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aroque
Music
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What is Baroque
Music?
Baroque music isusually defined as
music from a particular
era in European
history: approximatelyfrom 1600 to around
1750.
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What is Baroque
Music?
Mood: Affectations (to
impress the mind or movethe feelings of human
emotions, emotional
response). The philosophy
of the era is that it
represents the affections ofreal life and in doing so,
excites the listeners
emotions. Music must move
the listener.
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Characteristics of Baroque Music
1. Unity of Mood Composers of Baroque
music generally wrote material that suited a
certain mood, and that mood dominated theentire piece. If a piece started out happy, it
would continue to be happy till the end; if a
piece started out sad, it would continue to be
sad throughout. Sometimes, if the mood didchange, it was usually drastic, and the
prevailing mood would last a long time before
the mood switched.
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Characteristics(cont.
)
2. Prominent Rhythm This was the vehicle
through which the unity of mood that Baroque
composers strove for was conveyed. Therhythmic pattern at the start of a piece was
usually reiterated at given points throughout the
piece of music. The beat constantly drove the
piece forward, rarely letting up. Also, comparedto later Classical and Romantic pieces, the beat
was far more distinct in Baroque music.
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3. Continued and Ornamented Melody In order
to create that unity of mood the Baroque
composers strove for, the melody of Baroquemusic was intended to create a feeling of
continuity. An opening melody will be heard over
and over again in a piece, though with several
variations. Baroque melodies are also well-
known for being highly-ornamented, complex,
and elaborate, even by contemporary
standards.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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4. Terraced Dynamics Since the Baroque
composers favored a continuity of mood, mood
shifts within a musical piece did not occurfrequently. If they did, the initial prevailing mood
would stay for some time, before shifting to
another one. Usually, this shift is sudden, like
taking a physical step. Like melodicornamentation, terraced dynamics is considered
one of the key characteristics of Baroque music.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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5. Polyphonic Texture Baroque music,
especially in the later period, was
predominantly polyphonic in texture,meaning that there were usually two or more
melodic lines competing for the listeners
attention. A melodic line that happens in onevoice will usually happen in other voices as
well, resulting in a very rich and varied
texture. This, of course, was not strictly
followed by all composers.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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6. Basso Continuo and Figure Bass This is
not something one would hear in a piece,
but has mostly to do with musical notation:
these are little numbers at the bottom of a
stave, and indicate the chords that the basso
continuo must play. Usually the bassocontinuo in any piece is played by the cello
and harpsichord.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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7. Virtuoso Performances Given the technical
difficulty of many Baroque compositions, it was
no surprise that only talented performers could
play or sing them, and as a result, virtuoso, or
extremely talented, performers and
performances became one of the key features
of Baroque music. Even today, many Baroquepieces are so difficult that to play them is an
accomplishment for the performer.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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8. Improvisation Despite the existence of written
scores, and the prevalence of their use, the
Baroque period also encouraged improvisation of
the material. More often than not, performers would
change certain sections of a piece to suit their mood
or the mood of an audience. It is not known what
the composers themselves thought of such
improvisation, but given the prevalence of the
practice they might not have considered it an
offense to their work.
Characteristics(cont.
)
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GENRES OFBAROQUE
MUSIC
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Genres of Baroque Music
Opera Developed in the late Renaissance, the
opera as a genre flourished immensely during the
Baroque period, with many renowned composerscreating their own operas.
Oratorio While similar to opera in that it involves
an orchestra and vocalists, the oratorio wasstrictly for concert performances only, and was
not staged in the same way that an opera was
though some oratorios were staged as well.
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Religious music The Mass and motet, which werevery popular during the Renaissance, lost some oftheir popularity during the Baroque period. In themeantime, the cantata was immensely popular with
Bach, and amongst composers with Protestantinclinations.
Instrumental music and dance suites Compared tothe emphasis on religious music in periods past,secular music swiftly rose in popularity, with manycomposers creating pieces to be danced, or simplyfor the pleasure and/or instruction of the playerand/or listeners.
Genres...
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Concerto Defined as a three-part solo work withone solo instrument accompanied by anorchestra, it became one of the most popular
instrumental pieces during the Baroque; in fact,what is understood today as a concerto wasdeveloped during the Baroque period.
Keyboard works Almost every wealthy homehad a harpsichord or some sort of keyboardinstrument, and as a result many compositionswere written to be played on or accompanied by a
keyboard.
Genres...
