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CHAPTER
Toward the Baroque
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION INITIATED A LONG
and tragic period of re-
ligious warfare during which Protestants stormed Catholic churches to destroy
beautiful works of art and musical instruments they considered profane, and
Catholics used the infamous court of the Inquisition to condemn dissenters.
With feelings running equally high among Protestants in the north and Catho-
lics in the south, the cool, detached emotional atmosphere of the
Renaissance
gave way to the vivid, passionate expression of the
affections,
the Baroque
term for human emotions or states of the soul.
ARTISTIC STYLE
Artists increasingly discarded the boundaries controlling expression in art,
enhancing their new dramatic approach with quite unrealistic distortion and
exaggeration of
gures and their features. Even Michelangelo, whose early
paintings and sculptures exemplify grace, serenity, and balance, responded in
his later years to the political, social, and ecclesiastical changes of the sixteenth
century. Whereas his
David,
nished about 1504 (see Figure 9.4), depicts a con-
dent young man poised and at peace with himself,
The Young Slave
of 1513
(Figure 12.1) twists in a terrible struggle to break the bonds constraining him.
Michelangelo’s late fresco
The Last Judgment
(1534–1541) (Figure 12.2), seems
the very antithesis of the serene painting he had applied to the ceiling of the
Sistine chapel many years earlier.
Another famous artist who developed an emotional and personal style is known
as El Greco (The Greek), due to his birth on the island of Crete, though he spent
most of his life in Spain. El Greco (1541–1614), whose unrealistically elongated
gures stretch expressively toward heaven, painted not only his models’ faces and
gures but their very souls and personalities. Sometimes referred to as manner-
ism, El Greco’s style de
es labels, but its drama, emotion, and mysticism are closer
to the Baroque than to the Renaissance (Figure 12.3).
MUSIC
At the end of the sixteenth century, some composers continued to prefer the
Renaissance style while others propounded revolutionary ideas in articles,
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
THE AFFECTIONS
René Descartes who articulated
the theory of the
a
ff
ections
declared that “there are only six
simple and primitive passions
wonder love hate desire joy and
sadness All the others are com
posed of some of these six or are
species of them ” Do you agree or
disagree with this? Can you sug
gest how each of Descartes’ “simple
and primitive passions” might be
expressed in music? Consider the
elements of music and changes
in dynamic level and in tempo
for example
CHAPTER
TOWARD THE BAROQUE
discussions, and new types of musical
compositions. Several Italian cities, po-
litically independent and economically
diverse, developed signi cant individual
styles during this time. In Florence, for
example, a group of intellectuals known
as the Florentine Camerata (a society or
fellowship) found existing vocal forms unsuited to the effective presentation of a
text. The use of the same melody for several verses of a strophic song belied any
relationships between words and music. And the combinations of melodic lines in
the polyphonic madrigals interfered with understanding the text.
The Florentines envisioned a style of melody based on the ideals, as they under-
stood them, of the ancient Greeks: melody approximating spoken in
ections in the
dramatic declamation of a text, accompanied with simple instrumental chords that
supported, but never interfered with, the vocal delivery of the text. Their melodic
compositions thus implied homophonic texture, soon to become one of the impor-
tant musical innovations of the Baroque.
Venetian Polychoral Music
In Venice, the center of much secular as well as religious activity, the beautiful
church of St. Mark was designed on the plan of a cross, with a full organ in each of
the two opposing arms. Solemn and festive occasions were celebrated at the great
church, which, by its architectural design, lent itself to the performance of music by
several spatially separated choirs of voices and/or instruments (Figure 12.4). Called
polychoral music,
this festive style contributed to the pomp and pageantry of cel-
ebrations of every kind. (The several terms for various ensembles can be confusing.
We’ve learned, for example, that Renaissance groups of instruments from the same
family were called
consorts,
but today we sometimes use the term
choir,
usually asso-
ciated with vocal ensembles, to express the same concept, as in a “brass
choir
.” Thus
polychoral
refers to music for several groups of vocal and/or instrumental choirs.)
