history of music -baroque and classical

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History of Music Baroque And Classical

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Page 1: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

History of MusicBaroqueAndClassical

Page 2: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Baroque 1600-1750• At the end of the 16th century, madrigal

composers moved to extreme dissonances and rhythmic contrasts to illustrate emotional texts

• The Baroque period began as a reaction against the madrigal.

• The recitative was developed as a new solo singing style. This led to the stage and eventually to opera.

• The Baroque is characterized with extreme excess and extravagance.

• Baroque “dualism” is a constant theme throughout the Baroque era. It is the battle between freedom and strictness, extravagance and control.

Page 3: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Baroque musical characteristics• Rhythm is more definite and regular. • Bar lines begin to be used for the 1st time.• The basso continuo is formed. This includes the

bass voices or low sounding instruments and organ or harpsichord (chordal instrument allows for continuous chords). In general, the bass line is reinforced. (Pachelbel’s Canon in D or Bach’s Air on a G String)

• Harmony evolves and musicians developed our modern major/minor system.

• Chords became a standard and used in a predictable and meaningful way. We being to have an established sense of tonality.

Page 4: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Opera• Introduced around 1600 (Peri and Monteverdi)• Opera is drama set to music and singing is

used instead of speech.• Main genre of secular music during this time• Art form that combined music, drama,

dancing, poetry, scenery, and special effects.• Became an important part of culture and

entertainment.• Opera alternated between the styles of

recitative and aria. • Listen: “Dido’s Lament” from

Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry Purcell.

Page 5: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Oratorio•Sacred vocal music that includes a variety

of styles and forms.•Oratorio is basically opera using sacred

subjects and are performed in concert form (no scenery, costumes, or gestures).

• Includes an orchestra and a choir with soloists

•May borrow from secular vocal music•Listen: Hallelujah Chorus by Handel from

Messiah

Page 6: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Instrumental Music• Instrumental music rises through the popularity

of dance, virtuosity, and vocal music.• The rise of instrumental music can also be

associated with the development of instrument making technology.

• The first fortepianos are invented during this time and are the first to use hammer strokes not by plectra.

• Pipe organ technology continued to evolve and organ building becomes a craft.

Page 7: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

The Late Baroque• The age of absolutism and the doctrine of the divine

right of kings, the absolute rule of “God-chosen” monarchs. Absolutism can be seen in Baroque opera.

• It was the age of science when Newton and Leibniz invented calculus, Newton established his laws of mechanics and the theory of gravity.▫ Music reflected the scientific attitude by tuning scales (or

tempering = equal temperment) them with more precision.

▫ Music theorists were scientifically motivated to make checklists of musical devices and techniques that match with emotions.

• Art was used to impress as evidenced through King Louis XIV building the palace of Versailles.▫ Composers were most likely to view themselves as

servants striving to satisfy their masters.

Page 8: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Late Baroque Styles• Rhythm continued to be regular• Dynamics: composers rarely used loud (f) or soft (p) markings in their scores, but

sudden dynamic contrasts were favored• Melodies were ornate (ornamentation) and complex (fugues, for example)• Improvisations were used and often written down for musicians• Polyphonic texture was standard along with the harmony of the basso continuo.• Musical forms became clearer due to the patronage system. Formulas were used

for composing due to the quick demand associated with the patronage system.• To the modern listener music of the Baroque may seem impressive, but is typically

comes off as impersonal.▫ Baroque composers conveyed a range of emotions, but they usually did not

convey their own personal feelings.• The fugue, a polyphonic composition built on one theme (fugue subject) that

appears over and over in each voice or instrument, • is an important development in the Baroque.

▫ Listen: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

Page 9: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

The Baroque Orchestra• The Baroque orchestra was formed and the core group of

instruments were members of the violin family. A keyboard instrument was added for the continuo and woodwinds and brass instruments were sometimes added, but were not standard.▫ The famous orchestra controlled by King Louis XIV in the late 17th

century was called The Twenty Four Violins of the King (6 violins, 12 violas, 6 cellos). Today this would be called a string orchestra.

• The concerto (orchestra and a soloist) and concerto grosso (orchestra and a small group of soloists) become important orchestral genres.▫ Listen: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, for flute, violin, harpsichord, and

orchestra (before 1721) by Johann Sebastin Bach.

• The use of movements within one work are seen. The movements help extend a composition. Typical late Baroque concertos have three movements. The first movement is in a fast tempo, the second is a contrast of the first (quieter and slower), and the third is usually faster than the first.

Page 10: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Making Money as a Composer in the Late Baroque

•There were three main ways a composer could earn a living:▫The church as an organist or choirmaster

who composes▫The Court working for a master▫The Opera House

Page 11: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Baroque Composers• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): Italian composer proficient in most of the major

genres of his time (operas)• Henry Purcell (1659-1695): English composer and organist who wrote only one

true opera (Dido and Aeneaus) but wrote other compositions for the stage• Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713): Italian composer and violinist who wrote solo

sonatas, trio sonatas, and concertos• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): studied music from other composers, took his

own style, and blended them (toccatas, fugues, oratorios, cantatas, masses, organ solos, etc.)

• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): English Composer born in Germany who wrote music for all genres of his time (oratorio: Messiah , Royal Fireworks and Water Music symphonies)

• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725): Italian opera composer (sonatas for clavichord)• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Italian composer and violinist known for concertos ,

opera and string quartets and quintets (The Four Seasons) , oratorio: Gloria• François Couperin (168-1733): French composer, harpsichordist, and organist• Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764): important French musician for the

development of opera• Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757): the son of Alessandro Scarlatti who is known for

his keyboard sonatas• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): brought music to the middle class by

publishing music that could be played at home by novice musicians.

