Baroque Declarative Knowledge
Knowledge
Driving beat
Harpsichord
Mass in B min - Bach
Mass in F min - Bach
The well tempered clavier - Bach
Handel
The four season - Vilvaldi
Inventions and sinfonias - Bach
Art of the fugue - Bach
Musical offering - Bach
English suites
French suites
Scarlatti
Rameau
Improv
passacaglia
Min dynamics
Use of counter-point
Bach
Medium thickness in texture
Lute
Heavy use of choral music
Males voices
Toccata and fugue - bach
Little fugue in g minor
Brandenburg concerto - bach
Comparison between Baroque and Classical
Melody
Rhythm
Baroque
Classical
Ornate, often asymmetrical
melodies
Dramatic leaps common
Use of chromaticism for
expressive purposes
Varied rhythms
Simple melodies, often in four and
eight-measure phrases
Primarily stepwise motion
Melodies more diatonic
More consistent rhythms
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Harmony
Strong underlying pulse
Varied tempos
Triadic, major/minor tonality
Sound
Basso continuo
Wide variety of instrumental
colors
Terraced dynamics
Harpsichord
Texture
Form
Imitative or homophonic
Binary and ternary forms
Forms based on repetition
(ritornello)
Less insistent pulse
More regular tempos
Triadic, based on major/minor
tonality
No basso continuo
More homogenous orchestral color,
winds play supporting role
Use of gradual crescendos and
diminuendos
Piano
More homophonic
Binary and ternary forms
Based on return (sonata allegro)
Baroque Composers
Claudio Monteverdi - May 15, 1567, Cremona, Italy
George Frideric Handel - February 23, 1685, Halle, Germany
Henry Percell
Barbara Strozzi
J. S Bach
Jean-Joseph Mouret
Antonio Vivaldi
Arcangelo Corelli
Domenico Scarlatti
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Joseph Haydn
Baroque Spirit
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The Baroque era (1600–1750) was a time of turbulent changes in a society that saw
religious wars (Protestants vs. Catholics) as well as exploration and colonization of the
New World.
The era also saw the rise of middle- class culture, with music- making centered in the
home; art often portrayed scenes of middle- class life.
The Baroque marks the introduction of monody, which featured solo song with
instrumental accompaniment; its goal was to recreate the musical- dramatic art of
ancient Greece.
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Harmony was notated with figured bass, a shorthand that allowed the performer to
improvise the chords. The bass part, or basso continuo, was often played by two
instruments (harpsichord and cello, for example).
The major- minor tonality system was established in the Baroque era, as was the equal
temperament tuning system.
While early Baroque music moved more freely, later Baroque style is characterized by
regular rhythms and continuous melodic expansion.
As musical instruments developed technically, the level of virtuosity and playing
techniques rose.
The union of text and music was expressed in the Baroque doctrine of the affections.
Baroque Opera and its Components
I.
II.
The Components of Opera
1. Opera: large-scale sung drama combining vocal and instrumental music, poetry
and drama, acting and pantomime, scenery and costumes
1. recitative moves plot and action of opera forward
1. declamatory vocal style that imitates natural inflections of speech
2. recitative secco: accompanied by basso continuo
3. recitative accompagnato: accompanied by the orchestra
2. arias: highly emotional and lyrical songs
1. da capo arias are in ternary form (A-B-A)
3. duets, trios, quartets, and sung commentary by chorus may also be
included
4. orchestra performs overture (introductory number), and sinfonias
(interludes)
5. libretto: text or scripts of the opera
1. written by the librettist
6. early opera based on Greek mythology
Monteverdi and Early Baroque Opera
1. Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
1. born in Cremona, Italy
2. “transitional” composer: Renaissance-style madrigals, Baroque operas
3. new emotional intensity
2. The Coronation of Poppea
1. original music lost; this version by Pietro Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676)
2. Roman history: Nero plots to depose his wife, Ottavia, with his courtesan
mistress, Poppea
3. public performance in Venice, no longer limited to palaces
3. Listening Guide 16: Monteverdi, The Coronation of Poppea (L’incoronazione di
Poppea), Act III, Scene 7 (1642)
1. Poppea is led to the throne: fanfare-like, imitative polyphony
2. sinfonia interlude
3. love duet between Nero and Poppea, (A-B-B-A) structure
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III.
