MUSIC HISTORY

THE BAROQUE ERA

MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE

DATES:

1600AD to 1750AD

BAROQUE TIMELINE

THE BAROQUE ERA

Judith Leyster, The Flute Player

• The Baroque Era (1600–1750) was a time characterized by absolute monarchy in which all art and culture served the ruler

• Bloody religious wars (Protestants vs. Catholics)

• Exploration and colonization of the New World (Mayflower, 1620)

• Both extreme poverty and extreme luxury could be found

• Love of the dramatic

THE BAROQUE ERA An Age of Discovery

• Sir Isaac Newton formulated the theory of gravity

• William Harvey explained the circulation of the blood

• Galileo and Copernicus – advances in physics and astronomy

THE BAROQUE ERA Major Musical Accomplishments

• Monody – solo song with instrumental accompaniment

• Figured Bass – shorthand notation system allowing musician to improvise the chords

• Major-Minor system established

• Equal Temperament Tuning Established

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

Florentine Camerata:

Group of artists, writers, and musicians who helped to develop the monodic style

Monody: New style featuring single melody with instrumental accompaniment – a shift away from the Polyphony of the Renaissance

Young Woman at a Virgina, Jan Vermeer

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

• The Camerata realized that the monodic style could be applied to an entire drama

• Thus began the OPERA – the single greatest achievement of Baroque Music!

The OPERA

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

• Figured bass – composer put a numeral above or below the bass note to indicate the required chord

• This system was known as Basso Continuo - performance group often consisted of two instrumentalists—one playing a melodic bass instrument, such as a cello or bassoon, and another playing a chordal instrument, such as a keyboard.

Musical Example: C.P.E. Bach, Trio Sonata in G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrqJG5Alcag

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

Major-Minor System Established

• The shift to a simpler style based on a single melody and less complex harmony led to the development of one of the most significant changes in all of music history: the establishment of the Major-Minor Tonality

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

• Equal temperament – tuning system established during Baroque that allowed instruments to perform in any key - still used today

• Based on the division of the octave into twelve equal half steps

• Bach wanted to prove he could write in every one of the keys and wrote his Well-Tempered Clavier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezZdbzreNcs

The Baroque Era Musical Key Points

• In the early Baroque era, the practice of word painting continued. Music was expected to arouse the emotions or ‘affections’ such as joy, anger, love or fear

• In the height of the Baroque era, the doctrine of the affections was applied – that a movement should aim at only one emotion; and to attempt more would risk causing confusion and disorder in the listener.

Handel: Sampson, “Let the Bright Seraphim” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz

lZ122DirA

The Baroque Era The Rise of the Virtuoso Musician

• Technical improvements in instrument making led to the rise in the level of virtuosic playing

• Composers began challenging the performers

– Domenico Scarlatti

– Antonio Vivaldi

Scarlatti: Sonata in E, “Capriccio”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qaC

wJ1YGns

Vivaldi: Concerto for Piccolo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ycH2nEqNY

Antonio Vivaldi

The Baroque Era Exoticism

• Age of exploration of the globe introduced

the public to different elements of remote

cultures that were previously unknown

• Thus exoticism- a musical style in which

rhythms, melodies, or instruments evoke

the atmosphere of far off lands, also

became a presence in the Baroque era.

• Operas were set in faraway lands and

contained scenes, costumes and dances

which appealed to the imagination of the

audience

• Music flowed across national boundaries

The Baroque Era THE OPERA

An Opera is a large-scale musical drama combining:

• Poetry

• Acting

• Scenery

• Costumes

• Singing

• Instrumental music Meredith Hall as Poppea in the opera

The Coronation of Poppea

The most important new musical genre of the Baroque Era

The Baroque Era THE OPERA

Mozart: Don Giovanni, “Chi è la?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

UEXZeoYKoL0

Handel: Messiah, “O thou that tellest”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5

CjGtVY_cAQ

• Plot and action are moved forward through recitative— a vocal technique that resembles the natural patterns of speech. The words in a recitative are often sung on the same pitch, and may include rapid question-and-answer dialogue between characters.

