Introduction to History of Music Week 5 (Baroque period)

opera

drama presented in music, with the characters singing instead of speaking

Where did the musically inclined people flock to during the Baroque period?

Venice- people went to study and compose music, and the public went to hear it

Claudio Monteverdi

• major achievement lay in penetrating expression of human psychology

• his madrigals are studies of emotions more varied and powerful then those of any other composer

• secured a position in Venice

  • his job was the reorganize the group of musicians at St. Marks to improve their choir

  • advanced a secular form of new music and entertainment called ‘opera’

where did operas begin?

florence- earliest of these were court entertainment to help celebrate weddings and other special events

Monteverdi – L’Orfeo (1607)

• a late renaissance/ early Baroque opera

• written for court performance in Mantra during the annual carnival period

• a ‘fable in music’, tells in a prologue and five acts the Greek legend of Orphenus’ love for his dead bride Eurydice, his descendants into Hades, and his fruitless attempts to rescue her and bring her back to the living world

• his first attempt at opera

how does music transition into the Baroque period?

use of modes in the Renaissance to a system of functional harmony in the Baroque, with a system of major & minor tonality and use of chords.

• tonic chord = home pitch

Monteverdi’s Orchestra

• used a larger orchestra

• Timbre: the trombones are used to associate with Hades and the recorders with pastoral moments

• use of dissonant harmonies

• uses choruses, duets, and instrumental passages

when did the first public opera house open in Venice?

1637

castrato singers

the male voices of the late Baroque, whose mellow high voices and strong volume

recitative

• a way to deliver speech/text through music

• a flexible way of writing music, so that it could follow the patterns and ups/downs of the spoken word, with its expressive intonations and rhythms

• an efficient way pf sharing the plot/dialogue

• accompanying instruments were kept to a minimum- not to distract attention away from text

aria

• follows a recitative

• an aria with lengthy and accompanied by the full orchestra. its meter is clearer, as its rhythms more coherent and consistent

continuous bass (basso continuo)

• recitative accompanied by one string instrument playing the sustained bass line, and a keyboard instrument who would also play the same bass line and improvise chords above it according to the given numbers

Coloratura

elaborately decorative vocal line (soprano), written to show off the sheer athletic ability of the singer’s voice

Baroque Music

1600- 1750

Claudio Monteverde time period

1597- 1643

Johann Pachelbel time period

1653- 1706

Antonio Vivaldi

1678- 1741

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685- 1750

George Frederic Handel

1685- 1759

three phases of Baroque music period

• early: 1600- 1640 (Monteverdi)

• middle: 1640- 1680 (Pachelbel, Vivaldi)

• late: 1680- 1750 (Bach, Handel)

Unity of Mood

• a piece usually expresses one basic mood

• if it begins joyfully, it will remain joyful throughout

Continuity of rhythm

• provides a compelling drive and energy

• motoric

Motoric

an even, constantly throbbing, forward-moving, driving pulse

melody

• will be heard multiple times

• there is a continuous expanding unfolding, and unwinding of melody

sequences

a melodic idea is played then repeated a step or two up (or down), then repeated once of twice more, each time moving further in the same direction

terraced dynamics

• when the music alternates between loud/ strong (forte) and soft (piano)

• sudden shifts in dynamics, like physically stepping from one level to another

subito

suddenly/immediately

how did music develop during this time?

• bar lines began to be used for the first time in music

• emphasis on meter

• strong beats vs. weak beats

what was the texture of music from the Late Baroque period?

predominately polyphonic

main keyboard instruments of the Baroque period?

• organ

• keyboard

Harmonic rhythm

rate at which the chords exchange (e. every beat/ downbeat of each new measure, every two beats, etc.)

what were harmonic modulations used for?

to give the sound energy by incorporating shifts in the harmony

pedal tones

names for the notes that are played with the foot pedals of the organ and can also mean a long held note whole other voices continue moving

movement

a piece that sounds fairly complete and independent but is part of a larger, multi-movement composition

3 movements

• 1st mvmt: fast and virtuosic (major tonality)

• 2nd mvmt: slow and lyrical (minor tonality)

• 3rd mvmt: fast and light (major tonality)

ritornello form means

the little return

Binary form =

AABB (two sections, each repeated)

Da Capo =

ABA (two sections without repeat (AB) then repeat A)

canon form =

exact repetition in every voice

fugue form =

imitative repetition in every voice

ground bass form =

• the bass instruments play a single, short melody - repeating it many times

• over the ground bass, upper melodic instruments play/ improvise melodies or virtuoso passages

fugue

• a polyphonic composition based on one main theme, called a subject

• the subject is presented the very first time by a single unaccompanied voice, in order for the musical line to be clearly heard and understood before the complexities of other voices are added

concerto grosso

• a soloist or small group of string players (soloists) alternate with orchestra playing as an ensemble

• consists of movements that contrast in tempo and character

• most often there are 3 movements

  • fast

  • slow

  • fast

‘tutti’ =

all

‘soli’ =

solo or alone

tutti vs. solo

• usually between 1-4 soloists play the solo part

• each part has its own unique musical line

• tutti is between 8-20+ musicians

• The ‘Tutti’ consists mainly of string instruments, and continuo (harpsicord and cello)

The courts role in music at this time

• might employ an orchestra, a chapel choir, and opera singers

• hired musical directors

• these directors had to supervise performances and compose much of the music required, including operas, church music, dinner music, and pieces for court concerts

George Frederic Handel

• English (naturalized) composer of German birth

• a master composer of Italian opera, English Ontario and instrumental music

Ontario

• a work that began in the church, not as part of a religious service, but as a separate event

• like operas, have overtures, recitatives, arias, and choruses, but they are not staged: there is no scenery, dance, action, make-up, or costumes

Handel’s first Italian opera

Rodrigo

What did the Queens Theatre intend to produce

the first Italian opera composed specifically for London

Rinaldo was the first?….

Italian language opera specifically composed for the London stage

“Cara Sposa”

• aria from Rinaldo

• da capo form: ABA

• the Castro vocal range was equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto

Handel’s Messiah (1741)

• composed by Handel in 24 days

• organized into three parts

• Handel’s only Ontario that uses both the New and Old Testament

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685- 1750)

• Bach’s death marks the end of the Baroque period

• his father, grand father, and great grand father were church organists or town musicians in Germany

• had 20 children

Bach- Werke- Verzeichnis (BWV)

• translates to Bach Works Catalogue

• number listed after title of work

• works are grouped thematically, not chronologically

Fugal Subject

• statement of melodic material

• introduced by a single, unaccopanied voice

• at the very beginning of the movement

• later voices enter in close imitation

• voices enter sometimes at the same, sometimes at different pitch 

Exposition vs. Episode

• exposition= statement of the fugal subject in all voices

• episode= the area in between the repetition of the exposition, perhaps including sequences

Outline of a Fugue

• exposition- tonic key I

• entry subject- another key

• episode

• entry subject- another key

• longer episode

• entry subject- tonic key

Soli Deo Gloria

To God Alone Be Glory