Chapter 8
The Early Baroque Period
Key Terms
• Basso continuo
•
• Ground bass (basso •
ostinato)
•
• Functional harmony •
• Opera
•
• Recitative
•
• Aria
Suites
Fugue
Variations
Toccata
Canzona
Passacaglia
Renaissance and Early
Baroque Timeline
Early Baroque (cont.)
Renaissance to Baroque
• A period of rapid change
• New emphases
– Expression of strong emotion
– Solo singing
• New styles
– Recitative; theatrical style
– Instrumental and dance music
Renaissance vs. Baroque
Renaissance
• Human voices superior
• Vocal ensembles
• A cappella ideal
• Natural, simple musical ideas
• Irregular, floating rhythms
• Modal harmony
• Church and chamber
• Declamation and word
painting
Baroque
• Instruments equally important
• Solo singers
• Voice with accompaniment
• Artifice and virtuosity
• Clear, dance-like rhythms
• Functional harmony
• Theater, church, and
chamber
• Expression of strong
emotions
Venice
• Major center of tourism and trade
• “Most Serene Republic”
• Typified magnificence and
extravagance
– In art and architecture
– In music
St. Mark’s Basilica
• The center for Venetian music
• Extravagant architecture
– Many Byzantine mosaics
– Many balconies; two choir lofts
• Extravagant music
– Using two or more choirs in alternation
– Mixing of voices and instruments
Extravagance and Control
• New freedom of expression
• Break from tradition
• Rigorous and systematic control of
new forms
• Expressive yet organized music
Giovanni Gabrieli
(c. 1555–1612)
• Prolific composer and organist at
St. Mark’s
• Mixes delicate, expressive
passages and rich, brilliant echo
effects
Gabrieli,
“O magnum mysterium”
Renaissance features
• Uses vocal ensembles
• New melody for each phrase of text
• Careful declamation and text
painting
“O magnum mysterium”
Baroque features
• Equal treatment of voices and instruments
• Clear, often dance-like rhythms
• Clarity: parallels between beginning and end
• Intensification
– Repetition and sequence
– Theatrical contrasts
• Interplay between choirs and instruments
“O magnum mysterium”
“O magnum mysterium”
O magnum mysterium
et admirabile
sacramentum
ut animalia viderunt
Dominum natum
iacentem in presepio:
Alleluia, alleluia.
O great mystery
and wonderful
sacrament—
that animals see the
Lord new born
lying in the manger:
Hallelujah, hallelujah.
Style Features of Early
Baroque Music
• Emotional expression tempered by
control
• Methodical use of musical elements to
express emotions
– Rhythm and meter
– Basso continuo
– Ground bass
– Functional harmony
Rhythm and Meter
• Strong beat and regular meter
• Consistent repetition of patterns
• Different patterns for different
emotions
• Range between two extremes
– Recitative
– Dance music
Texture: Basso Continuo
• Consistent feature of Baroque
music
– Strong, reinforced bass line
– Strong harmonic foundation
• Played by
– Bass melody instruments (cello, bass)
– Chording instruments (keyboard, lute)
Texture: Ground Bass
• Ground bass = Basso ostinato,
repeating bass line
• Ostinato is a nearly universal practice
Functional Harmony
• Relies on major and minor scales
– Sense of stability
– Disorientation of dissonance or modulation
• More focus on chord progressions over
strong bass line
• More predictable, purposeful—more
modern!
