BAROQUE

Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or

‘’oddly shaped pearl’’

-The music of Bach and Handel’s era

sounded overly ornamented and exaggerated

-One of the richest and most diverse periods

in music history, from about 1600 to 1750
• Baroque era expanded our horizons:

- Copernicus
- Galileo

- Advances in technology – the invention of the

telescope

- European nations – involved in foreign trade and

colonization
• The growth of a new middle class ( artistic

culture no longer connected only with

church and court)

 Major composers
• Italy: Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Corelli,
Vivaldi, Domenico and Alessandro Scarlati
• France: Couperin, Lully, Charpentier and
Rameau
• Germany: Praetorius, Schutz, Telemann,
Bach and Handel
• England: Purcell
 Forms identified with Baroque
music

• Originated in Italy – cantata, concerto,

sonata, oratorio, and opera
• New concepts emerged connected with a
‘’national style’’
• Particularly obvious contrast between Italy
and France
 The philosophy of Baroque music
• The Renaissance interest in ideas from
ancient Greece and Rome
• The Greeks and Romans believed that
music was a powerful tool of
communication, and could arouse any
emotion in listeners
• Composers became aware of music’s
potential power
 Patronage
• Baroque composers – earned a living
writing music if they were on the payroll of
a political or religious institution

- the musical needs of that institution

dictated the music

- Bach: wrote cantatas because of the

lithurgical demands of the Leipzig church
 Characteristics of Baroque music:
• CONTRAST as a dramatic element:
loud and soft
solo and ensemble
different instruments and timbres
- Composers more precise about
instrumentation – specifying instruments
- The trumpet and violin grew in popularity
• The concept of MELODY and HARMONY
began to be articulated
• 15th and 16th century – dominated by the
complicated poliphony
• Baroque composers focused more on a
single voice with a simplified
accompaniment or monody
• BASSO CONTINUO appeared along with
the emphasis on a single melody

• Melody and bass line are written out and

the harmonic filler is indicated in a type of
shorthand
• Basso continuo, figured bass or

thorough bass – remained standard

practice till the end of Baroque –’’the age

of thorough bass’’
• TIMBRE:

Harpsichord – was the primary keyboard

instrument, and important member of the
continuo group
Lute and viol - were important instruments
String instruments – used gut strings – had
mellower, sweeter tone
• PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUE:

Score contains little (if any) information

about elements like articulation,
ornamentation and dynamics
 MUSICAL FORMS

• The development of new genres,

particularly in vocal music:

OPERA, ORATORIO and CANTATA

- Instrumental music – the notion of contrast
and the desire to create large-scale forms
gave rise to

CONCERTO, SONATA and SUITE

 Concerts in the Baroque Era
- before Baroque, public concert as we
know it today was rare

- compositions were performed in churches

for a service, or as part of a private
concert or celebration in the home of a
wealthy patron
- During baroque – public performances
became more common, particularly opera
and oratorio

- The growing middle class became an

important source of income for musicians
• The influence of baroque music outside
the realm of art music:

- jazz
- heavy metal