Title: BAROQUE ERA
1BAROQUE ERA
2Baroque Literature
Shakespeare Hamlet Cervantes Don
Quixote Milton Paradise Lost Defoe Robinson
Crusoe Swift Gullivers Travels
3Baroque Art
Rubens Rembrandt
4Baroque Politics
- King James Bible 1611
- Galileo 1610 Earth revolves around the sun.
- Thirty Years War (1618-1648)
- Newton Principal Mathematica
- Witchcraft Trials in Salem 1692
-
5Louis XIV1638-1715 (reigned for 72 years)
6The Palace at Versailles
- Hall of Mirrors
- Extravagance
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8Baroque Music
- Composers
- Monteverdi
- Arcangelo Corelli
- Henry Purcell
- Antonio Vivaldi
- George Frideric Handel
- Johann Sebastian Bach
9Baroque Orchestra
- 10-40 musicians
- Upper Strings
- 1st and 2nd Violin,
- Viola
- Basso Continuo
- harpsichord plus cello,
- double bass
- or bassoon
10Woodwinds
11- Brass
- trumpets
- horns
- trombones
- Percussion
- timpani/kettle drums)
12Baroque Opera
- began as a combo of dance scenes, lyrical music
and plot based upon courtly love.
- a French critic, late 1600s said
- Opera is a bizarre affair made up of poetry and
music, in which the poet and the musician, each
equally obstructed by the other, give themselves
no end of trouble to produce a wretched work.
13How evil is opera??
Opera was illegal in Rome in the early 1700s.
an English critic, 1872 Opera is to be regarded
musically, philosophically, and ethically, as
an almost unmixed evil.
14Baroque Instrumental Music
- This is the first time that we see instrumental
music sharing the same stature as vocal music. - For the first time, there was a clear separation
of Vocal and Instrumental music
15Baroque Instrumental Practice
- There were no classics, so contemporary
composers were very prolific - Virtuosity (music that shows off the technical
skills of the performer)
16Keyboard Music
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18Keyboard Instruments
- Three main instruments
- Organ sacred venues and some home chapels
- Tracker Action
- Great, positive, and portative organ
- Harpsichord basso continuo for orchestra and
dance music. Solo instrument. Strings plucked by
a Plectrum. - Clavichord strings struck by hammers made
originally from bone. Precursor to the piano.
19Positive organ Portative organ
20Baroque Organs
21Harpsichord
Harpsichord, ca. 1675Made by Michele
TodiniRome, Italy
22Clavichord
23Innovations
- Instrument building families
- Stradivarius, Guarneri, and Amati
- Strings
- Cat gut
- Slightly different playing technique.bowing
- Woodwinds mellow sound as opposed to a more
brassy sound in modern times.
24Innovations
- Brass
- Originally a military instrument for signals
- Without valves
- Key changes made by inserting longer or shorter
crooks in the horn.
25Violin, 1693Made by Antonio Stradivari
(16441737) Cremona, Italy
26Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
27The Life of J.S. Bach
- Born in Eisenach, Germany, which was also the
birthplace of Martin Luther. - Bachs family supplied musicians (agents)
- The Bach family was made up of more than 70
composers and performers in Germany from the 16th
to the early 19th centuries. - Orphaned at age of 10, raised by his older
brother. - Brother was an organist and Bachs first music
teacher (family apprenticeship)
28Bach as a young man
29Bach prolific complex
- Wrote over 1000 musical pieces in every genre
except opera - Cantatas (1 per week for 8 years)
- Public complained for his flowery music
- Musicians felt his
- music too difficult
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31Bachs Signature
J.S.Bach (musical) cross. Bach signed himself
with a single note (using 4 different
pitches) B Left staff (treble clef) A Upper
staff (tenor clef) C Right staff (alto clef)
H Lower staff (treble clef)
32Bachs Work
- Church Musician
- Write music for services
- Play organ
- Teach choirs
- Teach soloists
- Conduct orchestra, choirs
- Court Musician
- Wrote music for entertainment
- Wrote commissioned pieces
- School teacher
- Organ teacher
- Organ construction consultant
- Composersacred secular music
- Husband/father
33This is a picture of one of the churches in
Leipzig where Bach worked. He was responsible
for all music in all 4 churches in the town.