IV.
1. duet sung over ground bass
2. dissonant phrases: “più non peno” (no more grieving), “più non
moro” (no more sorrow)
The Spread of Opera
1. Opera in England
1. masques: vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance
1. presented in homes of the rich and influential
2. Puritans forbade stage plays
2. Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
1. English composer, organist, and singer
2. wrote masques and operas for several venues
3. assimilated Italian and French styles
3. Dido and Aeneas
1. considered first great English opera
2. presented as a play set to music for a girl’s school in Chelsea
3. based on Virgil’s Aeneid
1. Aeneas is shipwrecked at Carthage, falls in love with the queen, Dido
2. Aeneas leaves Dido to continue his journey to found Rome
4. Listening Guide 17: Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Act III, excerpts (1689)
1. Act III, opening: style of a hornpipe
2. recitative: Dido decides her fate is death
3. Dido’s Lament: sung over ground bass ostinato
1. descending bass line: symbolic of grief in Baroque music
Barbara Strozzi and the Baroque Aria
1. Barbara Strozzi (1619–c. 1677)
1. professional composer, singer from Venice
2. prolific composer of secular and sacred music
3. successful in an age of a male-dominated society
2. Listening Guide 18: Amor dormiglione (Sleepyhead, Cupid!) (1651)
1. monody, solo soprano with harpsichord
2. light-hearted da capo aria (A-B-A)
3. sensitivity to the text
4. use of word painting
PIECES
HENRY PURCELL: Rondeau, from Abdelazar
Henry Purcell: "Come Away, Fellow Sailors" from the opera Dido and Aeneas
Henry Purcell: "Dido's Lament" from the opera Dido and Aeneas
Barbara Strozzi: Amor dormiglione (Sleepyhead, Cupid!)
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Feature of Baroque
Singers
Reoccurring themes
Had small orchestra
Has an overture
Secullar and non-secular
Recitative - secco and accompagnato
Solo
Dacapo aria
Aria - tupcatto (rondo form)
Duet
Chorus
Orchestral interludes
Buffa - comic love, seria - serious
Has interludes
In seasons
Originated in Itally
Modelled on ancient Greek tragedies
Had dancer, unlike oratorio
Libretto - the text the opera is set on
Purcell - was an English composer
Baroque Cantata and Oratoria
I.
Bach and the Church Cantata
1. Cantata: multimovement work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra
1. part of the Lutheran church service
2. based on Lutheran chorale (hymn tune)
1. chorales written by Martin Luther
1. adapted from Gregorian chant, secular art music, popular tunes
2. sung in unison by congregation, later in four-part harmony
2. J. S. Bach (1685–1750)
1. German composer, organist
2. devout Lutheran: music must serve “the glory of God”
3. court and church positions: Weimar, Leipzig
4. prolific composer: suites, concertos, sonatas, keyboard music, Passions,
cantatas
1. around two hundred cantatas survive
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II.
