Baroque Music Summary Yang Song

Background

Baroque is from the Portuguese word ‘barroco’ which means an irregularly

shaped piece of jewellery.

The Baroque Period spanned 150 years from 1600, the birth of opera and

oratorio to 1750, the death of J.S. Bach.

The violin family replaced the viols and the string section firmly shaped the

orchestra.

The major-minor key system replaced the system of modes by the end of the

17th century.

New types of music include opera, oratorio, cantata, recitative and aria, suite,

overture, trio sonata, concerto grosso, solo concerto, ritornello form and

fugue.

The idea of a single affection, a musical mood or feeling, persisted throughout

an entire piece of movement.

One distinguishing feature of Baroque music is the inclusion of the basso

continuo or continuous bass.

o It consists of a bass-line only.

o It was played on an instrument such as cello, double bass or bassoon.

Another continuo player on a chord-playing instrument, e.g. harpsichord,

organ, lute improvised chords upon the bass-line.

The continuo filled in the harmonies and decorated the musical texture.

A figured bass below the notes indicated the chords which were expected.

It consisted of figures and provided clues to the necessary harmonies.

In the Baroque period, accompaniment was played by continuo instruments.

This provided the basis for the harmonies and texture of almost every type of

piece.

Baroque Music Summary Yang Song Notable composers included Bach and Handel.

Characteristics

Early Baroque music had a light, homophonic texture with melody and simple

chordal accompaniment.

It later returned to polyphonic, contrapuntal textures.

The basso continuo or figured bass became the musical foundation for the

piece, providing a walking bass for the music to move on.

The same musical mood is kept throughout an entire piece.

These moods were called affections and included joy, grief and agitation.

The violin family took over from the viols and the orchestra was based on the

string section with the keyboard continuo filling out the harmonies.

The continuo was usually the harpsichord or organ and decorated musical

texture.

By the end of the 17th century, the system of modes fell into disuse and music

was based on major and minor scales.

Musical forms used were binary, ternary, rondo, variations, ritornello form and

figue.

The main types of Baroque music were vocal and instrumental.

Music often had energetic rhythms which drove the music forward.

Melodies were frequently decorated with ornaments and long, flowing.

There were contrasts of timbre and dynamics, with sometimes echo effects.

The alternation between loud and soft is called terraced dynamics.

Unity of mood was conveyed by continuity of rhythm, with the rhythm

continuity providing a compelling forward motion.

Most music was written to meet demands that came from churches and

courts.

Baroque Music Summary Yang Song The aristocracy was enormously rich and powerful during the Baroque period.

Baroque associated with highly decorative, grand art and architecture.