General
Characteristics
of
Baroque
Music
Unity of Mood:
Baroque music is famous for its “doctrine of affections (or mood).” What is happy will be
happy throughout and what is sad continues to the end. Composers molded the musical
language to fit moods and affections. Some definite rhythms and melodic patterns are
used to define certain moods and expressions.
The prime exception to this baroque principle of unity of mood occurs in vocal music in
which the text contains drastic changes of emotion. These changes inspire corresponding
changes in the music. But even in such cases, the given mood will continue for quite some
time before it changes to another.
Rhythm:
Unity of mood in baroque is first conveyed by the continuity of rhythm. Rhythmic patterns
heard at the beginning of the piece are reiterated many times throughout. This relentless
drive gives the music forward motion. This forward motion is hardly ever interrupted. The
sense of beat or pulse is also far more distinct in baroque music, especially baroque
instrumental music.
Melody:
Baroque music creates a feeling of continuity. An opening melody will be heard over and
over again in the course of the piece. Even if the character of the piece is constant, the
passage is varied. Many baroque melodies are complex and elaborate. They are not easy
to sing or play. Baroque melodies give and impression of dynamic expansion rather than
balance and symmetry. This dynamically expanding melody is described by the German
term “Fortspinnung.”
Terraced Dynamics:
Paralleling the continuity of mood, the dynamics of a piece (i.e., the relative softness or
loudness of the music) also stays constant for some period of time before shifting to
another level. When the dynamics shift, it is sudden like physically stepping up or down a
step. Therefore, terraced dynamics are a distinctive quality of baroque music. Gradual
changes such as crescendos and decrescendos are unheard due in part to the capabilities
of the keyboard instruments of the time. For instance, when the stops are activated on the
pipe organ, they are either “on” or “off,” and cannot be gradually turned on or off.
Texture*:
The favored texture in baroque composition varies from early to late baroque. Early
baroque music tends to be homophonic as composer reacted against the highly schooled
polyphonic textures predominant in the Renaissance, and as operatic composers explored
the freer rhythms of spoken language. Late baroque music, the kind most often heard
today, is predominantly polyphonic in texture. Soprano and Bass lines are often set in
opposition to each other and are often more important than the interior lines.
Nevertheless, imitation between various lines is very common. While polyphony was the
dominant texture in the late baroque, short snatches of homophonic texture often occur in
Handel’s music and, more rarely, in Bach’s music.
Basso continuo and figured bass:
In any baroque piece, it is common to see in the printed music various numerals below the
bass line. These figures represent a type of shorthand notation that told the keyboardist
which chords to play in the accompaniment. In baroque music, the bass line is performed
by two instrumentalists—1) a sustaining bass instrument such as the cello to play the
actual bass notes, and 2) a keyboard player (harpsichord or organ) who improvised the
accompaniment based on the figures.
Words and Music
In vocal music, baroque composers were motivated to provide in their music a faithful
representation of the text. Often this representation involved the use of “word painting.”
In word painting, significant words in the text are given special treatment in the melodic
line. An example might be a rising line on the words, “heaven” or “sky,” and a descending
line on the words, “valley,” “hell,” or the “abyss.”
*Texture in music refers to the number of melodic lines present at any given moment and
how these lines relate to each other. Monophonic Texture consists of a single melodic line
with no harmony or other accompaniment. Homophonic Texture consists of a single
harmonic line supported by harmony. In Polyphonic Texture more than one melodic line
competes for the listener’s attention.
General
Principles
of
Baroque
Composition
Unifying Principles (i.e., “ordering principles”)
1. Unity of Rhythm
2. Unity of Mood
3. Organic repetition of musical ideas—rhythmic and melodic
4. Tonality (major-minor) and the harmonic structure
Contrasting Principles
1. Polarization of the Soprano and Bass Lines
2. Contrast---between bodies of sound, between loud and soft, etc.
3. Polyphonic texture (i.e., two or more melodies sounding simultaneously).