Baroque music is the style of Western music extending approximately from 1600 to 1750 Baroque music expanded the

size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. Characteristics of Baroque music general: heavy, grand, expansive Performance Media : chamber orchestra, chorus plus chamber orchestra, chamber ensembles (vocal and instrumental), organ, harpsichord Rhythm : steady beats, running bass, regular meters of 2, 3, 4, and 6 beats, tempo of piece stays same throughout except for slowing near end (there is no shift in tempo) Melody: using major and minor scales, ornamentation, sequences, and imitation, first real use of chromatic, continuous, fortspinnung (Bach) , repetition elaborate and ornamental, rapidious notes. Melody also creates a feeling of continuity. An opening melody will be heard again and again as it expands, unfolds, and unwinds. Melodic sequence (repetition of a musical idea at a higher or lower pitch). Elaborate and ornamental and not easy to sing or remember Harmony : strong harmonic movement; sequences of harmony and recurring cadences; major and minor harmonies used Dynamic Expression: contrasting (sudden drops and increases: called terraced dynamics); echo imitation used; no gradual increases or decreases in loudness (crescendo or diminuendo), lack of detail in scorescomposers under pressure to produce a lot of music in a short amount of time. The main instruments of the dayorgan and harpsichord could not obtain a crescendo or decrescendo by finger pressure on the keys (as pianists today can do)

Overview Texture: mainly polyphonic (Predominantly polyphonic); thick texture with 1 or more melodies in high parts and contrapuntal melodies in lower parts; continuous bass line; occasional contrasting homophonic sections to add interest. A melodic idea heard in one voice is likely to appear in another voice as well Unity of mood: One piece captures one mood, only exception is vocal music, (changes of text change the mood of the music). [Renaissance music was structured and rigid.] Primary Forms : concerto, concerto grosso, suite, oratorio, cantata, opera; trio sonata and other sonatas for instruments; keyboard prelude, fugue, and toccata

Tonal System was developed (Middle Baroque) A move from the medieval (church) modes: The tonal system was developedevery note of the major or minor scale bears a specific relationship to every other note, and all of the pitches are specifically related to the first note or tonic. The keynote do became the most powerful force.

BAROQUE FORMS: Movement a piece that sounds fairly complete and independent but is part of a larger composition. Concerto: The most important orchestral genre of the baroque era. A contest between solo and orchestra.
The baroque concerto was mainly for a string instrument (violin, viola, cello, seldom viola d'amore or harp) or a wind instrument (oboe, trumpet, flute, or horn)

Concerto Grosso-a small group of soloists (2-4) is pitted against a larger group of players called the tutti.
The concerto grosso (Italian for big concert(o), plural concerti grossi) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the concertino) and full orchestra (theripieno). This is in contrast to the concerto which features a single solo instrument with the melody line, accompanied by the orchestra. (example to show differences)

Has several movements-usually three (fast, slow, fast) Ritornello form-based on the alteration between tutti and solo sections. The tutti opens with a theme called the ritornello (refrain) Fugue: A polyphonic composition based on one main theme, called a subject. Throughout the fugue, different melodic lines, or voices imitate the subject. The subject may be announced by any voice An independent fugue often times is introduced by a short piece called a prelude. Pedal Point is when a single tone, usually in the bass, is held while the other voices produce a series of changing harmonies against it.

Opera: (Perhaps this is the single most important development of the Baroque: the invention of OPERA!) One of the foremost innovations of the era because it allowed the realism of extreme emotions. Fusion of music, poetry, acting, dance, scenery, costumesthat offers a theatrical experience. (chorus and extras) Originated in Italy. Created by composer and dramatist. Libretto is the text, written by the librettist or dramatist. Music is created by the composer. Serious and comic operas May contain spoken dialogue, but most are entirely sung. Aria- a song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment (the main attraction) Recitative- a vocal line that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech Prelude/Overture-most operas open with an orchestral composition Baroque opera marked the rise of virtuoso singers. Sonata: composition in several movements for 1 - 8 instruments. sonata da chiesa / sonata da camera Trio sonata: they had three melodic lines: two high ones and a basso continuoand involves four instrumentalists (2 high instruments and basso continuo). Usually two high instruments (flutes, violins, oboes) and two instruments for the basso continuoa keyboard instrument (organ or harpsichord) and a low instrument (cello or bassoon) Originated in Italy spread to Germany, England, France Chorale: or hymn tune was sung to a German religious text. Easy to sing and remember. One note to a syllable and moved in a steady rhythm. Cantata: principal means of musical expression in the Lutheran service, and one that used chorales. The cantata was written for chorus, vocal soloists, organ, and a small orchestra with a German religious text drawn from the Bible or familiar hymns. The cantata closely resembled the opera of the time Oratorio: Major development in baroque vocal music. Large-scale composition for chorus, orchestra, vocal soloists, and orchestra; usually set to a narrative text. Different from opera in that it has no scenery, costumes,

or acting. Based on biblical stories but usually not intended for religious services.
Dance types gavotte, minuet, courante, allemande, gigue found their way into instrumental compositions -> their enormous variety formed the basis of the Baroque suite.

The Baroque Suite: During the Baroque period, the suite was one of the most common forms used in the composition of instrumental music, especially keyboard works, and was popular throughout Europe. A suite in this meaning of the word applies to a collection of small-scale pieces, based on dance forms, grouped together into a set. INSTRUMENTS

Instrument making reached new heights warmth of sound with natural expression

The Baroque Era saw the continuation of all the instruments that were used during the Renaissance. During this period, there were mechanical and technological improvements to the instruments, and they started to develop into the instruments that we know today. Another important development of the Baroque Era was the development of the violin family, which occurred at the end of the 1600s.
Keyboard:

produced sound by striking a metal wedge striking against a string when a key was pressed. The sound quality was weak, but the instrument was able to produce some dynamics. It was mainly used in Germany and usually played as a solo instrument or in a small ensemble.
+ Clavichord:

The Baroque organ was more powerful than its predecessor, the Renaissance organ. Organs were mostly associated with church music and used as solo instruments or accompaniment instruments. A vast growth in organ literature took place during this period.
+ Organ:

Harpsichord:The harpsichord usually had two manuals or keyboards. It's tone was produced with quills which plucked the strings mechanically every time a key was pressed. The tone of the harpsichord was stronger than the clavichord but it could not produce dynamics. The harpsichord was the main instrument employed in the basso continuo. It is one of the most distinctive sounds of the Baroque Era and was the most favored instrument in solo music.
+ + fortepiano: One of two instruments in existence -

The principal string instruments of the 1600s were the viol family. The new violin family of instruments slowly replaced them. The violin soon became the new leader of the stringed instruments, and its sound became the dominant timbre in late Baroque ensemble music. (The Amati family). Stradivari made harps, guitars, violas,
String instruments: and cellos-- more than 1,100 instruments in all. About 650 of these instruments survive today (Antonio Stradivari)

Violin making reached its highest point during the Baroque period. Indeed, the best violins in the world today were made then in Cremona, a town in the Po River valley of northern Italy. The names of Cremona's great violin-making families, such as the Stradivari and Guarneri, are familiar today because their instruments continue to be the most prized by our greatest violinists. Wind Instruments During the Baroque era the principal woodwind instruments used were the bassoon, flute, and oboe. Older end-blown recorders were still in use during the late Baroque period. The transverse flute started to become a common solo and ensemble instrument. Brass instruments such as horns, trumpets, and trombones were used in large ensembles, but rarely as solo instruments. Mellow sound as opposed to a more brassy sound in modern times. Percussion Instruments Timpani were the only percussion instruments in common use at this time. They were used sparingly in the orchestra.

Most of the Baroque musical instruments and forms which evolved during the Baroque period survive today, particularly as they were embodied in the most familiar European art music, the music of the Classical and Romantic periods of the nineteenth century.

Baroque musicians served patrons, whether nobles, state or church. It was not until well into the eighteenth century that some musicians, like their twentieth century counterparts, began to work without patronage as independent professionals, earning a living from teaching, composing and performing.

Antonio Vivaldi example = One of the most popular Baroque instrumental works, Vivaldi's Four Seasons is fundamentally a concerto grosso for solo violin. It is also an example of program music, that is, music that tells a story, often with the mimicking of everyday sounds. This excerpt (the first movement of the Autumn concerto) tells the story of an autumn harvest festival. The fast passage work in the violin and orchestra, representing the celebratory atmosphere of an autumn harvest festival, gives way to the ingesting of spirits, which yields to an atmosphere of slumber; then, a wakeful and lively mood finishes the celebration.