• An aria (Italian for “air”) is a song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, often of an emotional nature. Often in A-B-A form with a beginning, high point, and end

The Baroque Era THE OPERA

The Role Of The Opera In Baroque Culture:

• Royal Weddings

• Ceremonial Occasions

• Scenic Displays

• Lavish Spectacles

• English singer, organist, and composer

• Sacred and secular music

• Most famous stage work: Dido and Aeneas

The Baroque Era Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)

The Baroque Era Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas

The Death of Dido, Giovanni Barbieri

• Written in 1689 for a girls boarding school where Purcell taught

• Based on an ancient Roman epic that traces the adventures of the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy

• In summary: Aeneas is shipwrecked at Carthage on the northern shore of Africa. He and the young Carthaginian queen, Dido, fall in love. Aeneas receives a message that he must continue on his journey to found Rome, and so he decides that he must leave. In Dido’s grief, she decides that her fate is death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivlUMWUJ-1w

Dido’s Lament (Aria):

The Baroque Era The Cantata

• Cantata (Italian “to sing”) - a

mulitmovement work consisting of arias, recitatives and choruses; with orchestral accompaniment.

• Both Sacred and Secular

• Based on lyric, dramatic, or narrative poetry

• A staple of the Lutheran church service

The Baroque Era Johann Sebastian Bach

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), German composer, organist, educator

• Culminating figure of the Baroque style and a giant in history of music

• Career in northern Germany

• Born into a musical family

• Known as an organist and composer

• Devout Lutheran

• Employed by both secular and church patrons throughout his career

The Baroque Era Johann Sebastian Bach

An evening outdoor concert in 1744

by the collegium musicum of Jena, Germany

Bach directed this group for 27 years

• At the age of thirty-eight, Bach was appointed to one of the most important music positions in Germany—cantor at St. Thomas’s Church

• In 1729, Bach was appointed to an additional post in Leipzig: director of the collegium musicum—a group of university students and musicians that gave regular concerts

The Baroque Era Johann Sebastian Bach

Dictionary, J.G. Walther

Bach Wrote:

• Sacred Vocal Music (200 church cantatas, 4 Passions, Mass in B minor)

• Orchestral Music (4 Suites)

• Concertos (Brandenburg Concertos)

• Solo Sonatas and Keyboard Music (Well-Tempered Clavier, The Art of Fugue, Toccata and Fugue in D minor)

The Well-Tempered Clavier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXMVkQ70I88

Instrumental Music:

Orchestral suites:

Bach: Flute Sonata No. 2, “Siciliano” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nKoTMl6GpI

Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrIQbadXX74

Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2, “Badinerie” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyMtlvOcojU

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, III - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CexJQ8VWJfY

Sonatas:

Concertos:

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnuq9PXbywA

Keyboard Music:

Cantatas:

Cantata No. 140, Sleepers Awake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__lCZeePG48

Examples of Bach’s Music: Bach Top Ten:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jla7x8JLXTw

The Baroque Era The Oratorio

Performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1784

• Oratorio – a large scale musical work for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra based on a religious or serious text and often performed in a church

• Performed without scenery, costumes, or action

• Action was depicted by a narrator

• George Frideric Handel was a master of this vocal form

The Baroque Era George Frideric Handel

(1685 – 1759)

• Born in Germany, but spent the bulk of his career in London

• Baroque composer famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos

• In 1720, he founded the Royal Academy of Music for the purpose of presenting Italian opera

• Wrote The Messiah, his most famous oratorio in 1742

The Baroque Era George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Handel Wrote: • Over 40 Italian Operas including:

Rinaldo and Julius Caesar

• English Oratorios including: The Messiah, Judas Maccabeus, and Israel in Egypt

• Orchestral Suites including: Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music

• Keyboard and chamber music

• Vocal music

Examples of Handel’s Music:

• Opera: Rinaldo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73__I-0J3j0

• Oratorio: The Messiah – Rejoice Greatly O Daughter of Zion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5qSDOwh1qk Hallelujah Chorus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c

Music for the Royal Fireworks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqJ8mED1VE

The Baroque Era The Rise of Instrumental Music

Pietro Domenico Oliviero, Detail of orchestra for 1740 concert

• During the Baroque era, instrumental music became as important as

vocal music for the first time in history

• Great virtuosos such as Bach on the organ or Vivaldi on the violin

raised the technique of playing to new heights.

