The Baroque Era
1600-1750
Baroque Culture
• Definitions
Portuguese for “irregularlyshaped” pearl
• Geographical Centers
England
France
Germany
The Times
• Science
– Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Laws of gravity
• Calculus
Sir Isaac Newton
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Movement of the planets
• Foundation of astronomy
Johannes Kepler
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo Galilei
• René Descartes (1596-1650)
René Descartes
– Analytical geometry
– Applied scientific principles to philosophy
– Applied methods of mathematics to the study of what
humans think and feel
– Believed that human emotions could be classified in
the same way scientific phenomena are classified
(Doctrine of Affections)
William Gilbert (1544-1603)
• Properties of electricity
Sir William Harvey (1578-1657)
• Circulation of the blood
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
• Chemistry
• Inventions
• Politics – Age of Absolute Monarchs
Charles II of England
Frederick II of Prussia
Louis XIV of France
Phillip IV of Spain
• Religion
– Roman Catholic
– Protestant
– New Religions
• Deism
– Influenced by the advances in scientific knowledge
– Operated on reason alone without supernatural
manifestations
– Ethan Allen, Thomas Payne, Thomas Jefferson,
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, James Madison
• Everyday life in the Baroque
– Institutions with power
• Court
• Church
– Aristocratic Life
– Middle and Lower Class Life
Visual Arts
• Architecture
– In the Renaissance:
simple, straight lines
and detail
Bramante – St. Peter’s Cathedral
Brunelleschi – Florence Cathedral
– In the Baroque: ornate, extravagant, showy
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
Palace of Versailles, Paris
• Painting
– Emotionally charged
– Dramatic subjects
– Contrast; play
between light and
shadow
• Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Self-Portrait
Assumption of the Virgin
• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)
The Night Watch
Self-Portrait
• Sculpture
– Strong light and dark
contrasts
– Dramatic tension
– Subjects are never still but
moving, struggling, twisted
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Self-Portrait
Apollo and Daphne
Louis XIV
Ecstasy of St. Theresa
Age of Paradox/Contrasts
• Church ↔ State
• Monarchy ↔ Bourgeoisie
• Aristocracy ↔ Affluent Middle Class
• Importance of Religions ↔ Rise of Secular
• Scientific Research ↔ Superstition,
Witchcraft
• Importance of humanity ↔ Religious
Persecution
Music’s Response to
Paradox/Contrast
•
•
•
•
Vocal ↔ Instrumental
8 Church Modes ↔ Tonality (Major, minor)
Sacred Music ↔ Secular Music
Polyphonic Texture ↔ Homophonic
Texture
The Composer’s Life
•
•
•
•
Patronage System
Church ↔ Court
Deterioration of the Patronage System
Other Music Achievements:
– Audience of the common people
– Development of music for its own sake
Music of the Baroque
• Doctrine of Affections
• Elements of Music
– Melody
•
•
•
•
Long, instrumental in conception
Use of sequences
Monothematic
Use of ornamentation
– Harmony
• Tonal
• Use of Major and minor scales
– Rhythm
• Metric
• Motoric
– Texture
• Homophony and Polyphony equal in importance (Late
Baroque)
• Thorough Bass or Basso Continuo
– Form
•
•
•
•
Binary
Ternary
Fugue
Ritornello
– Dynamics
• Terraced
• Not written into the score
– Timbre
• Vocal
• Instrumental
Keyboard Instruments
Painted Organ Pipes
Pipe Organ
Harpsichord
String Instruments
Viol Family
Stradivarius Violins
Lute
Guarnerius Violin
Composite of String Instruments
Woodwind Instruments
Wood Flute
Recorder Family
Early Clarinets
Oboe da Caccia
Brass Instruments
Long Trumpet
Trombones
Percussion Instruments
Kettledrums
Vocal Genres
• Opera
– Began as court entertainments in Italy
– Includes a story (libretto), solo singing, choral singing, dancing,
costumes and sets
– Forms: recitative, aria , chorus
Orfeo, 1607
Tu se’ morta
Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643)
• Cantata
– Short, unstaged operas (secular and sacred)
– Used operatic forms (recitative, aria, chorus)
– Sacred cantatas often based on a chorale
Cantata 140: Wachet Auf, 1731
Awake, A Voice is Calling Us
First Movement: Chorus and Orchestra
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Fourth Movement: Tenor Chorale
Wachet Auf
• Oratorio
–
–
–
–
–
A sacred, large-scale opera
Always based on a biblical story
No staging or constuming
Larger role for the chorus
Uses opera forms (recitative, aria, chorus)
Messiah, 1741
Recitative: The Voice of Him
Aria: Every Valley Shall Be Exalted
Chorus: Hallelujah
George Frideric Handel
(1685-1759)
“Hallelujah Chorus” from Messiah (1741)
• Perhaps one of the world’s most famous choral pieces
• Text is from the Revelation of St. John
Hallelujah!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth
The kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His
Christ
And he shall reign for ever and ever
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Hallelujah!
• Combines monophonic, polyphonic and homophonic
textures
Instrumental Genres
• Dance Suite
– Originally a series of dances played for dancing
– By the Baroque, suites became independent instrumental pieces no longer
intended for dancing
– Usually contained four dances
– Often unified by key
– Differed by tempo and international background
– Used binary form
Suite No. 3 in D Major, 1729-1731
Air
Bourée
J.S. Bach
Gigue
• Sonata
– Originally a “sound piece” for one instrument
– Became a chamber music genre in the Baroque (from 2 to 6
players)
– Four movements: fast, fast, slow, fast
– Trio sonatas were popular
Trio Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 10 (1689)
First Movement
Arcangelo Corelli
(1653-1713)
• Concerto Grosso
– “friendly contention”
– Contrasts a larger ensemble (ripieno or tutti) with a solo group
(concertino)
– Three movements: fast, slow, fast
– Often uses ritornello form
Spring Concerto The Four Seasons, 1725
First Movement: Allegro
Spring has come, and joyfully,
The birds greet it with happy song.
And the streams, fanned by gentle breezes,
Flow along with a sweet murmur.
Covering the sky with a black cloak,
Thunder and lightning come to announce the season.
When these have quieted down, the little birds
Return to their enchanting song.
Antonio Vivaldi
(1678-1741)
Ritornello Form
Vivaldi - Spring Concerto, Allegro
• Keyboard Music
– Organ and harpsichord
– Often paired a “free” piece with a contrapuntal fugue [Prelude and
Fugue]
– Toccata: added elements of virtuosic “touch” keyboard technique
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, 1722
Prelude and Fugue in c minor
J.S. Bach
J.S. Bach – Fugue in g minor, BWV 578
Composers
•
•
•
•
•
•
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
Antonio Vivaldi
Henry Purcell
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre
(1667-1729)