2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education
PART III
THE BAROQUE PERIOD
1600-1750
1600—invention of opera
1750—death of Bach
Traits of Baroque
• Evocation of emotion (early baroque)
• Music textually oriented
• Compare: As Vesta Was Descending/Dido’s Lament
The Baroque Style
• “Baroque” used early on a pejorative
• Overly ornamented, flamboyant
• Baroque style “fills the space”
• Visual Art
• Implies motion
• Busy
• Architecture
• Elaborate
• Change in approach to science
• Age of Rationalism—God as watchmaker
• Inventions and improvements result
Pieter Paul Rubens
Deposition from the cross
Baroque
Architecture
• Saint Yves at La
Sapienza--Rome
1660 by Francesco Borromini
Music in Baroque Society
• Age of absolute monarch
• Arts shaped by aristocratic tastes
• New music written to order!
• Role of musicians: servant
• Court Music Director: a good, but
demanding job!
• Some aristocrats were musicians
Particularly in early Baroque
• Church music was very elaborate
• Most people heard music only in church
• Some, though few, public opera houses
• Music careers taught by apprenticeship
• Orphanages taught music as a trade
Music in Society
• Simultaneous rise of middle class
• Composers also wrote for Church, aristocracy and public,
particularly for opera
• Role of women: professional composers existed
• Barbara Strozzi, Francesca Caccini are famous examples
Venice!
• Venice becomes a
musical capitol
• SIX opera houses
• Increasing need for “town”
musicians
Ch. 1 - Baroque Music
• Two giants of Baroque composition
• Johann Sebastian Bach (period ends w/ Bach’s death)
• George Frideric Handel
• Other noted composers
•
•
•
•
Claudio Monteverdi
Henry Purcell
Arcangelo Corelli
Antonio Vivaldi
Period divided into three phases
Early:
1600-1640: favored homophonic texture
• The third long since considered consonant, chords built upon it
• Dissonance becomes a tool to convey drama
Middle:
1640-1680: major & minor scales dominate
Late:
1680-1750: dominant chord to the tonic
• Return of polyphony
Rise of instrumental, non-dance music
• No longer reliant on voice to convey interest
or emotion
• Whole sets of musical conventions arose to
convey emotion through music
• Argued that only one affect could be
effectively projected in a piece
• The Affections—a treatise on harmony
• Goes far beyond major and minor scales
Characteristics of Baroque Music
• Unity of Mood
• Expresses one mood throughout piece
• Rhythm
• Rhythmic patterns are repeated throughout
• Provides compelling drive & energy
• Melody
• Opening melody heard again and again
• Continuous expanding of melodic sequence
• Dynamics
• Volumes are constant with abrupt changes – terraced dynamics
Terraced Dynamics
mf
mp
mp
Example: Bach, Brandenberg
concerto No.5, 3rd movement.
• How is “unity” expressed in
• Melody
• Rhythm
• Mood
• Dynamics?
The Orchestra
• Compare to Renaissance: consorts, chests of instruments
• Composers did not specify parts
• No distinction between vocal, instrumental part (with exception of
lute song)
• Baroque orchestra: violin family
• Small by modern standards
• Composers wrote for specific parts—instrumentation could vary—
strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion
• Specific instrument might be highlighted
• Flute, oboe, etc
• Tone color subordinate to melody
• At its core: the basso continuo
Characteristics of Baroque Music
• Chords and the Basso Continuo
• Chords meshed with the melodic line
• Bass part served as foundation of the harmony
• Basso Continuo: accompaniment played by
keyboard instrument following numbers which
specifies the chords – similar to modern jazz & pop
“fake book” notation
Basso Continuo, figured bass
Baroque Forms
• Instrumental music frequently made up of movements
Movement: a piece that sounds complete in itself,
but is part of a larger composition
• Performed with pause between movements
• Unity of mood within individual movements
• Movements often contrast with each other
• Common basic forms:
• Ternary
• ABA
• Binary
• AB
• AAB
• ABB
• AABB
Ch. 3 - The Concerto Grosso
and Ritornello Form
Concerto Grosso
• For small group of soloists and orchestra
• Multi-movement work
• Usually 3 movements
•
•
•
•
Fast
Slow (usually quieter)
Fast (sometimes dance-like)
First and last movements usually in ritornello form
Ritornello: a refrain form based on alternation between the
tutti and soloists (concertina)
• ritornello is the home base–very common form
Ritornello Form: by definition, polyphonic
• Frequently used in 1st & last movements of
concerto grosso
• Theme repeatedly presented in fragments
• Contrast between solo sections and tutti
The Brandenberg Concerti (plural of
concerto)
• 1721
• Cȍthen period (1717-23)
• Prince Leopold—musician, supported Bach well until his (the
prince) marriage in 1721….
