Chapter 7: Introduction to Baroque Art and Music

The Baroque Era (1600-1750) First appeared in Italy Baroque: Figure 7.4 Rubens’s The Horrors of War (1638) is a reaction to the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), which ravaged Europe at this time. Here Mars, the god of war (center, wearing a military helmet), is pulled to the right by Fury and to the left by a mostly naked Venus, goddess of love. Beneath these figures, the populace suffers, a music book is trampled, and a lute lies broken.

Baroque Architecture and Music Figure 7.1 The high altar at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, with baldachin by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Standing more than ninety feet high, this canopy is marked by twisted columns and curving shapes, color, and movement, all typical of Baroque art. With 164,000 square feet, St. Peter’s is by far the largest church in the world. Figure 7.2 Saint Peter’s Square, designed by Bernini in the mid-seventeenth century. The expanse is so colossal it seems to swallow people, cars, and buses.

Baroque Music Grandiose music composed for such vast spaces Compositions for “colossal” forces Highly ornamental melody above a solid chordal foundation Doctrine of the Affections:

Arcangelo Corelli – Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo, Opus 5, No.1 Bass provides the structural support while the violin adds elaborate decoration above

Baroque Painting and Music Figure 7.5 Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1615) by Artemisia Gentileschi. The grisly scene of Judith slaying the tyrant general was painted several times by Gentileschi, perhaps as a vivid way of demonstrating her abhorrence of aggressive male domination.

Characteristics of Baroque Music Remarkable variety of musical style Introduction of many new musical genres: Opera, cantata, oratorio, sonata, concerto, and suite Two elements remain constant Figure 7.6 A Woman Playing the Theorbo-Lute and a Cavalier (c. 1658) by Gerard ter Borch. The bass strings are at the top of the instrument and off the fingerboard. The theorbo was often used to play the basso continuo in the seventeenth century.

Expressive Melody Use of soloist to communicate raw individual emotion All voices not created equal S --------------------------------------------------------- A --------------------------------------------------------- T --------------------------------------------------------- B ---------------------------------------------------------

Monody: “Solo song”

Rock-Solid Harmony Basso continuo (continual bass): Figured bass:

Elements of Baroque Music - Harmony Chord progressions that we hear today originated in the Baroque Music built around stock chord progressions Modern “two-key” system: Major and Minor

Elements of Baroque Music - Rhythm Meter and certain rhythmic patterns are established at the beginning and continue to the end Strong recurring beat (groove)

Elements of Baroque Music - Dynamics Use of two basic terms: piano (soft) and forte (loud) Terraced dynamics: