Prelude 3 The Baroque Era
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This document provides an overview of Baroque music and culture from 1600-1750. It discusses the key characteristics of Baroque style, including heavy and expansive music featuring ornamentation. Instrumental music was accompanied by basso continuo, and vocal music emphasized word painting and expression of affections. The rise of the virtuoso performer is highlighted, as is the development of new genres like opera and oratorio. Women began to enter the professional music field as singers during this era. The document covers the social and religious context of the Baroque period and how it influenced musical developments.
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Prelude 3 The Baroque Era
- 1. THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC ESSENTIAL LISTENING EDITION by Kristine Forney Andrew Dell’Antonio Joseph Machlis THIRD EDITION Lecture Slides
- 2. Part 3 The Baroque Era
- 3. Part 3 The Baroque Era
- 4. Prelude 3: Music as Exploration and Drama “ These harmonic notes are the language of the soul and the instruments of the heart.” —Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677)
- 5. The Baroque Era: Overview Time Period (1600-1750) • The period between the Renaissance and the Classical Era • “Baroque” (irregular pearl)--extravagant and bizarre qualities of the music--harmonies, textures, and forms more free and unpredictable than those of either the Renaissance or Classical Eras • Music had energy and motion, ornamentation and extremes. – Expression of feelings (affect) became important; one feeling per movement = doctrine of affections – Represented passions through music • Architecture--very ornate
- 6. Baroque Art and Culture The Baroque Era (1600–1750) • Turbulent change in politics, science, arts • Religious wars • Exploration of the New World • Rise of middle-class culture • Music making centered in the home, church, and universities
- 8. The Baroque Era: Overview • National pride was illustrated in cultural, political, and economic terms. Finest music = highest power – Rulers/aristocracy proved their value by elaborate festivals, music, art, architecture. • King George I of England • Louis XIV of France • Churches also illustrated their importance with elaborate music and architecture. – Many of the compositions of this period were written for the churches--both Catholic and Protestant. – Height of church music-80% is religious – Music conveyed spiritual teachings, as did sacred architecture.
- 9. Louis XIV’s Palace at Versailles
- 10. Baroque Music: General • Whereas in the Renaissance, most church music was performed without accompaniment (i.e., a cappella), in the Baroque, many instruments were used to accompany liturgical music. • Gabrieli pioneered the use of different instruments in various parts of the church-- called “antiphonal” style
- 11. A Musical Interlude • By the Dutch painter Jan Verkolje (~1674) • Depicts a passionate musician reaching for his female companion, who is holding a viol.
- 12. Historical Events that Influenced Baroque Period • Gutenberg’s movable type (1453) led to printed music (1501) Ottaviano Petrucci – Printed music allowed musical compositions to be performed by many different individuals and ensembles in a variety of places. – Printed music allows us to know much more about music after this time.
- 13. Characteristics of Baroque Style Music • General: heavy, grand, expansive • Performance Media: chamber orchestra, chorus plus chamber orchestra, chamber ensembles (vocal and instrumental), organ, harpsichord • Rhythm: steady beats, running bass, regular meters of 2, 3, 4, and 6 beats, tempo of piece stays same throughout except for slowing near end
- 14. Characteristics of Baroque Style Music • Melody: using major and minor scales, ornamentation, sequences, and imitation, first real use of chromaticism, continuous, fortspinnung, repetition elaborate and ornamental, rapidious notes • Harmony: strong harmonic movement; sequences of harmony and recurring cadences; major and minor harmonies used Dynamic Expression: contrasting (sudden drops and increases: called “terraced dynamics”); echo imitation used; no gradual increases or decreases in loudness (crescendo or diminuendo), lack of detail in scores-composers under pressure to produce a lot of music in a short amount of time
- 15. Characteristics of Baroque Style Music: Overview • Texture: mainly polyphonic; thick texture with 1 or more melodies in high parts and contrapuntal melodies in lower parts; continuous bass line; occasional contrasting homophonic sections to add interest • Unity of mood: One piece captures one mood, only exception is vocal music, (changes of text change the mood of the music) • Primary Forms: concerto, concerto grosso, suite, oratorio, cantata, opera; trio sonata and other sonatas for instruments; keyboard prelude, fugue, and toccata
- 16. The Florentine Camarata • A group of composers who met to share musical ideas and techniques – Vincenzo Galilei – Giulio Caccini • Wrote treatises on composing • Jacopo Peri-L’Euridice, first opera(1600) – Written for wedding of King Henri IV & Marie de’Medici – First to use stile recitative(solo over simple chords or continuo) for clarity of text
- 17. Characteristics of the Baroque Period • Main instrument- Harpsichord • Tuning-based on the Pythagorean comma • Equal Temperament-on keyboard instruments • System of intervals tuned off-key to keep distance between half-steps equal, still used today
- 18. Main Currents in Baroque Music • J. S. Bach’s The Well- Tempered Clavier Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude and Fugue No. 1
- 19. Main Currents in Baroque Music • Figured bass • Chords created through improvisation • Basso continuo • Major-minor tonality Bach, C.P.E., Trio Sonata in G
- 20. The Circle of Fifths
- 21. The Basso Continuo • Chords and the Basso Continuo – Chords became more important, by-products of the motion of melodic lines – Many composed melody to fit particular chord progression – Gave more prominence to bass line-foundation of harmony – Result-most characteristic feature-basso continuo – Played usually by two instruments-harpsichord or organ and low instrument like cello or bassoon – Figured bass-bass part written with numbers indicated chord structure, musical shorthand, saved time & paper – Performers needed improvisational skills – Continuo provided continual flow of notes