Opera
• Most characteristic Baroque art form
• Ideal vehicle for individual emotionalism
• Ideal example of extravagance and
control
– Lavish mix of many art forms
– Rigid schemes (recitative and aria)
Recitative vs. Aria
Recitative
• Free, speechlike rhythms
• Pitches follow speech
patterns
• Continuo accompaniment
• Prose text (words stated
once)
• Advances the action
(movement)
• Dialogue (free interaction)
Aria
• Clear beat, consistent meter
• Pitches form melodic
patterns and phrases
• Orchestral accompaniment
• Poetic text (phrases often
repeated)
• Freezes the action
(reflection)
• Soliloquy (expresses one
emotion)
Claudio Monteverdi
(1567–1643)
• Leading figure in music c. 1600
• “The last great madrigalist and the
first great opera composer”
• Mantua court (1589–1612)
– Orfeo, opera’s first masterpiece
• St. Mark’s, Venice (1612–1643)
– The Coronation of Poppea
Monteverdi,
The Coronation of Poppea
• Poppea is mistress to Emperor Nero
• Their love triumphs after
– Poppea’s former lover is banished
– The Empress is set to sea
– Nero’s adviser is forced to commit suicide
• Poppea is crowned Empress of Rome
The Coronation of Poppea
Act I:
• Nero’s guards grumble outside
Poppea’s house
• Poppea’s former lover shows up
• Poppea and Nero sing a lingering
farewell (recitative)
• Poppea sings of her hopes and her
ambition to become empress (aria)
The Coronation of Poppea
From Act I, Recitative
• Rhythm dictated by words and
dialogue
– Speeds up and slows down freely
• Short arioso (songlike) passages
– Support Nero’s flattery of Poppea
The Coronation of Poppea
From Act I, Aria
• A kind of victory dance in three sections
• Recitative indicates moment of
uncertainty
• Energetic rhythms depict section 3’s
battle
Henry Purcell
(1659–1695)
• Greatest English Baroque composer
• Member of Chapel Royal and organist at
Westminster Abbey
• Sacred, instrumental, and theater music
• Influenced by French and Italian music
• Wrote the first real English opera, Dido
and Aeneas
Purcell, Dido and Aeneas
• Story from Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid
• After escaping from Troy, Aeneas falls in love
with Queen Dido of Carthage
• Malicious witches make Aeneas believe that
Jove has ordered him to continue his journey
• Furious at his rejection, Dido spurns him
• Dido commits suicide in the final scene
Dido and Aeneas
Act III, final scene
• Recitative
– Dark, somber tone
– Mostly minor mode with chromaticism
• Aria
– Descending bass line
– Repeated phrases
• Chorus
– Alternates imitation and homophony
– Uses word painting
Dido and Aeneas
Act III, final scene, Aria
The Rise of
Instrumental Music
• Vocal music was Renaissance
ideal
• New instrumental genres emerged
in Baroque era
• Three main sources
– Dance
– Virtuosity
– Vocal music
Dance
• Opera firmly linked to ballet
• Dance suites for orchestra
• Stylized dances and suites for
harpsichord
• Dance rhythms in all genres
Virtuosity
• Instrumental music was now written
down
• Virtuoso performers used written
music as a guide for improvisation
Vocal Music
• Baroque favored solo singers
• Imitative polyphony moved to
instruments
– Development of fugue
– Sets of variations on vocal tunes
Girolamo Frescobaldi
(1583–1643)
• Leading organ virtuoso
• Famous performer, composer, and
teacher
• Worked in Florence and Rome
• Known for expressiveness and
extravagance
Instrumental Genres
• Toccatas
– Free-form works; capture spirit of improvisation
• Canzonas
– Rigorously organized; emphasize imitative
textures
• Stylized dances
– Short, binary form, often in suites
• Sets of variations
– Based on vocal melodies or harmonic patterns
Frescobaldi,
Suite, Canzona
• First section uses single motive imitatively
• Contrasting section introduces new motive for imitation
• Tend to end with strong cadences
Frescobaldi,
Suite, Balletto and Corrente
• Common pairing of slower and faster
dances
• Inner vs. outer form
– Both binary form, homophonic, same key,
similar bass lines
– Balletto: duple meter, slow tempo
– Corrente: triple meter, faster tempo
Passacaglia
• A set of variations on a brief series
of chords and their bass line
• Similar to ground bass works, but
bass line repeated less strictly
Frescobaldi,
Suite, Passacaglia
• 18 variations of a simple pattern
– Four-measure harmonic pattern
– Inconclusive ending on dominant
• Frescobaldi creates endless variety
– Inverts or omits the ground bass
– Changes rhythms and chromaticism
– Switches last five variations to minor mode