The Baroque Period

General Characteristics
of the Baroque Period
• Approximately dates from 1600-1750.
• The development of functional harmony and figured
bass.
• More emphasis on counterpoint and harmony.
• The use of ornamentation. (Written out or improvised)
• The first appearance of opera and the concerto.
• Dance suites and sonatas are prevalent in instrumental
music as well as the prelude, fugue, toccata, chaconne,
passacaglia, variation, etc.
• The church and nobility remain as the major employers of
musicians.
The Baroque Guitar and
Lute Overview
• The Renaissance 4-course guitar evolves into the 5-
course or Baroque guitar.
• New strumming techniques and notation are
developed for the Baroque guitar.
• Bass strings continue to be added to the Baroque
lute which branches off into families such as
theorbos, archlutes, etc.
• Vihuela activity/publication decreases and the
instrument eventually fades away.
• Main locations of guitar/lute activity include Italy,
Spain, France, and Germany.
 The Baroque Guitar
• 5 courses were made of gut and tuned (from
low to high): A-d-g-b-e.

• The rosette/sound-hole is usually ornate. Other

parts of the guitar may also have detailed
decoration.

• Baroque guitar activity was mainly in Italy,

Spain, and France.

• Strumming chords in a new “rasgado” style

develops along with the continued polyphonic
style.
 Baroque Guitar
Composers/Performers
 Joan Carles Amat
• Spanish early Baroque guitarist
• He wrote Guitarra espanola de cinco ordenes in 1596. This
is an important early source for 5-course guitar
methods.
• The book distinguishes between strumming chords and
playing melodies.
• The book also includes an early version of a chord chart
(chords were labeled 1-12 followed by a letter (n=major,
b=minor).
 Girolamo Montesardo
• An Italian Baroque guitarist/composer.
• In 1606 he wrote Nuova Inventione... (New Method of Learning
to Play Dances on the Spanish Guitar without Numbers and
Notes) published in Florence.
• This book was one of the first to use alfabeto: a type of
notation used during the Baroque period to notate chords by
using letters of the alphabet.
• Alfabeto made playing the guitar more accessible to the
amateur musician, however it also invited criticism from those
who preferred a more polyphonic, sophisticated style.
• See example of alfabeto notation.
 Opposition to the
Baroque Guitar

• read excerpts p. 33,

41
 Paolo Foscarini (1600-
1647)
• Italian Baroque guitarist/lutenist/composer.
• He travelled/performed throughout Europe and wrote several
books of guitar music.
• He is credited with developing mixed alfabeto: a type of
notation used for Baroque guitar that combined alfabeto
notation with traditional tablature notation (usually Italian
tablature). This provided an opportunity to have strumming
along with melody/polyphony in a single piece. [Read excerpt p.
37] [see example of mixed alfabeto]
• “Foscarini gives detailed instructions about his notation and
discusses three playing styles: battute (strummed), pizzicato
(plucked) which he deemed more appropriate to the lute, and a
mixture of the two, which he employs predominantly in his later
publications.” -Boye, Gary R.. "Giovanni Paolo Foscarini", Grove
Music Online, ed. L. Macy
 Francesco Corbetta
(1615-1681)
• Italian early Baroque guitarist

• Most popular/influential
guitarist of his time.

• He worked in the highest

courts of Spain, England,
Italy, and France (under Louis
XIV)

• He wrote several books of

guitar music (mostly in the
mixed alfabeto style).

• He was also an influential

teacher (he probably taught
Granata and de Visee).
 Other Notable Early
Baroque Guitarists
• Bartolotti
• Millioni
• Carbonchi
• Velasco
• Pesori
• etc...
Listening: Corbetta ‘caprice de
chaconne’