Baroque Era Main purpose of music in the Baroque o Move the affections relatively stable states of the soul caused by humors in the body Experiencing affections through music brings humor in balance Music expresses idealized and generalized passions not the composers personal feelings Music should only move one affect at a time Emphasis on the dramatic Effects the Baroque had on music o Increased emphasis on homophonic rather than polyphonic textures o Use of basso continuo System of notation and performance practice Used particularly in homophonic textures as accompaniment Instrumental bass line is written out and performers fill in the appropriate harmony Written bass line usually reinforced by sustaining bass instrument such as cello with chordal instrument such as lute of keyboard playing the harmony o Development of conventional musical gestures to move affections Invention of new genres including opera concerto oratorio cantata and suite Baroque Opera o Opera drama that is sung throughout and staged with scenery costumes and action New genre invented in the early 17th century From discussions in Florentine Camerata Early operas written for courts and academic societies Public opera from mid 17th century Opera in the vernacular language Music in Baroque Opera o Emphasis on homophonic texture o Use of basso continuo o Recitative the text a style of singing more similar to speech that follows the natural rhythms of Advances the plot Usually syllabic No clear meter Nearly opera is more expressive than later a lyrical self contained monologue sung in an opera oratorio or cantata Character s reaction and response to events in the plot Clear meter o Claudio Monteverdi o Aria Composer and singer Italian Held position in the court and church Used second practice Text is expressed and music should be able to reflect that Orpheus 1607 Used a chorus o Ensemble with multiple singers per part Provide commentary on what is happening in the plot Texture polyphonic Baroque Opera in England o Henry Purcell 1659 1695 Composer singer organist Worked for the courts of Charles II and others Known for vocal music Dido Aeneas 1689 One of only two surviving English Baroque Operas Based on Virgil s Aeneas Overture an instrumental opening movement that introduces a larger a specific type of overture common in French work o French Overture Baroque Opera Binary Form a musical form consisting of two repeated sections AABB o 1st section slow tempo with long short rhythm o 2nd section faster tempo and uses imitation Texture homophonic Uses basso continuo Ostinato short pattern of notes that repeats ostinato in the bass line o Ground bass o Orpheus vs Dido and Aeneas Similarities Both have mythological plots Use the same type of music o Serious o Aria Homophonic texture Homophonic texture o Recitatives o Chorus Polyphonic texture Differences Dido and Aeneas begins with a French overture Dido and Aeneas recitatives are less expressive Arias in Dido and Aeneas use ground bass and ostinatos Orpheus uses more word painting Baroque Instrumental Music o Concerto a larger ensemble instrumental composition in which a soloist of group of soloists contrasts with New genre in the late 17th Century Emphasis on drama contrast and virtuosity Shows influence of opera overture arias and solo instrumental works Two types of concertos Solo concerto o Concerto where an instrumental soloist contrasts with the larger ensemble Concerto Grosso o Concerto where a group of soloists contrasts with a larger form in which instrumental ritornello played by full ensemble Usually has 3 movements Tempos are fast then slow then fast Shows virtuosity of soloists Ritornello principle form orchestra alternating sections with the soloist s Repeats usually varied throughout the movement Based on contrast in timbre and harmony Antonio Vivaldi 1678 1741 Called the Red Priest Violinist teacher and composer Worked for a girls orphanage Wrote secular sacred vocal and instrumental works Wrote over 500 concertos 4 Seasons Winter 1st movement instrumental music associated with a story o 1720 o Program music event or idea o Duple meter o Lots of expected dissonance o Texture ritornellos are polyphonic and solos are homophonic o Tempo fast which is expected of the first and last movements o Form ritornello form Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 1750 Composer of very complicated music Organ virtuoso German Brandenburg Concerto no 2 Finale Primarily worked for churches o 1720 o Fugue polyphonic work with imitation based on central theme or subject Fugal exposition Typically begins with an exposition followed by an opening entry of all voices on a subject alternation of episodes and middle entries section without subject Episode Middle entries throughout the piece entries of subject in any voice Can describe an entire piece as a genre or compositional technique used within something else as a texture o Genre Concerto Grosso 4 soloists o Texture fugue o Unusual because starts with solo instead of a ritornello o Duple meter o Fast tempo o Timbre contrast between ensemble and soloists within solo group instruments o Dynamics not large changes stays pretty similar o Form ritornello form o 1705 o Composed for organ o Genre fugue o Melody disjunct o Rhythmic patterns gradual increase with beat staying the same o Texture polyphonic with imitative counterpoint which is characteristic of a fugue piece of work Little Fugue in G Minor Baroque Sacred Music Cantata 140 Movements 1 and 7 o Written by J S Bach in 1731 o Chorale cantata a work for voices and orchestra based on a chorale with several movements that include recitatives arias choruses and chorale settings Sung during a Lutheran service Chorale Lutheran hymn tone Movement 1 o Movement one is a chorus and movement seven is a chorale setting Sometimes difficult to determine melody in soprano o Singing slower longer notes Melismatic Triple meter Texture polyphonic Form ritornello Movement 7 Everybody is singing together with a melody o Homophonic texture o Easier to hear melody Syllabic Form bar form o AAB George Handel o 1685 1759 o German composer keyboard player but adopted by the English o Composed both sacred and secular music o Oratorio choruses but not staged On sacred topics New genre that was invented in Italy in the mid 17th century Handel invents English Oratorio in 1730s a work musically similar to an opera with recitatives arias and In England typically performed in concert halls not churches Often