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Notes on video lecture:
18th Century Baroque Improvisation
Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
parties, devotion, skills, improviser, trills, Italians, sublime, bass line, cadenzas, embellish, language, fugues, French, notes, top, Baroque, theme
improvisation played an important role in the               
the written music often supplied only the melody which the performer was expected to                   
a figured                   
included numbers which indicated which other            were to be played
singers and instrumentalists were expected to improvise ornaments like             , grace notes, and turns
to personally enhance composers music
Da Capo aria
"from the       "
the singer would sing the aria once as written
then sing it from the top adding ornaments and embellishments to show off their             
while the              preferred fine embellishments
the                  used extended embellishments like whole scales and arpeggios
performers of concertos would perform their own                 
improvised solo passages toward the end of a concerto movement
the best keyboardists in the Baroque were able to improvise variations on a given           
and even improve             
at                or informal competitions
improvisation was a true mark of one's musicianship
creativity
technique
deep understanding of the musical                 
J.S. Bach
a remarkable                     
his organ compositions were "full of the expression of                 , solemnity, and dignity"
of his improvisations, "in which nothing was lost in the process of writing down but everything came directly to life out of his imagination, is said to have been still more devout, solemn, dignified and               "

Vocabulary:

arpeggio, n. a musical technique in which notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare", which means "to play on a harp". An arpeggiated chord may be written with a wavy vertical line in front of the chord, and is spread from the lowest to the highest note. Occasionally, however, composers such as Béla Bartók have asked for them to be played from top to bottom. This is shown by adding an arrow pointing down.  "In a Da Capo aria ("from the top"), in which the singer would sing the aria once as written, then sing it again "from the top" adding ornaments and embellishments to show off their skills, the French preferred fine embellishments, while the Italians used extended embellishments such as whole scales and arpeggios."

Ideas and Concepts:

Tuning in to the improvisation spirit of Bach via tonight's History of Western Music: "Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, son of Johann Sebastian Bach, said of his father that his organ compositions were "full of the expression of devotion, solemnity, and dignity", but of his improvisations, "nothing was lost in the process of writing down but everything came directly to life out of his imagination, producing music that was still more devout, solemn, dignified and sublime". One can only imagine a musical genius such as Bach creating some of the world's most sophisticated music on fly, never to be heard again. Perhaps the best way is to imagine what was going through Bach's mind when he improvised and what his improvisations might have sounded like, is to improvise on Bach yourself, and let him come to life."
Ancient Musical Notation
Medieval Chant Notation
Polyphony
Ars Nova, New Rhythm in the 14th Century
Musical Terms and Notation
The Baroque Era (1600-1750)
18th Century Baroque Improvisation
The Bach Family and the International Style of Baroque
Bach's Monumental Chaconne
The Classical Era (1750-1815)