vocal instrumental music - WordPress.comMar 03, 2016 · opera oratorio seria buffa passion...
9
vocal music secular religious cantata opera oratorio seria buffa passion zarzuela instrumental music suite sonata concerto dance and ballet The Baroque was the artistic period that covered the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. MusicaLly, we delimit its chronology between two significant dates: the beginning, in the ye ar 1600, with the premiere of th e first preserved opera; and the end in 1750 with the death of J. S. Bach, the mo st famous representative of the musical Baroque. The people of this era did not go after the ideal expression of beauty like in the Renai ss ance; but they were sensitive t o passion and fantasy. The baroque art looked for the expression of feeLings , the sen se of movement and contrasts, and a tiking for details and ornamentation . The Baroque was one of the most revolutionary periods in the history of musie. Th e orchestra was born, and with it, the great instrumental and voca l form s. The use of tonality and harm ony was established. The first virtuoso performers and the first great composers appeared. Music was at the service of the great European monarchies, ari stoc r acy and the Church, who us ed it as another manifestation of their power. Th e roLe of the music i an was reduced to being a servant of his protector. .,1
Transcript of vocal instrumental music - WordPress.comMar 03, 2016 · opera oratorio seria buffa passion...
vocal music
secular religious
cantata
opera oratorio
seria buffa passion
zarzuela
instrumental music
suite
sonata
concerto
dance and ballet
The Baroque was the artistic period that covered the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century MusicaLly we delimit its chronology between two significant dates the beginning in the year 1600 with the premiere of th e first preserved opera and the end in 1750 with the death of J S Bach the most famous representative of the musical Baroque
The people of this era did not go after the ideal expression of beauty like in the Renaissance but they were sensitive to passion and fantasy The baroque art looked for the expression of feeLings the sense of movement and contrasts and a tiking for details and ornamentation
The Baroque was one of the most revolutionary periods in the history of musie The orchestra was born and with it the great instrumental and voca l form s The use of tonality and harm ony was established The first virtuoso performers and the first great composers appeared
Music was at the service of the great European monarchies aristocracy and the Church who used it as another manifestation of their power The roLe of the musician was reduced to being a servant of his protector
1
SecuLar vocal music
During the Baroque composers still cultivated vocal forms inherited from the Renaissance But voices were not presented on top of each other with the same importance anymore The superior voice was highshylighted over the rest of voices (which were subject to the accompanishyment of the singing)
This new composition technique was called accompanied monody and it was part of vocal and instrumental music It represented a shift in the horizontal-melodic conception (counterpoint texture) towards a vertical-chordal conception (harmonic texture)
The prominence of a superior melody implied the appearance of a new low voice It served as a harmonic support and it was called basshyso continuo
11 The birth of opera Opera appeared in Count of Bardis cultural circle in Florence The so called laquoCamerata Fiorentinaraquo (which gathered nobles wise men phishylosophers poets and musicians to try to resuscitate Greek classical theatre) was the starting point of the opera genre which completely assumed accompanied monody
The use of accompanied monody made the main goal of opera easier that music could emphasize and reinforce the expression ofthe word Therefore the indispensable requisite of opera was the intelligibility of the text
The first preserved opera is Euridice by Jacopo Peri followed by a secshyond one called the same but composed byGiulio Caccini Both ofthem were performed in the year 1600 marking the beginning of the musishycal baroque However the first great opera in history was LOrfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (premiered in the year 160n because it had a rich instrumental and vocal development which marked the structure of the genre
Characteristics of opera
The opera is a compound vocal form with a narrative nature that makes use of stage performance It is written for orchestra choirs and soloists and elaborated in three fundamental parts
bull Overture instrumental introduction that begins the piece
bull $ung parts for soloists (main characters) and choirs (supporting charshyacters) We distinguish two types of singing depending on the conshytent of the text
a) aria style expressive melodies for more emotional texts
b) recitative style declaimed text for passages that require a more agile progress of the action
bull Interludes instrumental sections that are inserted in order to join and put together the different parts of the opera
54 UNIT 3
Baroque~Pop
Accompanied monody and the
basso continuo (melody and acshy
companiment chords) became the
most commonly used composishy
tion techniques until our days
Todays popular music is one of the
clearest and simplest examples of
this harmonic texture that apshy
peared in the Baroque
- -- -- ~ - -- - -~
I ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the aria Tu se morta from the opera LOrfeo by Claudio Monteverdi It is the lament of Orpheus that takes place in the Act II when he receives the terrible news of the death of Eurydice and decides to descend to hell to recover her
4
~ - rIacuter i ) JJJ a - 1 -aJttfHibija 1 a a Jg Tu se mor - la se mor - la miacutea vi - la ed io res middot piacute shy
fEH[$)Q8 a a 1-M~ ro Tu se da me par- ti - la se da me par - ti - la per mai piti
~sectd p r p r ffP D FTeCm ffIr$$ P Jlij mai piti non tor - na- re ed io ri- man - go No no che sej ver- sj~al -
~ p P ~ r r 1 ~ D P alH h1l Jgt J J 1- O cu- na co - sa pon- no nan - dro si - cli - rO-a phi pro - fon - dijl- bis - si ejn shy
_l)1tMj~gt J))lftj l JVp Dj el FTl te-ne-ri-to~ i1 cor del Re de Iom- bre me-co rrar- rot-ti a rjmiddot ve - der le slel- le
~+AAJJiexclJ1 1 j f 9 1r T 1 P V j Ja11 AJEEEl o se cioacute ne- ghe - rammiddot mLem-pio de - sri- no ri - mar- ro le - co in COIll- pag - niacutea
Tu se morta mia vita You are dead dead my lije
Tuacute ed ia respiro And I breathe
Tu se da me partita you have left me lorevermore
per mai piu non tornare Never to retum
ed io rimango and I remain
No che se I versi No no iJ my verses
alcuna cosa ponno have any power
nandroacute sicuro I wil go confidently
a piuacute profundi abissi to the deepest abysses
e intenerito il cor And having melted the heart
del Re de ombre al the king 01 shadows
meco trarrotti WiL bring yau back to me
a riveder le stelle to see the stars again
Ose cioacute negherammi O iJ pitiless late
empio destino denies me this
rimarroacute teco I will remain with you
in compagino di morte in the company 01 death
A dio terra a dio cielo FarewelL earth fareweLl sky
e sole a Dio and sun larewell
a What voice performs the character of Orpheus b What instruments can you distinguish How do they accompany the
voice c In this aria the music tries to reflect and reinforce the emotions
of the text point out the most important parts in which the Iords ~ re music match
--------------
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Italian composer that marked the transition from the Renaissance (traditional polyphonic style) to the Baroque (accompanied monshyody) He is considered the true creator of opera
The opera LOrreo favola in musmiddot ca was a request of the Duke o Mantua who was iacutempress e when he attended the represe shytation of Euridice by Peri
In collaboratiacuteon with the wriacuteter Alessandro Striggio Monteverdi used for his opera the same plot as his predecessor the myth o Orpheus symbol of the power of music who would be the proshytagonist again in many works to come
Baroque
-----
12 Types of opera
The evolution of opera in the Baroque made room for two types
The castrati empirea) Opera seria
It makes use of plots based on mythological and heroie topics written in The castrati (male singers castratshyItalianlt was the favorite genre of aristocracy The first operas belong to this ed before puberty in qrder to type and it evolved quite a lot in Italy its eountry of origino Among its main avoid voice change) kept a high composers we can highlight Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) and Georg and crystal timbre with the thoshyFriedrich Haendel (1685-1759) racic cage of a grown mano This
allowed them to obtain an exshyb) Opera buffa
traordinary technical virtuosity It makes use of plots based on daily life with characters closer to the audience and vocal power Its popular nature was reflected in its simpler music which did without the
During the 17th and 18th centushycastrati it employed the main language of each country and replaced reshy
ries they beca me the main proshyeitatives with dialoged passages
tagonists of the opera seria pershy
Opera beca me one of the most important genres of the Baroque and it forming roles of gods and heroes with arias fu 11 of ornaments writshyacquired peculiar characteristics in every nation ten for them to gloat
In France it was called laquoTrageacutedie Iyriqueraquo and its main composer was Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
In England opera laid its foundations with the work Dido and Aeneas by the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
In Germany the adaptation of the opera buffa was called laquosingspielraquo
In Spain the opera was called laquozarzuelaraquo and among its composers we can highlight Joseacute de Nebra (1702-1768)
- ~ - shy - i ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the seguidillas from the zarzuela Viento es la dicha de amor by Joseacute de Nebra while following
the text and the intervention of the eharacters we show you
Zeacutefiro sin hallar maacutes alivio Liriacuteope No que quiere mi pena que el del desprecio De la estatua en el bronce5 ya que te encuentro iquestQueacute respondes mi voz se forma respirar entre quejas Liriacuteope Zeacutefiro los desalientos Que afable Es el bronce materia
Liriacuteope mas labio mientes de las hermosas Si tu pena me agravia que no caben piedades Oye mi llanto iquestcoacutemo pretendes donde hay desdenes Liriacuteope apadrinar lo fino Zeacutefiro iquestQueacute aguardas vete con lo rebelde iexclQueacute ingrata eres iexclAy de tu mal No me detengas Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba
Zeacutefiro iexclQueacute osado eres Zeacutefiro No te me ausentes iexclAy de tu mal iexclAy de mi amor
Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba si mi amor no te vence iexclAy de tu mal Zeacutefiro Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba iexclAy de mi amor iquestQueacute hareacute cielos
Zeacutefiro si mi amor no te vence Amor iexclAy de mi amor iquestUna vez por consuelo Vencerte pues por vengarse si mi amor no te vence no me permites deidad que influye amando
Liriacuteope Liriacuteope manda que no ames iquestCoacutemo quieres que crea iquestQueacute quieres que te diga Liriacuteope tus falsedades si ya te dije Ya mi respuesta oiacuteste si lo engantildeoso es sombra Amor Zeacutefiro de lo constante Que piedad no merecen Siacute pero falta
Zeacutefiro quejas impiacuteas que se vuelvan finezas iquestCoacutemo por ti en la Arcadia cuando al Amor ofenden tus amenazas viviendo muero con lo que obligan ~
56 t UNIT 3
Religious vocal music
Religious musie continued having great importance during the Bashyroque The Protestant Church kept the chorale as its most represhysentative form and the Catholic Church kept cultivating the motet and the mass
However new religious forms appeared like the cantata the oratorio and the passion (which imitated the grandeur of secular opera)
21 Cantata Etymologieally the word cantata means laquomusie for singingraquo and it was born as a term opposed to sonata (music for laquosoundingraquo or being played by instruments)
The cantata appeared as a secular form o But it was later adopted by religious music which introduced texts from the Gospels the Psalms or popular religious topies
It is a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists formed by a sequence of recitatives and arias In Germany the religious canshytata also introduced the chorale as a symbol of identity
The most representative composers of this form were Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with more than 200 religious cantatas
22 Oratorio It can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance More elaborate and longer than the cantata it is also a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists and formed by a sequence of recitatives arias and choirs
Since it is not a represented piece the oratorio introduces the narrashytor and reinforces the role of the choir who tell stories based on texts from the Old and New Testaments
