The Baroque Period
1600 to 1750
“Baroque Age” term came from the language of art and it refers to the type of culture of
that period.
Arts: Baroque ( from the Portuguese language meaning “an irregular shaped pearl”) is
characterized by its theatrical, elaborate, and grandiose style.
Two trends:
The rise of England as a world power through her acquisition of colonies and territories
The growth of France as the cultural center of Europe
King Louis XIV
“The Sun King”
(1638 – 1715)
Born on September 5, 1638 to King Louis XIII and Anne of Austria.
Sun King because he was born on Sunday, the day of the sun.
23 years after a childless life
Known as the “Louis-Dieudonne” (Louis-God-given)
Paternal grandparents: Henri IV and Marie de’ Medici
Maternal grandparents: Hagsburgs- Phillip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria
King Louis XIV marked the Baroque period in France. He put an end to the crudeness in his
court life requiring his noblemen to be polished and refined. He demanded that all be
trained in social graces.
Women, who played an important part in his court, were elegantly dressed with elaborate
wigs. The women presided over important social institutions in which music, poetry,
drama, prose and art were cultivated in the grand Italian classical themes, ideas and
methods.
France Cultural Center
King Louis XII gained more power and was able to aid the Protestant centers during the
Thirty Years’ war.
King Louis XIV became absolute ruler with no check on his power.
Classical culture reached its height during the reign of Louis XIV. He encouraged the
development of painting, architecture, music, and literature by giving royal commissions.
France became the center of the arts during his reign.
Baroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to early 18th
century.
Popularity and success of the Baroque style was
encouraged by the Roman Catholic church- Council
of Trent. The Council demanded that the arts should
communicate religious themes in direct and
emotional involvement.
Classical culture reached its height during
the reign of Louis XIV. He encouraged the
development of painting, architecture,
literature and music.
BAROQUE ART
1. Exuberant and dynamic design
2. Age of royal and religious pageantry which affected
art.
3. Theatrical and elaborate but also rich and magnificent.
PAINTINGS
1. Extravagant richness in color and style
2.Characterized by curves, voluminous figures, open space, illusions and
de-emphasis of balanced perspective.
3. Vanishing point in the painting doesn’t appear to
SCULPTURE
1. Extreme concave and convex treatment of marble
2. Elaborate draping effects
3. Made use of richly colored marble
stop – upward feeling.
BAROQUE ARTISTS
Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640)
o Flemish painter
o Used a painterly technique
o Subjects – human conflict, landscapes full of space, light,
and growths of nature.
o Idealized feminine physical beauty
REMBRANDT HARMENSOON VAN RIJN (1606- 1669)
 Dutch etcher and painter
 Carried humanism to a profound degree
 Paintings were coloristic – used limited
in subtle interlocking way.
 Mastery of lighting
 Compared to Beethoven and Shakespeare.
number of colors
GIOVANNI LORENZO BERNINI (1598 – 1680)
 Italian Sculptor and Architect
 Considered most outstanding of the period
 Excessively ornate and dramatic religious statures.
 Sculpture was architectonic ( designed as part of the architecture such as
fountains, facades, and monuments.)
ARCHITECTURE
 Churches – a series of curves and waves which appear irrational because
there were no measurable surfaces or straight lines.
 Space is immeasurable with no beginning or ending.
 Curves appear to go in and out
 Windows were placed in weird places
THEATRE
• Death of Tudor Queen Elizabeth (1603)
•James VI (I of England) of Scotland became King establishing the Stuart line of
rulers.
•Civil War broke out
•Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan leader, gained control
•Charles was beheaded and the rest of the Stuart line fled to France
•Puritans, always against the theatre, closed what they considered “dens of iniquity”
in 1642
•Charles II regained control of England in 1660
known as the Restoration period.
•Elizabethan Theatres had been torn down
•New theatres – inside, aprons, proscenium arch, flats were used, candles and oil
lamps used for lighting, and women were allowed to perform
•Plays for sophisticated aristocracy- foolish comedies.
