Baroque Music: Characteristics, Composers, and Forms

Posted on Sep 28, 2024 in Music

Baroque Music (1600-1750)

Major Baroque Composers

  • George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
  • Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
  • Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
  • Jean-Baptiste de Lully (1632-1687)

Characteristics of Baroque Music

  1. At first, a switch to a lighter, homophonic texture: melody supported by simple chords; but polyphonic textures soon return.
  2. The basso continuo becomes the foundation for most types of Baroque music, providing a purposeful bass-line which causes the music to press steadily forward from beginning to end.
  3. One affection or mood usually persists throughout an entire piece.
  4. Viols gradually replaced by the violin family; the string section becomes the basis of the Baroque orchestra, always with keyboard continuo filling out the harmonies above the figured bass and decorating the textures.
  5. By the end of the 17th century, the system of modes was replaced by the major-minor key system.
  6. Main forms: binary, ternary, rondeau, variations (chaconne, ground bass, passacaglia), ritornello, fugue.
  7. Main types of music: chorale, recitative, opera, oratorio, cantata; Italian overture, French overture, toccata, prelude, chorale prelude, dance suite, sonata da camera, sonata da chiesa, concerto grosso, solo concerto.
  8. Exuberance in music with energetic rhythms that drive the music forward; melodies often spun out into long, flowing lines with many ornaments; contrasts of instrumental timbres, of few instruments against many, and of loud against soft effects.

Key Terms

  • Monody: a single voice line, supported by an instrumental bass-line upon which chords were constructed.
  • Recitative: this voice line rose and fell according to the meaning of the text and followed the natural speech-rhythms of the words. It was half singing, half reciting.
  • Basso continuo: bass-line written down beneath the melody to be played by a low string instrument, such as a cello. It continued throughout the piece.
  • Figured bass: composers wrote figures below the notes to indicate what chords were expected.

Opera

  • Full-length music-drama with new ideas from 1597.
  • It became very important and popular.
  • They included brief choruses, dances, and instrumental pieces in a simple chordal style, involving a small orchestra.

Opera Styles

  • Stile moderno: switch to melody accompanied by simple chords.
  • Stile antico: contrapuntal, usually for church.

Recitative in Opera

  • Giving importance to the arias (songs):
  • Secco: supported by plain chords or continuo.
  • Accompagnato: used when words needed to be heightened by a simple orchestra accompaniment.

Opera Forms

  • Italian Overture: 3 section plan: quick-slow-quick. (Alessandro Scarlatti)
  • Da Capo Aria: ternary form (ABA) but only the first 2 sections were written out. At the end of section B, the composer wrote da capo, and section A was repeated. The singer could add their own vocal decorations to the printed melody when repeating A.
  • French Overture: majestic, slow opening with crisp dotted rhythms, leading to a quicker section using imitation. Sometimes followed by one or more dances.

Oratorio

  • Based on a sacred story, usually taken from the Bible, but with similar characteristics to opera (recitatives, arias, and choruses).
  • They were not acted out with scenery and costumes like operas.
  • They were given musical presentations only, in churches and concert halls rather than theaters.

Types of Oratorio

  • Passion: tells the story of Christ’s crucifixion.
  • Cantata: for soloists or chorus accompanied by orchestra and continuo and are like miniature oratorios. Usually opens with a weighty chorus, continues with recitatives, arias, and duets of the soloists, then closes with a chorale.

Instrumental Music

  • Similar to vocal music but adding fugue, chorale prelude, suite, sonata, and concerto.

Instrumental Forms

  • Fugue: contrapuntal piece, essentially based on imitation. Written in 3 or 4 parts called voices: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The piece grows from a tune called the subject. It is first heard in one voice only and then imitated by the other voices at an appropriate pitch.
  • Chorale Prelude: a popular type of piece for organ. The chorale melody is treated in a fugal style or variations are written upon it.
  • The Suite: a group of pieces for one or more instruments or orchestras. Written for harpsichord and eventually from different countries: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, England. Many dances such as the minuet, bourrée, gavotte, or passepied were introduced.
  • Baroque Sonatas: a piece to be played by two violins and continuo. Sometimes violins were replaced by flutes or oboes.
  • Sonata da chiesa: for church.
  • Sonata da camera: for a room of a home; they were really suites, so they included dances.
  • Concerto Grosso: two groups of instruments were contrasted: the concertino (small group of soloists) against the ripieno or tutti (orchestra of strings).
  • Solo Concerto: a single instrument was pitted against the string orchestra. Contrast became stronger. Three movements: quick-slow-quick. The quick movements were built up in ritornello form. This was marked by the word tutti.
  • Ritornello: means “return” and refers to the main theme which was played by the orchestra at the beginning of the movement, then returned, more or less complete, after each lightly accompanied solo section.

The Baroque Orchestra

  • Organ continuo filled out harmonies and decorated the textures.
  • Contrast was important and was frequently used.
  • Many different instruments were used: flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and kettle drums.