History of the music: The baroque period

UNIT 4. THE BAROQUE PERIOD

1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT (1600-1750)

The Baroque period began as an artistic movement dictated by the Roman Catholic Church. It

all started at the Council of Trent (1545-63), when the church, in response to the Protestant

Reformation, launched the Counter-Reformation. This led to the more representational, highly ornamented and dramatic art that kicked off the start of the Baroque around 1600.

Politically, the Baroque was the era of the Absolutism: a system in which the monarchy was

supposed to be supreme, in both law making and policy making. Furthermore it was a period

of long wars and conflicts, the 30 Years War (1618-1648) amongst them.

2. MUSIC

The Baroque is the first era of truly legendary composers and of music that is familiar to even

the masses of today. We´re talking of music like Pachelbel´s Canon in D, Handel´s Messiah,

and Vivaldi´s The Four Seasons. And, even more notable, the Baroque was the era of Johann

Sebastian Bach, one of the greatest composers of all time. 

Main characteristics

- The music of the Baroque echoed the extravagant styles of the period´s fashions and

architecture. Simple melodies evolved into elaborated, flamboyant and very expressive

musical works.

- Rise and splendour of instrumental music.

- It was during the Baroque period that many of the “modern” orchestral instruments

still in use today were first developed. Instruments that came to prominence:

- Winds: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, trumpet and french horn.

- Strings: violin, viola, cello and double bass. (Some of the finest violins ever made

came out of the Baroque, thanks to master craftsman Antonio Stradivari. The Latinized

form of his surname, Stradivarius, is commonly used to refer to the instruments he built

during his life time).

- Rise of keyboard instruments;  predecessor to the modern piano.

- The contrasts (slow-fast, quite-loud…) in tempo, texture and timbre were very common

as well as the interaction between instruments.

- Rise of the accompanied melody. The melody, played by one instrument or voice,

stands above the instrumental accompaniment that supports it.

- Appearance of the Bass Line: the composer writes an structure of low notes in constant repetition to let the melodies change along the musical piece.

- New musical forms came into prominence, incorporating more and different

combination of instruments and, in the case of opera, encouraging the interplay of

voices and instruments.

Music for money

Instead of being in the service of the church, as was common during the Renaissance,

composers of the Baroque were often employed by the wealthy ruling class as part of what

was called the Patronage System. As such, the patron paid the composer for each work, and

usually decided what kind of piece the composer should write. Even the major composers

partook of this patronage: Bach spent several years as Kapellmeister (music director) to

Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen and Handel wrote various works for the Duke of Chandos.

2.1 Vocal Music – Sacred Music

Oratorio

An Oratorio is a dramatic musical setting of a sacred libretto, for solo singers, choir and

orchestra, is like a religious opera but without the senery or costumes. Vocal soloists are

accompanied by orchestra or instrumental ensemble.

Handel´s Messiah is considered the greatest Oratorio ever written.

Passion

It is a kind of Oratorio, with a very specific subject: tells the passion and death of Jesus Christ

emphasising his suffering. The figure of the Evangelist tells the action in the form of recitative.

The characters of the Passion (Jesus, his apostles, etc.) are also incarnated by singers who

sing recitatives and arias. The choir participates often representing the Hebrew people.

Cantata

The term Cantata has described different musical forms over the centuries. The earliest form,

as practiced during the Baroque period, refers to a dramatic vocal piece sung by a solo

vocalist or vocalists, accompanied by lute or basso continuo. They were usually based on

sacred texts, however there were secular cantatas called Cantata de Camera.

2.2 Instrumental Music

Concerto

During the late Baroque period, orchestral music gained popular status in the public concerts

that proliferated in many European cities. The late-Baroque orchestra typically included

strings, woodwinds (flute, recorder, oboe, bassoon) trumpets and other horns, and timpani. As

developed by Vivaldi, Handel, Bach and their counterparts, the concert focused on one or

more solo instruments supported by the larger orchestra. There were many different types of

concertos during Baroque era:

Soloist concerto: a dialogue between a solo instrument and orchestra.

Concerto grosso: dialogue among a small group of instruments and orchestra.

Tempos:

- Largo: a very slow tempo.

- Adagio: indicates that music is to be played slowly.

- Andante: at a walking pace.

- Allegro: fast quickly and bright.

- Presto: very fast.

Suite

Contrast was important in the Baroque era, which led to the development of longer

instrumental forms that incorporated multiple contrasting sections. The suite

often starts with an introduction called Overture, and then there are dances like allemande,

courante, sarabande, gigue, waltz, minuet, gavotte (to name a few).

Examples of Baroque-era Suites include Handel´s Water Music and Music for the Royal

Fireworks and Bach´s six cello and four orchestral suites.

Sonata

Instrumental piece composed of contrasting sections, usually divided into three or four

movements (slow-fast-slow-fast) for soloist or small group of instruments that can be of two

types:

Sonata for solo and continuo (violin+figured bass)

Trio Sonata (example: flute + violin +figured bass)

During the Baroque period the violin was the most popular sonata instrument, although

sonatas were written for all variety of instruments.

Fugue

It’s a musical form based in the counterpoint were every part imitates each other. Most fugues

open with a short main theme, the subject, which then sounds successively in each voice

(after the first voice is finished stating the subject, a second voice repeats the subject at a

different pitch, and other voices repeat in the same way); when each voice has entered, the

exposition is complete.

2.3 Secular music

Opera

Opera is a drama set to music. In practice, opera consists of vocals with instrumental

accompaniament, with the singers typically in costume in an elaborate theatrical production;

while musical passages may be separated by spoken dialogue, the music is an integral part of

the opera.

The operatic form originated in Florence, Italy, in the Renaissance, near the end of the

sixteenth century; it grew out of attempts to recreate the affect of ancient Greek and Roman

dramas. The earliest known opera was Daphne, written in 1597 by Jacopo Peri. Other notable

early operas include Peri´s Euridice (1600); Stefano Landi´s Sant Alesio (1631) which

formalized the various sections of the opera; and Monteverdi´s l´Orfeo (1607).

While opera was born in Italy, it quickly spread throughtout all of Europe. By 1700, Vienna,

Paris, Hamburg and London were all major operatic centers. 

Parts of the Opera

Overtures: Instrumental part played by the orchestra before the curtain goes up.

Recitatives: Fragments in which the singers recite the text with a slight intonation,

accompanied by simple chords of figured bass.

Aria: A little musical piece performed by a singer with orchestral accompaniment.

The singer displays his/her vocal abilities and expresses the feelings of the

character that represents.

Duo, trio, quartet: Several soloists sing at the same time with orchestral accompaniment.

Choirs / Chorus: Choral pieces that are used especially to represent multitudes

Baroque Composers

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a German-born composer and organist, although

he spent most of his life in England. Handel contributed to every musical genre of his time,

with operas dominating his early career. His most famous composition was the

Messiah (1741), an oratorio set to texts from the King James Bible; it is today considered the

greatest oratorio ever written.

Handel wrote more than 20 oratorios, along with nearly 50 operas and hundreds of concerti

grossi and orchestral pieces. 

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Initially a violin teacher and a priest, Vivaldi published his first

sonatas in 1705. Early on he was employed by the Ospedale della Pieta, an orphanage in

Venice. He composed for children there, primarily the young girls that formed the renowned

orchestra and choir of the orphanage.

Vivaldi´s compositions displayed an extraordinary variety of invention, and embraced

instrumentation unusual for the time. 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Bach is considered a true musical genius: he produced

an astounding variety of chamber and orchestral works, as well as a large number of organ

and keyboard works. His choral works include a variety of sacred and secular cantatas, motets

and other large choral pieces, and chorales and sacred songs. The only musical form in which

he didn´t work was opera.

Bach was the youngest of eight children born to musical parents. His parents died when he was

10 and then he was taken in by his older brother, Johann Christoph, who continued his

musical training. In 1703, the 18-year-old J.S.Bach took the position of organist at the

St.Boniface Church in Arnstadt. Similar posts at other churches followed, and in 1708 Bach

and his wife moved to Weimar, where he became court-organist and later Konzertmeister

(concertmaster) to Duke Wilheim. Bach stayed there until 1717, when he was named

Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen.