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The Baroque period happened between 1600-1750. The word “baroque” comes from the Portuguese word barroom which meaner “misshapen pearl”; it is a negative description of the elaborate and heavily ornamented music of this period. Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. Composers of the baroque era include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and George Philipp Telltale. The development of functional tonality happened during the baroque period.
Functional analogy is the relationship between chords (cadences – perfect, imperfect, interrupted). This also led to elaborate ornamentations in music (e. G. Trills, structural, glissando). It changed the way we wrote music and new styles of techniques were invented. Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. An important technique used in baroque music was the use of ground bass, a repeated bass line.
Modes (Modes – Any of the eight scales of the medieval music, each extinguished by its ending note, its arrangement of pitches in intervals, and its range. ) were replaced by the major and minor key system (Diatonic scales). The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church. Opera’s were fist composed in the Baroque period. The first opera was written in 1597, called ‘Deafen’, and was composed by Perl. The first truly great opera was composed by Monteverdi in 1607, and was called ‘Refer’. The music heightens the dramatic impact.
There was a lot of instrumental routinely (Italian for return, and meaner when a section returns). Before each verse of the aria (song), we hear an instrumental routinely. Here are some examples of operas overture’s from different countries. Italy – Scarlatti operas often began with an overture in three sections: quick, slow, quick. This was the Italian Overture (an overture is an instrumental introduction to an opera). Scarlatti designed the arias in his operas in dad capo form, I. E. ABA. Another name for this is ternary form.
France – Lully’s operas began with a French Overture. Slow, quick, slow. This is the other way round to an Italian Overture Oratorios were also first formed in the baroque period. This is vocal music which at first was very similar to operas. (They had arias, choruses and recitatives) The main difference was that an Oratorio was based on a sacred story. Eventually oratorios ceased to act out, and were given musical presentation only. Handel’s Messiah, Samson, Israel and Egypt are all Oratorios. Also in oratorios there was a passion.
A assign is a special oratorio telling the story of Chrism’s crucifixion. Besides recitatives, arias and choruses, Bach also included settings of chorales (German hymn tunes). During the Baroque period, the orchestra started to take shape. The string section became a self-contained unit. To this composers would add other instruments in ones and twos: Flutes, Recorders, Oboes, Bassoons, Horns, and occasionally trumpets and kettle drums. Monarchs/nobles employed composers because they wanted to show that they are richer than the others.