music history

What are the main principals of the Baroque era?

The belief that music should express the human passions.

Affections/Passions

Single clear emotional state that a piece is designed to evoke in the listener.

Means of expansion

Repetition, imitation, sequence, variation, dance rhythms, concerto technique, cantus firmus technique.

Concerto

A multi-movement composition featuring a group of soloists against a larger group of instruments, or a single soloist against a larger group of instruments.

Passacaglia

Musical form that features a recurring ground bass.

Ritornello

Recurring musical passage that is usually played by full orchestra that alternates with contrasting episodes played by a solo instrument.

Louis XIV

Helped promote French music styles such as elegance and dance rhythms.

Harpsichord

Central in baroque music as it set a harmonic foundation by using the basso continuo technique.

Ordres

French term used by Couperin for his collection of keyboard pieces, specifically the keyboard suite.

Agrements and notes inegales

Practice in which notes written with equal durations are performed unequally. Purpose of agrements is to add clarity to the sound.

Rococo

A French style that emphasizes the beauty of nature.

Rondo passacaille

Rondo form abaca and then previous definition of passacaglia

L’arte de toucher le clavecin

A treaty by Couperin which speaks on the use of ornamentation and was also one of the primary sources for keyboard fingering of the day.

Johann Jakob Froberger

Baroque composer and keyboard virtuoso. Developed the keyboard suite which paved the way for Bach and Handel.

Baroque Suite Movements

Prelude, allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue.

Binary Form

A form used typically by the dance movements. Consists of an A and a B section.

Weimar - Kothen - Leipzig

The main place Bach worked.

English suites, French suites, and Partitas

Bach’s takes on the suite form that Froberger pioneered.

Cantata, Oratorio, Opera

A non-staged secular or sacred work usually performed in churches. A non staged usually religious themed work. A fully stated production including singing and more.

Chorale

Musical composition resembling a harmonized version of a simple hymn tune.

Recative and de capo aria

Baroque aria form. A B A’. B section is usually contrasting in tempo and key signature. A’ is the same as A but with encouraged improvisation and ornamentation.

Picander

Poet and librettist for many of Bach’s works.

Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

For whom the Goldberg variations were supposedly written for. Goldberg was being taught by Bach and had to play for the count at night to help with his insomnia. Bach supposedly wrote the Goldberg variations because of this.

The margrave of Brandenburg

To whom the Brandenburg concerto’s were dedicated to. Six in total and feature several soloists in total.

Johann Nikolas Forkel

Bach’s first biographer. Was able to speak with Bach’s children making him an invaluable resource.

King George I

Frequent patron of Handel, commissioned many of his works.

Nicola Francesco Haym

Italian librettist who wrote many of Handel’s librettos.

Libretto

Text of an opera or other long vocal work.

Castrato

Man with no balls.

Senesino, cuzzoni, faustina

Singers who were frequent collaborators of Handel.

The beggars opera

Political and social satire, that deals with themes to open the genre to a much broader audience.

Charles Jennens

Friend of Haydn who wrote libretti for some of his oratorios such as the messiah.