Baroque Era
1600 – 1750
Historical Background…
 During the Renaissance, the focus on the Catholic Church changed
drastically.
 The Protestant Reformation was a movement in the 16th century to reform
the Catholic Church in Western Europe.
 Several religious institutions were established through this Reformation,
which lead to a Catholic counter Reformation.
 A variety of new spiritual movements, reformations of religious
communities and the clarification of Catholic theology all stemmed from
the Catholic Reformation.
 During the Baroque Era the situation
between the Catholics and the
Protestants was settling down.
 The baroque musical style was also
shaped by the needs of churches,
which used the emotional and theatrical
qualities to make worship
more attractive.
Historical Background…
 There was a new merchant class, which was wealthy enough
to afford education and art, and therefore employed
craftsmen, artists and musicians.
 This merchant class also influenced the baroque style.
Prosperous merchants and doctors commission the realistic
depiction of land and every day life.
 Mathematics was becoming especially important with men like
Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton.
 These men were decoding the world through reason and math with God
as the supreme mathematician.
 They discovered the fact of mathematical laws governing bodies in
motion.
 These led to new inventions and gradual improvement in medicinal field.
 Baroque style was also set against the background of great scientific
discovery.
Historical Context…
 In France, Louis XIV
held court in the palace
of Versailles, a
magnificent setting that
is fused with Baroque
painting, sculpture and
architecture into a
symbol of royal wealth
and power.
 Baroque art is a
complex mixture of
rationalism, spirituality,
sensuality and
materialism.
A comparison…
 When compared with both the Medieval and
Renaissance periods, Baroque music is considered to
be highly elaborate, lavishly texturized, and intense.
 Baroque music has a number of defining
characteristics including the continued use of basso
continuo and the belief in the doctrine of the affections.
 Baroque composers continued to develop and placed
great emphasis on the contrast of volume, texture, and
pace in the music.
 Secular types of music were now in abundance and
used as widely as those of the liturgical (sacred)
musical styles.
Musical Developments
The beginnings of Opera…
 Florentine Camerata
Group of writers and composers who felt that
polyphony obscured the words.
Words should be more important than music and
music should portray the AFFECTION
(feeling/mood) of the words.
Monody – simpler style with a single voice-line with
chordal accompaniment
Florentine Camerata cont’d…
 The voice-line followed closely the meaning of the text
and speech-rhythm of words. This style was called
Recitative. They are sung quickly like they are being
spoken.
 The section of an opera that gave more music interest
than the recitative are called Arias. These are the
places where the singer would sing a song which
expressed his or her feelings.
 Accompaniment was in the basso continuo style, which
consisted of a bass line (bass viol or cello) with symbols
to tell a keyboard or lute player what chords to play with
it – figured bass – chords were improvised so they were
never the same.
The reason for the creation…
 While the 16th century was drawing to a close, the
Florentine Camerata and other musicians in Florence,
Italy experimented with a new method of composing
dramatic vocal music, modeling their ideas after the
precepts of ancient Greek theater.
 Their inspiration behind this was to create music which
would be more direct and communicative to an
audience.
 The Florentine Camerata called this new form of
musical-dramatic entertainment opera.
 The first operas were private affairs, composed for the
Italian courts. But when in 1637 the first public opera
house opened in Venice, Italy, opera became a
commercial industry.
Henry Purcell
(1659-1695)
 English composer
 Best known for his dramatic
works, including approximately
40 plays (instrumental and
songs).
 He wrote more than 50 anthems
and many other sacred pieces
and songs.
 Dido and Aeneas is one of the
most monumental Baroque
operas and one of Purcell’s
foremost operatic works.
 He is known for his beautiful,
sorrowful songs.
Dido and Aeneas ~ Act III, Scene 2
“Thy hand Belinda/ When I am laid to rest”
 The story:
 Queen Dido and a
Trojan refugee called
Aeneas fall in love. ♥
 Aeneas and his crew
are shipwrecked in
Carthage. However,
Aeneas must soon
leave to go to Rome –
Dido cannot live without
him and awaits death.
 The piece is for voice,
violin, cello and
harpsichord.
Musical developments
Instrumental music
 During the Baroque period, as a side-kick to
opera and other vocal music, the orchestra
evolved.
 Composers were experimenting with ranges of
the instrument and their abilities. Because of this
there were huge changes in instruments and
how they were played.
 The harpsichord and the organ were the
prominent keyboard instruments. The trumpet
was also a popular solo instrument, along with
oboe, flute and bassoon.
Instrumental Music cont’d…
 The Baroque Era saw an expansion in size,
range and complexity of performance:
Courts/public
Church
 There was a hierarchy of performers as well,
the most important being hired as the
Kappellmeister at court
The church musicians
The singers and instrumentalists
The Fugue
 From the word “fuga” – Latin for “flight” or “chase”.
 Contrapuntal (note against note – polyphony) based on
the idea of imitation from the Renaissance.
 Fugues are written for 3 or 4 voices – Soprano, Alto,
Tenor and Bass
 Bach wrote a set of 48 preludes and fugues in each
major and minor key.
 Placed in books called the “Well-tempered Clavier”
 2 books with 24 fugues in each
The Fugue continued…
 The basic idea:
Subject:
 Brief time – strong character
 First stated in one voice then another then the next is stated
throughout the fugue at different pitches in different keys –
the episode*.
Exposition
 Beginning section of the fugue in which each voice takes a
turn stating the subject
Episodes
 Sections of music that do not have a subject to state
Johann Sebastien Bach
(1685-1750)
Listening: Praeludium et Fuga in A minor,
BWV 543 (Prelude and Fugue)
Piece for 4 “voices” – hands and feet playing
different parts
Instrument – organ
Fugue: 4 parts – Subject, Answer, Counter
Subject, Episode
The melodies are played simultaneously – all
the parts are based on a subject-all stated in
succession.
The Baroque Concerto
 Italian for “get together”
 Latin for “dispute”
 2 types of Baroque concertos
 Concerto grosso – a small group of soloists with orchestra
 Solo concerto – a single soloist with orchestra
 The various sections of the concerto would alternate
between fast and slow tempos, or movements.
 Composers of the period such as Johann Sebastian
Bach and Antonio Vivaldi transformed the concerto
grosso into the solo concerto, in which the solo
instrument is of equal importance as the string orchestra.
Sonata
 Means “sounded” and is a form of chamber
music for a soloist or small group of 2-4
 Instrumentation for a trio sonata was 2 violins
and basso continuo
 2 main types:
Sonata da Chiesa, “church sonata”, in 4
movements (slow-fast-slow-fast)
Sonata da Camera, “chamber sonata”, including
several binary dance movements
Basso Continuo
 Instruments included a bass
string instrument and a
harpsichord or organ to fill
in the chords
 The keyboard player
improvised chords over a
figured bass
 Was used in orchestra
music, sonatas and
accompaniments to songs
 A real tell-tale sign that a
piece of music is Baroque