Baroque%20Instrumental%20Music

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Baroque Instrumental Music

• This is the first time that we see instrumental
  music sharing the same stature as vocal music.
• For the first time, there was a clear separation
  of Vocal and Instrumental music

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Baroque Instrumental Practice

• There were no classics, so contemporary
  composers were very prolific
• Modulations and chromatic harmonies and melodies.
• Virtuosity (music that shows off the technical
  skills of the performer)

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Baroque Instrumental Evolution

• Early Baroque Instrumental music uplifted musical
  line rather than blend. Late Baroque music will
  focus more on the idea of blend and refined
  orchestration.

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Keyboard Music

• Equal tempered tuning

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(No Transcript)
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Keyboard Instruments

• Three main instruments
• Organ sacred venues and some home chapels
• Tracker Action
• Great, positive, and portative organ
• Harpsichord basso continuo for orchestra and
  dance music. Solo instrument. Strings plucked by
  a Plectrum.
• Clavichord strings struck by hammers made
  originally from bone. Precursor to the piano.

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Positive organ Portative organ
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Baroque Organs
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Harpsichord
Harpsichord, ca. 1675Made by Michele
TodiniRome, Italy
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Clavichord
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The keyboard, allowed composers to think
vertically (tonal system) rather than
horizontally (modal system) more than one
note could be played at a time.
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Types of Instrumental Music

• Improvisatory style
• Toccata
• Prelude
• Fantasia
• Existing melody
• Chorale prelude
• Theme Variations

• Fugal style
• Ricercare
• Fantasia
• Capriccio
• Fugue
• Dances

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Toccata

• From Italian verb toccare (to touch)
• A work with very fast monophonic melodies with
  chromatic harmonies
• Free, irregular metres and rhythms
• Often improvised on the organ

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The Chorale Prelude

• Originally, an introduction to a hymn (chorale)
  Bach was the preeminent composer of Chorale
  Preludes
• Later written down as a composition (a single
  variation on a chorale)

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Dietrich Buxtehude 1637-1707
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The Baroque Suite

• Instrumental dance music from the Renaissance
  period now refined in a new style of sound and
  compositional technique.
• Pastiche of different international styles of
  dance forms.
• First function was dancing at social functions.
• Other functions dinner music.

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Order of the Dance Suite
Overture (Optional)Allemande Germany
4/4 time Moderate Courante French 3/4
time Moderate Sarabande Spain 3/4
time Slow Other Dances (Optional) Minuet Gav
otte BourreeGigue England 6/8 time Fast
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Types of Dances
Allemande German Quadruple
Courante French Triple
Jig (Gigue) English/French 6/8 or 6/4
Sarabande Spanish Triple
Minuet Italian peasant Triple
Gavotte French pastoral Duple peasant
Bourree French lively Duple peasant
Passepied Fast French minuet Triple peasant
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Jacques Champion Chambonnieres (1601-1672)

• the founder of the French harspichord school
• not the first, but the first with celebrity

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Jacques Champion de Chambonnières (c.1601-1672)

• influenced Couperin and Rameau
• Chambonnieres, DAnglebert, and de la Guerre were
  important early clavecinists
• clavecin is French for harpsichord

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Jean Henry DAnglebert (1629-1691)
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Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1666-1729)
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François Couperin 1668-1733

• He was known as Couperin le Grand" (Couperin the
  Great) to distinguish him from the other members
  of his musically talented family.

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Lart de toucherle clavecin
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Innovations

• Instrument building families
• Stradivarius, Guarneri, and Amati
• Strings
• Cat gut
• Slightly different playing technique.bowing
• Woodwinds mellow sound as opposed to a more
  brassy sound in modern times.

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Innovations

• Brass
• Originally a military instrument for signals
• Without valves
• Key changes made by inserting longer or shorter
  crooks in the horn.

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The Sonata

• Evolved from the Renaissance canzona, which had
  several contrasting sections
• Early in the 17th century, sonata referred to
  any piece for instruments
• Later, sonata meant a piece for 1 or 2 melody
  instruments with basso continuo

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The Sonata

• Chamber Sonata Sonata da Camera
• A group of dances.
• Number of movements vary
• Church Sonata Sonata da Chiesa
• Serious collection of pieces
• Containing polyphonic/contrapuntal texture.
• Often 4 movements SFSF

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The Baroque Sonata Form

• Four Movements
• SLOW
• FAST
• SLOW
• FAST

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The Sonata

• Trio Sonata sonata for any combination of two
  instruments and basso continuo. (which means 4
  players)

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Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713)

• Studied in Bologna-center of violin playing in
  Northern Italy.
• Worked in Rome under the patronage of several
  wealthy benefactors.

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The Concerto

• A three movement piece (FSF) music that is
  created from two masses or bodies of sound.
• Concertare to contend with or to compete with.

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The Two Masses of Sound

• Concertino small group.
• Tutti or ripieno large group (orchestra)
• tutti (all) ripieno (full)

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Three types of concerto

• Solo concerto A concerto featuring a soloist
  contending with an orchestra.
• Concerto Grosso A concerto featuring a small
  group contending with a larger group.
• Concerto ripieno A concerto in which all take
  part no long solos

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Concerto

• Several contrasting movements
• 1st movement uses ritornello form
• Contrast between performing groups is VIMP

vs
Orchestra (aka tutti) 15-25 strings
harpsichord louder dynamics simpler music
Soloist(s) 1 to 5 players may feature woodwinds,
brass softer dynamics technical, virtuosic
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Movement 1 fast, energetic, ritornello form
Ritornello form a way of arranging musical
ideas (melodies?) in a piece
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Ritornello Form
Contrast between sections is VIMPRitornello
provides unity musical glue

• Ritornello sections
• played by tutti
• recurring theme or part of it

• Solo sections
• played by soloist(s)
• new material

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R1 S1 R2 S2 R3 S3 R4 S4 etc RX
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