THE BAROQUE PERIOD

Introduction
The Baroque period was an important time in the history of the world, dated between 1600 ( the first opera was composed) and 1750 ( J.S.Bach died). The term Baroque probably comes from the Portuguese barroco, an irregular or misshapen pearl. Baroque style is more theatrical, realistic and emotional than the Renaissance style. Galileo, Kepler and Newton were discovering new ways to explain the universe. In music, art, architecture, and fashion, fancy decoration and ornamentation became the rule. Both men and women wore wigs and coats with lace. Absolute monarchy was the monarchical form of government in Baroque Era where the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of goverment. Throughout the Baroque period, composers continued to be employed by the church and wealthy ruling class. This system of employment was called the patronage system. As the patron paid the composer for each work and usually decided what kind of piece the composer should write, this limited their creative freedom. The middle classes increased their power and began to act as patronages. For that reason many secular music and instrumental music were written for amateur musicians of this social class. Appeared the first public concert halls and opera houses (Venice, 1637), where anyone who could pay a ticket was able to enter and enjoy the perfomances. Important Baroque composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, Johann Pachelbel, Georg Phillip Telemann, Henry Purcell and Antonio Vivaldi.

INDEX: 1. Introduction 2. 3. 4. 5. Characteristics Trends Vocal Music Instrumental Music. Orchestra 6. Composers

BAROQUE MUSIC CHARACTERISTICS

1.Contrast as a dramatic element Contrast is an important ingredient in the drama of a baroque composition. The differences between loud and soft, solo and ensemble (as in the concerto), different instruments and timbres all play an important role in many baroque compositions. 2.Monody and the advent of the basso continuo In previous musical eras, a piece of music tended to consist of a single melod ( monody), perhaps with an improvised accompaniment, or several melodies played simultaneously

(polyphony). Not until the baroque period did the concept of melody and harmony truly begin to be articulated. As part of the effort to imitate ancient music, composers started focusing less on the complicated polyphony that dominated the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and more on a single voice with a simplified accompaniment, or monody. If music was a form of rhetoric, as the writings of the Greeks and Romans indicate, a powerful orator is necessaryand who better for the job than a vocal soloist? The earliest operas are an excellent illustration of this new aesthetic. Along with the emphasis on a single melody and bass line came the practice of basso continuo (also "thoroughbass," "figured bass," ). It is the practice of creating an accompaniment from a composed bass part by playing the bass notes and improvising harmony above them.Continuo was standard practice Baroque music . It was played by a keyboard instrument and another bass instrument such as cello, double bass, or bassoon. The keyboard instrument was normally a harpsichord or, if it was being played in a church, an organ. 3.Different instrumental sounds After being ignored for decades, baroque music has become increasingly popular over the last fifty years. As part of this new interest, scholars and musicians have spent countless hours trying to figure out how the music might have sounded to 17th and 18th century audiences. While we will never be able to recreate a performance precisely, their work has unearthed several major differences between baroque and modern ensembles: in Pitch ( in 1939, modern orchestras agreed to tune to a=440hz, which replaced a previously lower pitch (a=435hz) adopted in 1859. Before 1859, however, there was no pitch standard. The note to which baroque ensembles tuned, therefore, varied widely at different times and in different places), Timbre and Perfomance technique ( a baroque score contains little (if any) information about elements like articulation, ornamentation or dynamics, and so modern ensembles need to make their own informed choices before each performance). 4.New musical Forms While forms from earlier eras continued to be used, such as the motet or particular dances, the interest in music as a form of rhetoric sparked the development of new genres, particularly in the area of vocal music. Many of the forms associated with the baroque era come directly out of this new dramatic impulse, particularly opera, the oratorio and the cantata. In the realm of instrumental music, the notion of contrast and the desire to create large-scale forms gave rise to the concerto, sonata and suite.. Composers like Johann Sebastian Bach reacted to the Baroque trend of fancy ornamentation by creating complex polyphonic music consisting of elaborate melodies layered top of each other. Often these melodies contained trills and fast moving notes ( i.e Fuga ). Improvisation also became common, even in the Church. Finally, composers began to use their music to express emotions such as joy and anger.

VOCAL MUSIC
The Baroque period saw the birth of a new form of music called opera. Opera combined music, acting, scenery, costumes and props. Actors and actresses sing the script, or libretto. Some Operas are serious, with mythological plots and related to aristocracy (opera seria), and some are funny (opera buffa) which were related to middle class and used more realistic and popular plots. The first opera was Orfeo (1607), by Claudio Monteverdi. Parts of the opera: 1. Aria.- Accompanied by the orchestra, allowed for expansive and lyrical reflection on a given situation or emotion. Sung by principals characters. 2. Recitative.- allowed the singer (accompanied only by keyboard) to advance the history rapidly. 3. Chorus.- All the secondary characters sing together with or whithout principals. 4. Instrumental parts.- at the beginning of the opera to open the perfomance ( Obertura) or between the vocal parts ( Interludios). The beginning of Opera.- In the last years of the sixteenth century, a group of musicians and literati in Florence, Italy experimented with a new method of composing dramatic vocal music, modeling their ideas after the precepts of ancient Greek theater. Their intent was that this new music should prove more direct and communicative to an audience, as the complex polyphony of the Renaissance could very often obscure the text being sung. They instead set a single melodic line against a basic chordal accompaniment, and with this notion of homophony, a new era of music began. The Florentine Camerata called this new form of musical-dramatic entertainment opera. The first operas were private affairs, composed for the Italian courts. But when in 1637 the first public opera house opened in Venice, Italy, opera became a commercial industry, and the genre in which many composers throughout history first tried out new ideas and new techniques of composition. Another vocal musical forms similar to the opera but sacred and with biblical histories like plot are: the Oratorio (Christ's birth), the Pasion ( relating the story of Christ's death) and the Cantata. Like the opera, they were a series of arias and recitatives. However, they are not staged or acted.

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
During the Baroque period, instrumental music became as important as vocal music. Composers also began to be more precise about instrumentation, often specifying the instruments on which a piece should be played instead of allowing the performer to choose. The Baroque period saw a rise in music for Wind instruments: flute, oboe, bassoon, trombone, valveless trumpets and horns, harpsichord, clavichord and organ. Recorders became less popular, and viols were gradually replaced by violins, violas, and cellos. Theorbo, relative of the lute , was also used.Timpani was the only percussion instrument used in serious music. The Orchestra is born in this period but is smaller than the actual one with less and different instruments. Much of the music written for instruments contained several contrasting sections or movements ( normally three or four). One example is the concerto. Concertos were developed in the second half of the 17th century by Italian composers like Torelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Corelli. Within 25 years, almost all major centres had their own concerto composer. One of the most famous concertos is Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons. There are two types of Concertos with the difference of being featured by one soloist or a group of soloists. Concerto grosso (written for a group of solo instruments and orchestra) and Concerto solista ( written for a soloist instrument and orchestra). Concertos usually contained three movements (fast-slow-fast). Another instrumental musical forms are: the Fuga ( normally for a keyboard or polyphonic instrument and based on the counterpoint technique), the Sonata ( composed for one polyphonic instrument or for one or two melodic instruments accompanied with a polyphonic one) and the Suite ( a set of contrasting dance movements).

Theorbo

Baroque composers Italy: Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Corelli, Vivaldi, Domenico and Alessandro Scarlatti France: Couperin, Lully, Charpentier and Rameau Germany: Praetorius, Schein, Scheidt, Schutz, Telemann, Handel and Bach England: Purcell

ACTIVITIES
1. Dates of period being studied? 2. The terma Baroque comes from.... 3. Differences between Baroque and Renaissance style. 4.What did become the rule in art, fashion...? 5.Explain the patronage system in this period. Is the composer free to work? Explain your answer. 6.What were the musical consequences os the rise of power of the middle classes? 7.What does public concert mean? 8.What kind of contrasts was used in Baroque period? 9.Why did baroque composers start focussing less on complicated polyphony of Renaissance style? What did they use instead? 10.What is basso continuo? 11.Which instruments did play basso continuo? 12.What are the differences between baroque and modern ensembles? 13.What were the new musical vocal and instrumental forms? 14. What did Baroque melodies usually contain? 15.Name five things that opera combines.

16. Name the two types of opera and their differences. 17.Parts of the opera. Explain them. 18.What was the Fiorentine Camerata and what they did? 19.How are Pasin, Oratorio and Cantata different from opera. 20. What became as important as vocal (singing) music? 21. The baroque period saw the rise of which instruments? 22. Which instrument became less popular? 23. What were viols replaced by? 24. What was the only percussion instrument? 25.What is a Concerto? Types of concerto and main composers. 26.What a Fuga is? And Sonata? And Suite?. 27. Some questions about the baroque orchestra: 1. Who was the name of the person that started using the baroque orchestra: a) Jean Baptiste Lully b) Vivaldi c) Bach d) Haendel 2. Where was he from? a) Spain b) France c) Italy d) Germany 2. 3. How many people plays in a baroque orchestra? a) more less twenty b) more less thirty c) more than ten d) It doesn't matter 4. What continuo instrument contain the baroque orchestra? a) Flute b) Violin c) Viola d) Harpsicord 5. The term Baroque Orchestra is also refer to... a) Chamber orchestras of today b) Nothing c) Replicas d) Classical orchestra

28. Name of the main baroque composers and their nationality.