History of Music
Baroque
And
Classical
Baroque 1600-1750
• At the end of the 16th century, madrigal composers
moved to extreme dissonances and rhythmic
contrasts to illustrate emotional texts
• The Baroque period began as a reaction against the
madrigal.
• The recitative was developed as a new solo singing
style. This led to the stage and eventually to opera.
• The Baroque is characterized with extreme excess
and extravagance.
• Baroque “dualism” is a constant theme throughout
the Baroque era. It is the battle between freedom
and strictness, extravagance and control.
Baroque musical characteristics
• Rhythm is more definite and regular.
• Bar lines begin to be used for the 1st time.
• The basso continuo is formed. This includes the
bass voices or low sounding instruments and organ
or harpsichord (chordal instrument allows for
continuous chords). In general, the bass line is
reinforced.
• Harmony evolves and musicians developed our
modern major/minor system.
• Chords became a standard and used in a predictable
and meaningful way. We being to have an
established sense of tonality.
Opera
• Introduced around 1600
• Opera is drama set to music and singing is used
instead of speech.
• Main genre of secular music during this time
• Art form that combined music, drama, dancing,
poetry, scenery, and special effects.
• Became an important part of culture and
entertainment.
• Opera alternated between the styles of recitative and
aria.
• Listen: Dido and Aeneas I(1689) by Henry Purcell.
Oratorio
• Sacred vocal music that includes a variety of
styles and forms.
• Oratorio is basically opera using sacred subjects
and are performed in concert form (no scenery,
costumes, or gestures).
• Includes the participation of the choir
• May borrow from secular vocal music
• Listen: Recitative, There were Shepherds and
chorus, Glory to God by Handel from Messiah
Instrumental Music
• Instrumental music rises through the popularity of
dance, virtuosity, and vocal music.
• The rise of instrumental music can also be associated
with the development of instrument making technology.
• The first fortepianos are invented during this time and
are the first to use hammer strokes not by plectra.
• Pipe organ technology continued to evolve and organ
building becomes a craft.
The Late Baroque
• The age of absolutism and the doctrine of the divine right of
kings, the absolute rule of “God-chosen” monarchs.
Absolutism can be seen in Baroque opera.
• It was the age of science when Newton and Leibniz invented
calculus, Newton established his laws of mechanics and the
theory of gravity.
▫ Music reflected the scientific attitude by tuning scales (or
tempering) them with more precision.
▫ Music theorists were scientifically motivated to make checklists of
musical devices and techniques that match with emotions.
• Art was used to impress as evidenced through King Louis XIV
building the palace of Versailles.
▫ Composers were most likely to view themselves as servants
striving to satisfy their masters.
Late Baroque Styles
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Rhythm continued to be regular
Dynamics: composers rarely used loud (f) or soft (p) markings in their scores, but sudden
dynamic contrasts were favored
Melodies were ornate and complex
Improvisations were used and often written down for musicians
Polyphonic texture was standard along with the harmony of the basso continuo.
Musical forms became clearer due to the patronage system. Formulas were used for composing
due to the quick demand associated with the patronage system.
To the modern listener music of the Baroque may seem impressive, but is typically comes off as
impersonal.
▫ Baroque composers conveyed a range of emotions, but they usually did not convey their own
personal feelings.
The fugue, a polyphonic composition built on one theme (fugue subject) that appears over and
over in each voice or instrument, is an important development in the Baroque.
▫ Listen: Fugue in C-Sharp Major, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1721)by Johann
Sebastian Bach
The Baroque Orchestra
• The Baroque orchestra was formed and the core group of instruments were
members of the violin family. A keyboard instrument was added for the
continuo and woodwinds and brass instruments were sometimes added, but
were not standard.
▫ The famous orchestra controlled by King Louis XIV in the late 17th century was
called The Twenty Four Violins of the King (6 violins, 12 violas, 6 cellos). Today
this would be called a string orchestra.
• The concerto (orchestra and a soloist) and concerto grosso (orchestra and a
small group of soloists) become important orchestral genres.
▫ Listen: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, for flute, violin, harpsichord, and
orchestra (before 1721) by Johann Sebastin Bach.
• The use of movements within one work are seen. The movements help
extend a composition. Typical late Baroque concertos have three
movements. The first movement is in a fast tempo, the second is a contrast
of the first (quieter and slower), and the third is usually faster than the first.
Making Money as a Composer in the
Late Baroque
• There were three main ways a composer could
earn a living:
▫ The church as an organist or choirmaster who
composes
▫ The Court working for a master
▫ The Opera House
Baroque Composers
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): Italian composer proficient in most of the major genres of
his time
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695): English composer and organist who wrote only one true opera
but wrote other compositions for the stage
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713): Italian composer and violinist who wrote solo sonatas, trio
sonatas, and concertos
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): studied music from other composers, took his own
style, and blended them
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): English Composer born in Germany who wrote music
for all genres of his time
• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725): Italian opera composer
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Italian composer and violinist known for concertos and opera
• François Couperin (168-1733): French composer, harpsichordist, and organist
• Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764): important French musician for the development of
opera
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757): the son of Alessandro Scarlatti who is known for his
keyboard sonatas
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): brought music to the middle class by publishing
music that could be played at home by novice musicians.
