Baroque: Guide Sheet + Musical Features

When: 1600-1750
What:
Large Instrumental Works
- Concerto: Solo or Concerto Grosso (small group of soloists)
3 Movements: Slow-Fast-Slow
Small string orchestra as the accompanying group
- Orchestral Suites: Sets of shorter pieces based on dance form (Handel’s Firework Music)
Chamber Music
- Sonatas for Keyboard, or for solo instrument accompanied by basso continue
- 3 Movements: Slow-Fast-Slow
- Trio Sonatas: As above but with two solo instruments
- Suites: As above but for keyboard or solo instrument plus basso continuo
Vocal Music
- Opera: A story put to music in several acts, with solo singers and chorus, accompanied by
orchestra and basso continuo
- Opera music is made up of Recitatives (speech-like), Arias (songs) and Choruses
- Oratorio: The sacred version of opera, but without the staging and costumes, performed in
church
- Mass: Musical setting of the Roman Catholic service with 5 main movements: Kyrie, Gloria,
Credo Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei.
How:
Baroque style is complicated, elaborate, decorative and showy.

Who:
Example Reasons:
- Because the piece contains a basso continuo line of harpsichord and cello
- Because the piece is highly polyphonic / contrapuntal, or features imitative entries
- Because the melody lines are decorated with lots of ornaments such as trills and turns
- Because the solo line is complex and virtuosic
- Because the melody line is constructed from strings of sequences
- Because the piece is based on a repeated bass line known as a ground bass