- 22. Figured Bass
- 23. New Musical Ideas • Stile antico • First Practice(Renaissance Ideal) • Music dominates text • Stile moderno • Second practice • Text dominates music • Involves wider range of emotion expressed and greater intensityStyle differ for specific occasions: Church, chamber, theater
- 24. Characteristics of the Baroque Period • Words & Music – Word painting still used – Emphasizing words by writing rapid notes for one syllable, also to display singers’ virtuosity – Individual words and phrases repeated
- 25. Handel: Sampson, “Let the Bright Seraphim” The Doctrine of Affections • Union of text and music • One mood, or affection, per movement or piece • Devised by the philosophies of several theorists • A musical means to express generic states of the soul • Grief, rage, excitement, grandeur, etc. • Vocabulary of motives devised which relate to rhetorical speech • To excite “the affections”
- 26. Instruments • Instruments of all types continue to improve • Amati-Guarneri Stradivarius-makes ultimate violin
- 27. The Rise of the Virtuoso Musician • Technical improvements in instrument making • Composers challenging the performers – Domenico Scarlatti – Antonio Vivaldi Scarlatti: Sonata in E, “Capriccio” Vivaldi: Concerto for Piccolo
- 28. The Baroque Era: Overview • Operas were first performed in private theaters in the courts of the nobility and royalty. • Public opera houses started in Venice, Italy, in 1637; by 1700 the public craved opera, and it was big business. • Oratorios--operas without costumes and staging; created for performance in church or in an opera house during LENT--a penitential season. • This was the beginning of the importance of virtuoso performers-- singers and instrumentalists of extremely high technical and musical skill. – Castrati--men who were castrated as boys so that their voices would not change; they sounded like women with voices that had a great deal of power.
- 29. Here and There, Then and Now The Rise of the Professional Female Singer Increasingly women were professional singers: – Francesca Caccini – Barbara Strozzi – Faustina Bordoni – Francesca Cuzzoni – Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre Concerto delle donne (Ensemble of the Ladies)
- 30. Women Musicians in the Baroque Era • Trained primarily as performers/virtuosos, not as composers • Most women did not have access to training in musical composition • No professional prospects for women composers • Women weren’t really accepted as composers (or conductors) until the 20th century.
- 31. by Kristine Forney Andrew Dell’Antonio Joseph Machlis Lecture Slides THIRD EDITION THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC ESSENTIAL LISTENING EDITION http://wwnorton.com/web/enjoyess2
Editor's Notes
- Artwork: Judith Leyster (1609–1660), The Flute Player
- Part 3 Table of Contents
- “ These harmonic notes are the language of the soul and the instruments of the heart.” —Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677)
- The Baroque Era (1600–1750) was a time characterized by absolute monarchy, bloody religious wars (Protestants vs. Catholics), and the exploration and colonization of the New World (Mayflower, 1620). The rising middle class, eager to partake in artistic and musical culture, became a viable patron of the arts. Public concert halls and the first opera house (1637) were built so that anyone with the price of admission could attend. The Baroque era was considered to be an age of discovery. Prominent figures included Galileo, Copernicus, and Sir Isaac Newton. An English physician, William Harvey, explained blood circulation for the first time. Music making became centered in the home, church and university, rather than in the salons of the aristocracy. Many musical works of this era were functional, being created for specific occasions such as weddings, festivals or religious services.
- As a result of the transition to a major-minor tonal system, a new tuning system was established, based on the division of the octave into twelve equal half steps. This system, known as equal temperament, allowed instruments to perform in any key. It is still in use today. The well-known composer J. S. Bach was able to demonstrate his ability to write in every one of the twelve keys in his work The Well-Tempered Clavier—a two-volume keyboard collection. Musical example: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 [link to excerpt]. Art: Photo of the grand staircase of the Residenz, home of the prince-bishop of Würzburg, Germany (built 1720–1744). It is exemplary of Baroque interior design.
- Melody and chords of Baroque music were very different from the Renaissance style. This resulted in a system of notation called figured bass. In this system, the keyboard player would improvise the harmony from numerals that the composer would place above or below a bass line. The term basso continuo is Italian for “continuous bass” and is often used in reference to this figured bass system of notation. The 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. Another important development with regard to harmonic structures was a shift to a harmonic system based on the use of the major and minor scales rather than one based on modes. Conventions of this new system allowed composers to develop longer forms of instrumental music. Musical Example: C. P. E. Bach, Trio Sonata in G. [link to excerpt]
- 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 “affect”; and to attempt more would risk causing confusion and disorder in the listener.
- The technical improvements in instrument making led to the rise in the level of virtuosic playing. Domenico Scarlatti and Antonio Vivaldi were among the master composers of the era who wrote virtuosic works for the keyboard and violin. Musical example: Scarlatti: Sonata in E, “Capriccio” [link to excerpt] Vivaldi: Concerto for Piccolo [link to excerpt]
- Women were able to study and work as musicians in the Baroque era. A group of women singers known as the Concerto delle donne (Ensemble of the Ladies) were highly acclaimed in their time, as are similar groups today. They often showcased the work of composer Claudio Monteverdi. Other outstanding female vocalists of this era include: Francesca Caccini: Italian composer and singer Barbara Strozzi: Italian singer and composer Faustina Bordoni: Italian soprano Francesca Cuzzoni: Italian soprano