baroque declarative knowledge

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www.ibscrewed.org Baroque Declarative Knowledge Knowledge Driving beat Harpsichord Mass in B min - Bach Mass in F min - Bach The well tempered clavier - Bach Handel The four season - Vilvaldi Inventions and sinfonias - Bach Art of the fugue - Bach Musical offering - Bach English suites French suites Scarlatti Rameau Improv passacaglia Min dynamics Use of counter-point Bach Medium thickness in texture Lute Heavy use of choral music Males voices Toccata and fugue - bach Little fugue in g minor Brandenburg concerto - bach

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Comparison with classical, Monteverdi, Handel, Percell, Strozzi, Bach, Mouret, Vivaldi, Corelli, Scarlatti, Mozart, Haydn.Baroque opera, features of Baroque, oratorio, instruments and the suite, Baroque concerto.

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Page 1: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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Baroque Declarative Knowledge

Knowledge

Driving beat

Harpsichord

Mass in B min - Bach

Mass in F min - Bach

The well tempered clavier - Bach

Handel

The four season - Vilvaldi

Inventions and sinfonias - Bach

Art of the fugue - Bach

Musical offering - Bach

English suites

French suites

Scarlatti

Rameau

Improv

passacaglia

Min dynamics

Use of counter-point

Bach

Medium thickness in texture

Lute

Heavy use of choral music

Males voices

Toccata and fugue - bach

Little fugue in g minor

Brandenburg concerto - bach

Page 2: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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Comparison between Baroque and Classical

Baroque Classical

Melody Ornate, often asymmetrical

melodies

Dramatic leaps common

Use of chromaticism for

expressive purposes

Simple melodies, often in four and

eight-measure phrases

Primarily stepwise motion

Melodies more diatonic

Rhythm Varied rhythms

Strong underlying pulse

Varied tempos

More consistent rhythms

Less insistent pulse

More regular tempos

Harmony Triadic, major/minor tonality Triadic, based on major/minor

tonality

Sound Basso continuo

Wide variety of instrumental

colors

Terraced dynamics

Harpsichord

No basso continuo

More homogenous orchestral color,

winds play supporting role

Use of gradual crescendos and

diminuendos

Piano

Texture Imitative or homophonic More homophonic

Form Binary and ternary forms

Forms based on repetition

(ritornello)

Binary and ternary forms

Based on return (sonata allegro)

Baroque Composers

Claudio Monteverdi - May 15, 1567, Cremona, Italy

George Frideric Handel - February 23, 1685, Halle, Germany

Henry Percell

Barbara Strozzi

J. S Bach

Jean-Joseph Mouret

Antonio Vivaldi

Arcangelo Corelli

Domenico Scarlatti

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Franz Joseph Haydn

Page 3: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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Baroque Spirit

The Baroque era (1600–1750) was a time of turbulent changes in a society that saw

religious wars (Protestants vs. Catholics) as well as exploration and colonization of the

New World.

The era also saw the rise of middle- class culture, with music- making centered in the

home; art often portrayed scenes of middle- class life.

The Baroque marks the introduction of monody, which featured solo song with

instrumental accompaniment; its goal was to recreate the musical- dramatic art of

ancient Greece.

Harmony was notated with figured bass, a shorthand that allowed the performer to

improvise the chords. The bass part, or basso continuo, was often played by two

instruments (harpsichord and cello, for example).

The major- minor tonality system was established in the Baroque era, as was the equal

temperament tuning system.

While early Baroque music moved more freely, later Baroque style is characterized by

regular rhythms and continuous melodic expansion.

As musical instruments developed technically, the level of virtuosity and playing

techniques rose.

The union of text and music was expressed in the Baroque doctrine of the affections.