The most representative composers of this form were Giacomo Carisshysimi (1605-1675) and Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) whose most famous oratorio is Messiah
23 Pass ion It is an oratorio about the passion and the death of Christ inspired by the Gospels
The narrator is the evangelist who tells the events in a recitative style The characters of the gospel are interpreted by soloists and the parts of the disciples and the people are performed by the choir
The most important composer is Johann Sebastian Bach with two of his essential pieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion In these works besides recitatives arias and choirs Bach included versions of chorales that reinforce the most intense moments of the narration
58 L UNIT 3
Coffeecantata
It is the popular name of one of Bachs secular cantatas called Be still stop chattering
It is a comic piece in which the composer makes fun ofthe craze ofhaving coffee which started to be all the rage in his time
It tells the story of a young womshyan who refuses to give up the habit of having coffee until his father finds her a husband
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
SecuLar vocal music
During the Baroque composers still cultivated vocal forms inherited from the Renaissance But voices were not presented on top of each other with the same importance anymore The superior voice was highshylighted over the rest of voices (which were subject to the accompanishyment of the singing)
This new composition technique was called accompanied monody and it was part of vocal and instrumental music It represented a shift in the horizontal-melodic conception (counterpoint texture) towards a vertical-chordal conception (harmonic texture)
The prominence of a superior melody implied the appearance of a new low voice It served as a harmonic support and it was called basshyso continuo
11 The birth of opera Opera appeared in Count of Bardis cultural circle in Florence The so called laquoCamerata Fiorentinaraquo (which gathered nobles wise men phishylosophers poets and musicians to try to resuscitate Greek classical theatre) was the starting point of the opera genre which completely assumed accompanied monody
The use of accompanied monody made the main goal of opera easier that music could emphasize and reinforce the expression ofthe word Therefore the indispensable requisite of opera was the intelligibility of the text
The first preserved opera is Euridice by Jacopo Peri followed by a secshyond one called the same but composed byGiulio Caccini Both ofthem were performed in the year 1600 marking the beginning of the musishycal baroque However the first great opera in history was LOrfeo by Claudio Monteverdi (premiered in the year 160n because it had a rich instrumental and vocal development which marked the structure of the genre
Characteristics of opera
The opera is a compound vocal form with a narrative nature that makes use of stage performance It is written for orchestra choirs and soloists and elaborated in three fundamental parts
bull Overture instrumental introduction that begins the piece
bull $ung parts for soloists (main characters) and choirs (supporting charshyacters) We distinguish two types of singing depending on the conshytent of the text
a) aria style expressive melodies for more emotional texts
b) recitative style declaimed text for passages that require a more agile progress of the action
bull Interludes instrumental sections that are inserted in order to join and put together the different parts of the opera
54 UNIT 3
Baroque~Pop
Accompanied monody and the
basso continuo (melody and acshy
companiment chords) became the
most commonly used composishy
tion techniques until our days
Todays popular music is one of the
clearest and simplest examples of
this harmonic texture that apshy
peared in the Baroque
- -- -- ~ - -- - -~
I ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the aria Tu se morta from the opera LOrfeo by Claudio Monteverdi It is the lament of Orpheus that takes place in the Act II when he receives the terrible news of the death of Eurydice and decides to descend to hell to recover her
4
~ - rIacuter i ) JJJ a - 1 -aJttfHibija 1 a a Jg Tu se mor - la se mor - la miacutea vi - la ed io res middot piacute shy
fEH[$)Q8 a a 1-M~ ro Tu se da me par- ti - la se da me par - ti - la per mai piti
~sectd p r p r ffP D FTeCm ffIr$$ P Jlij mai piti non tor - na- re ed io ri- man - go No no che sej ver- sj~al -
~ p P ~ r r 1 ~ D P alH h1l Jgt J J 1- O cu- na co - sa pon- no nan - dro si - cli - rO-a phi pro - fon - dijl- bis - si ejn shy
_l)1tMj~gt J))lftj l JVp Dj el FTl te-ne-ri-to~ i1 cor del Re de Iom- bre me-co rrar- rot-ti a rjmiddot ve - der le slel- le
~+AAJJiexclJ1 1 j f 9 1r T 1 P V j Ja11 AJEEEl o se cioacute ne- ghe - rammiddot mLem-pio de - sri- no ri - mar- ro le - co in COIll- pag - niacutea
Tu se morta mia vita You are dead dead my lije
Tuacute ed ia respiro And I breathe
Tu se da me partita you have left me lorevermore
per mai piu non tornare Never to retum
ed io rimango and I remain
No che se I versi No no iJ my verses
alcuna cosa ponno have any power
nandroacute sicuro I wil go confidently
a piuacute profundi abissi to the deepest abysses
e intenerito il cor And having melted the heart
del Re de ombre al the king 01 shadows
meco trarrotti WiL bring yau back to me
a riveder le stelle to see the stars again
Ose cioacute negherammi O iJ pitiless late
empio destino denies me this
rimarroacute teco I will remain with you
in compagino di morte in the company 01 death
A dio terra a dio cielo FarewelL earth fareweLl sky
e sole a Dio and sun larewell
a What voice performs the character of Orpheus b What instruments can you distinguish How do they accompany the
voice c In this aria the music tries to reflect and reinforce the emotions
of the text point out the most important parts in which the Iords ~ re music match
--------------
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Italian composer that marked the transition from the Renaissance (traditional polyphonic style) to the Baroque (accompanied monshyody) He is considered the true creator of opera
The opera LOrreo favola in musmiddot ca was a request of the Duke o Mantua who was iacutempress e when he attended the represe shytation of Euridice by Peri
In collaboratiacuteon with the wriacuteter Alessandro Striggio Monteverdi used for his opera the same plot as his predecessor the myth o Orpheus symbol of the power of music who would be the proshytagonist again in many works to come
Baroque
-----
12 Types of opera
The evolution of opera in the Baroque made room for two types
