Baroque Period
Baroque Period
• 1600-1750
• Big Composers :George Frideric Handel &
Johann Sesbastian Bach
• Other Composers: Claudio Monteverdi, Henry
Purcell, Arcangelo Corelli and Antionio Vivaldi
• Most music forgotten until 20th
century:baroque revival in 1940s
Baroque Period
• Three Phases: early(1600-1640),middle (16401680),late (1680-1750)
• Music know today mostly comes from late baroque
• Monteverdi (1547-1643) early baroque composer
created passion and dramatic contrast in music; laid
the foundation for beginning of opera;emphasis on
drama and text;melodic lines imitated the rhythm
and inflection of speech
Early Baroque
• Composers favored homophonic texture (choral
style); believe words projected more clearly by using
one melody with chordal accompaniment
• Late baroque; return to polyphonic texture
• Used dissonace with new freedoms: lots of unstable
chords
• Contrast of sounds stressed:solo singer vs.
chorus;voices vs. instruments
• Melodic lines composed for instruments; no ins.
Copying vocal parts
Middle Baroque (1640-1680)
• Music spread from Italy to all over Europe
• Church modes gave way to major and minor
scales;by 1680, basis for composition
• Rise of instrumental music;music written for
specific instruments;string family most
popular
Late Baroque (1680-1750)
• Most of baroque music heard today
• Harmony: Dominant to tonic relationship, V-I
(modern harmony)
• Instrumental music just as important as vocal
music
• Lots of polyphony
• Focus on Late baroque
Characteristics of Baroque Music
• Unity of Mood: stays in one context; happy,
sad;moods called affections; composers wrote
music to describe affections; mostly in vocal
music
• Rhythm; rhythmic patterns heard at beginning
played throughout music; beat emphasized
greatly
Characteristic: Melody
• Opening melody heard over and over; even
when varied, style of melody remains
constant;continuous development and
unfolding of melody
• Melodic sequences constant;baroque
melodies sound ornamented; not easy to sing
or remember, lots of notes after short melodic
introduction
Characteristic: Dynamics
• Constant dynamic level within section
• Dynamic level shift suddenly: Terraced
dynamics; sometimes subtle changes
(expressive purposes)
• Gradual changes (crescendo,decrescendo)
happen, but not as prominent as terraced
dynamics
Characteristic: Texture
• Mostly polyphonic:two or more musical lines
that were interesting
• Imitation common; ideas in one line occurred
in another
• Some composers did things different
• Bach: consistent polyphony; Handel: contrast
between polyphonic and homophonic
sections
Chords/Basso Continuo
• Chords became more important; earlier focus
was melodic line.
• Composers began to think of chords to match
the melody; sometimes wrote melody to fit
harmonic structure
• Interest in chords brought prominence to
bass; harmony centered around bass
Basso Continuo
• Accompaniment composed of bass part with
numbers above to indicate which chords where
played above bass; AKA “figured bass"; most
characteristic aspect of baroque music
• Continuo played by at least two instruments:
organ/harpsichord and low instrument
• Left hand bass part (low instrument);right hand,
melodic line or chords
• Numbers specified only specified basic chord; not
how chords are played. Allowed for great freedom by
keyboardists. Similar to jazz/pop lead sheets
Figured Bass
• Advantages: emphasis of bass, use of numbers
saved time for baroque composers
• Saved paper at a time when paper was
expensive
Words and Music
• Very similar to renaissance music, add
chromatic notes.
Baroque Orchestra
• Based on the string family of instruments
• Small by today's standards
• Basic orchestra: basso continuo and upper strings;
use of other strings was based on the piece:
recorders, flutes ,oboes, trumpets, horns,
trombones, etc…
• Trumpets and timpani added for festive music.
• Later orchestra has four sections
Baroque orchestra
• Baroque trumpet has no valves, but given high
melodic lines; associated with royalty
• Treated like the aristocrat; in war, if captured was
treated like a military officer
• Composers would experiment; tone color
subordinate to melody, rhythm and harmony;
arrange own works for different instruments, keeping
the same qualities. Instruments would interchange
parts or imitate each other.