Baroque Period

When years was the Baroque Era?

1600-1750

Who is Madalena Casulana?

-Performed at Royal Weddings

-Wrote and performed works for 5 voices

-II Desiderio

-Included 4 madrigals

-First woman to publish something

Who is Vittoria Aleotti?

-First woman to publish polyphonic sacred music (1593)

Who is Vittoria Archilei?

- Best female singer in Italy

-In opera

-“The Famous”

-1589

Who is Adriana Basile?

-Another great

-c. 1586-1642)

-Made a lot of money

Who is Francesca Caccini?

-(1587-1640)

-born into a family of musicians

-composer father, singer mother

-was a singer and composer

-highly paid

-Disappeared from the court

-End of her life is unknown

Who is Barbara Strozzi?

-“Barbara Valle”

-Giulio Strozzi’s illegitimate daughter

-Published 8 volumes of music (secular, arias, ventadas…)

-Wrote Amordormiglione

Amordormiglione Info

Composer:

Form:

Instrumentals:

Voice:

Basso continuum:

-Written by Barbara Strozzi

-De capo aria, A B A’

-Voice + lute (lead sheet)

-Soprano, melismatic

-root, continued bass, improvised accompaniment

What is the Academia degli Incogniti?

-Giulio Stozzi was a member

-It was a forward thinking group

-Published debates

-Feminist debates, not like today

- Barbara Strozzi knew many members, but would never be one

-Founded by Giovanni Francesco Loredano

What is the Academia degli Unisoni?

-Established 1637

-Giulio Strozzi created this group

-Barbara Strozzi was a part of the group, but acted more as a host

-Meetings were held in Strozzi household

-Members wrote derogatory letters to Barbara

-Barbara’s virtue was questioned

Who is Chiara Margarita Cozzolani?

-Nun

-Magnificat, set by many composers

-Set to a Mass

-Biblical

-Hymn of praise

-Polyphonic

-Wrote Chiara Margarita

-Basically Hildegard’s sister by a few centuries

Pope Innocent XI vs Cozzolani

-Pope Innocent XI (1686) said women can’t learn songs from men

-He said it distracts them from “womanly duties” and corrupts their modesty

-Loophole was to learn from other women

-Pope Benedict XIII vs Santa Radegonda

-(1728)

-Pope Benedict thought figured bass was root of all evil

-Figured bass instruments= harmony instruments

-His problem was with instruments, strings not allowed in church, even though dome churches had full orchestras

What is an opera?

-A continuously sung drama

-Strophic

-European genre

-Has an orchestra, singers, and staging

-Long

What is an operetta?

-A tiny opera

-Only one Act

-More speaking

-Many in English

-Short

Who is Jacopo Peri?

-(1561-1633)

-Made the first opera (1598)

-First opera = La Dafne, did not survive

-Oldest surviving =Lemvsiche

Who is Claudio Monteverdi? What do you know about his work?

-Wrote L’Orfeo (1607)

-Orfeus is a classic myth about drama and intense emotions

-Had a full orchestra with older instruments (cornettos, sackbuts, lutes, and harpsicord)

-Italian opera

-Has an aria

Who is Peter Paul Rubens?

-Painted the Arrival of Maria de Medici at Marseille

-His works had so much going on in it that it was distasteful

What is the Palace of Versailles?

-Pierre Patel painted it

-c.1668

-It shows the boldness, high detail, and lots of embellishment of the Baroque style

Define Basso Continuo

-Continued bass

-Improvised accompiament

What is a Da Capo Aria?

A B A’

Who wrote the opera L’Orfeo and what year?

Claudio Monteverdi (1607)

Who is Henry Purcell?

-(1659-1695)

-Benjamin Britten used a Theme and Variation that Purcell wrote in Britten’s A Young Person’s Guide to an Orchestra

-1649-1660 was a time of the commonwealth or the struggle and strife for the common people

-During his time, musical theater was outlawed in the public, but if there was talking in it, it was fine

Who is Nahum Tate?

-He was the librettist for Henry Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas”

-(1692-1715)

-The opera was based on his poem Aeneid Virgil

What is the opera Dido and Aeneas about?

Aeneas was a sailor and Dido was the queen of Carthage. They fell in love when Aeneas visited her kingdom, but he had to leave to take over Rome. She couldn’t live without him and killed herself

Who is John Blow?