Classical
1750-1820
• This intellectual movement, the Enlightenment, focused on the
advancement of science and reasoning. People of the time valued
intelligence, sensitivity, and humor.
• Intelligence was used to solve scientific problems and problems associated
with morality, education and politics.
• Fascination with the “natural” and “the good life”
• For many, religion stopped being a tremendous force during this era.
• Time of the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers
• The introduction of the coffee house and public concerts
• Arts were seen as a way to contribute to an improved quality of life. They
were intended to please not teach or impress like in the Baroque era.
• Music strived for clarity, restraint, and balance
• Composers wrote Masses and operas, but majority of the compositions were
instrumental.
• Primary genres included were the symphony, sonata, chamber music,
opera, solo concerto.
How it started
• A reaction against the extravagance of the
Baroque
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a self-taught
composer who started an attack on the complex
and artificial aspects of Baroque opera.
Attacking the primary genre placed all of the
music from the Baroque in question.
• The people of the classical era wanted opera that
would portray real people in real life.
Other Movements in Art
• Neoclassicism: A movement in visual arts that
supports the return to simple and natural values
and an opposition to the complexity of the
Baroque and the extreme lightness of the
Rococo.
• Rococo: period between Baroque and Classical
in which paintings, decoration, furniture, and
jewelry were done in an extremely light style.
• The Novel: A new literary type that depicted
contemporary life and feelings.
Style Features
• Rhythm: flexible rhythm, the tempo and meter are constant
throughout a movement, but the rhythms differ; rhythm gives
a feelings of less predictable movement that is more exciting
than the regular rhythms of the Baroque.
• Dynamics: become more specific and passages begin to be
marked by composers with f, p, ff, and mf; there was a desire
for variety in a pleasant way within predictability. Composers
worked degrees of volume with the crescendo and
diminuendo.
• Melody: simple melodies were preferred
• Texture: Homophony was the principal texture but
counterpoint continued in a “natural” way to create tension;
major turning point because polyphony previously dominated
Classical Music Forms
• Standard patterns for composition
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Sonata form
Minuet form
Rondo
Theme and variations Form
Classical Orchestra
• The orchestra became standard during the Classical
era and helped form the foundation of the
symphony orchestra later in time.
• The core of the Classical orchestra continued to be
the violins, violas, and cellos.
• Woodwinds and brass instruments were given
specific and regular parts. The woodwind
instruments that were included were flutes, oboes,
clarinets, and bassoons. The brass instruments were
French horns, and trumpets. The timpani was also
given a regular role in this orchestra.
Public Concerts
• Concerts were not a new idea and in the past they were
conducted in a variety of places
• However, in the Classical era concerts became an
important aspect of music
• In 1748, the 1st hall in Europe specifically for concerts
was built
• The rise of the concert allowed orchestral music to reach
the public and therefore it grew in prestige and
importance.
• Concert series allowed another way for composers to
earn a living, but the main ways for composers to earn
money continued to be the church, the court, and the
opera house.
The Symphony
• Popular in the Classical era because it fit the needs of
society at the time including public concerts
• Symphony movements contrast in tempo and are
composed according to different forms
▫ Opening movement: fast to moderate tempo and sonata
form
▫ Slow movement: slow to very slow tempo without a
standard form
▫ Minuet (and trio): moderate tempo in minuet form
▫ Closing movement: fast to very fast tempo in sonata or
rondo form
• Listen: Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G, first movement
through fourth movement (play beginnings)
Other Classical Genres
• Sonata: In this period, a piece for one to two instruments.
Sonatas were not intended for concerts, but were meant for
private performance by novice musicians.
▫ Listen: Piano Sonata in B-Flat, K. 570 (1787), Mozart (three
movements)
• Concerto: idea from the Baroque era continued to be refined,
virtuosity included, but Classical orchestra was more flexible.
• String Quartet: for four instruments (two violins, one viola,
and one cello) with four movements like the symphony
• Opera Buffa: Comic opera in which singers had to act, sing,
and be funny. The flexibility of the Classical style was a
perfect fit with the comedy of opera buffa. Ensembles are also
a part of opera buffa.
▫ Listen: Don Giovanni (1787), Mozart
Composers
• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): helped develop the
symphony and style for the string quartet but considered
himself a vocal music composer
• Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791): helped develop the style
for the string quartet, solo piano concerto, and
contributed to many genres of his time.
• Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): composer
associated with Vienna and Paris who used classical
ideals to reform opera
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
• Roots in the Classical era, committed to the principles of Classicism
• Three Periods
▫ First period: until 1800 his music was in a Classical style like Haydn and Mozart
▫ Second period: 1800-1818 was a time of “heroic” works like Eroica and his Fifth
Symphony
▫ Third period: 1818-1827 was a time characterized as more abstract and
introspective. He mainly composed intimate genres like piano sonatas and string
quartets. (Period most like Romanticism).
• Student of Haydn
• Mood of excitement and urgency by increasing musical elements
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Higher and lower registers
Stronger syncopations and accents
Dissonances with strong resolutions
Expanded the orchestra and new demands on instruments
Stretched classical forms
References
Kerman, Joseph, and Gary Tomlinson. Listen. 4th
ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
Stolba, K. Marie. The Development of Western
Music. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998.