Page 4: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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Baroque Opera and its Components

I. The Components of Opera

1. Opera: large-scale sung drama combining vocal and instrumental music, poetry

and drama, acting and pantomime, scenery and costumes

1. recitative moves plot and action of opera forward

1. declamatory vocal style that imitates natural inflections of speech

2. recitative secco: accompanied by basso continuo

3. recitative accompagnato: accompanied by the orchestra

2. arias: highly emotional and lyrical songs

1. da capo arias are in ternary form (A-B-A)

3. duets, trios, quartets, and sung commentary by chorus may also be

included

4. orchestra performs overture (introductory number), and sinfonias

(interludes)

5. libretto: text or scripts of the opera

1. written by the librettist

6. early opera based on Greek mythology

II. Monteverdi and Early Baroque Opera

1. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)

1. born in Cremona, Italy

2. “transitional” composer: Renaissance-style madrigals, Baroque operas

3. new emotional intensity

2. The Coronation of Poppea

1. original music lost; this version by Pietro Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676)

2. Roman history: Nero plots to depose his wife, Ottavia, with his courtesan

mistress, Poppea

3. public performance in Venice, no longer limited to palaces

3. Listening Guide 16: Monteverdi, The Coronation of Poppea (L’incoronazione di

Poppea), Act III, Scene 7 (1642)

1. Poppea is led to the throne: fanfare-like, imitative polyphony

2. sinfonia interlude

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3. love duet between Nero and Poppea, (A-B-B-A) structure

1. duet sung over ground bass

2. dissonant phrases: “più non peno” (no more grieving), “più non

moro” (no more sorrow)

III. The Spread of Opera

1. Opera in England

1. masques: vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance

1. presented in homes of the rich and influential

2. Puritans forbade stage plays

2. Henry Purcell (1659–1695)

1. English composer, organist, and singer

2. wrote masques and operas for several venues

3. assimilated Italian and French styles

3. Dido and Aeneas

1. considered first great English opera

2. presented as a play set to music for a girl’s school in Chelsea

3. based on Virgil’s Aeneid

1. Aeneas is shipwrecked at Carthage, falls in love with the queen, Dido

2. Aeneas leaves Dido to continue his journey to found Rome

4. Listening Guide 17: Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Act III, excerpts (1689)

1. Act III, opening: style of a hornpipe

2. recitative: Dido decides her fate is death

3. Dido’s Lament: sung over ground bass ostinato

1. descending bass line: symbolic of grief in Baroque music

IV. Barbara Strozzi and the Baroque Aria

1. Barbara Strozzi (1619–c. 1677)

1. professional composer, singer from Venice

2. prolific composer of secular and sacred music

3. successful in an age of a male-dominated society

2. Listening Guide 18: Amor dormiglione (Sleepyhead, Cupid!) (1651)

1. monody, solo soprano with harpsichord

2. light-hearted da capo aria (A-B-A)

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3. sensitivity to the text

4. use of word painting

PIECES

HENRY PURCELL: Rondeau, from Abdelazar

Henry Purcell: "Come Away, Fellow Sailors" from the opera Dido and Aeneas

Henry Purcell: "Dido's Lament" from the opera Dido and Aeneas

Barbara Strozzi: Amor dormiglione (Sleepyhead, Cupid!)

Features of Baroque

Singers

Reoccurring themes

Had small orchestra

Has an overture

Secullar and non-secular

Recitative - secco and accompagnato

Solo

Dacapo aria

Aria - tupcatto (rondo form)

Duet

Chorus

Orchestral interludes

Buffa - comic love, seria - serious

Has interludes

In seasons

Originated in Itally

Modelled on ancient Greek tragedies

Had dancer, unlike oratorio

Libretto - the text the opera is set on

Purcell - was an English composer

Page 7: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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Baroque Cantata and Oratoria

I. Bach and the Church Cantata

1. Cantata: multimovement work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra

1. part of the Lutheran church service

2. based on Lutheran chorale (hymn tune)

1. chorales written by Martin Luther

1. adapted from Gregorian chant, secular art music, popular tunes

2. sung in unison by congregation, later in four-part harmony

2. J. S. Bach (1685–1750)

1. German composer, organist

2. devout Lutheran: music must serve “the glory of God”

3. court and church positions: Weimar, Leipzig

4. prolific composer: suites, concertos, sonatas, keyboard music, Passions,

cantatas

1. around two hundred cantatas survive

5. 19 children: four sons, leading composers

3. Listening Guide 19: Bach, Cantata No. 140, Wachet auf (Sleepers,

Awake), excerpts (1731)

1. based on Gospel of Matthew: parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

2. chorale prelude in bar form (A-A-B)

