The Baroque Era and Claudio Monteverdi

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key terms and concepts from lecture notes on the Baroque Era, opera origins, Claudio Monteverdi, and Act II of Orpheus.

The Baroque Era

A period in art and music history spanning 1600–1750, characterized by churches spending large sums on lavish decorations and organs, and artists expressing single emotional states.

Castrati

Male singers during the Baroque Era who possessed both the high range of a woman's voice and the physical power of a man's voice.

Affect

A single emotion that artists and musicians tried to express within a given work during the Baroque Era.

Opera

A drama sung from beginning to end, developed in Florence by a small group of philosophers, musicians, and poets who sought to revive the ancient Greek synthesis of music and drama.

Basso Continuo

The group of instruments that always accompanies a singer in Baroque opera.

Homophonic Texture

A new musical texture in opera that restored a greater sense of balance between text and music; it is used during Orpheus's recitative in "Tu se' morta".

Recitative

A style of opera singing lying between singing and speaking that uses speech-like rhythms and expressive melodic and harmonic changes to convey emotions such as grief and determination.

Polyphonic Texture

The musical texture featured during the chorus section of "Tu se' morta".

Claudio Monteverdi

An Italian composer whose career bridged the Renaissance and Baroque eras, known as a master of old and new composition styles who primarily composed operas and madrigals.

St. Mark's Basilica

The cathedral in Venice where Claudio Monteverdi spent the final three decades of his life working.

Giovanni Gabrielli

A composer who worked in Venice in the decades prior to Claudio Monteverdi's arrival.

Chorus (in Monteverdi's Orpheus)

The ensemble that comments on Orpheus's decision to descend to the underworld, offering a broader, more reflective perspective while emphasizing the power of his love and courage in contrast to his personal recitative.