Baroque Instrumental Music Higher What is Baroque Music

Baroque Instrumental Music Higher

What is Baroque Music? • The word Baroque was first used to describe the highly decorative and often grand style of architecture and art of the 17 th century. • Musicians borrowed the word, and used it to describe the music written between 1600 -1750 • The fashion was for ornamentation everywhere – even on buildings and especially in music. • Baroque music started in Italy, and worked its way north to Germany, France and England. • Many new styles and forms of music were developed in the Baroque period.

Baroque Composers Henry Purcell George Handel J. S. Bach Antonio Vivaldi

Musical Features: • The String family replaced the family of viols • The harpsichord became a prominent instrument • Modes were replaced with major and minor keys • Composers added contrasts e. g. contrasting dynamics, speed and textures • Use of both polyphony and homophony

Interesting Information • Queen Elizabeth I died (1603) • Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot fails (1605) • William Shakespeare died (1616) • Work started on building the Taj Mahal in 1632 • English Civil War (1642 – 1651) • The great plague in London killed 75, 000 (1665) • Rembrandt died (1669)

Baroque Orchestra • The Baroque orchestra was much smaller than the orchestras today • The string section formed the basis of the orchestra – they were the new instruments of the time, so composers tended to write for them. • The brass and woodwind section usually only had one player per instrument • There was very little percussion used. When it was used, it was usually only timpani to reinforce the bass notes.

Baroque Orchestra Strings violins, violas, cellos, double basses Woodwind recorders, oboes, bassoon Brass Trumpets, horns (without valves) The story of the Baroque Orchestra Percussion timpani)

Keyboard Instruments Harpsichord • Played a key role throughout the baroque period. • It played in both ensemble music and solo pieces.

Keyboard Instruments Organ • Another prominent instrument in this era. • Played using one or more manuals and a pedal board. • It uses wind moving through metal or wood pipes to create sound

Basso Continuo • Most Distinguishing features: • Continually played throughout music • Bass line – Cello, or bassoon • Chord playing instrument – harpsichord, organ or lute • Improvised chords • Filling out Harmonies

Ornaments

Trill • Rapid and repeated movement between two adjacent notes

Acciaccatura • A crushed dissonant note of the shortest possible duration played before or after the main note or chord and immediately released. You may know this as a Grace note – used in lots of Scottish Music!

Appoggiatura • A musical ornament (chiefly from the 18 century) of an auxiliary note falling or rising to a harmonised note. There are two possible ways of writing this as you can see from the examples below. Think of the Jaws theme!

Turn • Four notes which turn round the main note with the note itself, the note above the note itself, the note below.

Mordent • An ornament or grace note consisting of a single rapid alternation of the principal note, a note a semitone lower and the note itself. • There is also an inverted mordent. The principal note, a note a semitone higher and the note itself. Think of the Final Countdown!

This contrast of small group to large group and one thematic group against another is very characteristic of Baroque ideology — similar to terraced dynamics where the idea is significant contrast Concerto Grosso • Italian for big concert • Musical material is passed between 2 sections • Concertino (soloist group) • Ripieno (full orchestra)

Concerto Grosso Ripieno Concertino Trumpet Recorder Violin Oboe Strings Continuo

Ritornello • A recurring passage • Always played by tutti (full orchestra) • Often heard in different keys • Most common in solo concerto Tutti Solo Tutti

LISTEN TO…. • Pastorale’ from The Christmas Concerto By Corelli (1653 -1713) • And answer the questions on your sheet.

LISTEN TO…. • Brandenburg Concerto’ No. 2 (Mov 1) By Bach (1685 -1750) • And answer the questions on your sheet.

REMINDER… ANTHEM • Sung during Protestant services. – Sung in English NOT Latin – Performed by a full choir

Listen To… • Zadok the Priest - by Handel (1685 – 1759) • And answer the questions on your sheet.