3. seven movements: near palindrome form

1. chorale tune featured in three choral movements

2. 1st mvt.: grand chorale fantasia, majestic, marchlike: arrival of Christ

1. recurring instrumental sections (ritornellos)

3. 2nd mvt.: sparse recitative with basso continuo

4. 3rd mvt.: da capo form (A-B-A) love duet between the Soul (soprano)

and Christ (bass)

5. 4th mvt.: central movement; chorale tune sung in unison by tenors

6. 7th mvt.: hymnlike setting with orchestra

II. Handel and the Oratorio

1. Oratorio: large scale work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra

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1. performed in concert setting without scenery or costumes

2. based on a biblical story

2. George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

1. German composer

2. worked in Italy, Germany, England

3. held positions as conductor, director, producer

4. composed opera seria (serious Italian opera), English oratorios, orchestral

suites, keyboard and chamber music

3. Messiah

1. composed in 24 days, premiered in Dublin

2. biblical verses set in three parts

1. Christmas section, prophecy of Christ

2. Easter section

3. redemption of the world through faith

4. Listening Guide 20: Handel, Messiah, Nos. 1, 14–18, 44 (1742)

1. Part I, Overture: French style, slow dotted rhythms followed by fugue

2. Nos. 14–16: contrasting recitative secco and recitative acompagnato

3. No. 17: four-part chorus with orchestra

4. No. 18: da capo soprano aria with instrumental ritornellos, (A-B-A')

5. Part II, No. 44: “Hallelujah chorus” closes Easter section

1. four-part chorus and orchestra

2. homorhythmic and imitative polyphonic textures

PIECES:

Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue

Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No.1, I

Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Bach, Sarabande, from Cello Suite No.2

Bach, Toccata in D minor

Handel, Alla hornpipe, from Water Music

"Hallelujah Chorus", from Messiah

Handel, "O thou that tellest good tidings", from Messiah

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Oratorio

Who: Handel

When: Baroque

What: The oratorio is a large-scale dramatic genre with a religious or biblical text

performed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra; it is not staged or costumed.

The text for Messiah is drawn from a compilation of Old and New Testament verses.

Large-scale dramatic genre with religious or biblical text

Performed by solo voices, chorus, orchestra

No staging or costumes

Why: Special events

Where: Europe

Baroque Instruments and the Suite

I. The Rise of Instrumental Music

1. Equal importance to vocal music

1. new instruments developed, improvements made to old ones

2. rise of virtuoso

1. Bach and Handel: organists

2. Corelli and Vivaldi: violinists

3. Scarlatti and Couperin: harpsichordists

3. music written specific to the instruments

2. Baroque Instruments

1. close to modern counterparts

2. string instruments: gut strings (made from animal intestines)

1. Cremona violin makers: Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati

3. recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon: all made of wood

4. additions to the orchestra: unvalved trumpet, French horn, timpani

5. organ and harpsichord: important keyboard instruments

3. The Baroque Suite

1. instrumental genre

Page 10: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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2. group of short dances: all in same key

3. international influence: German, French, Spanish, English

1. overture, allemande, courante, sarabande, hornpipe, minuet, gigue

4. dances in binary (A-A-B-B) or ternary (A-B-A) form

5. suites written for solo instrument, chamber ensembles, and orchestra

II. Handel and the Orchestral Suite

1. Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks

1. Water Music performed on royal barge on Thames River

1. outdoor performance: no basso continuo

2. 22 movements

2. Listening Guide 21: Handel, Water Music, Suite in D major, excerpts (1717)

1. mvt. 1: ternary form (A-B-A')

1. fanfare-like trumpets, descending violin scales

2. mvt. 2: alla hornpipe, ternary form (A-B-A)

1. disjunct theme with decorative trills in strings and woodwinds

2. B section: reflective, minor key

III. Music at the French Royal Court

1. Louis XIV and Louis XV ruled at palace of Versailles

1. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687): court composer of Louis XIV

1. French stage works: comedy-ballets, tragic operas

2. Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682–1738): court composer of Duke of Maine (son

of Louis XIV)

2. Listening Guide 22: Mouret, Rondeau, from Suite de symphonies (1729)

1. rondeau form (A-B-A-C-A)

2. main theme: majestic fanfare

3. predominant high trumpet: frequent trills

PIECES:

