The Baroque Era

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The Baroque Era

• 1600-1750

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Baroque Culture

• Definitions
• Portuguese for irregularly-shaped pearl
• Geographical Centers

England
France
Germany
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The Times

• Science
• Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Laws of gravity
• Calculus

Sir Isaac Newton
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• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Movement of the planets
• Foundation of astronomy
• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Johannes Kepler
Galileo Galilei
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• René Descartes (1596-1650)
• Analytical geometry
• Applied scientific principles to philosophy
• Applied methods of mathematics to the study of
  what humans think and feel
• Believed that human emotions could be classified
  in the same way scientific phenomena are
  classified (Doctrine of Affections)

René Descartes
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• William Gilbert (1544-1603)
• Properties of electricity

• Sir William Harvey (1578-1657)
• Circulation of the blood

• Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
• Chemistry

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• Inventions

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• Politics Age of Absolute Monarchs

Charles II of England
Frederick II of Prussia
Louis XIV of France
Phillip IV of Spain
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• Religion
• Roman Catholic
• Protestant
• New Religions
• Deism
• Influenced by the advances in scientific
  knowledge
• Operated on reason alone without supernatural
  manifestations
• Ethan Allen, Thomas Payne, Thomas Jefferson,
  Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, James Madison

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• Everyday life in the Baroque
• Institutions with power
• Court
• Church
• Aristocratic Life
• Middle and Lower Class Life

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Visual Arts

• Architecture
• In the Renaissance simple, straight lines and
  detail

Bramante St. Peters Cathedral
Brunelleschi Florence Cathedral
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• In the Baroque ornate, extravagant, showy

St. Peters Basilica, Vatican
Palace of Versailles, Paris
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• Painting
• Emotionally charged
• Dramatic subjects
• Contrast play between light and shadow

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• Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Self-Portrait
Assumption of the Virgin
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• Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)

The Night Watch
Self-Portrait
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• Sculpture
• Strong light and dark contrasts
• Dramatic tension
• Subjects are never still but moving, struggling,
  twisted

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Self-Portrait
Apollo and Daphne
Louis XIV
Ecstasy of St. Theresa
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Age of Paradox/Contrasts

• Church ? State
• Monarchy ? Bourgeoisie
• Aristocracy ? Affluent Middle Class
• Importance of Religions ? Rise of Secular
• Scientific Research ? Superstition, Witchcraft
• Importance of humanity ? Religious Persecution

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Musics Response to Paradox/Contrast

• Vocal ? Instrumental
• 8 Church Modes ? Tonality (Major, minor)
• Sacred Music ? Secular Music
• Polyphonic Texture ? Homophonic Texture

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The Composers Life

• Patronage System
• Church ? Court
• Deterioration of the Patronage System
• Other Music Achievements
• Audience of the common people
• Development of music for its own sake

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Music of the Baroque

• Doctrine of Affections
• Elements of Music
• Melody
• Long, instrumental in conception
• Use of sequences
• Monothematic
• Use of ornamentation

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• Harmony
• Tonal
• Use of Major and minor scales
• Rhythm
• Metric
• Motoric
• Texture
• Homophony and Polyphony equal in importance (Late
  Baroque)
• Thorough Bass or Basso Continuo

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• Form
• Binary
• Ternary
• Fugue
• Ritornello
• Dynamics
• Terraced
• Not written into the score
• Timbre
• Vocal
• Instrumental

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Keyboard Instruments
Painted Organ Pipes
Pipe Organ
Harpsichord
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String Instruments
Viol Family
Stradivarius Violins
Lute
Guarnerius Violin
Composite of String Instruments
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Woodwind Instruments
Wood Flute
Recorder Family
Early Clarinets
Oboe da Caccia
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Brass Instruments
Long Trumpet
Trombones
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Percussion Instruments
Kettledrums
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Vocal Genres

• Opera
• Began as court entertainments in Italy
• Includes a story (libretto), solo singing, choral
  singing, dancing, costumes and sets
• Forms recitative, aria , chorus

Orfeo, 1607 Tu se morta
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
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• Cantata
• Short, unstaged operas (secular and sacred)
• Used operatic forms (recitative, aria, chorus)
• Sacred cantatas often based on a chorale

Cantata 140 Wachet Auf, 1731 Awake, A Voice is
Calling Us First Movement Chorus and
Orchestra Fourth Movement Tenor Chorale
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
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Wachet Auf
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• Oratorio
• A sacred, large-scale opera
• Always based on a biblical story
• No staging or constuming
• Larger role for the chorus
• Uses opera forms (recitative, aria, chorus)

Messiah, 1741 Recitative The Voice of Him
Aria Every Valley Shall Be Exalted Chorus
Hallelujah
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
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• Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah (1741)
• Perhaps one of the worlds most famous choral
  pieces
• Text is from the Revelation of St. John
• Hallelujah!
• For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth
• The kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom
  of our Lord and of His Christ
• And he shall reign for ever and ever
• King of Kings and Lord of Lords
• Hallelujah!
• Combines monophonic, polyphonic and homophonic
  textures

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Instrumental Genres

• Dance Suite
• Originally a series of dances played for dancing
• By the Baroque, suites became independent
  instrumental pieces no longer intended for
  dancing
• Usually contained four dances
• Often unified by key
• Differed by tempo and international background
• Used binary form

Suite No. 3 in D Major, 1729-1731 Air Bourée Gi
gue
J.S. Bach
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• Sonata
• Originally a sound piece for one instrument
• Became a chamber music genre in the Baroque (from
  2 to 6 players)
• Four movements fast, fast, slow, fast
• Trio sonatas were popular

Trio Sonata in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 10 (1689)
First Movement
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
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• Concerto Grosso
• friendly contention
• Contrasts a larger ensemble (ripieno or tutti)
  with a solo group (concertino)
• Three movements fast, slow, fast
• Often uses ritornello form

Spring Concerto The Four Seasons, 1725 First
Movement Allegro Spring has come, and
joyfully, The birds greet it with happy song. And
the streams, fanned by gentle breezes, Flow along
with a sweet murmur. Covering the sky with a
black cloak, Thunder and lightning come to
announce the season. When these have quieted
down, the little birds Return to their enchanting
song.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
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Ritornello Form
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Vivaldi - Spring Concerto, Allegro
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• Keyboard Music
• Organ and harpsichord
• Often paired a free piece with a contrapuntal
  fugue Prelude and Fugue
• Toccata added elements of virtuosic touch
  keyboard technique

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, 1722 Prelude
and Fugue in c minor
J.S. Bach
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J.S. Bach Fugue in g minor, BWV 578
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Composers

• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frideric Handel
• Antonio Vivaldi
• Henry Purcell
• Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
• Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1667-1729)