Get books again today

1
Get books again today

• Journal Entry 9
• In music, art, etc., do you enjoy a simple, pure
  style like that of the Renaissance, or do you
  enjoy the over-the-top, dramatic style of the
  Baroque? Why?

2
BAROQUE MUSIC (SHMRFT)

• Sound
• Unity of Mood
• Usually expresses one basic mood throughout (but
  not in vocal music)
• Emotional states represented joy, grief,
  agitation, called affections
• Specific rhythm/melodic patterns became
  associated with specific moods

3
(SHMRFT) cont

• Harmony
• Chords increasingly important
• Chords gave prominence to the bass, which is the
  foundation of a chord
• Basso continuo accompaniment made up of a bass
  part usually played by two instruments
• a keyboard plus a low melodic instrument like
  cello or bassoon

4

• Harmony, cont
• Basso continuo played in left hand, while right
  hand creates chords based on numbers written in
  the music, called figured bass
• Example pg. 129

5
(SHMRFT) cont

• Filling in chords according to figured bass is
  called realization
• Figured bass only specifies basic chords
• Performer has great freedom
• Also saved time for busy Baroque composers
• Also saved paper, which was very expensive

6
(SHMRFT) cont

• Figured bass is the shorthand system that leads
  to song lead sheets and jazz improvisation of
  today

7
(SHMRFT) cont

• Rhythm
• Patterns repeat throughout piece
• Created forward momentum
• Forward motion rarely interrupted
• Beat emphasized more than Renaissance

8
(SHMRFT) cont

• Melody
• Repeated throughout piece, melodies heard again
  and again throughout
• Character of the melody remains constant
• Continuous expanding, unfolding, and unwinding of
  melody
• Sequences used
• Ornamentation
• Hard to sing and remember

9
LISTENING FOR ORNMENTATION

• Sonata da chiesa, Op. 5, No. 1
• Arcangelo Corelli
• Also listen for harpsichord

10
(SHMRFT) cont

• Dynamics
• Volume level stays constant for long time
• Terraced dynamics sudden shifts in dynamics
• Organ, harpsichord, clavichord narrow dynamic
  changes
• Organ and harpsichord incapable of gradual
  dynamic changes
• Clavichord very small piano-like instrument
• Capable of gradual dynamic changes, but only
  within small range (ppp-mp)

11
LISTENING FOR TERRACED DYNAMICS

• Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah
• George Frederic Handel
• Listen for trumpet and timpani

12
(SHMRFT) cont

• Texture
• Early Baroque homophonic
• Late Baroque usually polyphonic
• Soprano and Bass most important
• Imitation
• Some vocal pieces may switch texture for change
  of mood

13
SHMRFT, cont

• Texture, cont
• Music depicts specific meanings (word painting)
• heaven high, hell low, grief
  descending chromatic scale
• Words emphasized by writing many rapid notes for
  a single syllable of text - mellismas
• Technique also demonstrated singers virtuosity

14
LISTENING TO MELLISMAS

• Evry Valley Shall Be Exalted from Messiah
• George Frederic Handel

15
THE BAROQUE ORCHESTRA

• 10-40 players
• Based on instruments of violin family
• Main parts
• Basso continuo harpsichord cello or bass
  bassoon
• Upper strings 1st and 2nd violins violas

16

• Use of woodwind, brass, percussion varied
• Other instruments could be added recorder,
  flute, oboe, trumpet, horns, trombone, timpani
• Trumpet timpani joined in for festive music

17
LISTENING FOR FESTIVE TRUMPET

• Gloria from Gloria in D Major
• Antonio Vivaldi

18

• Different than modern orchestra
• 4 groups of instruments
• Trumpet was different, no valves
• Difficult to play, associated with royalty
• Trumpeters were the top of the orchestra ladder
• Treated like military officers

19
BAROQUE FORMS

• movement a piece that sounds fairly complete
  and independent but is part of a larger
  composition
• each movement
• has its own themes
• comes to a definite end
• is separated from the next movement by a brief
  pause

20

• 3-Part ABA
• 2-Part AB
• Through-composed
• Always contrast between bodies of sound
• Examples
• alteration between small and large groups of
  instruments
• Voices and instruments

21
CHAPTER 2 MUSIC IN BAROQUE SOCIETY

• Before 1800 music written to order for
• Churches, aristocratic courts, opera houses
• All new no one wanted old-fashioned
• Music was main source of entertainment
• One court might employ an orchestra, chapel
  choir, opera singers
• Large court might have 80 performers, including
  best opera singers of the day

22

• Court Music Directors
• Supervised/composed performances
• Operas, church music, dinner music, concerts
• Discipline of other musicians
• Upkeep of instruments and music library
• Job good and bad
• Pay and prestige very high
• Anything they wrote got performed
• Most were slaves to their employer

23

• Church music very grand
• Most churches had organ, choir, orchestra every
  service
• Most ordinary citizens heard music in church
• Fine church music increased prestige of each city
• Cities competed to attract best musicians

24

• Church Music Directors
• Also had to produce steady flow of new music
• Trained choristers
• Upkeep of instruments and library
• Earned less, lower status than court directors
• Low income was often supplemented by firewood,
  grain, irregular fees for weddings/funerals

25

• Other Musicians
• Some town musicians also employed
• Some earned money writing operas for commercial
  opera houses
• Venice city of 125,000 people, 6 opera houses
  between 1680-1700
• Handel worked for a London opera house 1719-1728.
  When it went bankrupt, Handel started his own,
  working as composer, conductor, manager. Handel
  one of the first great freelance musicians.

26

• How to become a musician in the Baroque
• Often passed from father to son (Bach, Vivialdi,
  Purcell, etc.)
• Apprenticeships for young boys
• Starting as choirboys
• Orphanages
• Many orphans and poor children received the best
  musical training in orphanage schools

27

• Women not allowed to be music directors or court
  instrumentalists, many succeeded in composing
• To get a job, musicians had to pass difficult
  exams, auditions, and composition submissions
• Also nonmusical requirements
• Donations to town treasury
• Marrying the daughter of retiring musician (Bach
  and Handel turned down same job because they
  didnt want to marry the organists daughter)

28
VOCABULARY

• Galileo
• Newton
• Baroque
• Ornamentation
• Opera
• Affections
• Basso continuo
• Figured Bass
• Realization

• Terraced Dynamics
• Sequences
• Clavichord
• Orchestra
• Written-to-Order music
• Court Music Director
• Church Music Director
• Apprenticeship
• Orphanage

29
GROUP PRESENTATIONS

• Isaac Newton Baroque Dance Famous Baroque Operas
• Alec Camp Dominique Flyte Chris Pearson
• Aaron Brunnworth Claire Chandler Nate Novak
• Taimoor Aziz Emma Brown Ryan Kaminsky
• Nick Caban Julian Harvey Blake Noud
• Galileo Baroque Royal Courts
• Bilal Aziz Phil Kosydor
• Jacob Burns Kalyn Moore
• Kieryn Beyerl Andrew Drake
• Anna Stamer Sami Greytak