The Baroque Era The Rise of Instrumental Music

• Instrument designs were improved

• Finest violins in history came from shops of:

– Stradivarius

– Guarneri

– Amati

• Many of these violins are still in circulation and are currently worth millions of dollars

A Concert, Leonello Spada

Suite: Collection of dance-related movements

• Allemande – German dance in duple meter

• Courante – French dance in triple meter

• Sarabande – Spanish dance in triple meter

• Gigue (jig) – English dance in compound meter

• Other optional dances: minuet, gavotte, bourrée, passepied

• Repeated sections ornamented second time

The Baroque Era

The Baroque Suite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZWDrjLO7r4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFM3RHt128o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLTTgv5FUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_lthPnJ59E

The Baroque Concerto

A Concerto is an instrumental genre in several movements for solo instrument (or instrumental group) and orchestra

Two Types of Concertos:

The Baroque Concerto

1. The solo concerto, which sets one instrument against the orchestra

2. The concerto grosso ,which

features a small group of soloists

set against orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th-

9Xbzg7M4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiAioQKr

b0c

The Baroque Concerto Antonio Vivaldi and the Solo Concerto

“Above all, he was

possessed by music.”

—Marc Pincherle

• Vivaldi (1678 – 1741)

• One of the most prolific composers of the Baroque Era

• Extreme virtuoso on the violin

• Became known as “the red priest,” which was a reference to his hair color

• For most of his career, he was the music master at the Conservatorio del’Ospedale della Pietà, which was a school for orphaned girls

• His output included more than 500 concertos as well as chamber music, operas, cantatas, an oratorio, and an extended setting of the Gloria

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

• Vivaldi’s best-known piece of music is Spring from The Four Seasons

• The Four Seasons is a group of four violin concertos

• Each concerto is accompanied by a poem describing items associated with that particular season

• Word painting is prevalent in this instrumental work, as the music depicts specific lines of the poem (programatic music)

• Vivaldi: Spring, from The Four Seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKthRw4KjEg

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685 – 1750)

• German composer and organist

• The greatest of the Baroque composers

• During his lifetime he was better known as an organist than as a composer

Bach Violin Concertos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDyDHvZKl8g

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Arcangelo Corelli

(1653 – 1713)

• Italian late baroque composer

• Has been called:- "Father of the Concerto Grosso" - "Founder of Modern Violin Technique" - "The World's Greatest Violinist"

Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto in D Major Op. 6 No. 4,

complete -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3smZkpqXYHs

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

George Frideric Handel

(1685 – 1759)

• Born in Germany the same year and region as Bach

• He later moved to England, his adopted country

• He is best known for his grand oratorio 'Messiah', his Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks

Hallelujah - Choir of King's College, Cambridge live

performance of Handel's Messiah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3TUWU_yg4s

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Jean-Baptiste Lully

(1632-1687)

• Italian born French composer

• He was the musical director of the court of Louis XIV, "The Sun King“

• Cause of death - He stabbed his toe with his conducting cane, it developed gangrene and he refused to have it amputated

Jean-Baptiste Lully – March for the Turkish Ceremony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-pSRs6DLOk

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Johann Pachelbel

(1653 – 1706)

• German composer, teacher and organist

• Best known for his Canon in D

Canon in D, Classic Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXC9tuumjiA

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Antonio Vivaldi

(1678 – 1741)

• Known as 'The Red Priest'

• Italian composer, violinist, teacher, priest

• His Four Seasons is the most played piece of classical music in the world

• Extreme virtuoso

Vivaldi - Complete Cello Concertos (Ofra Harnoy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHdjiLGNzMo

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Henry Purcell

(1659 – 1695)

• Within a lifetime of only thirty-five years, Purcell achieved musical greatness by being considered one of England’s greatest composers and the most original composer of his time

• Talented in word-setting and composed very successful works for stage

Purcell: Sound the trumpet - Come, ye sons of art, away -

Philippe Jaroussky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQxTkTw4cCY

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Georg Philipp Telemann

(1681 – 1767)

• A good friend of both Bach and Handel, George Philipp Telemann was also a distinguished musician and composer of his time

• Incorporated unusual instrumentation in his concertos which is one of the things that made him unique

Telemann Viola Concerto in G major

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMpzPMkrALM

IMPORTANT BAROQUE COMPOSERS

Domenico Scarlatti

(1685 – 1757)

• Wrote 555 known harpsichord sonatas, of which, over half was written in the last six years of his life

• Scarlatti made use of Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish dance rhythms throughout many of his works

D. Scarlatti Sonata in B Minor, K27 L 449

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQqigQBoyk