Chapter 7
The Early Baroque
Period
From Renaissance
to Baroque
Key Terms
Baroque
Extravagance
Control
Venice
Motet
Early Baroque Timeline
Early Baroque Timeline
Early Baroque Timeline
From Renaissance to Baroque
Early Baroque a period of rapid change
A radical new style emerges
• Influenced by ideas of Florence Camerata
Focus on expression of strong emotion,
not mere text painting
New emphasis on solo singing
With the development of recitative, a
theatrical style emerges
Instrumental music & dance music
become increasingly important
Renaissance vs. Baroque (1)
Instruments inferior
to human voice
Vocal ensembles
A cappella ideal, no
accompaniment
Natural, simple
musical ideas
Instrumental music
equally important
Solo voice preferred
Voice accompanied
by instruments
Artifice and
virtuosity
Renaissance vs. Baroque (2)
Irregular, floating
rhythms
Modal harmony
Music for church and
chamber
Text declamation and
word painting
Clear, danceinfluenced rhythms
Functional harmony
Music for theater,
church, & chamber
Expression of
emotions most
important
Music in Venice
Major economic/cultural center, enriched
by international trade
A republic! Cooperative approach to
government & the arts
Flamboyant, colorful architecture
Venetian painters used warm, rich hues
• The Bellinis, Titian, Tintoretto
Venetian music was equally flamboyant,
warm, rich, and colorful
Saint Mark’s
Basilica was the center for Venetian music
Many beautiful Byzantine mosaics
Many balconies and two choir lofts
positioned farther apart than usual
Long-standing practice of using two (or
more) choirs in alternation
• Early example of stereophonic sound!
Frequent mixing of voices & instruments
Magnificent, extravagant sounds
St Mark’s
St Mark’s Inside
Extravagance and Control
New freedom of expression
This newly emotional, extravagant music
was bursting out of traditional forms,
styles, and genres
As composers took more freedoms, they
became more rigorous and systematic
Careful control yielded music that was
expressive yet clear, meaningful, and
coherent
Giovanni Gabrieli
(c. 1555-1612)
Organist and composer at St. Mark’s from
1584 until his death
Prolific—
• Instrumental works for organ and for chamber
ensembles
• Works for two or more choirs of voices and/or
instrumentalists
Music mixes delicate expressive passages
and rich, brilliant echo effects
Gabrieli, “O magnum
mysterium” (1)
Two choirs—seven vocal & instrumental
parts in each—with organ accompaniment
Still some Renaissance procedures—
• Uses vocal ensembles
• New melody for each phrase of text
• Careful declamation and text painting
 Hushed awe of “O magnum mysterium”
Gabrieli, “O magnum
mysterium” (2)
Careful declamation and text painting (cont.)
Intimate warmth of “et admirabile”
Mild dissonance of “iacentem in presepio”
Celebration of alleluias
Gabrieli, “O magnum
mysterium” (3)
Many Baroque features as well—
Equal treatment of voices & instruments
Clear, often dancelike rhythms
Parallels between beginning & end (clarity)
Use of repetition & sequence (intensification)
Gabrieli, “O magnum
mysterium” (4)
Grand, magnificent sound of large ensemble
Rich palette of colors—interplay between choirs
of voices & instruments
Use of calculated, theatrical contrasts to build
momentum 2:28 to end.
“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.