MU S 1 0 0 0-01 3 In troduc tion t o Music The Baroque P eriod ( 1 6 0 0 1 7 5 0 C.E.

) S t ud y Guide Salien t Poin t s

Required Reading: Kamien text (sixth edition) Pages 91-147 Required Lis t ening: (all selections found on the Kamien 5-CD set sixth edition) Selection Composer Kamien Disc # Brandenburg J S Bach CD #1 Concerto No. 5 Fugue in G Minor J S Bach CD #1 Tu se morta C. Monteverdi CD #1 (from Orfeo) Didos Lament H. Percell CD #1 La Primavera A. Vivaldi CD #2 (from The Four Seasons) Orchestral Suite J S Bach CD #2 No. 3 Wachet auf, ruft J S Bach CD #2 uns die Stimme, IV (from Cantata No. 140) Wachet auf, ruft J S Bach CD #2 uns die Stimme, VII (from Cantata No. 140) Evry Valley (from G.F. Hndel CD #2 The Messiah) Hallelujah (from The G.F. Hndel CD #2 Messiah)

Track #s 63-67 68-70 71 72-73 1-9 10-11 12-14

15

16 17-22

There will be additional listening from these and other composers in class. The term baroque has, at various time meant the following: 1. Elaborately ornamented 2. Flamboyant 3. Bizarre The three historical subdivisions within the Baroque Period are: 1. Early (1600-1640) 2. Middle (1640-1680) 3. Late (1680-1750: death of J.S. Bach)

List three significant historical and/or cultural events which occurred during the Baroque Period: 1. 2. 3. ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Name three important artists of the baroque period and a representative work from each: 1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Name two important writers of the baroque period and a representative work from each: 1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ General Characteristics of Baroque Music: Main Points: 1. The early baroque period was characterized by homophonic texture. 2. The late baroque period was characterized by polyphonic texture. 3. Baroque melodies are elaborate and ornamental. Supplemental Points: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Unity of mood: Affections (musical language depicted these Affections) Continuity of rhythm Repetition of melody Terraced Dynamic Varied Textures (imitation and contrast) Use of Chords & Basso Continuo (figured bass) Operas of the early baroque were always based upon Greek mythology and ancient history.

Who were the two giants of baroque composition: 1. Johann Sebastian Bach 2. George Frideric Hndel

What was the social status of a composer/ in the Baroque era? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ The Baroque Orchestra: 1. It was based upon instruments of the violin family 2. Instrumentation was flexible and could vary from piece to piece 3. Usually consisted of between 10 and 30/40 musicians Terminology: Movement A composition that sounds complete and independent, but is part of a larger work. Terraced dynamics The alteration between loud and soft dynamics. Libretto The text of an opera written by the librettist (dramatist) and set to music by the composer. op. The abbreviation for opus (Latin for work). Castrati The highest paid musicians for the baroque period. Male singers who had been castrated before puberty. Combined the lung power of a man with vocal range of a woman. Aria A song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment. Augmentation A lengthening of the original notated time values of a subject. Diminution The shortening of the original notated time values of a subject. Ground Bass A musical idea in the bass that is repeated over and over while the melodies above it change. Embellishments Ornamental tones, not printed in the music, that 17th & 18th century musicians were expected to add to the music.

Tutti The term used to describe when the full orchestral ensemble is playing. Musical forms (as applicable to the baroque era): (Solo) Concerto A composition, usually in 3 movements, for soloist and orchestra. Concerto Grosso A composition, usually in 3 movements, for a group of soloists and orchestra. Ritornello form Usually found in the 1st and 3rd movements of concerti grossi, it is and alternation between tutti and soloists. Fugue A fugue is a polyphonic composition based on one main theme, called a subject. Throughout a fugue, different melodic lines, or voices, imitate the subject. Opera Opera (or drama) is sung to orchestral accompaniment. This unique fusion of music, acting, poetry, dance, scenery, and costumes offers a theatrical experience of overwhelming excitement and emotion. Character and plot are revealed through song, rather than the speech used in ordinary drama. Baroque Sonata A multi-movement composition for one to eight instruments. Trio Suite A sonata written with three melodic lines; two high, one low. Baroque Suite A set of dance-inspired movements usually written in two-part form (with each section repeated AABB.) The Chorale The chorale, or hymn tune, was sung to a German religious text. Chorales were easy to sing and remember, having only one note to a syllable and moving in steady rhythm. The Chorale Prelude New church music was often based on tradition melodies written as far back as two centuries earlier. Before the congregation began to sing a hymn, the organist might play a chorale prelude, a short composition based on the hymn tune that reminded the congregation of the melody

The Church Cantata The principal means of musical expression in the Lutheran service, and one which used chorales. It was usually written for chorus, vocal soloists, organ and a small orchestra. In the Lutheran services, there were different Gospel and Epistle readings for each Sunday and holiday, and the cantata text was related to them. The cantata was a sermon in music that reinforced the ministers sermon, also based on the readings. The Oratorio A large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra; usually set to a narrative text. No acting, scenery, or costumes A succession of choruses, arias, duets, recitatives, and orchestral interludes. Choruses serve either to comment on or to participate in the drama. A narrators recitatives usually relate the story and connect one piece with another. Longer than cantatas (sometimes 2 hours) and have more of a story line. Primary Composers of the Baroque Period: Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) Created the earliest operatic masterpiece: Orfeo (1607) His works form a musical bridge between the sixteen and seventeenth centuries. His work is considered passionate and dramatic, a marked departure for compositional techniques of the Renaissance. Credited with creating new orchestral effects, including pizzicato and tremolo. First prominent composer to use recitative and homophony Henry Purcell (1659-1695) A master of all the musical forms of the late-seventeenth-England. Historians consider his opera Dido and Aeneas is considered the finest ever written to an English text. The last English composer of international rank until the twentieth century. Was held is such high regard that he was buried in Westminster Abbey. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) A master composer of Concerti and Concerti Grossi Was so influential as a virtuoso violinist and composer that Bach even arranged some of his concertos. Spent most of his life in Venice, where he was violin teacher, composer, and conductor at the music school of the Piet, an institution for orphaned or illegitimate girls. He presented a concert of orchestral and vocal music in the chapel every Sunday and holiday throughout his tenure, amassing a large volume of works.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) The masterpieces of Bach mark the high point of baroque music. Known as an organist during his life-time. Four sons became famous composers of the Classical Period. Interest renewed by Mendelssohns 1829 performance of the St. Matthew Passion. George Frederic Handel (1678-1759) Hndel shares Bachs stature among composers of the late baroque. He wrote a great deal of instrumental music (suites, organ concerti, concerti grossi) The core of his output consists of English oratorios and Italian operas. Composer of The Messiah (1741) Other Prominent Composers of the Baroque Era whose works will be demonstrated in class: Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) German composer of organ, choral, and chamber music; the most famous of which is the Canon and Gigue in D Major for 3 Violins and Basso Continuo. Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) French composer of harpsichord music. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Versatile and prolific German composer of instrumental music in all media and forms.