• Bach stayed until 1723, but wrote the Margrave of Brandenberg,
and accompanied the letter with all six concerti!
Highlights of No. 5
• First time harpsichord used as soloist in concerto
• New harpsichord—Bach wanted to show it off, as well as his own
talents
• Remarkable solo!
• Six Brandenberg concerti—all remarkable pieces of
music—a great start to a record collection
Listening
Brandenberg Concerto No. 5 in D major by Johann
Sebastian Bach
For string orchestra and group of soloists
Soloists: flute, violin, and harpsichord
First movement
Ritornello form
Listening Outline: p. 110
Listening Log: Brandenberg Concerto #5,
first movement
• Create a 10 min timeline across the page
• Use the letter R for ritornello, S for solo, H for harpsichord
(or create your own graphic representation for each
section
• Change symbol as each section arises
• During harpsichord solo, try to notice if material is derived
from ritornello or solo
• Notice the dynamics – how do they contrast in each
section?
Ch. 4 - The Fugue
• Cornerstone of Baroque music
• Very high art form, still used today
• Polyphonic composition based on one main theme
(monothematic)
• Vocal or instrumental
• Subject: Main theme
• Presented initially in imitation—multiple
“voices”
• Each voice enters after previous voice
has completed presenting the subject
• Subject followed by Countersubject—
varies in rhythm and melody
Fugue Exposition—entrance of all the voices
Episodes: areas of free counterpoint
Episodes use materials of the subject and countersubject
• Fragments of each melody may appear
• Subject and countersubject will appear at various times to
interrupt episodes
“Tools” of the fugue: all used within very
strict composition rules
Inversion—turning theme upside down
Retrograde—playing it backwards
Retrograde inversion—backwards and upside down
“Tools” of the fugue
• Diminution—theme presented in faster rhythms while
tempo remains stable
• Augmentation—theme presented in slower rhythms while
tempo remains stable
• http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien/student/o
lc/45.htm
18 Subject in alto, countersubject in running notes in soprano.
The answer, in dominant key
Listening
Organ Fugue in G Minor by J. S. Bach
Chapter 5: Opera
• The ultimate art form
• Fuses music, acting, poetry, dance, scenery, costumes
into single production!
• Began in Italy in 1600
• Many non-western forms of musical drama predate opera
• Outlandish plots!
• Emotional intensity!
• Sometimes mythical figures
• Social function?
Ch. 5 - The Elements of Opera
• Drama sung to orchestral accompaniment
• Text in opera is called libretto
• Music is written by a composer
• Libretto is written by a librettist
• Opera can be serious, comic, or both
• Two primary types of solo songs:
• Recitative: presents plot material
• Aria: expresses emotion—usually a “show-off” vehicle for the
singer
• Other types: duet, trio, quartet, quintet, etc.