5. 19 children: four sons, leading composers
3. Listening Guide 19: Bach, Cantata No. 140, Wachet auf (Sleepers,
Awake), excerpts (1731)
1. based on Gospel of Matthew: parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
2. chorale prelude in bar form (A-A-B)
3. seven movements: near palindrome form
1. chorale tune featured in three choral movements
2. 1st mvt.: grand chorale fantasia, majestic, marchlike: arrival of Christ
1. recurring instrumental sections (ritornellos)
3. 2nd mvt.: sparse recitative with basso continuo
4. 3rd mvt.: da capo form (A-B-A) love duet between the Soul (soprano)
and Christ (bass)
5. 4th mvt.: central movement; chorale tune sung in unison by tenors
6. 7th mvt.: hymnlike setting with orchestra
Handel and the Oratorio
1. Oratorio: large scale work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra
1. performed in concert setting without scenery or costumes
2. based on a biblical story
2. George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)
1. German composer
2. worked in Italy, Germany, England
3. held positions as conductor, director, producer
4. composed opera seria (serious Italian opera), English oratorios, orchestral
suites, keyboard and chamber music
3. Messiah
1. composed in 24 days, premiered in Dublin
2. biblical verses set in three parts
1. Christmas section, prophecy of Christ
2. Easter section
3. redemption of the world through faith
4. Listening Guide 20: Handel, Messiah, Nos. 1, 14–18, 44 (1742)
1. Part I, Overture: French style, slow dotted rhythms followed by fugue
2. Nos. 14–16: contrasting recitative secco and recitative acompagnato
3. No. 17: four-part chorus with orchestra
4. No. 18: da capo soprano aria with instrumental ritornellos, (A-B-A')
5. Part II, No. 44: “Hallelujah chorus” closes Easter section
1. four-part chorus and orchestra
2. homorhythmic and imitative polyphonic textures
PIECES:
Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue
http://ibscrewed4music.blogspot.com/
Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No.1, I
Bach, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Bach, Sarabande, from Cello Suite No.2
Bach, Toccata in D minor
Handel, Alla hornpipe, from Water Music
"Hallelujah Chorus", from Messiah
Handel, "O thou that tellest good tidings", from Messiah
Oratorio
Who: Handel
When: Baroque
What: The oratorio is a large-scale dramatic genre with a religious or biblical text
performed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra; it is not staged or costumed.
The text for Messiah is drawn from a compilation of Old and New Testament verses.
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Large-scale dramatic genre with religious or biblical text
Performed by solo voices, chorus, orchestra
No staging or costumes
Why: Special events
Where: Europe
Baroque Instruments and the Suite
I.
The Rise of Instrumental Music
1. Equal importance to vocal music
1. new instruments developed, improvements made to old ones
2. rise of virtuoso
1. Bach and Handel: organists
2. Corelli and Vivaldi: violinists
3. Scarlatti and Couperin: harpsichordists
3. music written specific to the instruments
2. Baroque Instruments
1. close to modern counterparts
2. string instruments: gut strings (made from animal intestines)
1. Cremona violin makers: Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati
3. recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon: all made of wood
4. additions to the orchestra: unvalved trumpet, French horn, timpani
5. organ and harpsichord: important keyboard instruments
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II.
III.
3. The Baroque Suite
1. instrumental genre
2. group of short dances: all in same key
3. international influence: German, French, Spanish, English
1. overture, allemande, courante, sarabande, hornpipe, minuet, gigue
4. dances in binary (A-A-B-B) or ternary (A-B-A) form
5. suites written for solo instrument, chamber ensembles, and orchestra
Handel and the Orchestral Suite
1. Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks
1. Water Music performed on royal barge on Thames River
1. outdoor performance: no basso continuo
2. 22 movements
2. Listening Guide 21: Handel, Water Music, Suite in D major, excerpts (1717)
1. mvt. 1: ternary form (A-B-A')
1. fanfare-like trumpets, descending violin scales
2. mvt. 2: alla hornpipe, ternary form (A-B-A)
1. disjunct theme with decorative trills in strings and woodwinds
2. B section: reflective, minor key
Music at the French Royal Court
1. Louis XIV and Louis XV ruled at palace of Versailles
1. Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687): court composer of Louis XIV
1. French stage works: comedy-ballets, tragic operas
2. Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682–1738): court composer of Duke of Maine (son
of Louis XIV)
2. Listening Guide 22: Mouret, Rondeau, from Suite de symphonies (1729)
1. rondeau form (A-B-A-C-A)
2. main theme: majestic fanfare
3. predominant high trumpet: frequent trills
PIECES:
Handel, Water Music, Alla hornpipe
Mouret, Rondeau, from Suites de sumphonies
Telemann, Tafelmusik
Baroque Concerto
I.
II.
Three Movement (fast-slow-fast) Instrumental Form
1. Solo concerto: solo instrument with accompanying instrumental group
2. Concerto grosso: two instrumental groups
1. solo group: concertino
2. accompanying group: tutti, or ripieno
Antonio Vivaldi and the Solo Concerto
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1. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741),
1. Venetian composer, violin virtuoso
2. ordained priest
3. music master at Conservatorio dell’Ospedale della Pietà
4. traveled widely
5. composed over 500 concertos: 230 for solo violin, “father of the concerto”
2. The Four Seasons
1. four solo violin concertos accompanied by orchestra and basso continuo
2. program music: Italian sonnet
3. sounds musically pictoralized
3. Listening Guide 23: Vivaldi, Spring, from The Four Seasons (La primavera from Le
quattro stagioni),Op. 8, No. 1 (1725)
1. mvt. 1: Allegro in E major
1. orchestral ritornello alternates with solo violin episodes
2. birds: trills and high running scales
3. storm: agitated repeated notes in low strings
2. mvt. 2: Largo in C-sharp minor
1. melancholy melody
2. upper strings only
3. mvt. 3: Allegro in E major, “Rustic Dance”
1. ritornello form
2. dotted rhythms, dancelike
3. drone represents bagpipes
Bach and the Late Baroque Concerto
1. Six Brandenburg Concertos
1. composed at Cöthen (1717–23)
2. named after Margrave Christian of Brandenburg
2. Listening Guide 24: Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, First
Movement (1717–18)
1. concerto grosso: four solo instruments
1. violin, oboe, recorder, trumpet
2. ritornello form
3. seamless polyphonic texture
4. constant rhythmic drive
III.
PIECES:
Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Other Baroque Instrumental Music
I.
II.
Baroque Keyboard Instruments
1. Organ, harpsichord, and clavichord
1. organ: church and home
2. harpsichord: strings are plucked, tone not sustained
3. clavichord: favorite home instrument, soft, gentle tone
2. Chamber and solo instruments
Sonata Types
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III.
IV.
V.
1. Sonata da camera, chamber sonata
1. group of stylized dances
2. Sonata da chiesa, church sonata
1. serious in tone
2. four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast
3. Trio sonata
1. favored ensemble
2. two violins and basso continuo (four players)
4. Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713)
1. Italian composer and violinst
2. emphasized lyricism over virtuosity
3. published four volumes of trio sonatas
5. Listening Guide 25: Corelli, Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2 in D major,
excerpts (1689)
1. mvt. 3: Adagio in B minor
1. imitative duet in violins
2. mvt. 4: Allegro in D major
1. binary form (A-A-B-B)
2. dancelike
3. imitation in three instruments
Domenico Scarlatti and the Solo Sonata
1. Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)
1. Italian: court composer in Portugal and Madrid
2. harpsichord virtuoso
3. wrote over 550 solo harpsichord sonatas
2. Listening Guide 26: Scarlatti, Sonata in C major, K. 159, (The Hunt) (1750s)
1. binary form (A-A-B-B)
2. dancelike, in Spanish style
3. highly ornamented: grace notes and trills
4. clarity of texture: looks forward to Classicism
Other Keyboard Forms
1. Forms based on harmony
1. passacaglia: repeating bass line
2. chaconne: repeating harmonic progression
2. Forms based on improvisation
1. prelude: short study, mostly homophonic
2. toccata: free, highly virtuosic form
3. chorale prelude, chorale variations: organ virtuosity introduced chorale
to congregation
The Fugue and Its Devices
1. Fugue: contrapuntal composition with single theme
1. fugue theme: subject
2. subject imitated in other voices: answer
3. three sections: exposition, episodes, restatements
4. contrapuntal devices: augmentation, diminution, retrograde, inversion,
stretto
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VI.
VII.
Bach’s Keyboard Fugues
1. Well-Tempered Clavier
1. two volumes: 24 preludes and fugues in each
2. prelude and fugue in all 12 major and minor keys
2. The Art of Fugue
1. 14 fugues, four canons
2. keyboard music
3. highly technical
4. contrapuntal mastery
3. Listening Guide 27: Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue (1749)
1. four-voice fugue
2. fugue subject outlines D minor triad
3. last fugue statement over pedal point
4. ends with major chord
Looking Ahead to the Age of Enlightenment
1. The Rococo and the Age of Sensibility
1. rococo, from French rocaille “shell”
2. simpler artistic expression
1. shift from polyphony to homophony
3. French keyboard composers: François Couperin (1688–1733), Jean
Philippe Rameau (1683–1764)
PIECES:
Bach, Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue
http://ibscrewed4music.blogspot.com/
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The Early and Middle Baroque: Early Baroque (1600-1650) / Middle Baroque (16501700)
o The Era:
 Portugese barroco, an irregularly shaped pearl, much used in jewelry.
Pejorative intent!
 bizzare, unnatural, strained. Excess.
 Conquest of the New World.
 Thirty Years War 1618-38; bloody, nominally between the Catholics and
Protestants. Least affected was Italy; hence that is where most of the artistic
growth occured.
 Monarchies. Louis the XIV “I am the state” The Sun King; imitators
everywhere.
 Patronage of the arts
 Galileo (1564 - 1642) - telescope; book defending Copernicus; Papal
inquisition public recant “Nevertheless it does move.”
 Newton (1642-1727) - clockwork universe
 Visual art:
 Fills the space; fills the canvas. Detail, depth and ornamentation. Action and
movement.
 Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt
o Style:
 Form: imitation, ritornello, binary, ternary; variation. Unity of mood.
Doctrine of affections.
 Melody: Long spun phrases with much ornamentation; disjunct motion
(triad leaps)
 Tone Color: Once established remains throughout (unity of mood).
Texture: 1st monody, then a re-flowering of polyphony w/ homophonic
sections to emphasize text. Use of terraced dynamics.
 Harmony: Major-minor tonality. V-I cadence standard. Common
practice. Sequence and imitation as well as chordal texture.
 Rhythm: Continuity of rhythm. Repeated patterns. Forward drive is
rarely interrupted.
o Composers:
 Claudio Monteverdi (Italian 1567 - 1643)
 Girolamo Frescobaldi (Italian 1583-1643)
 Heinrich Schütz (Germany 1585 - 1672)
 Lully (France 1632 - 1687)
 Henry Purcell (English c1659 - 1695)
 Arcangelo Corelli (Italian 1653 - 1713)
 Couperin (French 1668 - 1733)
 (The masters of the late Baroque, in Time Band III: Handel, Bach, Vivaldi)
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Genres:
 Cantata - means “sung.” Small scale Italian secular song; early Baroque
monody to Bach’s full blown Lutheran church cantata in several movements
with aria, recitative, and chorus.
 Opera - sung drama. Monteverdi is the 1st important composer of Opera.
 Oratorio - sung drama on a Biblical or moral story; without action, scenery,
or costumes.
 Organ music- toccata - fugue - chorale based pieces - mass
 Sontata - means “sounded” or “played.” Sonata de chiesa and de camera.
Trio sonata for 2 melody instruments plus continuo.
 Suite - evolved from the dance pairings of the Renaissance. Instrumental;
several contrasting dance movements. Covered in more depth in Time Band
III.
Vocabulary:
 aria - song from an opera
 arioso - more songlike than recitative but not as formal as aria.
 bel canto - literally “beautiful singing”
 equal temperament - tuning applied to keyboard instruments by the late
Baroque; divided the octave into 12 equal semitones, making all keys
“equal.”
 castrati - ouch. One of those Baroque extremes.
 basso continuo - bass line and melody supplied, insides or harmony implied.
Kind of like a jazz lead sheet.
 ground bass - ostinato in the bass. IE in Monteverdi’s opera.
 major-minor tonality - emerged during the Baroque. By 1699, it’s there. We
have been moving toward it.
 monody - accompanied expressive solo song of the early Baroque. Vittoria is
a great example.
 The Camerata - small Renaissance academy seeking to rediscover the
expressive power of Greek music. Led to monody.
 terraced dynamics - changing dynamics by addition and subtraction of
players.
 ostinato - a favorite device of Baroque and 20th C composers.
 patronage - Courts and monarchs. Also churches.
 recitative - imitation of speech in opera. secco (dry) and accompagnatio.
 ritornello - the energizer bunny of compositional technique.
 sinfonia - instrumental piece to introduce and opera or cantata
 Virt
The High Baroque: (1700-1750)
o The Era:
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Portugese barroco, an irregularly shaped pearl, much used in jewelry.
Pejorative intent! Bizzare, unnatural, strained. Excess.
For most (90%) of the population--peasants and laborers, life was still “short,
nasty and brutish.” War, famine and plague.
