Baroque Music

Baroque music describes a style of European classical music.

1600-1750

• Baroque means bizarre.

• Germany was a new country of influence.

Rhythm – Once the rhythm has been established it remains the same throughout the entire song.

Starts fast – stays fastStarts slow – stays slow

There is no shift in tempo.

Melody –Once the melody has been established it keeps happening. (reoccurring melody)

Dynamics – The use of terraced dynamics (a sudden shift in volume)

If there are dynamics there are no crescendo/decrescendos

Antonio Vivaldi – (Red priest violinist)“Four Seasons”

• Created orchestra for teenage orphaned girls

• Red Priest worked for church and had red hair

• Wish and be able to recognize greatness in in the field you are pursuing

Johann Sebastian Bach – (organist) German composer

•Father of Music

•Married Barbara who was much younger than him and had 20 children

•He made the following types of works popularInvention – played on the harpsichordShort in duration, quick tempo

•Fugue – played on the organ, generally slow in tempomain melody played many times

Basso Continuous – continues bass, low end of keyboard, same notes repeated, steady

New instruments of the Baroque

• Organ – sustaining deep sound

• Harpsichord – plucky sound

• Clavichord – funky, percussion sound (Superstition by Stevie Wonder)

George Frederica Handel – known for his oratoriosOratorio:- A musical work based on a religious text- written for chorus and orchestra - (no dialogue/acting – similar to opera)

- Handel's most famous work is called the “Messiah”- 2 1/2 hours to perform- 24 hours to write

- Messiah is broken down into 3 parts:1. Part 1 – Do we believe that Jesus was born for us?2. Part 2 – Do we believe that Jesus died on the cross for us?3. Part 3 – Do we believe in eternal life?

• It is associated with composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Henry Purcell.

• During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes in musical notation, and developed new instrumental playing techniques.

• Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. Many musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use today.

Baroque music shares with Renaissance music a heavy use of polyphony and counterpoint. However, its use of these techniques differs from Renaissance music.

•Baroque composers wrote in many different musical genres. •Opera, invented in the late Renaissance, became an important musical form during the Baroque, with the operas of Alessandro Scarlatti, Handel, and others. •The oratorio achieved its peak in the work of Bach and Handel; opera and oratorio often used very similar music forms, such as a widespread use of the da capo aria.