Baroque Period

1600-1750
Introduction
Baroque is a flamboyant style of architecture
and art. It is highly ornamental and
extravagant in style. It simply means strange,
unusual or weird. One characteristic of
Baroque style is that it fills space, canvas or
stone and sound with action.
The painting, architecture and music of this
period are characterized by a certain spirit of
theatricalism, of grandiose concepts, and by
a heavy elaboration of design and
magnificence.
The meaning of Baroque
Scholars are still not certain about
the etymology of the term Baroque.
The Italian baroco is a philosophical
term meaning “contradictory” or
“paradoxical”; the Portuguese word
baroco means a crooked round pearl;
another Italian word parucca means
wig or false hair.
Characteristics of Baroque Music
In general, Baroque music is
manifest in large-scale productions,
spectacular music, contrasts and an
over-all granduer.
1. Secular music takes precedence
over sacred music.
2. Instrumental music is at music with
vocal
3. A new device, the figured bass, is
employed throughout the period.
Figured bass is a sort of musical
shorthand in which chords are
indicated by placing numbers below
the bass part played by a keyboard
instrument.
4. Three large vocal forms come into
being: the opera, the oratorio, and the
cantata
2. The solo song is a homophonic
vocal composition with
accompaniment intended for
performance by a lute or
keyboard instrument, with or
without additional instruments.
3. The figured bass is the use of
numerals below a bass melody to
indicate harmony.
Dramatic Music of the Period
Oratorio
- It is a dramatic production on a large
scale, usually dealing with a Biblical
subject, and produced without
staging, or scenery.
Cantata
- It is similar to the oratorio except that
it is a short, lyric form. It deals with
varied subject matter, either religious
or secular.
Passion
- It is a dramatic presentation of the
story of Easter, Presentation of the
story according to the gospels of St.
Mathew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St.
John has a long history, going back
into the early Christian era.
Instruments of the Period
Most of the instruments used in the
Renaissance were still used throughout
the Baroque. No new instruments were
invented but there were some
improvements made.
Keyboard instruments. The instruments
used were the harpsicord, the clavichord
and the organ.
String Instruments. The violin was added to
the older violin instrument. The lute
became less important as an instrumental
medium.
Wind Instruments. The standard wind
instruments in the Baroque are the oboe
and the bassoon.
Basso Continuo. The accompaniment, which
is called basso continuo or figured bass or
thorough bass, consists of a written bass
line with numerals below the notes.
The tempo of arioso is steady. It has
only one basic mood that tends to
dwell on a single emotional stall.
Aria – later on, arioso expanded into
aria, which is a three-part form
(ABA). First section (A) was
followed by second section (B) which
is contrasting to the first one and goes
back to first section (A) and ends in
it.
Suite – is an ordered set of
instrumental pieces meant to be
performed at a single sitting.
Oratorio – is an extended
musical setting of sacred,
usually non-liturgical text.. It is
a composition for chorus, vocal
soloists and for the orchestra in
a large-scale.
In Baroque music, there is unity of mood.
And because of this, there is continuity of
rhythm. Same rhythmic patterns are heard
throughout the piece.
Melody is a continuous and repeated
throughout the piece.
Terraced dynamics is a strong characteristics
of Baroque music, which means there is a
sudden change of dynamics from soft to
getting loud and vice versa.
Texture is predominantly polyphonic.
Famous composers
of Baroque Period
George Frideric Handel
Born on February 23, 1685 in Halle,
Germany
Composed church, secular, and theater music
for illustrious patrons in Florence, Rome,
Naples, and Venice
Met Italians composers who significantly
influenced his work, such as Arcangelo
Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and his son
Domenico Scarlatti, Giacomo Perti, Antonio
Caldara, and many others
Accepted in 1791 as
kapellmeister to the Elector of
Hanover
His opera titled Rinaldo
premiered in 1711 in London.
Settled in Britain in 1719 and
wrote operas for the Queen’s
Theater
Became the music director of the
then-newly founded Royal
Famous Composition of Handel
Rinaldo
Alcina
Semele
Ariodante
Saul
Theodora
Solomon