The castrati empirea) Opera seria
It makes use of plots based on mythological and heroie topics written in The castrati (male singers castratshyItalianlt was the favorite genre of aristocracy The first operas belong to this ed before puberty in qrder to type and it evolved quite a lot in Italy its eountry of origino Among its main avoid voice change) kept a high composers we can highlight Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) and Georg and crystal timbre with the thoshyFriedrich Haendel (1685-1759) racic cage of a grown mano This
allowed them to obtain an exshyb) Opera buffa
traordinary technical virtuosity It makes use of plots based on daily life with characters closer to the audience and vocal power Its popular nature was reflected in its simpler music which did without the
During the 17th and 18th centushycastrati it employed the main language of each country and replaced reshy
ries they beca me the main proshyeitatives with dialoged passages
tagonists of the opera seria pershy
Opera beca me one of the most important genres of the Baroque and it forming roles of gods and heroes with arias fu 11 of ornaments writshyacquired peculiar characteristics in every nation ten for them to gloat
In France it was called laquoTrageacutedie Iyriqueraquo and its main composer was Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
In England opera laid its foundations with the work Dido and Aeneas by the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
In Germany the adaptation of the opera buffa was called laquosingspielraquo
In Spain the opera was called laquozarzuelaraquo and among its composers we can highlight Joseacute de Nebra (1702-1768)
- ~ - shy - i ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the seguidillas from the zarzuela Viento es la dicha de amor by Joseacute de Nebra while following
the text and the intervention of the eharacters we show you
Zeacutefiro sin hallar maacutes alivio Liriacuteope No que quiere mi pena que el del desprecio De la estatua en el bronce5 ya que te encuentro iquestQueacute respondes mi voz se forma respirar entre quejas Liriacuteope Zeacutefiro los desalientos Que afable Es el bronce materia
Liriacuteope mas labio mientes de las hermosas Si tu pena me agravia que no caben piedades Oye mi llanto iquestcoacutemo pretendes donde hay desdenes Liriacuteope apadrinar lo fino Zeacutefiro iquestQueacute aguardas vete con lo rebelde iexclQueacute ingrata eres iexclAy de tu mal No me detengas Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba
Zeacutefiro iexclQueacute osado eres Zeacutefiro No te me ausentes iexclAy de tu mal iexclAy de mi amor
Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba si mi amor no te vence iexclAy de tu mal Zeacutefiro Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba iexclAy de mi amor iquestQueacute hareacute cielos
Zeacutefiro si mi amor no te vence Amor iexclAy de mi amor iquestUna vez por consuelo Vencerte pues por vengarse si mi amor no te vence no me permites deidad que influye amando
Liriacuteope Liriacuteope manda que no ames iquestCoacutemo quieres que crea iquestQueacute quieres que te diga Liriacuteope tus falsedades si ya te dije Ya mi respuesta oiacuteste si lo engantildeoso es sombra Amor Zeacutefiro de lo constante Que piedad no merecen Siacute pero falta
Zeacutefiro quejas impiacuteas que se vuelvan finezas iquestCoacutemo por ti en la Arcadia cuando al Amor ofenden tus amenazas viviendo muero con lo que obligan ~
56 t UNIT 3
Religious vocal music
Religious musie continued having great importance during the Bashyroque The Protestant Church kept the chorale as its most represhysentative form and the Catholic Church kept cultivating the motet and the mass
However new religious forms appeared like the cantata the oratorio and the passion (which imitated the grandeur of secular opera)
21 Cantata Etymologieally the word cantata means laquomusie for singingraquo and it was born as a term opposed to sonata (music for laquosoundingraquo or being played by instruments)
The cantata appeared as a secular form o But it was later adopted by religious music which introduced texts from the Gospels the Psalms or popular religious topies
It is a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists formed by a sequence of recitatives and arias In Germany the religious canshytata also introduced the chorale as a symbol of identity
The most representative composers of this form were Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with more than 200 religious cantatas
22 Oratorio It can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance More elaborate and longer than the cantata it is also a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists and formed by a sequence of recitatives arias and choirs
Since it is not a represented piece the oratorio introduces the narrashytor and reinforces the role of the choir who tell stories based on texts from the Old and New Testaments
The most representative composers of this form were Giacomo Carisshysimi (1605-1675) and Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) whose most famous oratorio is Messiah
23 Pass ion It is an oratorio about the passion and the death of Christ inspired by the Gospels
The narrator is the evangelist who tells the events in a recitative style The characters of the gospel are interpreted by soloists and the parts of the disciples and the people are performed by the choir
The most important composer is Johann Sebastian Bach with two of his essential pieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion In these works besides recitatives arias and choirs Bach included versions of chorales that reinforce the most intense moments of the narration
58 L UNIT 3
Coffeecantata
It is the popular name of one of Bachs secular cantatas called Be still stop chattering
It is a comic piece in which the composer makes fun ofthe craze ofhaving coffee which started to be all the rage in his time
It tells the story of a young womshyan who refuses to give up the habit of having coffee until his father finds her a husband
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
- -- -- ~ - -- - -~
I ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the aria Tu se morta from the opera LOrfeo by Claudio Monteverdi It is the lament of Orpheus that takes place in the Act II when he receives the terrible news of the death of Eurydice and decides to descend to hell to recover her
4
~ - rIacuter i ) JJJ a - 1 -aJttfHibija 1 a a Jg Tu se mor - la se mor - la miacutea vi - la ed io res middot piacute shy
