# The Baroque Era [Module 5 YouTube Playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQY0zQBqYyrUGzBpZ-YSJVMTMunniKW6B) > [!summary] Style of Baroque Music > > - Genres: concerto grosso, fugues, cantata, oratorio, opera > - Predominately instrumental > - Violin becomes the leading instrument > - Long, asymmetrical melodies > - Strong bass line by _basso continuo_ > - Harpsichord is part of _basso continuo_ > - Rhythms are repetitious: music chugs, even drives, along > - A single "ethos" = once a mood is set for a piece, it doesn't change ## The Baroque Period: the Birth of Opera - Birth of opera 1600 -> Death of Bach 1750 - Portuguese "barroco" = pearl of irregular shape - Renaissance serenity vs. Baroque energy - Opera - recreation of ancient Greek tragedy - power of drama + power of music = greater power - Libretto = text - Claudia Monteverdi wrote the 1st opera -- _Orfeo_ - Monody = solo expressing singing - Recitative = what's happening - simple, straightforward, syllabic - Aria = how they feel - elaborate, ornate, melismatic - Henry Purcell, _Dido and Aeneas_ - basso ostinato = ground bass repeated - Baroque instruments and orchestral - Violin = violino = little viol - Made with a standard mold - Luthier = stringed instrument maker - Carrier of melody - Theorbo = bass Lute - Carrier of bass - Harpsichord - the "workhorse" of Baroque music - Feather "jack" plucks the string - One set of four-foot string, two sets of eight-foot string - Two keyboards - No gradation of sound - Carrier of harmony - Basses - Basso continuo = bass continued, two instruments to provide foundation of the harmony - Figured bass = numerical shorthand places below the bass line, musicians look at these numbers to fill out chordal compliments. - Johann Pachelbel, _Canon_ - Antonio Vivaldi, _The "Spring" Concerto_ - Solo concerto vs Concerto grosso - Tutti = Concertino + Concerto grosso - Three movements = fast-slow-fast - Ritornello-form in 1st movement, melody played in turn by concertino and concerto grosso, refrain that is played over and over - Program music = highly descriptive - Terrace dynamics = sudden shift of volumes - Melodic sequence = motive repeated ## Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata = touches the instrument - Kappellmeister in Cöthen = chief musician at court - Prelude = warm up for the fingers - Fugue = Latin _fuga_, to fly - Composition with 2 to 32 lines or parts, voice or instrumental. - Best played on instruments that can play multiple lines at a time - the _Well Tempered Klavier_ = "Well-Tuned Keyboard", a collection of preludes + fugues - Subject = "Main idea" in Fugue - strict imitative -> cannon; non-strict imitative -> fugue - Exposition = each voice presents the subject - Episode = modulations, counterpoints, movements, melodic sequence - Subject returns in the tonic key - The Brandenburg Concertos = a collection of 6 concertos - Cadenza = a showy passage for soloist alone - Bach send these works out to seek for job in Berlin, didn't get it. - Church Cantata in Leipzig - Where Bach worked as a cantor = choir leader - "Mini-musical drama", 30 min duration - Multi-movement, arias, recitatives, choruses - Spiritual theme, esp. in Germany - Usually based on chorale tune - Simple melody on sacred text sung by congregation - Made up of strophes (stanzas) of texts - _Wacht auf, ruft uns die Stimme_ = "Awake, A Voice is Calling", 1731 - Chorale = hymn tune > [!question] What makes J.S. Bach's music great? > > - Wrote in al genres of his day except opera. > - Superb craftsmanship, esp. fugues. > - Greatest contra-puntalist ever. > - Densely packed with counterpoint but also grandiose and majestic. > - Often extremely lyrical. > - Combines counterpoint and lyricism. > - Enormous scales. > > Universality, Craftsmanship, Grandeur, Integrity ## George Frederic Handel: Messiah and More - CV - Born in the same year as Bach, lived in Hamburg, travelled to Italy, back to Hannover, then visited London. - "In France and Italy there is something to learn; in London there is something to earn." - Handel then decided to sell Italian opera in London. - Handel was employed by the elector of Hannover, who then became the King of England George I. - Water Music and Firework Music for the Kings. - Played by orchestra of 50 performers. (to project the music in the outdoor) - Several suites of dance music. > [!tip] The Difference between Bach and Handel > > Bach was an idealist, Handel was a realist. Handel really wanted to make sure > that you heard his music. > > Handel tries to double the line in the fugue for audibility. - Handel's opera - _Opera seria_ = serious opera, Greek history and Roman Kings and Queens. - Heroes and heroines must have high voice -> sung by soprano or castrato, sometimes by falsetto. - Famous aria in _Rinaldo_, "_Lascia, ch'io pianga_" = "Let me languish" = "Let me weep in my cruel fate" - _Da capo_ form = "take it from the top" = ABA form - Royal Academy of Music - a stock company - Handel's most popular opera: _Julius Caesar_, _Danielle de Niese_ - Handel's company eventually went bankrupt. He then turn to the middle class. > [!summary] Similarities between Opera and Oratorio > > - Performed in theater > - In three acts and preceded by overture > - Primarily recitatives and arias > [!summary] How Oratorio Differs from Opera > > - Sung in English > - No scenery, costumes, or acting > - Plots taken from scripture > - Voices less operatic > - Chorus plays a larger role > - Appeals to upper middle-class audience - Oratorio - Messiah