The Baroque Era

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The Baroque Era

• 1600-1750

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Baroque

• Coined by a French Scholar, in reference to a
  building facade
• From the Portuguese work barrocco (misshapen
  pearl), meaning absurd or grotesque

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Palazzo Pamphili
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Italy

• The period was heavily influenced by Italian
  thinking
• Monteverdi, Bernini, Scarlatti, Carvaggio
• Pre-risorgimento

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A Period of Great Creative Output

• John Milton (Paradise Lost), Isaac Newton -
  England
• Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote), Velasquez
  Spain
• Rembrandt Van Rijn Netherlands
• Renee Descartes France
• Johannes Kepler, Gottfried Leibniz Germany

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The Night Watch Rembrandt
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The Musical Affections

• Rage, excitement, grandeur, heroism, lofty
  contemplation, wonder or mystic exaltation
• These emotions were meant to be represented by
  musical ideas
• Emotion became the driving force behind
  composition
• Codified in the Book of Affections

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Other Baroque Era Characteristics

• Idiomatic writing (writing for specific
  instruments)
• Terraced dynamics
• Differentiation between vocal and instrumental
  writing
• Standardization of instrumentation

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Some Baroque Instruments
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Baroque Characteristics cont

• The Continuo Figured Bass

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Baroque Characteristics cont

• Codification of notation
• Notation the way we know it today owes its
  existence to the Baroque era
• Pre-baroque, notation looked very different

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Renaissance Notation
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Original Score for Bachs St. Matthews Passion
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Baroque Characteristics cont

• Use of counterpoint, or contrapuntal
  composition
• Melodic material that is added above or below an
  existing melody.
• The technique of combining two or more melodic
  lines in such a way that they establish a
  harmonic relationship while retaining their
  linear individuality.

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Some Baroque composers of note

• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1714)
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
• Johann Sebastien Bach (1685-1750)

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Opera

• Revisitation of Ancient Greek Ideals Staged
  Drama
• It was argued that some of these plays involved
  singing
• Claudio Monteverdi wrote the first opera in
  1607 based on the Greek myth of Orfeo and
  Euridice

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Next Week - Bach vs. Handel for the Baroque
Heavyweight Championship