7th Grade - Baroque Era Study Guide
1600- 1750
A. Music Developments:
Oratorio – A large scale production with a biblical subject, but no scenery or
costumes
Opera - Dramatic story, grand sets and costumes, with orchestra and large
scale singing.
Cantata – Sacred or Secular, smaller work with a soloist a small chorus.
Passion – The story of Easter.
Dramatic music was first written in Italy, and then spread throughout
Europe. The first public opera was held in 1637 in Venice, Italy.
B. Instruments of the time: Harpsichord, strings (violin, cello, organ in the
church)
C. Composers:
a. Johann Sebastian Bach: Born in 1685, the same year that Handel was born.
i. Father of 20 children, Bach taught at a private school so that his
children could be educated. Many became musicians.
ii. He received his earliest musical training from his father, who was
a musician.
iii. Bach composed all types of music forms except Opera.
iv. Composers Bach and Handel were both blind at the end of their
lives.
v. Bach’s last job was in the city of Leipzig, where he wrote music
for 2 churches.
vi. Bach’s death in 1750 marked the end of the Baroque Era.
b. George Frederic Handel
i. Born in 1685, same year as Bach, in Halle Germany.
ii. His first music teacher was Freiderich Zachow.
iii. Handel was known as the greatest composer of oratorios during
the Baroque period, even though his dad wanted him to be a
lawyer.
iv. Handel was employed by the Elector of Hanover, who later
became King George I of England. Handel moved there with him,
and became a British citizen.
v. Handel is best known for composing The Messiah
vi. He is buried in Westminster Abbey in England. (So is Purcell).
c. Antonio Vivaldi
i. He was the son of the leading violinist at St. Mark’s Cathedral.
ii. Nicknamed the “Red Priest” for his red hair. He was ordained a
priest in 1703 but only served the church in a musical capacity.
iii. Vivaldi worked for 25 years as the orchestral conductor at St.
Marks Cathedral, where his father had played violin.
iv. His concertos, cantatas and operas were well known throughout
Europe.
v. His wrote over 500 concertos and his most famous work is “The
Four Seasons”.
d. Other composers and their works:
i. Charpentier – Messe de Minuit pour Noel (choral composition)
ii. Monteverdi - Euridice (Opera)
iii. Purcell -
Dido and Aeneas (an opera for a girls’ boarding school)
iv. Vivaldi -
The Four Seasons (concerto suite)
e. Where was I born?
i. Jean Baptiste Lully –
Italy
ii. Michael Praetorius -
Germany
iii. Henry Purcell -
England
iv. Dietrich Buxtehude -
Denmark
v. Allessandro Scarlatti -
Italy
vi. J.S. Bach
Germany
vii. Claude Monteverdi
Italy
viii. Marc–Antoine Charpentier France