Page 12: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Classical1750-1820

• This intellectual movement, the Enlightenment, focused on the advancement of science and reasoning. People of the time valued intelligence, sensitivity, and humor.

• Intelligence was used to solve scientific problems and problems associated with morality, education and politics.

• Fascination with the “natural” and “the good life”• For many, religion stopped being a tremendous force during this era.• Time of the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers• The introduction of the coffee house and public concerts

• Arts were seen as a way to contribute to an improved quality of life. They were intended to please not teach or impress like in the Baroque era.

• Music strived for clarity, restraint, and balance• Composers wrote Masses and operas, but majority of the

compositions were instrumental.• Primary genres included were the symphony, sonata, chamber music,

opera, solo concerto.

Page 13: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

How it started•A reaction against the extravagance of the

Baroque•Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a self-taught

composer who started an attack on the complex and artificial aspects of Baroque opera. Attacking the primary genre placed all of the music from the Baroque in question.

•The people of the classical era wanted opera that would portray real people in real life.

Page 14: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Other Movements in Art•Neoclassicism: A movement in visual arts

that supports the return to simple and natural values and an opposition to the complexity of the Baroque and the extreme lightness of the Rococo.

•Rococo: period between Baroque and Classical in which paintings, decoration, furniture, and jewelry were done in an extremely light style.

•The Novel: A new literary type that depicted contemporary life and feelings.

Page 15: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Musical Style Features• Rhythm: flexible rhythm, the tempo and meter are

constant throughout a movement, but the rhythms differ; rhythm gives a feelings of less predictable movement that is more exciting than the regular rhythms of the Baroque.

• Dynamics: become more specific and passages begin to be marked by composers with f, p, ff, and mf; there was a desire for variety in a pleasant way within predictability. Composers worked degrees of volume with the crescendo and diminuendo.

• Melody: simple melodies were preferred• Texture: Homophony was the principal texture but

counterpoint continued in a “natural” way to create tension; major turning point because polyphony previously dominated

Page 16: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Classical Music Forms•Standard patterns for composition

▫Sonata form▫Minuet form▫Rondo▫Theme and variations Form

Page 17: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Classical Orchestra• The orchestra became standard during the

Classical era and helped form the foundation of the symphony orchestra later in time.

• The core of the Classical orchestra continued to be the violins, violas, and cellos.

• Woodwinds and brass instruments were given specific and regular parts. The woodwind instruments that were included were flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. The brass instruments were French horns, and trumpets. The timpani was also given a regular role in this orchestra.

Page 18: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Public Concerts• Concerts were not a new idea and in the past

they were conducted in a variety of places• However, in the Classical era concerts became

an important aspect of music• In 1748, the 1st hall in Europe specifically for

concerts was built• The rise of the concert allowed orchestral music

to reach the public and therefore it grew in prestige and importance.

• Concert series allowed another way for composers to earn a living, but the main ways for composers to earn money continued to be the church, the court, and the opera house.

Page 19: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

The Symphony• Popular in the Classical era because it fit the needs

of society at the time including public concerts• Symphony movements contrast in tempo and are

composed according to different forms▫ Opening movement: fast to moderate tempo and

sonata form▫ Slow movement: slow to very slow tempo without a

standard form▫ Minuet (and trio): moderate tempo in minuet form▫ Closing movement: fast to very fast tempo in sonata

or rondo form• Listen: Haydn, Symphony #94 in G Major

(Surprise Symphony), first movement through fourth movement

Page 20: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Other Classical Genres• Sonata: In this period, a piece for one to two instruments.

Sonatas were not intended for concerts, but were meant for private performance by novice musicians.▫ Listen: Moonlight Sonata, Opus 27, No. 2 by Ludwig

von Beethoven• Concerto: idea from the Baroque era continued to be

refined, virtuosity included, but Classical orchestra was more flexible.

• String Quartet: for four instruments (two violins, one viola, and one cello) with four movements like the symphony

• Opera Buffa: Comic opera in which singers had to act, sing, and be funny. The flexibility of the Classical style was a perfect fit with the comedy of opera buffa. Ensembles are also a part of opera buffa.▫ Listen: The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart

Page 21: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Composers• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): helped develop the

symphony (“Father of the Symphony”) and style for the string quartet but considered himself a vocal music composer.

• Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791): helped develop the style for the string quartet, solo piano concerto, and contributed to many genres of his time. Musical prodigy extrodinaire! Wrote music for every instrument & form.

• Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827): expanded the orchestra and stretched the classical forms (i.e. sonata form, concerto and symphonic forms). Bridge to Romantic Period.

Page 22: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)• Roots in the Classical era, committed to the principles of

Classicism• Three Periods

▫ First period: until 1800 his music was in a Classical style like Haydn and Mozart

▫ Second period: 1800-1818 was a time of “heroic” works like Eroica and his Fifth Symphony

▫ Third period: 1818-1827 was a time characterized as more abstract and introspective. He mainly composed intimate genres like piano sonatas and string quartets. (Period most like Romanticism).

• Student of Haydn• Mood of excitement and urgency by increasing musical elements

▫ Higher and lower registers▫ Stronger syncopations and accents▫ Dissonances with strong resolutions▫ Expanded the orchestra and new demands on instruments▫ Stretched classical forms, i.e. added a fourth movement to the symphony.

Page 23: History of Music -Baroque and Classical

ReferencesKerman, Joseph, and Gary Tomlinson.

Listen. 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.

Stolba, K. Marie. The Development of Western Music. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 1998.