1. The Baroque Era
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2. What was going on in the world?
English settle Jamestown
Galileo confirms the Earth is round
Louis XIV rules France
Sir Isaac Newton publishes his Laws of Universal Gravitation
1732- George Washington born
French & Indian War

3. What does the word Baroque mean?
Baroque is a French word from Portugese origins that means an irregularly shaped pearl.

5. Originally the term Baroque was used for the art works created during this period in that there was an inherent strangeness and extravagance associated with them. Only recently has the term also been used to include the music, which is anything but slightly flawed.

6. Characteristics of Baroque Music
Known as Europe’s Gilded Age
Musicians were employees of the wealthy
Returned to the Greek and Roman ideals

7. Characteristics, cont.

8. Characteristics of Baroque Music
Use of a Basso Continuo - harpsichord and cello providing the base of the composition.
Emphasized contrasts in texture, pace and volume.
Strong use of improvisation in both melodies, and the embellishments of those melodies.
Most importantly - if you hear a harpsichord, it’s almost always Baroque.

9. Baroque Composers

10. Johann Sebastian Bach
From Germany
Composed cantatas

11. COMPOSED FOR CHURCH & PATRONS
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Famous for his fugues : Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Wrote S.D.G. at the end of all his pieces (to the Glory of God)
His entire family was musical
COMPOSED FOR CHURCH & PATRONS

12. Domenico Scarlatti

13. Francois Couperin

14. Henry Purcell

15. Georg Philipp Telemann

16. Archangelo Corelli

17. George Frederic Handel
From England
Composed oratorios

18. GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
Famous for oratorios
Composed “Messiah” – “Hallelujah Chorus” is in this piece
Handel was a world traveler and man of the world
COMPOSED FOR THE PUBLIC

19. Antonio Vivaldi
From Italy
Composed concertos

20. Antonio VIVALDI Virtuoso violinist Ordained priest
Taught violin at a girls’ orphanage in Venice
Wrote over 800 concertos (500 for solo violin & orchestra)
Majority of his works were unknown until the 1920s
The Four Seasons (c. 1725)
Wrote over 800 concertos (500 for solo violin & orch)
Also wrote 100 operas
Majority of his works were unknown until the 1920s (stored in a church archive)

22. Baroque Instruments

23. Flute

24. Oboe

25. Recorder

26. Bassoon

27. Trumpet

28. Horn

29. Viola

30. Cello

31. Harpsichords & Claviers

32. Pipe Organ

33. Baroque music differs greatly from Medieval and Renaissance music.

34. Uses of Baroque Music Church Music Other Religious Songs
Secular Songs (love, politics…)
Instrumental Dances
Courtly Entertainment

35. Baroque Music Characteristics
Tried to paint pictures – music portrayed emotion. The stabilization of music as we know it today.
Instrumental music is popular. It gained equal importance with vocal music.
There was a transition from the church modes as represented in Gregorian chants to a major-minor system, as represented in the major and minor scales we have today.

36. Composers used mixed groups of instruments to perform works of great complexity.
Music was no longer only functional, it was made to be enjoyed as it’s own entity.
Composers began to search for inspiration for their compositions in not only the church, but in nature.
Baroque music is very similar to jazz in it’s use of improvisation and figured bass.

37. Polyphony (“many sounds”) returned to a high status.
Composers employed key characteristics in their music, including: 1)Unity of mood; 2)Continuity of rhythm; 3)The repeated use of a melody; 4)The use of terraced dynamics; 5)The use of polyphonic texture

38. Even More about Baroque Music
The 1st opera of note was written in 1600 in Florence, Italy.
Operas often used text from Greek and Roman mythology
Orchestra, chorus, soloists, staging, costumes, dancing

39. Baroque Music Vocabulary

40. Sonata
Instrumental music with several movements.

41. Oratorio
Opera-length works with a clear storyline but without the production elements.

42. Counterpoint Two different notes play simultaneously.
This system began during the Renaissance.

43. Fugue
This is a polyphonic composition consisting of a series of successive melody imitations or the restatement in succession of identical or nearly identical musical material in 2 or more parts. A theme is introduced by one voice, repeated by other voices, and developed throughout the piece.

44. Cantata
Designed specifically to be used in the Lutheran church service. It is a work for vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, and organ.
Various churches today use cantatas to celebrate such holidays as Easter and Christmas.

45. Tomorrow,
Bach…