Conquest of the New World. Raw materials =
Growing merchant class
Thirty Years War 1618-48; culmination of 100 years of war, bloody,
nominally between the Catholics and Protestants. Europe’s “first” world war.
Least affected was Italy; hence that is where most of the artistic growth
occured.
Monarchies. Louis the XIV (reigned 1643-1715) “I am the state” The Sun
King; imitators everywhere. Versailles.
 Hapsburg King Leopold, Veinna, Schonbrunn
 Prussia (eastern Germany) King Frederick William
Patronage of the arts
Important Figures:
 Galileo (1564 - 1642) - telescope; book defending Copernicus; Papal
inquisition public recant “Nevertheless it does move.”
 Newton (1642-1727) - clockwork universe. Principia (1687) based upon
math and experiment, not “speculation”
Visual art:
 Fills the space; fills the canvas. Detail, depth and ornamentation. Action
and movement.
 Bernini (1598-1680), Rubens (1577-1640), Rembrandt (1606-1669).
 A complex mixture of rationalsism, sensuality , materialsism, and
spirituality.
“The Age of Enlightenment”
 John Locke Essay Concertning Human Understanding (1690); the infant
is a tabula rasa
 Denis Diderot (1713-1784) Encycopedie editor, symbolized the desire of
scientists and thinkers to define and expand the base of knowledge
 Samuel Johnson undertook a massive “Dictionary of the English
Language”
 Francois Votaire (1694-1778)
 fairness and justice; satirical attacks on the abusses of power
 twice thrown in the Bastille as a result of angering nobles
 rejected God of the church; professed belief in a deity based on reason
rather than faith
Scientists and philosphers continued to reflect and write, whether
supported,opposed, or ignored by royalty (who were all trying to imitate
Louis XIV).
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In England, there was an upsurge of amatuer orchestras during the late
Baroque, who played for their own enjoyment; but on the Continent: church,
wealthy patrons, or towns. Hence: chamber music from house musicians.
Style:
 Form: Unity of mood (doctrine of affections) constant throughout piece or
section. Regular!
 Melody: Creates a feeling of continuity; same melody heard again and again;
expansion, unfolding, unwinding of melody “Fortspinnung” . Sequence.
Ornamented. Not always easy to sing or remember. “Instrumental”
melodies.
 Tone Color : Texture: late Baroque composers gloried in POLYPHONY! Just
like visual art, fills the space! Terraced dynamics. Largest ensemble tended to
be about 20. Tone color tended to be unimportant (unspecified
instrumentation, free substitution) (The basso continuo provides a constant
“wash of sound”)
 Harmony: Dominant --> tonic relationship arises. Basso continuo. New
emphasis on VERTICAL structure. Beginning of the “common practice
period.” Regular, rapid harmonic rhythm. composer theorist Jean-Philippe
Rameau.
 Rhythm: Continuity of rhythm. Beat is very important. Like a “motor”.
Constant meter.
Composers:
 Johann Sebastian Bach (German 1685-1750)
 Born in Eisenach (family of professional musicians; trained by father
and older brother). Was not so famous in his own day. Organist
@Arnstadt (03-07), Mühlhausen (07-08), court organist and
concertmaster for the duke of Weimar (08-17), music director for
prince of Cöthen (17-23) and cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig
(23-50)
 Blended German French and Italian styles; wrote music for his
immediate use in each position.
 Exemplified the mature Baroque.
 George Frideric Handel (German [English] 1685-1759)
 Dominco Scarlatti (Italian 1685-1757)
 Antonio Vivaldi (Italian 1678-1741)
 His main post: Pio Ospedale della Pieta, an amazing institution of
orphan girls (as many as 6000!)
 Was prolific, as there was no such thing as a "standard repertoire" in
Vienna at the time: the public expected new works each season.
 Known today primarily as an instrumental composer, but in his time
was also successful at opera and church music
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His concertos: clear form, memorable melodies, rhythmic energy,
contrasts in timbre and texture. Usually FSF with the outer movements
displaying soloist virtuosity and ritornello form. Slow mvt usually aria
like (and elevated in importance compared to previous composers)
 Influenced Bach
 Jean-Philippe Rameau (French 1683-1764)
 First known as a theorist and only later as a composer. Early training
and positions as an organist.
 Published Traite de l’harmonie in 1722 which made his reputation
 Patron was Alexandre Jean Joseph Le Riche de la Poupliniere
(nobleman, tax collector, avid patron of music) His patronage allowed
Rameau to write opera in Paris.
 Rameau’s theoretical works were important: He posited the chord as
the basic unit in music, derived it from the overtone series, suggested
that it maintained its identity and root when inverted. He established
tonic, dominant, subdominant as the pillars of harmony
Genres:
 Vocal:
 Opera - It. for "work" dramatic stage composition, multi-act. Emotion is
sung.
 Oratorio - Like an opera without costumes or staging: Composition for
solo singers, chorus and instruments, usually dramatic, and usually on a
biblical or religious subject. Cheaper to produce than opera. Ask
Handel.
 Cantata - Literally, "sung" (It.) Think of Spanish, cantar, to sing.
Contains recitative, and aria. Compare to "sonata."
 Instrumental:
 Fugue:
 Subject: main theme, (usu. head, middle, tail)
 Countersubjects: lines sung against the subject
 Episodes: take place between entries of the subject; thematic
material may be drawn from subject or countersubject, or be
new.
 Stretto: overlapping entries of the subject.
 Suite (varied dance movements all in the same key) AB form (each
dance)
 German allemande duple moderate
 French courante triple moderate
 Spanish sarabande stately triple
 (optional minuet, gavotte, bourree or passepied
 English gigue (jig) lively 6/8
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Sonata - sonare (It.) to play an instrumental work; usu. in several
movements for one or two solo instruments.
 chamber sonata (camera) dance suite for at home
 church sonata (chiesa) more serious, several movements for
church use.
 Trio sonata (2 vlns plus continuo equals 4)
 Concerto -- concertare=”to contend with” (2 dissimilar masses of
sound)
 Concerto Grosso (alternation between small group and larger
group)
 Concerto Ripieno (concerto for orchestra)
 Solo Concerto (violin the major one): Three movements F-S-F.
 The operatic Overture
 French (slow-fast; fast loosely fugal)
 Italian (fast(not fugal)-slow/lyrical-fast dance like) (hey, its a
concerto!)
 Improvisiation - in the realization of figured bass (basso continuo) and
in cadenzas.
Vocabulary:
 arpeggio - a broken chord
 binary form - AB: tonic -->dominant / dominant -->tonic, or tonic -->relative
major and back
 concertino - the soloists of a concerto grosso
 cadenza - improvisitory solo passage; display of virtuosity, before final
cadence (before coda) of a solo concerto
 circle of fifths - progression of the downward fifth II-V-I.
 da capo aria - ABA form aria
 doctirne of affections - (Affectenlehre) an attempt by Baroque theorists and
composers (Johann Mattheson) to codify the means of expressing emotions
in music by imparting convetional meaning to certain keys, tempi, rhythmic
patterns, and even to intervals. Once created, melodic figures or motives
were then spun out throughout a movement or section of a piece in
accordance with the Baroque musico-dramatic practice of presenting one
affection at a time.
 harmonic rhythm - the rate or pattern of harmonic change
 hemiola - alteration of two of triple meter at two different metrical levels.
 libretto - “book” the text (story) of an opera.
 ornaments - addition of mostly stereotyped melodic figures (trills,
appogiaturas, mordents, etc.) by performer (improvisation), composer or
editor.
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overture - an introductory instrumental movement played at the beginning
of an opera, stage play, oratorio or suite. A concert overture, on the other
hand, is an independent compoosition.
 passicaglia - a variation form based upon an ostinato theme usually heard in
the bass.
 pedal point - sustained note in the bass, over which harmonies move.
 scordatura - any non-standard tuning of a stringed instrument.
 stretto - overlapping of subject entries in a fugue.
 ternary form - three part form, normally ABA.
 thoroughbass - a system wherby a keyboard player improvises chords over a
given bass line by means of symbols (numbers and accidentals) placed
beneath the staff. (figured bass, basso continuo). Fills in, or realized the
harmony.
Instruments:
 high trumpet
 oboe
 recorder
 pipe organ
 string family
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