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FAMOUS BAROQUE COMPOSERS
us c was e ma n source o vers on n e
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us c was e ma n source o vers on n ecourts of the aristocracy
Music director supervised performances and
composed most of the required music including
operas, church music, dinner music, and piecesfor court concertsand the upkeep of the
instruments.
Good & bad features: Pay and prestige were
highand anything the composer wrote would beperformedbut no matter how great the
composer washe was still a servant who
could neither quit or take a trip without the
patrons permission.
Musicians had to curry favor with the
aristocracylike everyone else in society.
The art was handed down from father to son and
they had to pass a difficult examination, perform,
and submit compositions as an audition for a
Backgroun
d
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Antonio Vivaldi Nicknamed
The Red Priest, he was a
Venetian priest, and Baroquecomposer. He was also famous
for being a virtuoso violinist. His
most famous composition, The
Four Seasons(a series for fourviolin concerti) is consideredone of the most challenging
violin pieces to perform.
Famous Baroque Composers and their
Works
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Famous...The Four Seasons Vivaldis The
Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni
in Italian) is actually a set of four
violin concerti, each written around
four sonnets, corresponding to the
four seasons of the year. While the
entire set is considered one of the
most popular and most enduring
examples of Baroque music (not to
mention one of the most
challenging to perform), certain
movements have also been
frequently referenced in popularculture, such as the first Allegro
movement ofSpring, and the third
Presto movement ofSummer.
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Johann Sebastian Bach He was
a German composer and organist
whose works are said to have
brought Baroque music to its full
maturity. His style makes frequent
use of the contrapuntal technique,
thus creating a rich, robust sound
that tends to be unique to hiscompositions, though he was
considered old-fashioned even
by his contemporaries at the time.
He is most famous for his organ
and sacred music, being anorganist himself, but he also
composed vocal, instrumental,
and secular pieces as well.
Famous...
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Toccata and Fugue in D MinorThis is a piece of organ music
composed by Johann Sebastian
Bach, and is easily one of the
most recognizable pieces of
classical music ever. Its popular
culture associations are mostly
linked to Halloween and horror
movies, due to the eerie,
thunderous feel of the piece.
Although it is traditionally meant to
be played on organ, many other
arrangements have allowed this
piece to be played on, not only
keyboard instruments, but
stringed and wind instruments as
well.
Famous...
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Brandenburg Concertos
These are a collection of six
instrumental works composedand presented by Bach to
Christian Ludwig, Margrave of
Brandenburg-Schwedt. These
six instrumental pieces are
widely considered to be thesome of the finest Bach ever
produced, and among the best
Baroque compositions ever.
The third concerto in the set isalso an easily recognizable
piece, even by those who are
not entirely familiar with
classical music.
Famous...
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George Frideric Handel
Another German
composer, his name and
Bachs are the two mostassociated with the
Baroque period, since it is
their compositions that
have defined Baroquemusic as it is understood
today. Whereas Bach was
most known for organ
music, Handel was mostknown for his vocal and
large-scale music, such as
his operas, oratorios, and
concerto grossi (concertiwith more than one soloist .
Famous...
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Messiah One of Handelsmost famous works, it is also
one of the most easily-
recognizable pieces for those
who are not familiar with
classical music. While the
entirety of the oratorio is not
always well-known, it is the
Hallelujah chorus that willalways be familiar to
listeners regardless of their
experience with classical
music. The Hallelujah has
been used frequently inpopular culture, ranging from
movies to television shows to
cartoons.
Famous...
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Giuseppe Tartini A late-
Baroque composer born
in what is now Slovenia(though at the time
considered a part of the
Republic of Venice), he
was most known for hisvirtuoso violin playing
and his violin concerti.
While not as famous as
Vivaldi, Tartini is alsoknown for having been a
talented musician and
composer.
Famous...
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Devils Trill Sonata More formallyknown as the Violin Sonata in GMinor, it earned its more sinistername from a legend told about
where Tartini got the idea to write it.
Supposedly, the Devil appeared to
Tartini in a dream, asking Tartini to
teach him how to play the violin. At
the end of their lessons, Tartini gave
the Devil a violin, and the Devil
started to play a piece of such
virtuosity that Tartini was utterly
stunned. When he woke, Tartini
attempted to capture the piece as a
composition. The sonata is also
known for its extreme technical
difficulty; even by todays standards,
it is considered one of the most
difficult solo violin pieces to play.
Famous...
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