The Baroque Period

 Began around  Strove to alter time and intensify emotions  Existed for the moment “All for love and the world well lost”

 Toward the end of the Baroque period the church and monarchy made efforts to keep average man in their place  Intelligent “commoners” refused to settle for less, thus a culture of philosophical exploration began

No ballet??!! Eat FIRE!!!

 New intellectual, artistic, and social atmosphere developed which would lead to the Enlightenment Era.

Baroque  Known as Europe’s Gilded Age  Ballet and Opera were developed during this era  Culture developed the musical langauge we use today

 Musicians and composers served patrons (employers) who were nobles, the state, or church.  Composers and musicians saw themselves as employees or craftsmen, not artists

 Little thought of preservation we toward a musician or composer’s work.

The Music  Again, it was a return to ancient Greek and Roman ideals.  Music was considered a powerful tool of communication, it could still emotion in the listener

Music as a weapon  One dominant concerns of concerts was the power of music to communicate.  The Baroque style of music consciously made an effort to appeal to the individual’s emotions

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The Development  Developed in North Germany und (German for ‘and’) Holland.  Concentrated on counterpoint and fugue.  Also in Rome  Sonata and Concerto

We meet in the middle  As Italian influences spread north, the stricter German style spread south.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Life  Music reflects the major appointments he held.  Court organist in Weimar he composed toccatas, fugues, and other organ works.  Chapel-master to Prince he composed Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites

Life  In 1723 he became a cantor (singer) at St. Thomas’s Church.  Performed weekly church cantatas and passion music for Good Friday as well as other special occasions

Fugue  One-movement musical composition that uses imitative counterpoint.  Theme (melody) is stated in each voice (level)  Uses various musical treatments of the melodies similar to a style of improvisation  _o _o _o

Handel

Life  Born in Germany, died and English citizen.  Composed for the general public instead of church or patrons.  Man of the world, traveled quite a bit

 Well known for his work with the oratorio genre.  Pay attention to this, it’s not in the book  Next slide Thornsburg

One more slide

Oratorio  A large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action.  A large-scale musical work for orchestra and voices, typically a narrative on a religious theme, performed without the use of costumes, scenery, or action.

Oratorio  Most famous oratorio was his telling of Jesus' life in Messiah.  89k6Oc&feature=related 89k6Oc&feature=related 89k6Oc&feature=related