8b stylefeatures&emotion

Chapter 8: Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Key Terms
walking bass
harmonic rhythm
basic orchestra
festive orchestra
sequence
ornamentation
ritornellos
continuo
figured bass
affects

Style Features of Late Baroque Music
extravagance
large-scale works for large ensembles
intense, dramatic emotional expression
control
thorough, methodical expression
extracting maximum effect from material
uniting many elements to depict a single emotion

Rhythm
highly regular, determined motion
distinctive rhythms against a steady beat
freer rhythms in upper voices
walking bass
steady harmonic rhythm

Dynamics
rarely indicated; usually steady
dramatic contrast preferred
either loud or soft ( f or p)
change at end of entire section, if at all
performers still created subtle nuances

Tone Color
new interest in sonority
distinctive Baroque sounds and instruments
idiomatic writing—taking advantage of unique color of each instrument
flexibility
works “for violin or oboe or flute”
rewriting earlier works for different performing forces

Basic Baroque Orchestra
a string orchestra with continuo

Festive Baroque Orchestera
augments the basic with brass, woodwinds, and percussion

Melody
tends toward complexity and difficulty
extended range
variety of rhythmic note values
intricate, unpredictable twists and turns
irregular phrase lengths
frequent use of sequence for forward motion

Ornamentation
addition of fast notes, motives, or effects to a melody
cadenzas; chording continuo instruments
improvised during performance
sometimes written down to guide lesser performers
even simple tunes lavishly ornamented

Texture
standard Baroque texture is polyphonic
sometimes homophonic texture, for contrast only
dense orchestral works use many moving contrapuntal lines
simple works for solo and continuo still feel contrapuntal (active bass)

The Continuo
provides framework and support for melody and polyphony
bass line played by cello or bass viol
chords played by keyboard or plucked strings
creates “polarized” texture
often written as figured bass

Playing the Continuo
bass line played with left hand
chords improvised with right hand
chords “realized” in simple or complex manner, according to ability

Baroque Musical Form
more standardized formal patterns
fugue, ritornello, dance form, etc.
easier to compose on demand for patrons
patterns filled in orderly, logical manner
entire fugues constructed from single theme
often symmetrical ordering of movements
meant to sustain rich musical experience over long time span

Emotional Expression
powerful yet impersonal
Baroque composers thought music should
mirror a wide range of emotions (affects).
depict those emotions consistently.
take on a theatrical quality.

Affects
Scientists studied and classified emotions.
Composers catalogued musical elements for each “affect.”
keys: D minor = serious; E minor = pathos, etc.
melodic and rhythmic figures
instrumental and vocal types and genres

8b stylefeatures&emotion

by Brad Foust

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