fEH[$)Q8 a a 1-M~ ro Tu se da me par- ti - la se da me par - ti - la per mai piti
~sectd p r p r ffP D FTeCm ffIr$$ P Jlij mai piti non tor - na- re ed io ri- man - go No no che sej ver- sj~al -
~ p P ~ r r 1 ~ D P alH h1l Jgt J J 1- O cu- na co - sa pon- no nan - dro si - cli - rO-a phi pro - fon - dijl- bis - si ejn shy
_l)1tMj~gt J))lftj l JVp Dj el FTl te-ne-ri-to~ i1 cor del Re de Iom- bre me-co rrar- rot-ti a rjmiddot ve - der le slel- le
~+AAJJiexclJ1 1 j f 9 1r T 1 P V j Ja11 AJEEEl o se cioacute ne- ghe - rammiddot mLem-pio de - sri- no ri - mar- ro le - co in COIll- pag - niacutea
Tu se morta mia vita You are dead dead my lije
Tuacute ed ia respiro And I breathe
Tu se da me partita you have left me lorevermore
per mai piu non tornare Never to retum
ed io rimango and I remain
No che se I versi No no iJ my verses
alcuna cosa ponno have any power
nandroacute sicuro I wil go confidently
a piuacute profundi abissi to the deepest abysses
e intenerito il cor And having melted the heart
del Re de ombre al the king 01 shadows
meco trarrotti WiL bring yau back to me
a riveder le stelle to see the stars again
Ose cioacute negherammi O iJ pitiless late
empio destino denies me this
rimarroacute teco I will remain with you
in compagino di morte in the company 01 death
A dio terra a dio cielo FarewelL earth fareweLl sky
e sole a Dio and sun larewell
a What voice performs the character of Orpheus b What instruments can you distinguish How do they accompany the
voice c In this aria the music tries to reflect and reinforce the emotions
of the text point out the most important parts in which the Iords ~ re music match
--------------
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Italian composer that marked the transition from the Renaissance (traditional polyphonic style) to the Baroque (accompanied monshyody) He is considered the true creator of opera
The opera LOrreo favola in musmiddot ca was a request of the Duke o Mantua who was iacutempress e when he attended the represe shytation of Euridice by Peri
In collaboratiacuteon with the wriacuteter Alessandro Striggio Monteverdi used for his opera the same plot as his predecessor the myth o Orpheus symbol of the power of music who would be the proshytagonist again in many works to come
Baroque
-----
12 Types of opera
The evolution of opera in the Baroque made room for two types
The castrati empirea) Opera seria
It makes use of plots based on mythological and heroie topics written in The castrati (male singers castratshyItalianlt was the favorite genre of aristocracy The first operas belong to this ed before puberty in qrder to type and it evolved quite a lot in Italy its eountry of origino Among its main avoid voice change) kept a high composers we can highlight Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) and Georg and crystal timbre with the thoshyFriedrich Haendel (1685-1759) racic cage of a grown mano This
allowed them to obtain an exshyb) Opera buffa
traordinary technical virtuosity It makes use of plots based on daily life with characters closer to the audience and vocal power Its popular nature was reflected in its simpler music which did without the
During the 17th and 18th centushycastrati it employed the main language of each country and replaced reshy
ries they beca me the main proshyeitatives with dialoged passages
tagonists of the opera seria pershy
Opera beca me one of the most important genres of the Baroque and it forming roles of gods and heroes with arias fu 11 of ornaments writshyacquired peculiar characteristics in every nation ten for them to gloat
In France it was called laquoTrageacutedie Iyriqueraquo and its main composer was Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
In England opera laid its foundations with the work Dido and Aeneas by the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
In Germany the adaptation of the opera buffa was called laquosingspielraquo
In Spain the opera was called laquozarzuelaraquo and among its composers we can highlight Joseacute de Nebra (1702-1768)
- ~ - shy - i ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the seguidillas from the zarzuela Viento es la dicha de amor by Joseacute de Nebra while following
the text and the intervention of the eharacters we show you
Zeacutefiro sin hallar maacutes alivio Liriacuteope No que quiere mi pena que el del desprecio De la estatua en el bronce5 ya que te encuentro iquestQueacute respondes mi voz se forma respirar entre quejas Liriacuteope Zeacutefiro los desalientos Que afable Es el bronce materia
Liriacuteope mas labio mientes de las hermosas Si tu pena me agravia que no caben piedades Oye mi llanto iquestcoacutemo pretendes donde hay desdenes Liriacuteope apadrinar lo fino Zeacutefiro iquestQueacute aguardas vete con lo rebelde iexclQueacute ingrata eres iexclAy de tu mal No me detengas Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba
Zeacutefiro iexclQueacute osado eres Zeacutefiro No te me ausentes iexclAy de tu mal iexclAy de mi amor
Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba si mi amor no te vence iexclAy de tu mal Zeacutefiro Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba iexclAy de mi amor iquestQueacute hareacute cielos
Zeacutefiro si mi amor no te vence Amor iexclAy de mi amor iquestUna vez por consuelo Vencerte pues por vengarse si mi amor no te vence no me permites deidad que influye amando
Liriacuteope Liriacuteope manda que no ames iquestCoacutemo quieres que crea iquestQueacute quieres que te diga Liriacuteope tus falsedades si ya te dije Ya mi respuesta oiacuteste si lo engantildeoso es sombra Amor Zeacutefiro de lo constante Que piedad no merecen Siacute pero falta
Zeacutefiro quejas impiacuteas que se vuelvan finezas iquestCoacutemo por ti en la Arcadia cuando al Amor ofenden tus amenazas viviendo muero con lo que obligan ~
56 t UNIT 3
Religious vocal music
Religious musie continued having great importance during the Bashyroque The Protestant Church kept the chorale as its most represhysentative form and the Catholic Church kept cultivating the motet and the mass
However new religious forms appeared like the cantata the oratorio and the passion (which imitated the grandeur of secular opera)
21 Cantata Etymologieally the word cantata means laquomusie for singingraquo and it was born as a term opposed to sonata (music for laquosoundingraquo or being played by instruments)
The cantata appeared as a secular form o But it was later adopted by religious music which introduced texts from the Gospels the Psalms or popular religious topies
It is a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists formed by a sequence of recitatives and arias In Germany the religious canshytata also introduced the chorale as a symbol of identity
The most representative composers of this form were Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with more than 200 religious cantatas
22 Oratorio It can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance More elaborate and longer than the cantata it is also a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists and formed by a sequence of recitatives arias and choirs
Since it is not a represented piece the oratorio introduces the narrashytor and reinforces the role of the choir who tell stories based on texts from the Old and New Testaments
The most representative composers of this form were Giacomo Carisshysimi (1605-1675) and Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) whose most famous oratorio is Messiah
23 Pass ion It is an oratorio about the passion and the death of Christ inspired by the Gospels
The narrator is the evangelist who tells the events in a recitative style The characters of the gospel are interpreted by soloists and the parts of the disciples and the people are performed by the choir
The most important composer is Johann Sebastian Bach with two of his essential pieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion In these works besides recitatives arias and choirs Bach included versions of chorales that reinforce the most intense moments of the narration
58 L UNIT 3
Coffeecantata
It is the popular name of one of Bachs secular cantatas called Be still stop chattering
It is a comic piece in which the composer makes fun ofthe craze ofhaving coffee which started to be all the rage in his time
It tells the story of a young womshyan who refuses to give up the habit of having coffee until his father finds her a husband
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
-----
12 Types of opera
The evolution of opera in the Baroque made room for two types
The castrati empirea) Opera seria
It makes use of plots based on mythological and heroie topics written in The castrati (male singers castratshyItalianlt was the favorite genre of aristocracy The first operas belong to this ed before puberty in qrder to type and it evolved quite a lot in Italy its eountry of origino Among its main avoid voice change) kept a high composers we can highlight Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) and Georg and crystal timbre with the thoshyFriedrich Haendel (1685-1759) racic cage of a grown mano This
allowed them to obtain an exshyb) Opera buffa
traordinary technical virtuosity It makes use of plots based on daily life with characters closer to the audience and vocal power Its popular nature was reflected in its simpler music which did without the
During the 17th and 18th centushycastrati it employed the main language of each country and replaced reshy
ries they beca me the main proshyeitatives with dialoged passages
tagonists of the opera seria pershy
Opera beca me one of the most important genres of the Baroque and it forming roles of gods and heroes with arias fu 11 of ornaments writshyacquired peculiar characteristics in every nation ten for them to gloat
In France it was called laquoTrageacutedie Iyriqueraquo and its main composer was Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
In England opera laid its foundations with the work Dido and Aeneas by the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
In Germany the adaptation of the opera buffa was called laquosingspielraquo
In Spain the opera was called laquozarzuelaraquo and among its composers we can highlight Joseacute de Nebra (1702-1768)
- ~ - shy - i ACTIVITIES
1 Listen to the seguidillas from the zarzuela Viento es la dicha de amor by Joseacute de Nebra while following
the text and the intervention of the eharacters we show you
Zeacutefiro sin hallar maacutes alivio Liriacuteope No que quiere mi pena que el del desprecio De la estatua en el bronce5 ya que te encuentro iquestQueacute respondes mi voz se forma respirar entre quejas Liriacuteope Zeacutefiro los desalientos Que afable Es el bronce materia
Liriacuteope mas labio mientes de las hermosas Si tu pena me agravia que no caben piedades Oye mi llanto iquestcoacutemo pretendes donde hay desdenes Liriacuteope apadrinar lo fino Zeacutefiro iquestQueacute aguardas vete con lo rebelde iexclQueacute ingrata eres iexclAy de tu mal No me detengas Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba
Zeacutefiro iexclQueacute osado eres Zeacutefiro No te me ausentes iexclAy de tu mal iexclAy de mi amor
Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba si mi amor no te vence iexclAy de tu mal Zeacutefiro Liriacuteope si tu mal no te acaba iexclAy de mi amor iquestQueacute hareacute cielos
Zeacutefiro si mi amor no te vence Amor iexclAy de mi amor iquestUna vez por consuelo Vencerte pues por vengarse si mi amor no te vence no me permites deidad que influye amando
Liriacuteope Liriacuteope manda que no ames iquestCoacutemo quieres que crea iquestQueacute quieres que te diga Liriacuteope tus falsedades si ya te dije Ya mi respuesta oiacuteste si lo engantildeoso es sombra Amor Zeacutefiro de lo constante Que piedad no merecen Siacute pero falta
Zeacutefiro quejas impiacuteas que se vuelvan finezas iquestCoacutemo por ti en la Arcadia cuando al Amor ofenden tus amenazas viviendo muero con lo que obligan ~
56 t UNIT 3
Religious vocal music
Religious musie continued having great importance during the Bashyroque The Protestant Church kept the chorale as its most represhysentative form and the Catholic Church kept cultivating the motet and the mass
However new religious forms appeared like the cantata the oratorio and the passion (which imitated the grandeur of secular opera)
21 Cantata Etymologieally the word cantata means laquomusie for singingraquo and it was born as a term opposed to sonata (music for laquosoundingraquo or being played by instruments)
The cantata appeared as a secular form o But it was later adopted by religious music which introduced texts from the Gospels the Psalms or popular religious topies
It is a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists formed by a sequence of recitatives and arias In Germany the religious canshytata also introduced the chorale as a symbol of identity
The most representative composers of this form were Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with more than 200 religious cantatas
22 Oratorio It can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance More elaborate and longer than the cantata it is also a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists and formed by a sequence of recitatives arias and choirs
Since it is not a represented piece the oratorio introduces the narrashytor and reinforces the role of the choir who tell stories based on texts from the Old and New Testaments
The most representative composers of this form were Giacomo Carisshysimi (1605-1675) and Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) whose most famous oratorio is Messiah
23 Pass ion It is an oratorio about the passion and the death of Christ inspired by the Gospels
The narrator is the evangelist who tells the events in a recitative style The characters of the gospel are interpreted by soloists and the parts of the disciples and the people are performed by the choir
The most important composer is Johann Sebastian Bach with two of his essential pieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion In these works besides recitatives arias and choirs Bach included versions of chorales that reinforce the most intense moments of the narration
58 L UNIT 3
Coffeecantata
It is the popular name of one of Bachs secular cantatas called Be still stop chattering
It is a comic piece in which the composer makes fun ofthe craze ofhaving coffee which started to be all the rage in his time
It tells the story of a young womshyan who refuses to give up the habit of having coffee until his father finds her a husband
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
Religious vocal music
Religious musie continued having great importance during the Bashyroque The Protestant Church kept the chorale as its most represhysentative form and the Catholic Church kept cultivating the motet and the mass
However new religious forms appeared like the cantata the oratorio and the passion (which imitated the grandeur of secular opera)
21 Cantata Etymologieally the word cantata means laquomusie for singingraquo and it was born as a term opposed to sonata (music for laquosoundingraquo or being played by instruments)
The cantata appeared as a secular form o But it was later adopted by religious music which introduced texts from the Gospels the Psalms or popular religious topies
It is a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists formed by a sequence of recitatives and arias In Germany the religious canshytata also introduced the chorale as a symbol of identity
The most representative composers of this form were Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) with more than 200 religious cantatas
22 Oratorio It can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance More elaborate and longer than the cantata it is also a compound form written for orchestra choir and soloists and formed by a sequence of recitatives arias and choirs
Since it is not a represented piece the oratorio introduces the narrashytor and reinforces the role of the choir who tell stories based on texts from the Old and New Testaments
The most representative composers of this form were Giacomo Carisshysimi (1605-1675) and Georg Friedrich Haendel (1685-1759) whose most famous oratorio is Messiah
23 Pass ion It is an oratorio about the passion and the death of Christ inspired by the Gospels
The narrator is the evangelist who tells the events in a recitative style The characters of the gospel are interpreted by soloists and the parts of the disciples and the people are performed by the choir
The most important composer is Johann Sebastian Bach with two of his essential pieces St John Passion and St Matthew Passion In these works besides recitatives arias and choirs Bach included versions of chorales that reinforce the most intense moments of the narration
58 L UNIT 3
Coffeecantata
It is the popular name of one of Bachs secular cantatas called Be still stop chattering
It is a comic piece in which the composer makes fun ofthe craze ofhaving coffee which started to be all the rage in his time
It tells the story of a young womshyan who refuses to give up the habit of having coffee until his father finds her a husband
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
Instrumental music
The emancipation of instrumental music that started in the Renaisshysanee reached its apex during the Baroque
In this important advancement the technical evolution of instrushyments and the birth of orchestra (as a stable and organized ensemble which looked for the perfection of instruments and timbric richness) played a decisive role The composer was careful with the color of his pieces (detailing the orchestration on the seore) and performers speshycialized in one instrument which made possible the appearance of the first laquovirtuososraquo
f- Baroque orchestra
ttt~~ __ Trumpets Kettledrums
11 111 11 Flutes Oboes
iexcl bullbullbullbull ~ iSecond violins Violas
Oouble bass~s
tt aabullbull a bullbull First viollns Harpsichord Violoncellos
In the arrangement of the orchestra all instrumental families apshypea red then string woodwind brass and percussion The essential basis of the Baroque orchestra was bowed string and the basso conshytinuo usually performed by the harpsichord (although the harp and the organ were also used)
During the Baroque many of the large instrumental forms (that marked not only this but all subsequent music) appeared the suite the sonata and the concerto
31 Suite It is a compound instrumental form made up of a sequence of dancshyes of different nature Although the number and disposition of the dances can vary the most common structure of Baroque suite is formed by
Allemande I Courante I Sarabande Gigue binary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm ternary rhythm slow tempo fast tempo slow tempo fast tempo
The suite can be written for a solo instrument or for a whole orchestra The most important composer was Johann Sebastian Bach
60 ~ UNIT 3
The great Luthiers
The perfection of instruments was made possible thanks to the work ofthe first luthiers or instrushyment builders (specially string instruments)
The most famous luthiers Amati Stradivarius and Guarnieri lived in the Italian city of Cremona and apparently in the same building
They say that after many years of peacefully living together Amati decided to start a competition with his neighbors by placing a sign that said laquoWe make the best violins in Italyraquo Stradivarius finshy
ished the rivalry by announcing laquoWe make the best violins of the buildingraquo
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
32 Sonata It is a compound form divided into four movements or sections that contrast along slow and fast beats with different textures and rhythms
Fast SlowSlow Fast