- St. Thomas Church and School
34- Since the best man could not be obtained,
mediocre ones would have to be accepted. - -Leipzig town council member commenting on the
hiring of Bach
35- In 1707, Bach married his cousin, Maria Barbara.
They had 7 children. She died in 1721. - The same year, he married Anna Magdalena Wilken,
who was a professional singer. They ended up
having 13 more children during their marriage.
It is interesting to see that Bach did not travel
much during his lifetime and stayed within a
small area of Germany.
36Germany
Bachs life and work
37- By 1748 Bach was nearly blind from cataracts.
- In March and April of 1750, he was operated on by
the English oculist John Taylor. The operations
and the treatment that followed them may have
hastened Bach's death. - Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28, 1750.
38Bach shares his birth year with G.F.Handel.
Handel also had cataract surgery performed by
oculist John Taylor. American composer, Edward
MacDowell said, "Bach and Handel were in every
way quite different, except that both were born
in the same year and killed by the same doctor.
39George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
40George Fredric Handel
- born in Halle, Germany
- Father was a wealthy barber/surgeon that believed
that Handel should never enter the music field. - Born Georg Friedrich Händel, Handel anglicized
the spelling of his name after becoming a British
citizen in 1727. - Handel never married.
41Hanover
- He traveled to London to stage his opera, which
was very well received - The next time he went to London, he just stayed
- He was dismissed by the Elector of Hanover
- The elector of Hanover, was crowned King George I
of England in 1714. - Oops!
42Handels Water Music 1717
- An offering to King George I after irritating His
Serene Highness. - Music for an outing on the Thames river.
- His former salary (in Hanover) was doubled
43Oratorio
- Baroque vocal piece.
- Multi-movement
- First oratorios were sacred operas.
44Oratorio
- Eventually stripped of staging and costumes etc.
- At the end of the Baroque it was simply a
non-staged event. - Middle and late oratorio used no acting, staging,
costumes. -- Concert version. - Based upon a biblical story
45 Messiah (1742)
- Premiered in Dublin, Ireland.
- Composed in 24 days.
- Has been performed every year since its premiere
in 1742. - Libretto Biblical verses divided in three
parts Christmas, Easter, Redemption
46Concert etiquette for Messiah
- Why stand at the Hallelujah Chorus.
- Tradition or Religious significance?
- King George
47the Top 10 (possible) reasons
- the king was awakened by the loud chords of the
beginning of the chorus - he was tired of sitting
- he was hard of hearing and thought they were
playing God Save the King - he had gout and stood for relief
- he arrived late and all stood when he entered
48- he had hemorrhoids and stood for relief
- he had to go to the bathroom
- he mistook the words And he shall reign forever
and ever to be a personal tribute - he thought the chorus was so splendid that he
assumed it marked the end of the show - he was actually moved and inspired to stand
49Handels last years
- he lost his eyesight during the last years of his
life - He had the same physician who treated Bach!
50Handelburied in Westminster Abbey
- Note the wrong date on the grave marker.
51- Handel is the greatest composer who ever lived.
I would bare my head and kneel at his grave. - - Ludwig Van Beethoven
52Antonio Vivaldi 1678 1741
- Composer in one of four of the most important
music schools of Italy (and Europe) - Called The Red Priest because of his red hair
53Vivaldis Musical Style
- Vivaldi is credited for helping to free
instrumental style from vocal style. - Each piece is used as a teaching tool to create
virtuosity in the players of the orphanage and
music school. - Most famous piece The Four Seasons