Handel, Water Music, Alla hornpipe

Mouret, Rondeau, from Suites de sumphonies

Telemann, Tafelmusik

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Baroque Concerto

I. Three Movement (fast-slow-fast) Instrumental Form

1. Solo concerto: solo instrument with accompanying instrumental group

2. Concerto grosso: two instrumental groups

1. solo group: concertino

2. accompanying group: tutti, or ripieno

II. Antonio Vivaldi and the Solo Concerto

1. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741),

1. Venetian composer, violin virtuoso

2. ordained priest

3. music master at Conservatorio dell’Ospedale della Pietà

4. traveled widely

5. composed over 500 concertos: 230 for solo violin, “father of the concerto”

2. The Four Seasons

1. four solo violin concertos accompanied by orchestra and basso continuo

2. program music: Italian sonnet

3. sounds musically pictoralized

3. Listening Guide 23: Vivaldi, Spring, from The Four Seasons (La primavera from Le

quattro stagioni),Op. 8, No. 1 (1725)

1. mvt. 1: Allegro in E major

1. orchestral ritornello alternates with solo violin episodes

2. birds: trills and high running scales

3. storm: agitated repeated notes in low strings

2. mvt. 2: Largo in C-sharp minor

1. melancholy melody

2. upper strings only

3. mvt. 3: Allegro in E major, “Rustic Dance”

1. ritornello form

2. dotted rhythms, dancelike

3. drone represents bagpipes

Page 12: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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III. Bach and the Late Baroque Concerto

1. Six Brandenburg Concertos

1. composed at Cöthen (1717–23)

2. named after Margrave Christian of Brandenburg

2. Listening Guide 24: Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, First

Movement (1717–18)

1. concerto grosso: four solo instruments

1. violin, oboe, recorder, trumpet

2. ritornello form

3. seamless polyphonic texture

4. constant rhythmic drive

PIECES:

Vivaldi, The Four Seasons

Other Baroque Instrumental Music

I. Baroque Keyboard Instruments

1. Organ, harpsichord, and clavichord

1. organ: church and home

2. harpsichord: strings are plucked, tone not sustained

3. clavichord: favorite home instrument, soft, gentle tone

2. Chamber and solo instruments

II. Sonata Types

1. Sonata da camera, chamber sonata

1. group of stylized dances

2. Sonata da chiesa, church sonata

1. serious in tone

2. four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast

3. Trio sonata

1. favored ensemble

2. two violins and basso continuo (four players)

Page 13: Baroque Declarative Knowledge

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4. Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)

1. Italian composer and violinst

2. emphasized lyricism over virtuosity

3. published four volumes of trio sonatas

5. Listening Guide 25: Corelli, Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2 in D major,

excerpts (1689)

1. mvt. 3: Adagio in B minor

1. imitative duet in violins

2. mvt. 4: Allegro in D major

1. binary form (A-A-B-B)

2. dancelike

3. imitation in three instruments

III. Domenico Scarlatti and the Solo Sonata

1. Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)

1. Italian: court composer in Portugal and Madrid

2. harpsichord virtuoso

3. wrote over 550 solo harpsichord sonatas

2. Listening Guide 26: Scarlatti, Sonata in C major, K. 159, (The Hunt) (1750s)

1. binary form (A-A-B-B)

2. dancelike, in Spanish style

3. highly ornamented: grace notes and trills

4. clarity of texture: looks forward to Classicism

IV. Other Keyboard Forms

1. Forms based on harmony

1. passacaglia: repeating bass line

2. chaconne: repeating harmonic progression

2. Forms based on improvisation

1. prelude: short study, mostly homophonic

2. toccata: free, highly virtuosic form

3. chorale prelude, chorale variations: organ virtuosity introduced chorale

to congregation

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V. The Fugue and Its Devices

1. Fugue: contrapuntal composition with single theme

1. fugue theme: subject

2. subject imitated in other voices: answer

3. three sections: exposition, episodes, restatements

4. contrapuntal devices: augmentation, diminution, retrograde, inversion,

stretto

VI. Bach’s Keyboard Fugues

1. Well-Tempered Clavier

1. two volumes: 24 preludes and fugues in each

2. prelude and fugue in all 12 major and minor keys

2. The Art of Fugue

1. 14 fugues, four canons

2. keyboard music

3. highly technical

4. contrapuntal mastery

3. Listening Guide 27: Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue (1749)

1. four-voice fugue

2. fugue subject outlines D minor triad

3. last fugue statement over pedal point

4. ends with major chord

VII. Looking Ahead to the Age of Enlightenment

1. The Rococo and the Age of Sensibility

1. rococo, from French rocaille “shell”