Passacaglia • Based on variations over a ground bass • 3/4 time • Usually in a minor key

Fugue ADV HIGHER To fully understand Fugue we will need to do more • Contrapuntal piece work on this. • Based on a theme (Subject) • Subject is imitated throughout piece • Exposition exposes Subject • Subject is played in Dominant (Answer) • Episode is music between playings of Subject

Baroque Vocal Music

Voices Soprano Tenor Mezzo Soprano Baritone Alto Bass

Syllabic or Melismatic • Where each syllable has a new note • Where each syllable has many notes

Recitative • In Renaissance Venice a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals named ‘The Florentine Camereta’ began composing short vocal pieces called monodies. • These were a vocal melodic line with a simple keyboard accompaniment over a bass line. • Because of the small number of performers involved it meant that the singer was allowed to sing the rhythms with freedom according to the text, as if reciting a poem. • This style of singing became known as Recitativo. • With some development this then was introduced into the Secular vocal works which were popular in the Baroque period.

Recitative • Recitative Secco (dry recitative) accompanied only by the continuo instruments. Because of the sparseness of texture long sections of dialogue could proceed quickly and the singer could take more liberties with the rhythm. • Recitative Accompagnato – More instruments were involved and this meant the singer had less freedom with the rhythm but gave the composer more dramatic opportunities.

Recitative • Sung speech • Often before an aria • Chordal accompaniment • Basso Continuo • Used to move the story along ‘There Were Shepherds’ from Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Opera – a little history • The Italian word opera means "work", both in the sense of the labour done and the result produced. • ‘Dafne’ by Jacopo Peri was the earliest composition considered opera, as understood today. It was written around 1597, largely under the inspiration of the elite circle - Camerata de' Bardi.

Opera • Opera emerged in the Baroque period and is a dramatic form of choral writing. • It involves costumes, drama and scenery. • Within an opera (as in oratorio) you will find examples of recitative, aria and chorus.

Opera • A secular drama set to music which is performed on a stage in a theatre • No spoken dialogue • Singers have trained voices. • Costumes and Scenery • Music includes – – Recitative Aria Duet Chorus

Aria • A song for solo voice • Accompanied by orchestra • Basso Continuo • Beautiful melody ‘Ave Maria’ arranged by Gounod

Chorus A chorus is usually when a group of singers would act as one. They will give the history of an event so that the Opera doesn’t have to show it. • A group of singers • Each part has several singers • SATB Choir • Often accompanied by orchestra • Basso Continuo

Listen TO… • The Hallelujah Chorus’ from The Messiah By Handel • And answer the questions on your sheet.

Da Capo Aria • It had a clear form – known as the Da Capo Aria. • Da Capo – the head of the Music • Sometimes the accompaniment for this had a solo instrument line that acted as a foil to the voice. • This line became known as the Obbligato – one is obliged to have the instrumental line playing with the singer.

Da Capo Aria • Depending upon the style and mood of the aria, the singer, when repeating the first section, would add their own vocal decoration to the printed melody. • It became customary to improvise a Cadenza – a florid passage displaying the brilliance of the singers technique – just before the final cadence of either section B or A 2.

Da Capo Aria • An aria in ternary form (ABA). • Sometimes A is repeated with ornaments. • Handel: ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’

Listen to…. • Da Capo Aria from St Matthew Passion by Bach. • And answer the questions on your sheet.

Oratorio • Born at the same time as the Opera, Oratorio took it’s name from St. Philip Neri’s Oratory in Rome where the first oratorios were performed. • At first they were similar to opera – made up of recitative, aria, chorus and acted out. • The main difference was that the text was based on a sacred story usually from the Bible. • In time Oratorios ceased to be acted out, and were performed in Churches and concert halls rather than in theatre.

Oratorio • • • Story from the Bible set to music No costumes or scenery In English Accompanied by an orchestra Can include – – Recitative Aria Duet Chorus ‘He Shall Feed His Flock’ from Handel’s ‘Messiah’

Obbligato • A prominent solo instrument in a piece of vocal music. • Listen to the following excerpt from ‘Jesu Joy’ from Cantata 147 by Bach: and complete the blank spaces.