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the Baroque era

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roughly from 1600 to 1750

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it takes time and some distance to understand the boundaries of an era

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the mid 18th century

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so the Baroque era didn't receive its name until mid 18th century

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at first it had a negative meaning

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the style known as Classical music was being established

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the simple, singable melodies that we associate with Haydn, Mozart, and later Beethoven

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critics who preferred the newer, simpler style compared it to complex, contrapuntal style of Bach and the music of the 17th century

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they call this music "Baroque"

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the word itself is French and literally means "misshapen pearl"

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with regard to music, it's meant to convey the idea that the music from that time was somehow exaggerated, irregular, overwrought, and overdecorated

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19th century

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"Baroque" took on a positive meaning

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critiques and audiences came to appreciate the earlier music as ornate, dramatic and expressive

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painting and sculptures now depicted people in action or in motion as opposed to simply standing or posing in one position

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in literature, think of the high drama in Shakespeare's plays or the rise of operatic stories

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even the new style of architecture conveyed this new idea of drama

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key elements in Baroque

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not just music but painting, sculpture, architecture, literature was its focus on drama

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in painting

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often depicted people in action or motion, as apposed to simply standing or posing

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in literature

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the high drama in Shakespeare's plays

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the rise of operatic stories

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in architecture

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statues, paintings and ornamentation conveyed drama

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music was valued for its ability to move the affections or emotions of the listener

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sadness, joy, anger, love, fear

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experiencing a range of emotions in a single piece of music brought one's soul into a more stable state which promoted better physical and mental health

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unlike the Romantic era and later

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Baroque composers were not expressing their personal feelings or emotions through their music

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they were expressing the range of emotions found in the text or in a story, or simply a range of contrasting emotions

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a time of national styles

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each country developed its own sound and composition techniques

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the music of the Renaissance which comes before and Classical which comes after, were international

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Baroque in Italy

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Florentine Camerata

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a group of thinkers, scientists, poets, and musicians

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hosted by the count of Florence, Giovanni de' Bardi and Vincenzo Galilei and others

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purpose of group was to discuss and shape trends in literature, science and the arts which included music

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researched and discussed the role of music in ancient Greek tragedies

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from these discussions they created what we know today as opera, including concepts such as

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aria = vocal solo

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recitative = vocal passage in which singing resembles speech

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[res-ih-tah-TEEV]

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first operas

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1598 Daphne

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by Jacopo Peri (1561-1633)

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1600 L'euridice

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by Jacopo Peri

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aria and recitative affected all genres of music

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instrumental

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religious

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1607 Claudio Monteverdi, "L'Orfeo"

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took opera to a new level

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through 17th century, opera expanded from Greek tragedies

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mythology

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comedy

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epic stories

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audiences were drawn to famous soloists singing the most popular arias

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costumes and sets grew more adventurous

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this made opera the most popular genre of the Baroque

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Baroque in France

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French developed a different style of Baroque than Italy

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influenced heavily by

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1. dance, specifically ballet

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2. the reign of King Louis XIV

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reigned for almost 72 years

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known as Sun King after Apollo

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god of sun, music, poetry, and science

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spent money on arts

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funded court ballet

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established the Royal Academy of Dance and Music

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used this as propaganda

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large ensembles

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24 Violins of the King

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by 1670s became known as orchestra

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Jean Baptiste Lully

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[loo-LEE]

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actually from Florence

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came to France in 1646 at the age of 14

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Italian tutor for one of the king's cousins

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appointed the court composer of instrumental music

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charged with creating a new kind of French opera different than Italian opera

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refined and elegant ornamentation

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French overtures with their majestic rhythms

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strict and known for instilling discipline in his orchestra

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demanded uniform bowing

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all bows in a string section must move up and down at the same time

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his orchestras were very popular

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this discipline was modeled in other orchestras

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to convey his power to his orchestra

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he conducted with a staff which he banged on the floor

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often based on dance

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4 or 5 dances of contrasting tempos, meters, and styles were often collected into a suite, e.g.

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Allemande: moderate tempo in 4

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followed by a Courante in 3

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a slow, dignified dance in 3

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followed by a fast dance in 6/8

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dances were stylized

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ornamentation were such that you could no longer actually dance to it

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minuet

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a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time

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chaconne

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used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line (ground bass) which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and melodic invention

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Baroque in England

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music was supported in Italy by strong cities and churches, e.g. in Rome and Venice

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in France music was supported by King Louis the XIV

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in England the support for music was not as strong

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weakened monarchy

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relatively short periods of Henry VIII's children in the 16th century

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English Civil War (1642–1651) that even ended the monarchy for a short time

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a few composers attempted to develop an English style

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

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1688 Dido and Aeneas [DIGH-doh and ah-NEE-us]

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an opera

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prologue and three acts

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George Friedrich Händel (1685-1759)

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1712 moved to London

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blended Italian opera with elements of French and English styles

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wrote over 40 operas in London before switching his focus to oratorios, e.g. the Messiah in 1741

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opera was never as popular with the London public as it was in Italy and France

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masques

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England had what one calls masques, which were more collaborative performances, not unified in plot or style

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also semi-operas

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spoken plays with musical interludes

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public concerts and publications

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the only viable way that professional musicians could make a living

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how music in the Baroque was funded

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support for music in the Baroque

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royal courts

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city governments

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churches

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wealthy families, e.g. Medici

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Baroque marked a shift in who paid for music

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began to be shaped by the public

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1637 first public opera house in San Cassiano

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1672 first public instrumental concert in London

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the exanding middle class began to decide what was popular and what was not by the power of buying tickets

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people had a high demand for new music rather than music of the past

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each important church day, parties, weddings, etc.

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it was expected that there would be new music composed for that occasion

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very few vocal works were performed for more than a year or two

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instrumental music lasted a few decades, usually as long as the composer was alive

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a large amount of music was produced because of the demand

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monody was the most popular singing genre

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accompanied solo singing, arias

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it was the easiest way to understand the text

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showed off the talents of the singer

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violin became the most popular instrument

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composers would write specifically for soloists

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example of this is the "Ciaccona" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita for Violin No. 2