2. simpler artistic expression

1. shift from polyphony to homophony

3. French keyboard composers: François Couperin (1688–1733), Jean

Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)

PIECES:

Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue

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The Early and Middle Baroque: Early Baroque (1600-1650) / Middle Baroque (1650-

1700)

o The Era:

Portugese barroco, an irregularly shaped pearl, much used in jewelry.

Pejorative intent!

bizzare, unnatural, strained. Excess.

Conquest of the New World.

Thirty Years War 1618-38; bloody, nominally between the Catholics and

Protestants. Least affected was Italy; hence that is where most of the artistic

growth occured.

Monarchies. Louis the XIV “I am the state” The Sun King; imitators

everywhere.

Patronage of the arts

Galileo (1564 - 1642) - telescope; book defending Copernicus; Papal

inquisition public recant “Nevertheless it does move.”

Newton (1642-1727) - clockwork universe

Visual art:

Fills the space; fills the canvas. Detail, depth and ornamentation. Action and

movement.

Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt

o Style:

Form: imitation, ritornello, binary, ternary; variation. Unity of mood.

Doctrine of affections.

Melody: Long spun phrases with much ornamentation; disjunct motion

(triad leaps)

Tone Color: Once established remains throughout (unity of mood).

Texture: 1st monody, then a re-flowering of polyphony w/ homophonic

sections to emphasize text. Use of terraced dynamics.

Harmony: Major-minor tonality. V-I cadence standard. Common

practice. Sequence and imitation as well as chordal texture.

Rhythm: Continuity of rhythm. Repeated patterns. Forward drive is

rarely interrupted.

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o Composers:

Claudio Monteverdi (Italian 1567 - 1643)

Girolamo Frescobaldi (Italian 1583-1643)

Heinrich Schütz (Germany 1585 - 1672)

Lully (France 1632 - 1687)

Henry Purcell (English c1659 - 1695)

Arcangelo Corelli (Italian 1653 - 1713)

Couperin (French 1668 - 1733)

(The masters of the late Baroque, in Time Band III: Handel, Bach, Vivaldi)

o Genres:

Cantata - means “sung.” Small scale Italian secular song; early Baroque

monody to Bach’s full blown Lutheran church cantata in several movements

with aria, recitative, and chorus.

Opera - sung drama. Monteverdi is the 1st important composer of Opera.

Oratorio - sung drama on a Biblical or moral story; without action, scenery,

or costumes.

Organ music- toccata - fugue - chorale based pieces - mass

Sontata - means “sounded” or “played.” Sonata de chiesa and de camera.

Trio sonata for 2 melody instruments plus continuo.

Suite - evolved from the dance pairings of the Renaissance. Instrumental;

several contrasting dance movements. Covered in more depth in Time Band

III.

o Vocabulary:

aria - song from an opera

arioso - more songlike than recitative but not as formal as aria.

bel canto - literally “beautiful singing”

equal temperament - tuning applied to keyboard instruments by the late

Baroque; divided the octave into 12 equal semitones, making all keys

“equal.”

castrati - ouch. One of those Baroque extremes.

basso continuo - bass line and melody supplied, insides or harmony implied.

Kind of like a jazz lead sheet.

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ground bass - ostinato in the bass. IE in Monteverdi’s opera.

major-minor tonality - emerged during the Baroque. By 1699, it’s there. We

have been moving toward it.

monody - accompanied expressive solo song of the early Baroque. Vittoria is

a great example.

The Camerata - small Renaissance academy seeking to rediscover the

expressive power of Greek music. Led to monody.

terraced dynamics - changing dynamics by addition and subtraction of

players.

ostinato - a favorite device of Baroque and 20th C composers.

patronage - Courts and monarchs. Also churches.

recitative - imitation of speech in opera. secco (dry) and accompagnatio.

ritornello - the energizer bunny of compositional technique.

sinfonia - instrumental piece to introduce and opera or cantata

Virt

The High Baroque: (1700-1750)

o The Era:

Portugese barroco, an irregularly shaped pearl, much used in jewelry.

