The Baroque Era (1600-1750) — The Early Baroque (Chapter 7)
The music room at Frederick the Great’s Palace “Sanssouci” in Potsdam
Baroque comes from the French word derived from the Portuguese noun “barroco”,
perjorative terms used to describe pearls of irregular shape.
Donatello’s David (1408-09)
Gianlorenzo Bernini’s David (1623)
Baroque sculptures by Bernini
Apollo & Dafne
Pluto & Proserpina
The Baroque is characterized by highly ornamental styles in the arts
Silbermann organ in Freiberg
Carved scroll on a viola da gamba
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), St Peter’s Throne
Baroque art often emphasized contrasts of every kind
Rembrandt (1606-69) , Self-portrait as ‘St Paul’ (1657)
Jan Vermeer (1632-75), ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’
And it also enjoyed its extreme ranges of expression
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), ‘Bacchus’
Caravaggio (1573-1610), ‘Medusa’ (after 1590)
The Baroque — Terms & Concepts
• Basso continuo
• Monody
• Recitative
• Aria
• Ground bass
• Trio sonata
Venice by Canaletto (1697-1768)
St. Mark’s Basilica (San Marco)
Two interior views of St Mark’s (San Marco) in Venice, where many of Italy’s
most famous Baroque composers trained and worked, including Giovanni
Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi.
Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1555-1612)
Example: “In the Churches” (1612) [CD 1:10]
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Basso Continuo (Continuo, Figured Bass, Thoroughbass): A term to denote the
continuous bass part that runs through a work of the Baroque period and serves as a
shorthand indicator of the harmonies. The harmonies are then “realized” by the
accompanist in the performance.
In the original, only the bass line and the numbers would be given; the right-hand part
would be improvised, based on the information conveyed by the numbers
Some Instruments used for playing basso continuo
 Harpsichord
 Theorbo
 Viola da gamba
Early Opera
Example: Recitative “At the bitter news” and Arioso “Thou art dead” from Monteverdi’s
L’Orfeo, Act II (1607). [CD 1:12]
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Monody: Accompanied Italian solo song (solo voice and continuo), of c1600-40.
The term stands equally for an individual song or the entire repertory.
Recitative: A type of vocal writing, normally for a single voice, which follows the
natural rhythms and accentuation of speech and its pitch contours.
Arioso: A passage of vocal music sung midway between recitative and aria.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Example: “Thy hand Belinda” (Recitative); “When I am laid” (Aria); “With drooping
wings” (Chorus), Dido and Aeneas (1689)
• Adaptation of Virgil’s Aeneid
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Aria: A song either independent or part of a larger work.
Ground Bass: A formal device whereby a recurrent melody (ostinato) is given in
the bass, above which continuous variations are written
Baroque Theatres and Opera Houses
• Many of theatres at noble courts were rather small, intended only for guests of the
ruler
(Ekhof Theater at Schloß Friedenstein in Gotha, Germany)
Margräfliches Opernhaus in Bayreuth, Germany
Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) 1705-1782
Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922)
Example: Bach-Gounod, “Ave Maria”, Recorded April, 1904
Rise of instrumental music
1. Dance Music and Suites
2. Idiomatic writing
3. Music derived from vocal models
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Trio Sonata
1. Form (SFSF or sequence of dances)
2. Texture — SSB (basso continuo
Example: Tio Sonata in C major, Op. 4, No. 1 (1694) [CD 1:15]
Some Aspects of early 18th-century Musical Style
• Harmony
• Rhythm and Metre
• Dynamics
• Timbre / Tone Colour
• Melodies
• Textures
• Forms