• Three or more singers make up an ensemble
• Chorus: groups of actors playing crowd parts
• The prompter—gives cues to singers
• The orchestra pit – sunken area in front of
stage
• Prelude or overture - instrumentals that open
opera acts
• Modern questions concerning text in opera
• Translation of text and effects upon text painting
• Supertitles-projection of text above the stage
Ch. 6 - Opera in the Baroque Era
Result of musical discussions of the Camerata in Florence
Wanted a revival of Greek dramas
Were convinced that Greek dramas were sung
Existing madrigals were
Unsuitable – why?
The Florentine camerata
Early Opera
• 1st known opera: Euridice (Peri-1600)
Orfeo (Monteverdi-1607)
• 1st large scale (great) opera
• Opera composed for court ceremonies
• Display of magnificence and grandeur
• Patrons compared to ancient heroes
• 1st public opera house 1637 in Venice
• Rise of virtuoso singer
• Secco vs accompanied recitative
Ch. 7 - Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
• Italian, early Baroque composer
• Wrote first great operatic work, Orfeo
• Worked last 30 years at St. Mark’s in Venice
• Composed both sacred music and
secular music for the aristocracy
• Wrote secular and sacred music _
madrigals, opera, Only 3 of his 12
operas still exist
Listening
Tu se’ morta from Orfeo by Monteverdi
Note: Homophonic texture
Use of text painting
Vocal Music Guide: p. 122
Listening Log 1
Tu se’ morta from Orfeo by Monteverdi
1. List the word painting devices Monteverdi
uses as you hear them.
2. Comment on the emotional impact that is
conveyed beyond the “action”
Tu se’ morta
sé
o
da
sepiù
me
ciò
partita
negherammi
per
empio
più,
destino,
rimarrò
You
Or,
have
ifno,
pitiless
left
me
forevermore,
denies
me
this,
Isun,
will remain
Tu
sé
morta,
sé
morta,
mia
vita,
dead,
dead,
life,
ed
e,
n'andrò
mai
no,
mecco
Addio
intenerito
io
no,
respiro;
sicuro
non
terra,
trarrotti
che
iltornare,
se
tu
cor
addio
a'sé
ia
più
versi
del
riveder
damai
cielo,
profondi
re
ed
me
alcuna
de
io
partita,
le
erimango-l'ombre,
sole,
stelle,
cosa
abissi,
addio.
ponno,
And,
Will
having
bring
And
IYou
Never
will
No,
melted
Farewell
you
Iare
go
breathe;
toconfidently
back
ifthe
return,
my
earth,
heart
tofate
you
verses
me
and
farewell
have
of
to
tomy
Ithe
the
have
see
remain-left
king
deepest
sky,
the
any
me,
of
stars
and
power,
shadows,
abysses,
again,
farewell.
teco in compagnia di morte.
with you in the company of death.
The Aria
• Invented CA 1660 as concept of “tune”
develops
What is an aria about? Emotion
Its qualities:
• A “song” as we know it today
• Nearly always accompanied by orchestra
• if stanzas repeated, called Da Capo
• High melodic profile
Ch. 8 - Henry Purcell
• English composer (1659-1695)
• Highly regarded, held court
positions
• Buried beneath the organ in
Westminster Abbey
Listening: Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas
by Purcell
Ground Bass
• Repeated musical
idea in bass
• Variation form—
melodies above change
• Also called basso ostinato
Note: Recitative followed by da capo aria
Aria makes use of ground bass
Listening Log 2
• Create a timeline of 4 minutes, marked at 15
second intervals
• Using our emotional seismograph, show the
emotional intensity during the performance
• Describe what musical elements are
responsible for this intensity. Consider:
• Harmony (the ground bass, for instance, or
dissonance)
• The pitch
• The dynamic range of the singer
• The lyrics
Ch. 9 - The Baroque Sonata
•Instrumental work
• Multi-movement piece for 1 -8 instruments
• Trio sonata
• Three melodic lines: basso continuo and two above
• Written as three parts, but performed by four players
Sonata da chiesa—church sonata (dignified)
Sonata du camera—chamber sonata (more
dance-like, intended for court performance)
Listening Log 3: Trio Sonata in A Minor
By Arcangelo Correli
• We will listen to all four movements of this sonata
• Write a timeline, approximately 4 min.
• For each theme, create a graphic representation of
melody and rhythm--listen for melodic contour, tempo,
texture,
• Based on this representation, does each movement
maintain unity within itself?
• How does Corelli create contrast between each of the
movements? List elements of each
• Tempo
• Texture
• Melody/rhythm
Trio Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 10
(1689) by Arcangelo Corelli
For 2 violins and basso continuo
(three parts, four instruments)
Ch. 10 - Antonio Vivaldi
• Late Baroque Italian composer
• Il prete rosso (the red priest)
• Taught music at girls orphanage in
Venice
• Girls performed at mass hidden behind
screen
• Wrote sacred and secular vocal and
instrumental music
• Famous as a virtuoso violinist &
composer
Listening
La Primavera (Spring), Op. 8, No. 1, from The Four
Seasons (1725) by Vivaldi
Listening Outline: p. 128
Basic Set, CD 2:25 Brief Set, CD 2:12
Concerto for violin and string orchestra
Note: Polyphonic texture & ritornello form
Baroque program music
Descriptive effects (trills for bird songs,
tremolos for thunder)
string
Listening Log 4: La Primavera (Spring),
Op. 8, No. 1, first movement
• Create a symbol for tutti (ritornello), and another
for solo (X, O, etc)
• Make a 4 minute timeline, marked at 15 second
intervals
• As each section arrives, mark the proper symbol
• As Programmatic elements arrive, show in score—
thunder, etc. Hint they can be in both tutti and
solo.
• Total the number of ritornello entrances
• Instrumentation: violin (solo), strings, harpsichord (basso continuo)
• CD 1, Tracks 63-67, Duration 3:15
• 63) Spring has come
•
•
•
•
•
The first phrase of the ritornello is presented by the string orchestra (tutti).
:23 Closing phrase in a syncopated rhythm.
64) Song of the birds
This first solo section consists of a solo violin with two supporting violins. Bird songs
are imitated with trills in the high register and repeated notes.
:33 Return of tutti with second phrase of ritornello.
65) Murmuring streams
Flowing water is represented by running passages in the violins and cellos.
:23 Return of tutti with second phrase of ritornello.
66) Thunder and lightning
String tremolos and rapidly moving ascending scales introduce the solo violin.
:26 Return of tutti with second phrase of ritornello (in minor).
67) Song of the birds
Solo violin with two supporting violins. Bird songs are imitated with trills in the high
register and repeated notes (in minor key).
:17 Tutti, with variation of opening phrase which ends in a major key.
:27 Running passages in solo violin accompanied by the continuo (harpsichord).
:41 Closing phrase of ritornello is presented by the tutti in a major key.
Ch. 11 - Johann Sebastian Bach:
Greatest Western composer ever?
• Organist and violinist
• Deeply religious (Lutheran)
• I.N.J/J.J?
• Worked in sacred and secular
positions
• Weimar/Cothen/Leipzig
• Known during lifetime as
keyboardist – not so much as a composer
• Wrote in every form except opera
Ch. 12 - The Baroque Suite
An Instrumental, multi-movement work
• Written for listening, but based upon dance
• Movements usually in binary form—AABB
• Often began with a non-dance overture
• Generally homophonic – with many
exceptions
• Forerunner of forms used in the next
period
The Suite—International by design
• Non-dance movement, followed by several dance
•
•
•
•
•
•
movements
Courante: fast triple meter (France)
Gavotte: moderate duple (France)
Allemande: moderate duple (German)
Sarabande: slow triple (Mexico)
Bouree: fast duple (France)
Gigue: fast triple (England, Irleland)
Listening
Suite No. 3 in D Major (~1730)
by J. S. Bach, 4thmovement
Listening Outline p. 135
Note:Extensive polyphony
Contrast of dance forms and
tempo in various movements
The Chorale and Church Cantata
• Two types of religious dramatic music
• 1.
