Class 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto...

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Class 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto Grosso Technical developments The Baroque period begins with the invention of opera in Florence around 1600. At this time, we see a few technical developments that make Baroque music much different from that of the Renaissance. Somehow, composers gravitated to the major-minor system. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) made waves with new dissonances in his books of madrigals. This was defended by calling it a "seconda pratica," a new practice. The dissonances (things that we would call appogiaturas and the like) were justified by claims that they served the emotion of the text. Figured Bass notation was invented, and the harpsichord and bass instruments (collectively called the basso continuo) became the center of most music. While Renaissance music was mostly concerned with combinations of voices (either in polyphony or homophony), opera and other Baroque genres often feature a single part which handles all the melody. Thus, we have a new technical term for this texture - monody Opera We'll look at a silly movie about Farinelli, a famous castrato. These were men who were surgically altered before puberty, so that they would retain the high range of a boy soprano (but develop the power and musical skills of an adult.) Many of the Baroque operas featured castratos in the heroic roles, and thus today they need to be performed by a countertenor (a man singing falsetto) or a soprano. The movie shows a few aspects of Baroque opera: The general atmosphere of the opera house and the interest in spectacular special effects. The reliance on virtuoso arias for individual singers. Indeed, as drama, the operas are very boring - they are really just a long recital of solo arias. We'll see Farinelli perform a bit of the opera Idaspe composed by his brother Riccardo Broschi, and then we'll hear some arias from Handel's Rinaldo. (For me: this is Track 6 and Track 21.) The Concerto Grosso When we hear the word "concerto" we think of a special event in which a famous soloist walks out in front of an orchestra and performs a spectacular part, with the backing of the orchestra. Perhaps you might think of it as a specialized form of the symphony. However, the concerto was the first form of orchestral music - the symphony does not appear until the Classical era.

Transcript of Class 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto...

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Class 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto Grosso

Technical developments

The Baroque period begins with the invention of opera in Florence around 1600. At this time, we see a

few technical developments that make Baroque music much different from that of the Renaissance.

• Somehow, composers gravitated to the major-minor system.

• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) made waves with new dissonances in his books of madrigals.

This was defended by calling it a "seconda pratica," a new practice. The dissonances (things that

we would call appogiaturas and the like) were justified by claims that they served the emotion of

the text.

• Figured Bass notation was invented, and the harpsichord and bass instruments (collectively called

the basso continuo) became the center of most music.

• While Renaissance music was mostly concerned with combinations of voices (either in

polyphony or homophony), opera and other Baroque genres often feature a single part which

handles all the melody. Thus, we have a new technical term for this texture - monody

Opera

We'll look at a silly movie about Farinelli, a famous castrato. These were men who were surgically

altered before puberty, so that they would retain the high range of a boy soprano (but develop the power

and musical skills of an adult.) Many of the Baroque operas featured castratos in the heroic roles, and

thus today they need to be performed by a countertenor (a man singing falsetto) or a soprano.

The movie shows a few aspects of Baroque opera:

• The general atmosphere of the opera house and the interest in spectacular special effects.

• The reliance on virtuoso arias for individual singers. Indeed, as drama, the operas are very

boring - they are really just a long recital of solo arias.

We'll see Farinelli perform a bit of the opera Idaspe composed by his brother Riccardo Broschi, and then

we'll hear some arias from Handel's Rinaldo.

(For me: this is Track 6 and Track 21.)

The Concerto Grosso

When we hear the word "concerto" we think of a special event in which a famous soloist walks out in

front of an orchestra and performs a spectacular part, with the backing of the orchestra. Perhaps you

might think of it as a specialized form of the symphony. However, the concerto was the first form of

orchestral music - the symphony does not appear until the Classical era.

Page 2: Class 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto …davesmey.com/brooklynconservatory/history/class_3_handout.pdfClass 3: Baroque Period (1600-1750), Opera and Concerto Grosso

The name comes from the Latin term concertare (to contend), and the basic idea is a kind of opposition of

instruments against each other. (Even Monteverdi called some of his late madrigals "concertos.")

Our book and CD feature Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in G, Op. 4 No. 12, which is great. However, we are

going to listen to Vivaldi's "greatest hit", the "Spring" portion of The Four Seasons. The Four Seasons is

a group of four concertos which were published in his Op. 8.

What's special about this particular set is that Vivaldi intended each one to represent a season, and went

so far as to plan them out to match poetry that evokes specific things (like birds singing, a snoozing

shepherd, etc.)

So, as we follow this piece, we'll not only hear the typical alternation of the ritornello (the main thematic

material in the full orchestra) with soloists, but we'll also hear specific attempts to evoke these images.

Here's a listening guide from another book, Joseph Machlis's The Enjoyment of Music.

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