Baroque Period
1600-1750
• Common Practice Period 1600-1900
• Baroque (1600-1750) – birth of
opera. Very dramatic period. Extreme
contrasts. [romantic]
6 Features of Baroque Music
• 1. terraced dynamics – dynamics change
suddenly
• 2. unity of mood – a movement will stay in
one mood only
• 3. continuous melody – the melody continues
to unfold and keep going. Hard to find a
cadence (resting place)
• 4. continuous and driving rhythm – a rhythm
pattern is usually repeated throughout, and
builds momentum
6 Features of Baroque Music
• 5. chords and the basso continuo – strong
bass line played by two players
(harpsichord/organ and cello). Chord
progression, a set of tones that all belong to
the same key
• 6. polyphonic texture – more than one
melody is usually going on at the same time
Vocal Music
• Cant- or Chant- having to do with
singing
2 Types of Singing
• Aria - the singing style in operatic works that
is a "song". Action stops and characters
reflect on emotion that has just occurred.
• Recitative - the singing style in operatic works
that is the dialog/action. This type of singing
is not usually very tuneful.
Opera
• A large-scale, multi-movement work for
vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. It
is secular (not religious), acted out on
stage with scenery and costumes,
performed in a theater, and sung in
Italian. G.F. Handel started his very
successful career writing operas.
Cantata
• A small-scale, multi-movement work for
vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. It
is sacred (religious), NOT acted out on
stage with NO scenery and costumes,
performed in a church during a service,
and sung in German. J.S. Bach wrote
many of these types of works.
Oratorio
• A large-scale, multi-movement work for vocal
soloists, chorus, and orchestra. It is sacred
(religious), NOT acted out on stage with NO
scenery and costumes, performed in a
theater, and sung in English. Handel began to
compose this type of work when the London
theatres were closed during Lent. Messiah is
an example of an oratorio.
• Libretto - the words of an opera exactly
as they are set to music. The libretto is
NOT a plot summary, but the lyrics of
the opera (like a script to a play or
movie). Literally, it means "Little book".