Vocal Music of the
Early Baroque
Baroque comes from the French word derived from the Portuguese noun “barroco”, perjorative terms
used to describe pearls of irregular shape.
The Baroque is characterized by highly ornamental styles in the arts
Silbermann organ in Freiberg
Carved scroll on a viola da gamba
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), St Peter’s Throne
Baroque art often emphasized contrasts of every kind
Rembrandt (1606-69) , Self-portrait as ‘St Paul’ (1657)
Jan Vermeer (1632-75), ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’
And it also enjoyed its extreme ranges of expression
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), ‘Bacchus’
Caravaggio (1573-1610), ‘Medusa’ (after 1590)
Music of the Early Baroque Period
Monody and Opera
Monody: Any of various types of Italian solo song with instrumental accompaniment that flourished
during the first half of the 17th century.
Example: Giulio Caccini (c. 1550-1618), Vedrò ‘l mio sol, from Le nuove musiche, solo madrigal (Florence,
1602) (NAWM 67)
Recitative (stile recitativo): A style of text setting that imitates and emphasizes the natural inflections,
rhythms, and syntax of speech.
Opera: a drama that is primarily sung, accompanied by instruments, and presented theatrically.
•
Ottavio Rinuccini (1562-1621): Librettist (Libretto)
•
Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) , Dafne (1598)
•
Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini, Euridice (1600)
Example: Jacopo Peri, “Per quel vago boschetto [excerpt]”, Le musiche sopra l’Euridice (1600) (NAWM
68b)
Baroque Theatres and Opera Houses
Many of theatres at noble courts were rather small, intended only for guests of the ruler
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Example: Claudio Monteverdi, “Tu se’ morta” and “Ahi, caso acerbo”, Orfeo, Act II (1607) (NAWM 69d-e)
Printed edition from 1609
Venice by Canaletto (1697-1768)
St. Mark’s Basilica (San Marco)
Giovanni Gabrieli
(c. 1555-1612)
Two interior views of St Mark’s (San Marco) in Venice, where many of Italy’s most famous Baroque
composers trained and worked, including Giovanni Gabrieli and Claudio Monteverdi.
Polychoral music: Music for multiple vocal and/or instrumental choirs.
Cori spezzati: “Broken Choirs”. Technique of placing singers in different parts of a building. The practice
was particularly popular in Venice (A. Willaert, G. Gabrieli) and northern Italy, as well as in Germany (H.
Schütz) and Austria. The term dates back to 16th century and can be seen as late as Bach’s St Matthew
Passion.
Example: Heinrich Schütz, “O lieber Herre Gott”, SWV 415, from Kleine geistliche Konzerte I (Dresden,
1636), small-scale sacred concerto (NAWM 77)
Example: Heinrich Schütz, “Saul, was verfolgst du mich”, SWV 415, from Symphoniae sacrae (Dresden,
1650), large-scale sacred concerto (NAWM 78)
Example: M. Praetorius, “In dulci jubilo”, Polyhymnia caduceatrix, Grand Concerto (Wolfenbüttel, 1619)
Cantata (“a sung piece”): Established by the mid-17th century in Italy as a chamber piece for voice and
continuo on an intimate poetic text having several sections that included recitatives and arias as well as
arioso passages.
Luigi Rossi (1597-1653)
Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674)
Barbara Strozzi (1619-77)
Example: Barbara Strozzi, Lagrime mie, cantata (NAWM 72)