Queen Anne of Austria
Cardinal Mazarin
Louis XIV
The Palace at Versailles
Versailles
Landscaping
• Hall of Mirrors
– Extravagance
Opera in France
Tragedie lyrique: combo of dance scenes,
lyrical music and plot based upon courtly
love.
Jean Bapiste Lully
(1632-1687)
father of French opera
How evil is opera?
a French critic, late 1600s:
Opera is a bizarre affair made up of
poetry and music, in which the poet and
the musician, each equally obstructed
by the other, give themselves no end of
trouble to produce a wretched work.
How evil is opera?
Opera was illegal in Rome in the early
1700s.
an English critic, 1872:
Opera is to be regarded “musically,
philosophically, and ethically, as an
almost unmixed evil.”
Opera in England
James I (r. 1603-25)
Charles I (1625-490
Stuart Kings
Supported musical plays called “masques” to be
performed in private palaces.
Very popular during this period of time.
Commonwealth Period
1649-60
Ruled by the Puritans
Opera, Stage Plays, Secular forms of
entertainment were forbidden.
Considered blasphemous
Plays set to music could be performed if set with
the proper precautions.
John Blow is the first English masque writer.
His pupil, Henry Purcell (1659) was the first
major English Opera Composer.
Henry Purcell 1659-1695
Dido and Aeneas (1689)
Dido, filled with grief meets her death. (loss
of love)
Climbs a funeral pyre.
Music: descending line in ground bass is a
sign of grief in baroque music.
Descending line paints “laid in earth.”
Use of ground bass.
Use of dotted rhythms to denote royalty.
Dido and Aeneas, Act III Dido’s
Lament
Virgil’s Aeneid
Adventures of Aeneas after the fall of Troy
Aeneas is stranded in Carthage, Northern
African coast
Falls in love with Dido, Queen of Carthage
Aeneas pushes her away as he must leave for
Italy…. Soon to be the founder of Rome.
After Dido . . .
English preferred spoken drama
Purcell wrote some “Semi-operas”
Example: The Fairy Queen (1692)
Opera had support of the monarchy in
France and the public in Italy, but from
neither in England
Baroque Instrumental Music
This is the first time that
we see instrumental music
sharing the same stature as
vocal music.
For the first time, there
was a clear separation of
Vocal and Instrumental
music
Baroque Instrumental Practice
• There were no ‘classics’, so contemporary
composers were very prolific
• Modulations and chromatic harmonies and
melodies.
• Virtuosity (music that shows off the
technical skills of the performer)
Baroque Instrumental Evolution
Early Baroque Instrumental music uplifted
musical line rather than blend. Late
Baroque music will focus more on the idea
of blend and refined orchestration.
Keyboard Music
Equal tempered
tuning
Keyboard Instruments
Three main instruments
Organ: sacred venues and some home chapels
• Tracker Action
• Great, positive, and portative organ
Harpsichord: basso continuo for orchestra and
dance music. Solo instrument. Strings plucked
by a Plectrum.
Clavichord: strings struck by hammers made
originally from bone. Precursor to the piano.
Positive organ
Portative organ
Baroque Organs
Harpsichord
Harpsichord, ca. 1675
Made by Michele Todini
Rome, Italy
Clavichord
The keyboard, allowed composers to think
vertically (tonal system)
rather than
horizontally (modal system)
more than one note could be played at a time.
The Baroque Suite
Instrumental dance music from the
Renaissance period now refined in a new
style of sound and compositional technique.
Pastiche of different international styles of
dance forms.
First function was dancing at social
functions.
Other functions: dinner music.
Order of the Dance Suite
Overture
(Optional)
Allemande Germany 4/4 time
Courante French
3/4 time
Sarabande Spain
3/4 time
Other Dances (Optional)
Minuet
Gavotte
Bourree
Gigue
England
6/8 time
Moderate
Moderate
Slow
Fast
Types of Dances
Allemande
Courante
Jig (Gigue)
Sarabande
Minuet
Gavotte
Bourree’
Passepied
German
French
English/French
Spanish
Italian peasant
French pastoral
French lively
Fast French
minuet
Quadruple
Triple
6/8 or 6/4
Triple
Triple
Duple peasant
Duple peasant
Triple peasant
Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre
(1666-1729)
Innovations
Instrument building families
Stradivarius, Guarneri, and Amati
Strings
Cat gut
Slightly different playing technique….bowing
Woodwinds: mellow sound as opposed to a
more brassy sound in modern times.
Innovations
Brass
Originally a military instrument for
signals
Without valves
Key changes made by inserting
longer or shorter crooks in the horn.
The Concerto
A three movement piece (FSF) music that is
created from two masses or bodies of
sound.
Concertare – to contend with or to
compete with.
The Two Masses of Sound
Concertino: small group.
Tutti or ripieno: large group (orchestra)
tutti (all) ripieno (full)
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
The Life of J.S. Bach
Born in Eisenach, Germany, which was also
the birthplace of Martin Luther.
Bach’s family supplied musicians.
Musician’s agent, or broker.
Orphaned at age of ten, raised by his older
brother.
Brother was an organist and Bach’s first
music teacher (family apprenticeship)
Background
J. S. Bach is one of the most wellresearched composers with more each
year
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
The Bach family was made up of more
than 70 composers and performers in
Germany from the 16th to the early
19th centuries.
His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach (16451695), was a renowned violinist and was
employed as a court trumpeter and music
director in the town of Eisenach. Bach
probably learned to play the violin at an
early age from his father.
His mother, Maria Elisabeth
Lämmerhirt (1644-1694), also came
from a musical family.
Bach as a young man
Johann Sebastian Bach
Over 1000 musical pieces in
every genre except opera
Cantatas (1 per week for 8
years)
Public complained for his
flowery music
Protestant themes (in
search of God)
Musicians felt his
music too difficult
Bach’s Signature
J.S.Bach (musical) cross. Bach signed himself with a single note
(using 4 different pitches)
B: Left staff (treble clef)
A: Upper staff (tenor clef)
C: Right staff (alto clef)
H: Lower staff (treble clef)
Bach’s Work
Church Musician
Write music for services
Play organ
Teach choirs
Teach soloists
Conduct orchestra, choirs
Court Musician
Wrote music for entertainment
Wrote commissioned pieces
School teacher
Organ teacher
Organ construction consultant
Composer—sacred & secular music
Husband/father
Bach’s Career
Early positions
Arnestadt, Germany 1703-07
Organist
Muhlhausen
Organist.
These were not significant positions but rather
churches with small forces for music.
A good starting point for his career.
Bach became an organist in Arnstant in 1703
and stayed there until 1707, when he went
to Muhlhausen until 1708. He showed a bit
of his temper, having arguments with both
employers.
In 1707, he married his cousin, Maria
Barbara.
They went on to have 7 children, before she
died in 1721.
The Big Three
Weimar, Germany
Secular position
Employed by the Duke of Weimar
There were many differences between the Duke
and J. S. Bach.
Weimar
Bach serves as an organist to the Ducal
Chapel and as a chamber musician.
Duke preferred the older style of hymns and
accompaniment in worship. He was not
interested in Bach’s innovations.
Bach was resolved not to change his
personal style of composition.
Weimar
Bach, as a member of the patronage system
was in fact considered the “property” of the
Duke.
He was imprisoned for almost a month for
trying to leave the Duke’s employment
without the Duke’s permission.
Finally he was allowed to leave after Bach
simply made the life of the Duke miserable.
Bach’s second position: Cothen.
1717-23
Secular position for the Prince of AnhaltCothen (cousin to the Duke of Weimar)
Here Bach wrote his famous suites,
concerti, sonatas, and a large amount of
keyboard music.
The six Brandenburg Concerti for the
Margrave of Brandenburg.
Leipzig: The third great position
Leipzig was a musical and cultural center of
southeastern Germany.
St. Thomas Kirche (church) was the center of
religious music in Leipzig.
Bach’s position.
Music director
Organist
Cantor
Responsible for all of the music for every large
Lutheran church in the district.
Director of the “collegium musicum”
Bach at Leipzig
St. Thomas Church
and School
“Since the best man could not be
obtained, mediocre ones would
have to be accepted.”
-Leipzig town council member commenting on the hiring of
Bach
During the earlier years at Leipzig, Bach’s work
demonstrated his ability of storytelling using dramatic
melodies or chords to represent different events of life.
Example of this style include:
The Passion of St. John (1723)
Magnificant (1723)
The Passion According to St. Matthew (1729)
Christmas Oratoro (1734)
Bach composed many pieces of music and they are often listed
with the letters BWV followed by a number. Such as: BWV
#212 or such.
BWV is an abbreviation for Bach Werke Verzeichniss, which is
a catalog of Bach's works. The catalog is organized by genre,
not in the order the pieces were composed.
In 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilken, who was a
professional singer. They ended up having 13 more children
during their marriage.
This brings Bach’s total of children to 20!!!
Bach made a final move to Leipzig in 1723. There he became
the Director of Music at the St.Thomas School and the Cantor
for the St. Thomas Church. He was responsible for all music in
all 4 churches in the town.
It is interesting to see that Bach did not travel much during his
lifetime and stayed within a small area of Germany.
Places Bach lived
Germany
Bach’s life and work
1717-1723
1723-1750
Born 1685
1708-1717
1703-1708
The Cantata
A multi-movement work for the Lutheran
worship service that is a musical statement
backing the text of the current day’s liturgy.
Based upon famous hymn or chorale tunes.
Aria
Recitative
Instrumental accompaniment (small
orchestra)
Fugue Form
Fugue Form- A – B – A1
A – Exposition – Exposes the subject in all voices
Voice 1-Subject
Countersubject
Voice 2-Answer
Cadence
Countersubject
Voice 3-Subject
Countersubject
Picture this fugue:
Subject
alone
Subject
in
alto
Subject
in
tenor
Subject
in
bass
E
p
i
s
o
d
e
Innovations in Orchestra
Concertos
Solo instruments
Grosso led to orchestra
works
Composers notation:
Specified instrumental
parts
Dynamic markings and
speed
Key signature in the title
Did you know?
Bach shares his birth year with G.F.Handel.
Handel also had cataract surgery performed
by oculist John Taylor.
American composer, Edward MacDowell
said,
"Bach and Handel were in every way quite
different, except that both were born in the
same year and killed by the same doctor”.
By 1748 Bach was nearly blind from
cataracts.
In March and April of 1750, he was
operated on by the English oculist John
Taylor. The operations and the treatment
that followed them may have hastened
Bach's death.
Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28,
1750.