The Baroque Period of Western Music History circa 1600 to 1750 AD. It may derive from the word barroco in Portuguese meaning “irregular shape.” Originally used in a derogatory fashion to describe artistic trends of this time period, baroque has come to broadly refer to the century and a half beginning in 1600.  ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JoynulAbadinRasel ☕ Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/JoynulAbadinR

1. THE
BAROQ
UE ERA

2. CONTENT:
1. Introduction ofThe Baroque Era
2. Opera
3. Cantata
4. Oratorio
5. Key music terms
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3. The Baroque Era
The Baroque Period of Western Music History circa 1600 to
1750 AD.
It may derive from the word barroco in Portuguese meaning
“irregular shape.” Originally used in a derogatory fashion to
describe artistic trends of this time period, baroque has come to
broadly refer to the century and a half beginning in 1600.
The Baroque is a period, as well as a style, that used
exaggerated gestures to produce drama, tension, exuberance,
and grandeur in architecture, literature, sculpture, painting,
dance, and music. The Baroque style of painting and art was
prevalent in Europe from the late 16th century to the early 18th
century. It is characterized by dynamic movement and overt
emotion. All of Baroque art, including music, has a tendency to
be dramatic. Drama in music was displayed most obviously in
opera but extended to sacred, secular, vocal, and instrumental
music. In music for solo instruments—solo voice, orchestra, and
orchestra with chorus—the use of musical devices enhanced
musical forms and techniques of the previous era. 02

4. Baroque Architecture:
The Baroque style of
painting and art was
prevalent in Europe from
thelate 16th century to the
early 18th century. It is
characterized bydynamic
movementand overt
emotion. The Adoration of The Magi
Peter Paul Rubens
Palace in
Romania
The Palace of Versailles in
France, built from 1664 to
1710.
Italian BaroqueChurch,
the Basilica della
Collegiata;built in 1768.
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5. Characteristics of Baroque Music :
1. Mood (“Doctrine of Mood”) – Generally speaking, music of the
Baroque period has one particular mood or “affect.” A work or movement that
is happy usually remains happy throughout the work or movement. Music that
is sad usually stays sad throughout a section or an entire work.
2. Melody – Many Baroque melodies (though not all) are very long, complex
and elaborate containing a seemingly endless string of notes. They are not
easy to sing or play, often requiring enormous breath control and practice to
perform.
3. Basso Continuo – (also just called “continuo”) is a particular type of
musical accompaniment that was used extensively in the Baroque period. The
instruments of the Baroque continuo usually consisted of a harpsichord and a
cello but might include other instruments such as organ instead of harpsichord
and bassoon instead of or in addition to the cello.
4. Dynamics – Many Baroque composers employed an effect called
“terraced dynamics” in which musical passages alternated loud and soft,
sometimes even repeating the same musical phrase.
5. Texture – A lot of music of the Baroque period (especially the late Baroque
period) has a predominantly polyphonic texture, meaning that there are many
voices or melodic lines happening at the same time.
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6. One of the most important musical developments in the Baroque period
was the establishment of a new performing art form called Opera.
“Opera” is an Italian word that means “work.” Opera is a form of theatre
that combines literature, singing, instrumental music, acting, costumes,
scenery and lighting (among other arts forms) to produce a unified
dramatic effect.
Oper
a
In the works of two notable Italian composers, true
opera was born. Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) and Giulio
Caccini (1551-1618) are generally credited with giving
opera its unique style in two respects: recitative and
aria, two techniques to convey dramatic action and
feeling in the course of a sung play. Please note that
for this chapter, transcripts of song and music lyrics
are not necessary to gain an understanding of the material.
Recitative (narrative song) was developed to convey dialogue
and aria (meaning “air” or expressive melody) was designed to convey
intensity of emotion in the characters using aspects of melody derived
from the madrigal.
Italian opera
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7. Early Opera in Italy
• Opera houses were established.
• Opera seria—noble and serious Italian opera.
• Castrato voices.
Baroque Opera in France
• Italian opera was rejected in France.
• A separate French tradition was founded by Jean-
Baptiste Lully (1632–1687)—tragédie en musique
or tragédie lyrique.
• Was sung in French
• Combined and intermingled recitatives and arias.
Opera in England
• Masque—a type of entertainment contained songs and dances.
• Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
• Dido and Aeneas (1689)—composer’s first opera.
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8. Recitative: Singing that imitates speech. It is mostly used
for plot action, dialogue, and important situations.
Aria: Extended solo that has more musical elaboration and
coherence. The vocal part is more melodic, the rhythm is more
consistent, and accompaniment usually uses the entire orchestra.
Opera had two major parts
Summary
- Opera is drama presented in music
- Early opera was put on for Royal Weddings and such.
- 1637 the first Public Opera Theater opens in Venice (these
are equivalent to modern day movie theaters)
- By the end of the century there were seven in Venice alone.
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9. CANTATA
A work for one or more voices with instrumental accompaniment.The
cantata was the most important form of vocal music of the Baroque
period outside opera and oratorio, and by far the most ubiquitous.
At first, from the 1620s in Italy, it was a modest form, but at its
most typical it consists (notably in Italy in the later 17th century)
of a succession of contrasting sections which by the early 18th
century became independent movements, normally two arias,
each preceded by a recitative. Most Italian cantatas of this period
are for a solo voice, but some were written for two or more
voices. Up to the late 17th century the cantata was
predominantly a secular form, but the church cantata, which
included choral movements ranging from simple chorale
harmonization to complex, extended structures, was a major
feature of Lutheran music in early 18th-century Germany.The
standard form of accompaniment gradually expanded from
continuo alone in the mid-17th century to an orchestra, including
obbligato instruments, in the 18th. Cantatas, mainly secular,
were also fairly widely cultivated elsewhere, especially in France
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10. CHARACTERISTICS OF CANTATA:
1. One or more solo singers and instruments
2. All parts sung by men
3. A musical work that consists of several pieces of music
that are related
to each other by their texts
4.Took about 25 minutes to perform
5. Use of the fugue is found in many of the chorale
movements.
ChoraleCantata:
-Texts and music derived from a chorale
- Open with chorale fantasy
- Arias and recitatives in the middle
- 4-part chorale at end
Sacred Cantata:
- Usually glorified new testament subject
Secular Cantata:
- Based popular stories and themes
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11. ORATORIO
An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and
soloists.Oratorios became extremely popular in early 17th-century Italy
partly because of the success of opera and the Catholic Church's
prohibition of spectacles during Lent.
The "father of the oratorio" title is usually
given to the Italian composer Giacomo
Carissimi (1605–1674), who wrote 16
oratorios based on the OldTestament.
Carissimi both established the form
artistically and gave it the character we
perceive it today, as dramatic choral works
10

12. An oratorio’s text is usually based on
scripture, and the narration
necessary to move from scene to
scene is supplied by recitatives sung
by various voices to prepare the way
for airs and choruses. A basically
dramatic method is used in all
successful oratorios, though they
may or may not be produced with
theatrical action.The oratorio is not
CHARACTERISTICS OF ORATORIO:
1. A large-scale vocal work, always based on a religious theme
2. Not intended to be staged, but does tell a story
3. featured soloists (as characters), choir, instrumentalists
4. subject matter is usually biblical
5. intended as a concert piece
The Messiah by G.F.Handel is the
most famous example of a Baroque
era oratorio
1
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13. Differences between a Cantata and an Oratorio:
1. Oratorio is much longer than a cantata
2. Oratorio usually tells a religious story
3. Not performed as part of the church service
4. It is a sacred story or subject using poetic text
but not text
from the Bible
5. Follow typical plot construction of: exposition,
conflict
climax and resolution
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14. #KEY MUSICTERMS:
A.INSTRUMENTATION:
Five basic classes of instruments-
1.Strings
2.Woodwinds
3.Brass
4.Percussion
5.Keyboard---were used during the Baroque
era.
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15. 1.Strings:
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string
instruments such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family.
