Baroque Music

1600-1750

“Baroque”

• Negative term for music of this time period– “Misshapen Pearl”

• Used to describe the heavy ornamentation of the period– Ornament-musical embellishment, small musical

gestures– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daWPIJQL3yI

Florentine Camerata

• Group of rich humanists discuss what matters in the musical world– Like critics shaping what music is “good”

• Going back to Ancient Greek values and the musical drama– Monody makes a comeback-voice sung over a

string instrument like kithara or lute

First Opera

• Dafne by Jacopo Peri• First Complete surviving opera L’Euridice also

by Peri– Based off of Greek character Orfeo– Orfeo goes to Hell using music to get his dead wife

back to the living world– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ5Sheod6Wc

Tonality

• Music based off of scales as we know them today– Development of harmony like today– http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=R0WmBbxP0ZE

Louis XIV

• Age of centralized court• Louis is all-powerful King of France– Louis loves to dance; Versailles– Louis wants biggest, most extravagant production– Leads to highly paid composer with greatly

embellished music in France

Jean-Baptiste Lully

• Personal composer to Louis XIV– Publishes only for Louis’s court

• Creates the French opera including the French dance break at the end of a scene

• Armide, French opera• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=7uE230evv3w

Arcangelo Corelli

• Italian violinist that “invented” proper technique and mastery of violin

• Publishes music publicly, released from his court (All instrumental)

• New genre-concerto grosso– Alternation between small group and full orchetra– http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=BVM9MpCu_Jc

Henry Purcell

• English composer– Over 800 works of varying genres– Marches to vocal works– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Vkq5xKkHQ– http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=m1ACQpPx8SM

Antonio Vivaldi

• Forms-large scale structure to a piece of music• Vivaldi has his own full-time orchestra and

using solidified forms to produce many works– Different melodies following same formula– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGdFHJXciAQ– Vivaldi’s music creates first wave of “shredders”

Domenico Scarlatti

• Spain’s contribution at this time is a virtuoso keyboradist

• Keyboard sonatas written and performed for his court

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjghYFgt8Zk

• Piano shredding

Johann Sebastian Bach

• A pretty big deal in the historical world• Takes harmony and form to the extreme• Begins in liturgical world• Organ music– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F51uHpH3yQk

• Oratorio– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFnW_CrPUlA

More Bach

• Writes for every instrument of his time and full orchestra

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnJ1Rk93_g

• Brandenburg court gets stingy• JS Bach is not very popular in his time– “Bach Revival” paints Bach as master of music

Instruments

• Strings:– Violin– Viola– Cello– Bass

Woodwinds

• Double reed (Oboe, Bassoon)

Brass

• Serpent• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=NWez9hhitXQ

Moving to the Classical era

• “Classical” music describes just one era of music in the context of history (following 1750)

• Bach becomes the foundation for study of all things music – harmony, composition, technique on different instruments