homophonicfugued -----~----
The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument a duo or a trio but always with the accompaniment ofthe harpsichord as a basso continuo
33 Concerto It is a compound form made up of a sequence of three contrasting moveshyments
---- -FastFast Slow
-------- --
Depending on how the instruments intervene the concert can be
a) Concerto grosso for a group of soloists (concertino) and the rest of the orchestra (tutti) They contrast while alternating the performance of new and fixed parts (ritornello)
The most important composers were Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) Georg Friedric Haendel and Johann Sebastian Bach
b) Solo concerto composed for a single soloist instrument that contrasts in constant dialog with the orchestra
The most prominent composer was Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
1 Listen to the first movement AUegro from the Brandenburg Concerto No 2 by Johann Sebastian Sacho
8 It is an example of concerto grosso in which two instrumental groups contrast the concertino formed by a small group of soloists (trumpet flute oboe and violin) who also communicate and contrast among themselves And the tutti or ripieno (full) formed by the string orchestra (violins 1 and II violas violonshyceLLos and harpsichord for the basso continuo)
Since it is the first movement of the concert it has a fast tempo that alternates the main theme pershyformed by the orchestra (ritorneLLo) with different soloist episodes
The ritornello (which serves as a chorus) is an eight-measure musical phrase formed by four melodic ceLls of two measures each
Baroque 61
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
middot4 Dance in the baroque
41 The development of ballet ballet de cour
Ballet evolved inside the French court in which it appeared Professional ballet dancers replaced courtiers little by little for whom the solemn enshytrance and the great final ballet were reserved
During the reign ofLouis XIV (1643-1715) the golden age of ballet began with the creation of the laquoballet de courraquo result of the collaboration of great artists
protegeacutes of the king the playwright Moliere the composer Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and the choreographer Pierre Beauchamp creator of the termishynology and the basic postures that classical ballet would later use
The ballet the cour was a danced theatrical play which started with an inshystrumental laquoouvertureraquo and ended with a laquogrand balletraquo The dramatic progress consisted of a series of laquoentreacuteesraquo or scenes in which the singing and the dancing were mixed (performed now just by professionals) It was performed in splendid sets and dancers (only male at first) were decorated
with luxurious clothes and masks
42 Social dance Some dances from the Renaissance were kept but some other new forms apshy
peared Regarding dance pairs the most frequently used combination was the Allemande (of German origin with a slow binary rhythm) and the Courshyante (of French origin with a fast ternary rhythm)
Other dances in style during the Baroque were
bull Bourreacutee French circle dance with fast movements and a binary rhythm
bull Chaconne Spanish sung dance calm and with a ternary rhythm
bull Sarabande Spanish solemn dance with a slow ternary rhythm
bull Gigue English fast dance in 68 time I --shy
ACTIVITIES
The first balJerinas
Dancing had been forbidden for women unti11681
In the early 17th century we can find the first great ballerinas The most prominent were the French Marie Salleacute (1707-1756) and MarieshyAnne (amargo (1710-1770)
Both of them contributed to the simplification of clothing by shortening the skirts and reducshying heels in favor of a wider freeshydom of movements It is easy to imagine the fuss that laquoLa (amarshygoraquo provoked on stages when
she dared to lift her skirt above her kneels in 1730
1 Listen to this bourreacutee from the Music for the Royal Fireworks by Georg Friedrich Haendel and follow the
track with the help of the score
fht J r r I E O r r I F F rEtUacute
j trrr~ amp r tI rr Fr I r Ir ~ r Fr Ipe r r E l t I r U C P I ti
It responds to the characteristic fast tempo of the bourreacutee with a binary rhythm and beginning in
anacrusis -------------------------------------------~
62 UNIT 3
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
To sum up
The sound of the Baroque In contrast to the naturalness of the Renaissance the music of the Baroque is chashyracterized by the use of contrasts at every level tempo dynamics rhythm timbre sonorous plane etc
This music is guided by a mechanic and energetic rhythm and by the motion of long and ornamented melodies
The new accompanied monody made expressivity easier but it also coexisted with the use of counterpoint texture
Instrumental music reached its highest peak of development and became as imshyportant as vocal music
The Baroque is the artistic period that
covered the 17th century and the first half
ofthe 18th century Musically speaking
we deliacutemit its chronology between the years 1600 with the birth of opera and 1750 with the death of J S Bach
Baroque music looked for expression
and contrast through accompanied monody and overdone ornamentation
of melodies These composition
techniques were used in all musical ma n ifestations
In religious vocal music large forms appeared cantata oratorio and
passion They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses but they
were not performed on stage
Dance theatre evolved inside the
French court with the ballet de cour which mixed music and dancing with
magnificent sets and clothes The professionalization of ballet began and
a great deal of its terminology and
techniques were set
Social dance adopted new dances in style
that became part of the suite whose
most common structures were allemande courante sarabande and gigue
It was a crudal period in the history of
music beca use the use of tonaliacutety and
harmony was establiacuteshed the orchestra
and the first large forms ofvocal and
instrumental music were born and the
first virtuosos and the first great
composers appeared
In secular vocal musiacutec and thanks to
the new technique called accompanied
monody opera appearedlt is
structured in overture sung parts and
interludes It evolved and differentiated
two types of genre opera seria and
opera buffa
bullr----------------------------~ Instrumental music became as
important as vocal music The orchestra
was born whose basis was bowed string
and the basso continuo Large forms of
instrumental music appeared suite sonata and concerto
Baroque 71
