.
• His oratorios are based on the Old Testament.
• His first performance of Messiahwas a benefit
  for people in debtors prisons. A newspaper wrote
  that the Messiah by the greatest Judges to be
  the finest Composition for Musik that ever was
  heard

41
Handel

• Messiah is Handels only English oratorio that
  uses the New Testament as well as the Old.
• It has over 50 movements and No. 44, Hallelujah
  Chorus is monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic
  in texture.
• One of the worlds most famous choral pieces.
• 9 - Evry Valley Shall Be Exalted
• Aria for tenor, strings, and basso continuo, (P.
  145)
• 10 - Hallelujah Chorus, from Messiah
• (P. 148)