•Technology of theatre- pulleys and riggings were invented and are used today
•Restoration ended in 1737 when Parliament passed the Licensing Act. It limited
London’s Playhouses to two – Covent Garden and Drury Lane. All the rest were illegal.
•Legitimate theatre - live
MOLIERE – (Jean Baptiste Popuelin 1632 – 1673)
• French comedy writer
•Refined a slap – dash buffoonery type of humor to thoughtful comedy
•Tartuffe
MUSIC
1. Instrumental music broadened from compositions for music mainly for
dance and vocal accompaniment to the writing of instrumental pieces in all
idioms for musical performance.
2. Old church modes were gradually replaced with major and minor modes –
emphasis on tonality.
3. Secular music attracted more attention.
Elements of Music:
1. Melody – Homophonic music replaced polyphony in the beginning. J.
S. Bach brought it back.
2. Harmony – Harmonic system – theory of chords and their use in
accompaniment.
3. Rhythm – Accented rhythm
Secular vocal music
1. Vocal music developed into a true art form.
2. The Baroque opera was performed for the general public requiring paid
admissions (for the first time in history), a custom which was to continue to the
present day.
3. Concerts and operas were also performed for and supported by the nobility and
royalty.
4. Schools of opera composition flourished.
ADVANCEMENTS IN VOCAL MUSIC
1. Arias – solo songs – soloist displayed their virtuosity. More attention and
popularity was accorded the soloist than the other performers.
2. The opera composers took cognizance of the quality of pleasant tone and stressed
the vocal expression of the emotional content of the story along with tuneful
melodies.
SACRED VOCAL MUSIC
1. Instrumental music assumed a more prominent role in the church service.
2. Popular forms of church music:
Oratorio - sacred composition for soloists, chorus and orchestra – the religious
counterpart of opera. Highest state of development in the music of George Frederick
Handel at the end of the period.
Cantata – similar to the oratorio, much shorter and less elaborate. Several movements
including arias, recitatives, duets and choruses.
Secular and church (Lutheran Chorale became very popular during this period.) J.S.
Bach composed Cantatas for the Protestant Church.
MUSICAL INVENTIONS
1. Pianoforte (Piano) – improved hammer mechanism – invented in 1711 by
Bartolommeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy. Harpsichord achieved its highest state of
popularity during this period.
2. Violin – designed in 1600 by Gaspar da Salo from Brescia, Italy. Violin makers are
Niccolo Amati, Antonio Stradivari, and Giuseppi Guarneri.
3. Organ – most important keyboard solo instrument during this period.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC AND MUSIC FORMS
Instrumentation – expanded – flutes, oboes, bassoons, strings, keyboard and sometimes
brass instruments.
Virtuoso performers – Violin, harpsichord, organ
Chamber music – compositions written for small ensembles with one instrument for
each part.
Solo Sonata – instrumental soloist with accompaniment
Trio Sonata – Two violins and keyboard accompaniment or two violins, viola da
gamba, and harpsichord
Chamber Sonata – (Sonata da camera)
A suite composed for small ensembles. One type of trio sonata
Sonata da Chiesa – (Church sonata) – A variation of the trio sonata. It was a
composition for a chamber group made up of four movements (slow, fast, slow,
fast)
BAROQUE SUITE
Three movements with various dances
1. Allemande – 1st movement – moderate –German
2. Courante – 2nd movement – moderate –French/It.
3. Sarabande – 3rd movement – slow - Oriental
OTHER DANCE FORMS
Minuet, Gavotte, Bourree, Pavan, Galliard, and Gigue
INSTRUMENTAL CONTRAPUNTAL FORM
Fugue – instrumental and vocal – highly developed contrapuntal
composition based on one or more themes which are imitated by the several
parts.
KAYBOARD MUSIC FORMS
Invention – a short contrapuntal piece written in two or three parts
Toccata – An improvisatory keyboard piece with elaborate ornamentation.
Prelude – A short piece in free form, originally an introductory piece; sometimes
used as a keyboard exercise piece.
Johann Sebastian Bach ( 1685 – 1750)
George Fredrick Handel (1685 – 1759)