Family in this context means soprano, alto,tenor and bass which cover the full
range of sounds from low to high. Strings are lengths of a flexible material that
a musical instrument holds under tension so that they can vibrate freely, but
controllably.
2.Brass:
Brass instrument, in music, any wind instrument- usually of brass or
other metal but formerly of wood or horn- in which the vibration of the player’s
lips against a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece causes the initial vibration of
an air column.
Renaissance brass instruments developed into the modern trumpet, trombone
and tuba.
3.Woodwinds:
Woodwind instruments included flutes, oboes, and bassoons.
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16. 4.Percussion:
Percussion instruments included kettle, drums and little else.
5.Keyboard:
Keyboard instruments included clavichord, harpsichord, and organ.
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17. B.TIMBRE ORTONE QUALITY:
Timbre also known as tone color or tone quality is
perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone.
Timbre is what makes a particular musical instrument or human voice have a
different sound from another, even when they play or sing the same note.
For instance, it is the difference in sound between a guitar and a piano
playing the same note at the same volume.
A group of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses playing together sound
different than a solo string playing alone.The same is true of each family of
instruments. Each section of the Baroque era orchestra- strings,
woodwinds, brass, percussion, and keyboard- has its own group sound.
C.TEXTURE:
In music, the texture is how the tempo, melodic, and harmonic
materials are combined in a musical composition, determining the overall
quality of the sound in a piece. For example, a thick texture contains many
‘layers’ of instruments. One of these layers could be a string section or
another brass.
Baroque orchestras were not as large as Romantic-era orchestras.
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18. D.HARMONY:
Harmony is the composite product when individual
group together to from a cohesive whole. Think of an orchestra: the
player maybe playing one note, the violinist plays a different note, and
trombonist plays yet a different note.
E.DYNAMICS:
Dynamics means how quietly or loudly a piece of music
played. Dynamics are an important way of conveying the mood of a
Composers use dynamics to change the mood.
F.TEMPO:
A tempo notated as 60 BPM would mean that a beat
once per second. A 120 BPM tempo would be twice as fast, with two
second.
G.FORM:
Form which musical forms have been in constant
throughout history, several formal designs were finalized in the
These forms include the concerto, ritornello, sonata, fugue, toccata,
prelude, chorale, theme and variations, opera, oratorio, aria, and
recitative. The designation finalized means only for a time, as the
enduring aspects of some of the forms underwent further development
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19. Baroque music depends on:
-Rhythmic
-Elaborate
-Complex and detailed
-Embellished with ornaments
-Dramatic
From around 1600 to 1750, the Baroque period witnessed the creation of
greatest masterpieces ever composed-
-JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750):
Bach has been called ‘the
of music.’ He is to music what Leonardo da vinci is to art and shakespeare is to
one of the supreme creative geniuses of history.
-ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741):
With Antonio Vivaldi, Italian Baroque music
reached its zenith. The prosperous, cultivated world of contemporary venice
through all his works, composed with innate craftsmanship.
-GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759):
Handel is one of
the giants of musical history. He is happy, confident, melodic music
with the grace of the Italian vocal school, an easy fluency in German
contrapuntal writing and the English choral tradition inherited from
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20. CLOSING:
In Europe around 1600, developments taking place in
society were reflected in music. Specific trends included
dramatic declamation, formal organization, and the use of
standard metrical patterns grouped into measures.These
trends also included increasing dissonance, chromatic notes,
counterpoint based on harmonic schemes, rhythms that were
regulated by bar lines, and melodic lines that were
increasingly ornamented. Composer performer combinations
increasingly gave way to performers coming into their own as
separate entities.The Baroque orchestra developed a
standard size. Music publishing developed so that
dissemination of styles improved.The design, manufacture,
and affordability of instruments improved, and increasingly
reliable instruments led to the development of more complex
music where forms were explored with new compositional
devices. Opera, ritornello, concerto, sonata, fugue, and other
forms continued to be exploited by composers, resulting in
near exhaustion of their possibilities. By 1750, this exhaustion
was leading to a new era of musical history: the classical
period.