The cantata: One act (though multiple movement)
religious opera, part of religious service
• 2.
The oratorio: complete opera on religious topic, not
part of service
Ch. 13 - The Chorale and Church Cantata
• Lutheran church service was social event of
the week
• Lasted 4 hours with 1 hour sermon
• Music was major part of worship service
• Congregation participated in singing chorales
• Chorale: hymn tune w/ German text
• Melodies often known by congregation
• Cantata
• Multi-movement church work for chorus, soloists,
and orchestra
• Vernacular religious text
• Resembled opera in its use of choruses,
recitatives, arias, and duets
How Cantatas were written:
• Pastor tells composer the theme of the week’s
sermon—based on religious calendar
• Bach selects chorale melody, sets text to that
melody (in case of Wachet Auf, the chorale is preexisting
• Uses this melody as the basis for many of the
cantata’s movements
• Intersperses recitative, instrumental movements;
all vocal movements revolve around the week’s
sermon
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
(Awake, A Voice Is Calling Us)
The Parable of the wise and
foolish virgins, from the
New Testament
• What are the symbols involved?
The cantata is scored for
• three soloists—soprano, tenor and bass
• a four-part choir
• horn, 2 oboes, taille--today often replaced by an
English horn, violino piccolo, two violins, viola,
and basso continuo.
Seven Movements:
1. Coro: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Wake up, the voice calls to us)
2. Recitativo (tenor): Er kommt (He comes)
3. Aria (soprano, bass): Wenn kömmst du, mein Heil? (When will you come,
my salvation?)
4. Chorale (tenor): Zion hört die Wächter singen (Zion hears the watchmen
singing)
5. Recitativo: So geh herein zu mir (So come in with me)
6. Aria (soprano, bass): Mein Freund ist mein! (My friend is mine!)
7. Chorale: Gloria sei dir gesungen (May Gloria be sung to you)
Listening
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, A Voice Is
Calling Us)
by J. S. Bach (1731), Movements 4 & 7
Vocal Music Guide: pp. 140-141
Note: Vernacular (German) text
Chorale tune basis
Polyphonic until chorale in movement 7
Movement 7—provides for congregation
to join in
Movement 7: - Chorale melody set to
SATB - homophonic
Chorale: Gloria sei dir gesungen (May
Gloria be sung to you)
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
1st movement: Ritornello form
Listening Log: Wachet Auf
• Create a timeline of six minutes, marked
at 15 second intervals
• Mark each new phrase of the chorale
melody by drawing a wavy line over the
timeline for the duration of each occurrence
Ch. 14 - The Oratorio
• Like opera:
• History of liturgical drama, the sacred dialogs
• Large-scale work for chorus, soloists, and
orchestra
• Contains arias, recitatives, ensembles
• Unlike opera:
• No acting, scenery, or costumes
• Based upon biblical stories
• Not intended for religious services
• Commonly performed today in both
churches and concert halls
Ch. 15 - George Frederic Handel
• Born in Germany—same year as Bach
• Not from musical family
• Father wanted him to be a lawyer
• Studied music in Germany, then to Italy to
study opera, finally England to work
• Became England’s most important
composer
• Wrote many operas in London
• Had own opera company
• Worked as composer, performer, &
impresario
• Buried in Westminster Abbey
Messiah
• Part 1: Prophecy of Christ’s birth
• Part 2: “the accomplishment of redemption by the
sacrifice of Jesus, mankind’s rejection of god’s offer and
mankind’s utter defeat when trying to oppose the power
of the Almighty.”
• Part 3: faith in the certainty of eternal life thorough
Christ as redeemer
Listening Log:
From Messiah by G. F. Handel (1741)
Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted:
Vocal Music Guide: p. 143
List the word painting devices as they occur
Messiah, cont.
Hallelujah Chorus
Vocal Music Guide: p. 146
Basic Set, CD 3:09
Brief Set, CD 2:28