-Was Henry Purcell’s teacher

-Composer and organist

-Composed Venus and Adonis

Define aria

-Learn about a character’s thoughts and feelings

-Action stops

-Let’s sit down with our feelings for a second

Define recitative

-Moves the plot along

-Sung dialogue

-Does not use a full orchestra

-Speech-like

-Go through a lot more text than an aria

-Opposite of an aria

Define overture (“French” overture)

-Opening section of an opera

-Always instrumental

-Has 2 sections, one slow, one fast

-French specifically first has slow dotted rhythms, then a fast imitative polyphonic texture

Define ground bass/basso ostinato/basso lamento

1. A bass line repeated over and over again

2. Same as ground bass

3. Figured bass descends chromatically

Define libretto

-Is the book or script for an opera

-The librettist creates the book/script

Who is Johann Sebastian Bach?

-Fangirl of Vivaldi, transcribed his music

-(1685-1750)

-Came from a musical household

-His Concerto for 4 Violins in B Minor had lots of inspiration from Vivaldi, eventually turned into 4 harpsichords

-Was the first person to create a concerto for harpsichord

Who is Martin Luther?

-Declared music should be a part of church worship

-A big advocate for music, which eventually led to chorales to be made

What were the three periods of Bach?

1. Weimar

2. Cothen

3. Leipzig

What years was Bach’s Weimar Period?

1708-1717

What years was Bach’s Cothen Period?

1717-1723

What years was Bach’s Leipzig Period?

1723-1750

Why is the St. Thomas Church important?

Bach spent the rest of his life teaching young boys music here, later Bach’s remains moved here

What is a cantata?

-Equivalent to a sermon

-Elaborates on a chorale tune

Who is Phillip Nicolai?

-Wrote chorales and Bach elaborated on his music

-(1556-1608)

What were Bach’s sons’ names?

Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach and Johann Christian Bach

Define chorale

-Sacred music that has simple melodies

-Meant to be sung by the people in church

What is bar form?

AAB

Define masque

The combination of music, poetry, and dance

Who is George Friedrich Handel?

-Wrote the Messiah

-Took a different approach on the oratorio since it follows a character through many stories instead of just one

-Wrote 2 oratorios (Esther and Messiah)

-Would have been known as an Italian opera composer during his day

Define oratorio

Like a cantata, but larger scale concept work

Define concerto

Solo instrumental piece, accompanied by orchestra

Define ritornello

Instrumental refrain or a repeated instrumental section

Why is the Royal Academy important?

Handel was employed by them in London

Who is Richard Boyle?

-Was the Third Earl of Burlington

-Huge patron of the arts

-Handel’s lover “best friends”

Who is the Third Earl of Burlington and his circle? Why are they important?

-Alexander Pope, Handel, and John Gay

-They dedicated operas and other music to him Richard Boyle

What are the 6 dance types?

1. Allemande

2. Sarabande

3. Gavotte

4. Bourree

5. Minuet

6. Gigue

What is a hemiola?

A rhythmic shift or a meter manipulation (2 groups of 3 beats heard as two beats)

Who is Jean-Phillippe Rameau?

-(1684-1754a)

-opera composer

-music theorist

-wrote allemandes, First Suite in A Minor for Harpsichord

What is Zimmerman’s Coffeehouse in Leipzig?

-Seated 150 people

-Performances happened here

-The Collegium Musicum would perform

What is the Collegium Musicum?

-A group for university students

-A few professional players

-Bach wrote msuic for them

Who is Antonio Vivaldi?

-Best remembered for the 4 Seasons Violin Concerto

-(1678-1741)

-Well known violinist

-Wrote 500 concertos, mostly violin, but other instruments too

His pieces performed at Ospedale della Pieta (all girls school with a great orchestra)

-Wrote operas inspired by traveling to Italy as a young man

-More famous than Bach during this time

What is Ospedale della Pieta?

Vivaldi taught young girls here

Harpsichord facts

-Dominant keyboard instrument

-Has quills that are plucked

-2 keyboards aka manuels

-Subtle sound

-Box is straight, strings are straight

-Designs on them

-Strings are tiny

-No dynamics

The gamba family facts

-Has 6 strings

-Third apart strings

-Fretted

-Family includes: Violone, Bass Viol, Tenor Viol, Alto Viol, Treble Viol

-No end pin for Tenor Viol and held underhand

-Hold in lap for alto viol and play bow sideways

Compare and contrast the baroque violin and the modern violin

Baroque Violin:

-no chin or shoulder rest

-fingerboard is slightly smaller range

-used gut or animal intestines as strings

-shorter distance between frog and tip

-strings are tighter on bow

-no fine tuners

-more articulate

Modern Violin:

-has a chin and shoulder rest

-fingerboard is bigger

-uses steel strings

-projects better and is more virtuostic

Who were the instrument builders?

