THE BAROQUE PERIOD OF
MUSIC
1600-1750
BACH, HANDEL,
VIVALDI
CHARACTERISTICS
WHERE: EUROPE
 WHAT INSTRUMENTS WERE
POPULAR: STRINGS INSTRUMENTS,
ORGAN, HARPSICHORD
 DESCRIBE THE MUSIC: OPERA,
FUGUE, LOTS OF RUNS AND TRILLS,
VERY ORNAMENTED
 DYNAMICS: LAYERED

Bach and the Fugue
Who was Bach?
What is a fugue?
Why should I care?
Johann Sebastian
Bach was a famous
composer who lived
during the Baroque
period. This period
was between 1600 and
1750. If you do your
math, that period
began over 400 years
ago!
Here is what Bach’s
music looked like.
Pretty confusing, huh?
Listen to Bach’s
Jesu, Joy of Man’s
Desiring.
Bach wrote music that is
still played today, over
250 years after his death.
His music must be pretty
good for people to still
want to hear it after such
a long time. He wrote so
much music that it fills
over 20 volumes!
Now that we know a little bit
about Bach, let’s look at
what a fugue is. A fugue is a
musical form that Bach used
a lot. In fact, he was so good
at writing fugues that no one
has ever done it better.
A fugue is like a game of
Follow the Leader. You know
how to play that game, don’t
you? Your job is to follow
whoever is in front of you.
That’s kind of like what a
fugue does.
A fugue is also like a round. Have
you ever sung,
Row, Row, Row Your Boat?
One person starts the song, then
others come in, singing the same
tune, but not together. That’s
what a fugue is like.
This is what a fugue would look like if it were a
picture. Do you see how the themes follow each
other, coming in on higher and lower pitches?
5th time
3rd time
2nd time
The theme enters
4th time
Fugues are much more
complicated than simple rounds.
Each part of a fugue continues to
play new material while other
voices enter. The best way to
demonstrate this is to have you
listen to the five parts one more
time before you hear them all
joined together.
Viola
Bach starts his
fugue with a
simple theme
on the viola.
Second
Violin
Bach brings in the
second violin. It
plays the same
theme, but higher.
Here is the
theme
played for
the third
time on the
first violins,
even higher.
First
Violin
The cellos and
string basses
take the theme
way down low.
How many times
has the theme
been played so
far?
Cello
String Bass
Flute
Bach brings in
the theme way
up high in the
flutes. How
many times have
you heard it?
If you guessed the
theme played five
times, you’re right!
Can you name the
instruments you just
heard?
The instruments were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Viola
Second Violin
First Violin
Cello
String Bass
Flute
Of course there are
more instruments in an
orchestra than those we
just heard. In the piece
you are about to hear
there is an important
instrument called a
harpsichord. This was
one of the most
important instruments
of Bach’s day.
Here is what a symphony orchestra look like.
Can you find the instruments in this picture?
Johann Sebastian Bach
1685-1750
In the next slide you
will hear the
Brandenburg
Concerto in G Major.
It was written by
Bach. Try to hear the
themes as they make
their entrance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Listen for the
themes as they
make their
entrance.
Wow! That was quite a piece, but I
got lost! That’s the fun of Bach’s
tunes. Once you know a little bit
about how he builds his music, you
can sit back and enjoy the great
sounds.
You did a great job!
Congratulations!
You Are Now Ready To Take
Your Test
Go to FunBrain.com.
Select Student and Parents Login here.
Select Single class login.
Enter your Classword and Password and
click Logon.
Select Current Assignment.
Choose your test from the list.
Online Bibliography
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Baroque. [Online] Available
http://www.empire.k12.ca.us/capistrano/Mike/cap
music/baroque/baroque.htm, July 24, 2001.
Classical Archives (c) 2001 Classical Archives,
LLC. [Online] Available
http://www.classicalarchives.com/, July 24, 2001.
JS Bach. [Online] Available
http://www.empire.k12.ca.us/capistrano/Mike/cap
music/bach/bach.htm, July 24, 2001.
Pictures of Johann Sebastian Bach. [Online]
Available
http://home.uchicago.edu/~mao2/picts.html, July
24, 2001.