Baroque and Classical Music Periods: Instruments, Forms, and Composers
The Baroque Period (c. 1600–1750)
What Does the Adjective “Baroque” Mean?
The word *baroque* originally meant “irregularly shaped.” At first, the word in French was used mostly to refer to pearls. Eventually, it came to describe an extravagant style of art characterized by curving lines, *gilt*, and ornamentation.
Musical Instruments of the Baroque Era
What is a Luthier?
A luthier is a person who builds, adjusts, or repairs stringed and plucked string instruments.
Who Were the Most Famous Luthiers?
Amati, Stradivari, and Guarnieri.
Where Did They Come From?
The Italian city of Cremona.
Religious Music
Cantata
A simpler form composed of text or popular religious themes.
Oratorio
Can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance. It is longer than a cantata and features a narrator that tells the action.
Passion
A musical setting of the Passion of Christ, intended to be performed in churches.
Secular Music: The Opera
Opera appeared in Florence, Italy, intended to resuscitate Greek classical theatre. The use of accompanied monody facilitates the main goal of opera. The opera is a compound vocal form with a narrative nature which makes use of stage performance.
Types of Popular Opera
Opera Seria: Makes use of plots based on mythological and heroic topics written in Italian. It was the favorite genre of the aristocracy.
Opera Buffa: Makes use of plots based on daily life, with characters closer to the audience. It employed the main language of each country and replaced recitatives with dialogue passages.
Typical Spanish Version of Italian Opera
Zarzuela.
Music and Society: Dances of the Baroque Period
Ballet de Cour (Court Ballet)
A danced theatrical play, which began with an instrumental “overture” and ended with a “grand ballet,” in which the king himself used to participate.
The Suite
The suite is a compound instrumental form composed of a group of dances. All are written in the same key and usually respond to binary forms divided into two phrases or sections which are repeated.
Four Famous Composers of This Period
Haendel, Antonio Vivaldi, Bach, and Monteverdi.
Tell Me About the “Castrati”
Castrati were male singers castrated before puberty in order to avoid voice change. This allowed them to obtain extraordinary technical virtuosity and vocal power. They became the main protagonists of the *opera seria*.
Anecdote: Women in Music
Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677): She became a *Kapellmeister* and published more works than many composers of her time. Most of her compositions are solos for voice and basso continuo.
The Classical Period (c. 1730–1820)
Key Ideas and Main Musical Characteristics
It is the period that marked the transition from the early modern period to the contemporary age. Musically, we delimit its chronology between the years 1730 and 1820 approximately.
What Does Enlightenment Mean?
The Enlightenment was a cultural movement favored by the bourgeoisie and small nobility, which led to the French Revolution, breaking the power of absolute monarchies.
Musical Instruments of Classicism
Woodwind single-reed instrument introduced in the orchestra of this period: Clarinet
Central plucked string instrument in Spanish music: Guitar
What is the main difference between the *clave* (harpsichord) and the piano? The piano permitted changes of volume by only changing the intensity of key pulsation.
The most important chamber ensemble is the: The String Quartet (2 violins, viola, and cello).
Main Instrumental Musical Forms
Composition scheme applied to the first movement of the great classical instrumental forms (Sonata Form): Exposition, Development, Recapitulation, and Coda.
A person who, although he did not use a baton yet, became necessary to coordinate orchestra musicians in all performing aspects: The orchestra conductor. Sometimes the composers were the orchestra conductors.
Secular Vocal Music: The Opera
What are the parts of an opera?
Overture: Instrumental introduction
Sung parts: Soloists and choirs
Aria style: Expressive melodies
Recitative style: More agile action
Interludes: Instrumental parts used to link the other sections
Favorite Genre During Classicism
The type of Italian opera which became the favorite genre during Classicism, simpler and more popular than the *opera seria*, was the Opera Buffa.
What is a Zarzuela?
Spanish composers tried to fight the Italian influence by incorporating popular themes into the zarzuelas, in both plots and melodies.
Two Famous Operas of This Period
The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro.
Music and Society: Dances
Ballet d’action is the conjunction of: Music, Choreography, and Stage.
Social dance highly valued during the whole 18th century. Introduced as the usual third movement of the symphony, the sonata, and chamber music: [Answer missing in original text, description provided.]
Famous Composers and Biography
Gluck, Boccherini, and Mozart.
Biography: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart played music since the age of six and was a genius of music. He wrote about 61 symphonies. He got married, and only two of his sons survived. His death remains a mystery.
Anecdote: Mozart and the Masons
For the last seven years of his life, Mozart was a Mason.
Anecdote: Women in Music
Maria Anna Mozart: Like her brother, she was a musical child prodigy. In those times, women were not recognized in such fields, so she could not continue her musical career.