1. Amati

2. Tourte

3. Pleyel

4. Challis

5. Dowd

6. Hubbarb

What does performance practice mean?

Is the set of assumptions and values performers use when translating notated music into sound

What information do you know about the song Magnificat?

-Written by Chaira Margarita Cozzolani

What information do you know about the song Amor dormiglione?

-Written by Barbara Strozzi

-

What information do you know about the song 1st Sailor and Chorus?

-Written by Henry Purcell

-From Dido and Aeneas

What information do you know about the song When I am laid in earth?

-Written by Henry Purcell

-From Dido and Aeneas

What information do you know about the song Tu se’ morta?

-Written by Claudio Monteverdi

-From L’Orfeo

What information do you know about the song Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme?

-Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

-3 movements

What information do you know about the Messiah?

-Written by George Friedrich Handel

-Made up of: Symphony, There Were Shepherds…, Glory to God in the Highest, Rejoice Greatly, Hallelujah"

-Rejoice Greatly is melismatic (more than 5 notes per syllable), de capo aria

-Christ Birth to Death. toSalvation of the World

-Written in English

What information do you know about the song Suite No.3 in D Major?

-Written by Bach

-Orchestral Suite

-Consists of: Overture, Air, Gavotte I-II, Bourree, Gigue

What information do you know about the song Suite in A Minor Allemande?

-Written by Jean-Phillipe Rameau

-Harpsichord piece

-3 Parts

What information do you know about the song Spring from the Four Seasons?

-Written by Antonio Vivaldi

-Violin concerto

-3 movements

What does Baroque mean?

Mishapen/distorted (Spanish/Portuguese)

Fully noted instrumental music emerged during the Baroque Era. True or False?

True

True or False? All harmony instruments (lute, harpsichord) works for basso continunum

True

Since many women composers and performers could not perform publicly, what other option was there for them?

Join monastic communities and become a nun

What was the most important thing to come from the Baroque Period?

Opera

What people saw operas?

The upperclass and courts

What happened in Bach’s life during his Weimar period?

-Was an organist

-Not known as a composer

-worked in court under a Duke

-Wrote secular and sacred music

What happened during Bach’s life during his Cothen period?

-Was the happiest time of his life

-Employed by Prince Leopold

-Was best friends with prince who loved music too, however the prince married and his wife disliked music and so the prince did not like it as well, Bach was not happy

What happened during Bach’s life during his Leipzig period?

-Taught young boys music in Saint Thomas Church

-Students could be good at music, but needed to be accepted by the church (need to know Latin, etc.)

-Bach died and eventually his remains were moved to St. Thomas Church

What does psaltry mean?

To pluck/hammer strings

What makes up an allemande?

-a dance

-quadruple meter (4/4),

-slow to moderate tempo, stately

-almost a one beat pick up, 3 sixteenth notes

-So-Do is common

-Notes are slightly swung (inegale notes)

What makes up an bourree?

-its a subgenre of a gavotte

-in cut time

-pick up is a quarter length of the bar

-duple meter

-fast, lively tempo

What makes up an gavotte?

-duple meter

-moderate to fast tempo

-always begins with a half bar pick up

What makes up an minuet?

-triple meter, emphasis on one

-two parts

-moderate tempo

-simple rhythms

-hemiolas

What makes up a gigue?

-Charles Dieupart (1667-1740)

-jig in english

-compound meter

-fast tempo

-smaller steps, graceful

-polyphonic texture

-English origin

What makes up a sarabande?

-Charles Dieupart (1667-1740)

-Spanish origin

-triple meter

-rabato tempo, slow dance

-emphasis on 2 instead of 1

-early ballet, repetitive movements

What is a grouping of dances called?

Suite

True or False? Not all dance suites are in binary form.

False

Compare and Contrast Cantata and Oratorio

Cantata:

-Hymn based on devotion to Bible verses

-Elaborates on a chorale

-Short

-Performed at worship service

-Chamber ensemble

-Less likely to have just instrumentals

Oratorio:

-More direct relationship from scripture

-Taking text directly from the Bible

-No thematic unity

-Much longer

-Performed in an auditorium

-Larger ensemble

Both:

-Sacred music

-Based on scriptures

-Have choruses, arias, recitatives

Which of the following traits is true of overtures in the Baroque Era?

a). They are instrumental numbers that precede large-scale works like operas

b). They often contain two contrasting sections; one slow and one fast

c). They often contain two contrasting sections; one with dotted rhytms and one containing imitative polyphony

d). All of the above

D