Pejorative intent! Bizzare, unnatural, strained. Excess.

For most (90%) of the population--peasants and laborers, life was still “short,

nasty and brutish.” War, famine and plague.

Conquest of the New World. Raw materials =

Growing merchant class

Thirty Years War 1618-48; culmination of 100 years of war, bloody,

nominally between the Catholics and Protestants. Europe’s “first” world war.

Least affected was Italy; hence that is where most of the artistic growth

occured.

Monarchies. Louis the XIV (reigned 1643-1715) “I am the state” The Sun

King; imitators everywhere. Versailles.

Hapsburg King Leopold, Veinna, Schonbrunn

Prussia (eastern Germany) King Frederick William

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Patronage of the arts

Important Figures:

Galileo (1564 - 1642) - telescope; book defending Copernicus; Papal

inquisition public recant “Nevertheless it does move.”

Newton (1642-1727) - clockwork universe. Principia (1687) based upon

math and experiment, not “speculation”

Visual art:

Fills the space; fills the canvas. Detail, depth and ornamentation. Action

and movement.

Bernini (1598-1680), Rubens (1577-1640), Rembrandt (1606-1669).

A complex mixture of rationalsism, sensuality , materialsism, and

spirituality.

“The Age of Enlightenment”

John Locke Essay Concertning Human Understanding (1690); the infant

is a tabula rasa

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) Encycopedie editor, symbolized the desire of

scientists and thinkers to define and expand the base of knowledge

Samuel Johnson undertook a massive “Dictionary of the English

Language”

Francois Votaire (1694-1778)

fairness and justice; satirical attacks on the abusses of power

twice thrown in the Bastille as a result of angering nobles

rejected God of the church; professed belief in a deity based on reason

rather than faith

Scientists and philosphers continued to reflect and write, whether

supported,opposed, or ignored by royalty (who were all trying to imitate

Louis XIV).

In England, there was an upsurge of amatuer orchestras during the late

Baroque, who played for their own enjoyment; but on the Continent: church,

wealthy patrons, or towns. Hence: chamber music from house musicians.

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o Style:

Form: Unity of mood (doctrine of affections) constant throughout piece or

section. Regular!

Melody: Creates a feeling of continuity; same melody heard again and again;

expansion, unfolding, unwinding of melody “Fortspinnung” . Sequence.

Ornamented. Not always easy to sing or remember. “Instrumental”

melodies.

Tone Color : Texture: late Baroque composers gloried in POLYPHONY! Just

like visual art, fills the space! Terraced dynamics. Largest ensemble tended to

be about 20. Tone color tended to be unimportant (unspecified

instrumentation, free substitution) (The basso continuo provides a constant

“wash of sound”)

Harmony: Dominant --> tonic relationship arises. Basso continuo. New

emphasis on VERTICAL structure. Beginning of the “common practice

period.” Regular, rapid harmonic rhythm. composer theorist Jean-Philippe

Rameau.

Rhythm: Continuity of rhythm. Beat is very important. Like a “motor”.

Constant meter.

o Composers:

Johann Sebastian Bach (German 1685-1750)

Born in Eisenach (family of professional musicians; trained by father

and older brother). Was not so famous in his own day. Organist

@Arnstadt (03-07), Mühlhausen (07-08), court organist and

concertmaster for the duke of Weimar (08-17), music director for

prince of Cöthen (17-23) and cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig

(23-50)

Blended German French and Italian styles; wrote music for his

immediate use in each position.

Exemplified the mature Baroque.

George Frideric Handel (German [English] 1685-1759)

Dominco Scarlatti (Italian 1685-1757)

Antonio Vivaldi (Italian 1678-1741)

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His main post: Pio Ospedale della Pieta, an amazing institution of

orphan girls (as many as 6000!)

Was prolific, as there was no such thing as a "standard repertoire" in

Vienna at the time: the public expected new works each season.

