2.8 The Early Baroque Period

Baroque music timeframe

1600-1750

opera

drama presented with singing and music

recitative

part of opera that contributes to storyline and requires strong singers

aria

soloist opera part with orchestral accompaniment and big emotion

Baroque modality system

major/minor

fugue

polyphonic genre with one main theme repeated

sources for development of instrumental music

dance, virtuosity, vocal music

self-appointed "Most Serene Republic"

Venice

rhythm and meter in early Baroque music

more definite, regular, and insistent, with an emphasis on meter

basso continuo

unique Baroque feature, with bass part performed by bass voices, low instruments, and/or an organ/harpsichord

t/f: ground bass is constructed from top to bottom

false

functional harmony

logical and coherent chord progressions, each with a specific relation to the tonic chord