Known today primarily as an instrumental composer, but in his time

was also successful at opera and church music

His concertos: clear form, memorable melodies, rhythmic energy,

contrasts in timbre and texture. Usually FSF with the outer movements

displaying soloist virtuosity and ritornello form. Slow mvt usually aria

like (and elevated in importance compared to previous composers)

Influenced Bach

Jean-Philippe Rameau (French 1683-1764)

First known as a theorist and only later as a composer. Early training

and positions as an organist.

Published Traite de l’harmonie in 1722 which made his reputation

Patron was Alexandre Jean Joseph Le Riche de la Poupliniere

(nobleman, tax collector, avid patron of music) His patronage allowed

Rameau to write opera in Paris.

Rameau’s theoretical works were important: He posited the chord as

the basic unit in music, derived it from the overtone series, suggested

that it maintained its identity and root when inverted. He established

tonic, dominant, subdominant as the pillars of harmony

o Genres:

Vocal:

Opera - It. for "work" dramatic stage composition, multi-act. Emotion is

sung.

Oratorio - Like an opera without costumes or staging: Composition for

solo singers, chorus and instruments, usually dramatic, and usually on a

biblical or religious subject. Cheaper to produce than opera. Ask

Handel.

Cantata - Literally, "sung" (It.) Think of Spanish, cantar, to sing.

Contains recitative, and aria. Compare to "sonata."

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Instrumental:

Fugue:

Subject: main theme, (usu. head, middle, tail)

Countersubjects: lines sung against the subject

Episodes: take place between entries of the subject; thematic

material may be drawn from subject or countersubject, or be

new.

Stretto: overlapping entries of the subject.

Suite (varied dance movements all in the same key) AB form (each

dance)

German allemande duple moderate

French courante triple moderate

Spanish sarabande stately triple

(optional minuet, gavotte, bourree or passepied

English gigue (jig) lively 6/8

Sonata - sonare (It.) to play an instrumental work; usu. in several

movements for one or two solo instruments.

chamber sonata (camera) dance suite for at home

church sonata (chiesa) more serious, several movements for

church use.

Trio sonata (2 vlns plus continuo equals 4)

Concerto -- concertare=”to contend with” (2 dissimilar masses of

sound)

Concerto Grosso (alternation between small group and larger

group)

Concerto Ripieno (concerto for orchestra)

Solo Concerto (violin the major one): Three movements F-S-F.

The operatic Overture

French (slow-fast; fast loosely fugal)

Italian (fast(not fugal)-slow/lyrical-fast dance like) (hey, its a

concerto!)

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Improvisiation - in the realization of figured bass (basso continuo) and

in cadenzas.

o Vocabulary:

arpeggio - a broken chord

binary form - AB: tonic -->dominant / dominant -->tonic, or tonic -->relative

major and back

concertino - the soloists of a concerto grosso

cadenza - improvisitory solo passage; display of virtuosity, before final

cadence (before coda) of a solo concerto

circle of fifths - progression of the downward fifth II-V-I.

da capo aria - ABA form aria

doctirne of affections - (Affectenlehre) an attempt by Baroque theorists and

composers (Johann Mattheson) to codify the means of expressing emotions

in music by imparting convetional meaning to certain keys, tempi, rhythmic

patterns, and even to intervals. Once created, melodic figures or motives

were then spun out throughout a movement or section of a piece in

accordance with the Baroque musico-dramatic practice of presenting one

affection at a time.

harmonic rhythm - the rate or pattern of harmonic change

hemiola - alteration of two of triple meter at two different metrical levels.

libretto - “book” the text (story) of an opera.

ornaments - addition of mostly stereotyped melodic figures (trills,

appogiaturas, mordents, etc.) by performer (improvisation), composer or

editor.

overture - an introductory instrumental movement played at the beginning

of an opera, stage play, oratorio or suite. A concert overture, on the other

hand, is an independent compoosition.

passicaglia - a variation form based upon an ostinato theme usually heard in

the bass.

pedal point - sustained note in the bass, over which harmonies move.

scordatura - any non-standard tuning of a stringed instrument.

stretto - overlapping of subject entries in a fugue.

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ternary form - three part form, normally ABA.

thoroughbass - a system wherby a keyboard player improvises chords over a

given bass line by means of symbols (numbers and accidentals) placed

beneath the staff. (figured bass, basso continuo). Fills in, or realized the

harmony.

o Instruments:

high trumpet

oboe

recorder

pipe organ

string family