FIGURE
Michelangelo
The Last Judgment
Christ directs the
good souls on his right toward
heaven while the wicked on his
le plunge to hell Fresco
feet
m
Sistine
Chapel Vatican Rome
FIGURE
Michelangelo
The Young Slave
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
Two characteristics of the Venetian polychoral style bore particular signi cance for
future generations of composers:
1. The several choirs of four or more voices and instruments each, when
performing simultaneously, were better served by a chordal texture than
by the complex polyphony of the Renaissance. Venetian polychoral works
therefore include large sections with massive chordal combinations,
vertically conceived, and moving in a chordal fashion. The concept was
still modal, but it pointed toward the homophonic texture of much tonal
music in the Baroque.
2. Contrasting sonorities of various voices and instruments, and of large
and small ensembles, had strong appeal to the Baroque imagination.
Known as the
concertato principle,
this was destined to become one of the
underlying concepts of the Baroque style, as we shall see.
GIOVANNI GABRIELI
Giovanni Gabrieli,
a famous organist, teacher, and composer, wrote many com-
positions for St. Mark’s basilica, where he also participated in performances.
He wrote motets for two to
ve choirs (of voices and/or instruments), which
con-chair-tah’-toh
Gah-bree-el’-ee
FIGURE
El Greco
Resurrection of Christ
Museo del Prado Madrid Spain
FIGURE
St Mark’s basilica in Venice The glorious sounds of vocal and instrumental choirs
performing polychoral music resounded from choir galleries variously located
around the spacious interior of this famous church
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responded to one another from various positions in the church. The vocal choirs
usually were accompanied by an organ, by string instruments such as the viol, or
by brass instruments such as cornets or trombones.
Gabrieli wrote one polychoral instrumental piece of particular historical inter-
est. Even its title,
Sonata pian
9
e forte,
was innovative. At that time, the word
so-
nata
indicated a piece to be played on instruments rather than sung; but the
idea of contrasting piano (soft) and forte (loud) passages was relatively new,
having been of little signi cance to serene Renaissance music. These dynamic
terms appear not only in the title of Gabrieli’s piece but throughout the score;
piano
generally indicates those sections to be played by one choir alone, and
forte
those sections to be played by combined ensembles. Such contrasting dynamic
levels were to become a highly important characteristic of Baroque music.
Gabrieli’s sonata (Listening Example 15), scored for two choirs of instruments,
is also the
rst known piece specifying which instrument was to play each line
of music. Here each choir is a
broken consort,
meaning that it contains one in-
strument of a timbre different from the others in the group. By indicating that
one choir consisted of three trombones and a
cornetto
(an ancient instrument
similar to a recorder and played with a trumpet mouthpiece), and the other of
three trombones and a viola, Gabrieli foretold the style-conscious Baroque, when
composers were to write consistently for speci
c voices and instruments.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
CHANGING STYLES
The late sixteenth century was one
of several periods in which the arts
experienced a gradual transition
from one style to another Today
prevalent artistic styles change
rapidly and numerous contrasting
styles are concurrently significant
Can you suggest some social
political religious and techno
logical developments that have
encouraged this multiplicity of
artistic styles?
Sonata pian
9
e forte
COMPOSER
Giovanni Gabrieli
DATE
GENRE
Polychoral brass piece
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
When Gabrieli published a collection of vocal and instrumen
tal works in
under the title
Sacrae Symphoniae
Sacred Symphonies
little
could he have anticipated the infl
uence the
Sonata pian
9
e forte
would have The
use of two spatially separated choirs of instruments that both competed and joined
in agreement at regular intervals throughout the piece heralded what would be
come one of the most common principles in the approaching Baroque era in music
that of expressive dynamic and timbral contrast Although specifying which instru
ments would play which parts does not seem innovative to us today instrumental
works before this time le this choice to the performers probably because not all
churches possessed the same types of instruments or adequate performers at
all times The brilliance of the contrasting and combined timbres of the two brass
choirs along with our visual image of the resplendent gold mosaic interior of the
St Mark’s basilica create an image of the sumptuous ceremonies that took place in
one of Europe’s important centers of trade at this time
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Two brass choirs cornetto and three trombones in one
so er brass instrument and three trombones in the other
contrasting timbres
and dynamics alternating and combined choirs syncopation
LISTENING EXAMPLE
CHOIR I
Choir I opens the piece playing piano (so ).
A solo trombone introduces the first of 3
four-measure phrases. Notice that the timbre
of the ensemble is colored brightly by the
cornetto that plays the highest part.
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
CHOIR II
Choir II plays 3 four-measure phases, again
piano. The more mellow timbre of this choir re-
sults from the lower pitches of the melody and
the fact that the highest part is performed by
a so
er brass instrument imitating the sound
of the viola called for in the original score.
COMBINED CHOIRS
The combined choirs perform the next sec-
tion, achieving a louder dynamic level. The
quicker notes of running passages add to the
drama.
ALTERNATING CHOIRS
The conversational exchanges between the
choirs grow quicker through this section, al-
though all passages are still performed piano.
COMBINED CHOIRS
The choirs join in a brief forte exclamation.
ALTERNATING CHOIRS
Choirs alternate at a piano dynamic level.
COMBINED CHOIRS
The combined choirs play forte.
ALTERNATING CHOIRS
The choirs again alternate, piano.
SYNCOPATED
STATEMENTS
Syncopated, fanfare-like statements by each
choir alternate piano and forte dynamic levels.
QUICK CONTRASTS
Bold forte statements by both choirs are con-
trasted with piano statements by single choirs
as the pace of the exchanges speeds up.
HEIGHTENED
RHYTHMIC ACTIVITY
Increased use of shorter note values makes
the music seem to move faster. The sense
of heightened activity is enhanced by occa-
sional sharp dissonances.
FINAL FORTE
This splendid piece ends with a slowing of
rhythmic activity as both choirs join in a final
forte proclamation.
During the late sixteenth century, as a desire for drama and personal expression in
art replaced classical ideals, musicians and other artists foretold in their works the
style we call Baroque. Painters and sculptors used distortion and exaggeration to
create dramatic effects, while musicians cultivated a newly emotional approach to
their art. Florentine composers conceived a new kind of song, with simple melody
and chordal accompaniment, intended to most effectively present a text. Venetian
composers exploited the concertato principle, writing grand polychoral works
that contrasted sonorities and dynamic levels, producing a stunning effect. Both
the Florentine songs and the Venetian polychoral style implied a new texture of
music eventually known as homophony. The increasing importance of instrumen-
tal music and the speci cation of which instrument was to play each part, as in
Gabrieli’s
Sonata pian
9
e forte,
were also signs of a coming change.
By the turn of the seventeenth century, the Baroque period was well under way.
CHAPTER
TOWARD THE BAROQUE
a
ff
ections
polychoral music
concertato principle
sonata
Artists
Michelangelo
El Greco
(Domenikos
Theototokopoulos)
Composer
Giovanni Gabrieli
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CHAPTER
The Baroque:
General
Characteristics
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CLASSICISTS APPLIED THE TERM
baroque,
meaning
odd, irregular, rough, or uneven (as in “baroque pearl”), to the period succeeding
the Renaissance, which musicians date from about 1600 to about 1750. Unlike the
serenely balanced works of the Renaissance, the new art teems with drama and
with contrast. Yet the very qualities the Classicists found so strange afford us rich
pleasure and inspiration today.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
The Baroque vigorously af
rmed both sides of almost any question. For example,
religion profoundly affected the literature, philosophy, science, art, and music of the
period: Milton’s
Paradise Lost,
Bernini’s adornment of St. Peter’s church in Rome,
the Passions of J. S. Bach, and the oratorios of Handel all expressed strong personal
religious faith. Yet the secular side of life had more signi cance than ever before in
the Christian era, and much Baroque art had a decidedly popular character.
Similarly, scienti
c research made great strides during the seventeenth century, yet
superstition remained rampant, and the belief in witchcraft, alchemy, and astrol-
ogy held rm. Science and religion, knowledge and faith—all had their place in
the colorful, dramatic, style-conscious period we call the Baroque.
Religion
The controversy between Catholics and Protestants far exceeded anything envi-
sioned or desired by either Martin Luther or John Calvin. Long and terrible reli-
gious wars having left southern and central Europe largely Roman Catholic and
the northern countries largely Protestant, the center of intellectual activity moved
north, out of reach of the Spanish and Italian Inquisitions.
In England, however, Anglicans mercilessly harassed the Puritans, who sought to
“purify” the church and espoused many Calvinist ideals. Large numbers of these
dissenters sailed to the New World to escape their tormentors and pursue spiri-
tual, though not yet political, independence. Even more violently persecuted were
the Separatists, including the Pilgrims and Quakers, who abandoned the Anglican
church entirely. The
rst book printed in America (1640) was a psalter, popularly
CHAPTER
THE BAROQUE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
known as the Bay Psalm Book, designed for use by the Pilgrims, Puritans, and
other psalm-singing colonists.
Science and Philosophy
The day in 1564 when Michelangelo died also witnessed the birth of the great sci-
entist Galileo Galilei. The son of an in
uential member of the Florentine Camerata,
Galileo loved the arts; but he found his true calling in the rapidly expanding world
of scienti
c research and discovery. He fell victim, however, to one of the most
curious contradictions of the seventeenth century when his scienti c discoveries
ran headlong into a rigid wall of religious dogma. The church steadfastly refused
to accept that the earth—the “center of the universe”—in fact revolved around the
sun. Galileo’s sophisticated instruments supported his contention, but the Inquisi-
tion supported the church, forcing Galileo to recant.
On the day in 1642 when the Italian Galileo died, the English scientist Isaac
Newton was born. Fascinated, like Galileo, with the relationships between planets
and stars, Newton studied the effects of gravity and performed important experi-
ments on the measurement of time. His studies of the pendulum eventually led
to advances in measuring time in music, including the invention, over a hundred
years later, of the metronome.
Many other seventeenth-century scientists also invented new instruments and
improved old ones for the purposes of observing, measuring, and recording sci-
enti c data. As Galileo and Newton contemplated the circulation of heavenly
bodies, the Englishman William Harvey studied the circulation of the blood. And
in keeping with the Baroque appreciation for opposite extremes, both the tele-
scope and the microscope were inventions of the period. Other outstanding g-
ures of the time included the English philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon and
the Frenchman René Descartes, the epitome of the thinking man. Descartes’ phil-
osophical statement, “Cogito, ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”) is frequently
quoted today.
ARTISTIC STYLE
The art of the
Baroque
teems with tension, drive, activity. Baroque painters often
direct the viewer’s eye right off the canvas, as if resisting, in the romantic way,
the boundaries of measured space. Sculpted
gures no longer pose with classical
grace and poise but seethe with tension and strain, caught in the midst of some
dramatic action. Baroque buildings jut and protrude, projecting a sense of dra-
matic instability, and the decorative ornamentation of the period is so elaborate
and complex that it is almost dizzying in effect (Figure 13.1).
Literature
Baroque literature, which like the other arts sought to achieve maximum emo-
tional impact, included one of the greatest novels of all time,
Don Quixote de la
Mancha,
by the Spaniard Miguel de Cervantes. The novel’s two main characters
exemplify Baroque contradictions: the spiritual, whimsical Don Quixote ignores
or simply transcends reality, whereas the earthy Sancho Panza prefers the practical
to the ideal.
France, basking under the bene
cent patronage of the Sun King, Louis XIV, ex-
celled in the production of dramatic works. The comedies of the great playwright
Molière poked unbridled fun at the foibles and hypocrisies of contemporary
French society, and his stage designs and special effects provided the visual thrills
Baroque audiences adored.
Re-nay’ Day-cart’
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
Painting
Seventeenth-century painters shared with contemporary scientists a fascination
with the properties and effects of light, contriving brilliant effects that lend high
drama to their works. Often a shaft of light streams from a window, an open door-
way, or an unseen source, illuminating an object or
gure surrounded by deep
shadows. In one famous painting,
The Conversion of St. Paul
(Figure 13.2), the Ital-
ian painter Caravaggio (a murderer in real life) captures the very moment when
Saul, blinded by a heavenly light as he heard the Lord call his name, has fallen
from his horse, his servant looking on in astonishment.
The works of the northern artists Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Vermeer,
and Peter Paul Rubens share many characteristics of style and technique with the
religious paintings of the Italian Baroque. But while religious subjects dominated
the art of Catholic Italy and other southern and central European countries, the
artists of the Protestant Netherlands produced art for their homes, of which they
were very proud, instead of the church, where Calvinists considered art to be idol-
atrous. The late seventeenth century was an age of the eye for Netherlander artists
as well as scientists: the telescope and the microscope revealed what previously
had been beyond normal sight, and the Dutch masters proved especially gifted at
painting light and all its effects.
FIGURE
Monastery Church Melk Austria an example of Baroque architecture
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CHAPTER
THE BAROQUE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Sculpture
One of the greatest sculptors of the Baroque period, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
(1598–1680), was also a
ne painter, architect, dramatist, and composer. In vivid
contrast to Michelangelo’s
David
(see Figure 9.4), who quietly contemplates in the
Renaissance way the action he plans to take, Bernini catches his
David
(Figure 13.3)
in the very act of hurling his stone at Goliath.
An even more dramatic example of the Baroque ability to capture a violent event
in progress is Bernini’s
Apollo and Daphne
(Figure 13.4). According to a Greek
myth, as Apollo frantically pursued the lovely nymph, her father, the river god,
changed her into a laurel tree at the moment of impending capture. In Bernini’s
romantic rendition of this classical subject, we see Daphne transformed before our
very eyes.
MUSIC
The composer’s status continued to evolve, as the seventeenth century witnessed
the opening of the
rst public opera house and the presentation of the rst public
concerts. Soon composers were devoting as much attention to secular music as to
works intended for performance in church, and even some of their sacred compo-
sitions were conceived more for concerts than for worship services.
Bair-nee’-nee
FIGURE
Caravaggio
The Conversion of St Paul
FIGURE
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
David
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
No longer able to depend exclusively on a small, aristocratic audience,
composers increasingly sought public approval. The church, the courts,
and the city-state governments remained artists’ primary employers.
Yet some composers resisted the customary submission to the taste
and will of a patron.
George Frideric Handel,
whose own rst love
was opera,
nally abandoned his secure position as a court musician in
order to compose operas and oratorios for the English public.
Johann
Sebastian Bach
went to prison for a month in de
ance of his patron’s
refusal to release him from service.
Contrasts
The music of the Baroque is rich in the contrasts and contradictions
characteristic of seventeenth-century life. Secular music became equal
in quantity and quality to music for the church. The period produced as
many
ne instrumental compositions as vocal works. Further, contrasts
of timbre, alternation of free and metered rhythms, and abrupt changes
of dynamic levels are typical of the style.
Appreciation for contrasts also led to new kinds of multimovement
works—that is, works consisting of semi-independent sections called
movements.
Each movement has its own formal design, but each is
conceived—much like one act of a play or one chapter of a book—as
only one part of a whole. Movements generally contrast with one an-
other in tempo, mood, key, melodic material, texture, and perhaps tim-
bre and other characteristics as well. However, according to the Baroque
doctrine of the affections,
only one mood (affection) should be expressed
within one composition, or within one movement of a multimovement
work. (In performance, one movement usually is separated from an-
other by a pause, but the audience customarily does not applaud until
the entire work is completed, so as not to interrupt the continuity of a
large composition.) The
sonata, concerto, symphony,
and
dance suite
are
examples of multimovement works.
L I S T E N I N G
T O
A R T
The Baroque architecture painting and sculpture shown in this chapter reveal
several ways in which artists in variousmedia shared stylisticideals with contem
porary composers The busy lines and ornate decoration in the Melk Monastery
Church Figure
may be compared to the highly ornamented polyphonic
lines characteristic of much Baroque music The religious fervor and personal
nature of the divine communication portrayed in Caravaggio’s painting
Fig
ure
David’s bulging muscles and veins as he twists his body frowns in
concentration and bites his lips in the strain of violent activity Figure
and
the manner in which Bernini unrestrained by emotional or physical boundaries
seems to have simply denied the technical limitations of working with marble
Figure
all reflect dramatic emotional technical and expressive charac
teristics of the great music of the Baroque
FIGURE
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
Apollo and Daphne
CHAPTER
THE BAROQUE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Texture
Contrasting textures assumed unprecedented signi
cance during the Baroque.
The Venetian polychoral style and other recent music having demonstrated the
harmonic and dramatic potential of homophony—a melody in one voice sup-
ported by harmony in the others—Baroque composers gave homophony equal
importance with polyphonic texture.
This new concept of texture in music constituted a profound change from the music
of earlier periods. You will recall the linear polyphony of the Middle Ages and the
imitative polyphony of the Renaissance: in both, despite increasing appreciation
for the sounds resulting from the combination of music lines, each line retained
its melodic signi
cance. This remained true even in the passages of Renaissance
music moving in “chordal style,” with syllables of text occurring simultaneously
in all of the voices.
Although the Baroque bass line, as we shall see, had strong melodic implica-
tions even in homophonic sections, it served primarily to
support the harmonies
underlying the principal melody. The inner voices merely enhanced the har-
monic effects. Further re
ecting their new vertical, or harmonic, orientation,
composers now purposefully contrasted polyphonic sections with passages in
homophonic style.
Rise of Tonality
By the end of the Renaissance, two of the modes—those beginning on A and
C—were being used more often than the others; but it was not until the sev-
enteenth century that composers developed and theoreticians articulated the
tonal system,
in which every note of the major or minor scale bears a speci c
relationship to every other note, and all the pitches are more or less closely
related to the tonic. It was at this time that composers recognized and utilized
the chord we call a triad as an entity; no longer the result of a combination of
passing voice lines, it became a meaningful and consonant unit of sound. The
increasing use of triads built on all the degrees of the major or minor scale gave
a sense of stability and harmonic direction to tonal music that had not been
inherent in modality.
Thus the tonal system of harmony, implied in some early English music and
approached by composers in the late Renaissance, was wholly adopted during
the seventeenth century. By the late 1600s, tonality had replaced modality as the
means of organizing the composition of Western music.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
MODES
Why do you suppose that the
modes we recognize as the major
and minor scales came to be pre
ferred over the other modes for a
very long historical period? How do
the major and minor modes sound
di
ff
erent from each other? From
the other modes? Why do you think
many composers today use modal
instead of or as well as tonal ef
fects in their music?
The preferred style of music during the seventeenth and the
rst part of the eigh-
teenth centuries was the dramatic, emotional style we call Baroque. During this
age of contrasts, secular art assumed equal importance with religious works, as
scientists and philosophers vied with clerics for the attention and faith of the peo-
ple. Paintings of this period were vivid in color and
lled with activity; sculpture
and architecture also were dramatic instead of serene. Literature, too, achieved a
strong emotional impact.
By the late seventeenth century, the Baroque style of music had fully evolved;
the replacement of modality by the tonal system of harmony affected every
aspect of music composition. As concerned with harmonic as with melodic as-
pects of their music, Baroque composers organized their works “vertically” as
well as “horizontally.”
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
Baroque
movement
tonal system
Scientists
Galileo Galilei
Isaac Newton
William Harvey
Philosophers
Francis Bacon
René Descartes
Literary figures
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin)
Artists
Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)
Frans Hals
Rembrandt van Rijn
Jan Vermeer
Peter Paul Rubens
Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini
Composers
Johann Sebastian Bach
George Frideric Handel
CHAPTER
Dramatic Music
of the Baroque
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
even composers who ex-
ploited expressive characteristics in their solo madrigals and other secular songs
often found Palestrina’s polyphonic style of composition more suitable than ex-
pressive homophonic songs for church music. Thus, in the style-conscious manner
of the Baroque, they used the old style (Palestrina’s) for one purpose and the new
style (dramatic solo songs introduced by the Florentine Camerata) for another.
The composer who referred to these two styles respectively as the “ rst” and
“second” practices of music was
Claudio Monteverdi,
whose music was admired
in his own time and is still performed and appreciated today.
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
For thirty years, Monteverdi served as choirmaster at St. Mark’s in Venice, where
Giovanni Gabrieli had composed and performed his great works in the Venetian
polychoral style. As choirmaster, Monteverdi composed motets and other reli-
gious compositions using Renaissance techniques.
However, Monteverdi also created dramatic and emotional settings of madrigal texts.
Composers had long used dissonant combinations for dramatic emphasis but had
accepted certain conventions regarding their use: dissonances were to be approached
and resolved according to rather strict rules. Monteverdi often startled his contempo-
raries by using dissonance for purely expressive purposes, allowing the texts of his
songs, rather than the prevailing rules of music theory, to determine its use.
Monteverdi suggested that the conventional rules constituted the
first practice
of music and should be respected in the composition of serious or conservative
pieces; but he considered the
second practice,
as he called his dramatic style of
madrigal composition, more suitable for the setting of secular songs.
FIRST AND SECOND PRACTICE
By
rst practice (sometimes called the
stile antico
), Monteverdi meant Palestrina’s
style of choral polyphony, in which all the voices were nearly equal in importance
and the music, although sensitive to the expression of a text, was nevertheless the
Mon-te-vair’-dee
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
composer’s priority. Many musicians continued to nd this style appropriate for
church music, for two reasons:
1. The texts of religious compositions, usually taken from familiar biblical
or liturgical sources, were easily recognized, even in a complex
polyphonic setting.
2. The cool emotional atmosphere of this style was considered to
enhance worship.
Many of the same composers, however, having the
Baroque love of drama, often reversed the relation-
ship between music and text in their secular songs,
allowing the emotional content of the words to deter-
mine the means of expression. This expressive style,
which Monteverdi referred to as the second practice
or the
stile moderno,
was generally homophonic in tex-
ture (Table 14.1).
Thus, according to the
rst practice, in which the music was more signi cant than
the text, the established rules of music theory were observed and the texture was
predominantly polyphonic. In the second practice, the text dominated the music,
and rules might be broken for the purpose of better expressing the words. Here the
texture was usually homophonic.
Although the system of tonality was not fully established when Monteverdi
wrote his
rst madrigals in the new expressive style, he observed certain tonal
principles. Monteverdi’s bass line was an organizing and stabilizing element; it
supported the melody or melodies above and gave his music a sense of direction,
of harmonic drive. He and other early Baroque composers thought of the triad
as a true chord rather than as the result of combining melody lines. Recogniz-
ing rudimentary relationships between triads, they produced music with a new
sense of stability. This allowed composers to venture away from the tones of the
key they were in because the strong
sense
of key held the music together. Not
only dissonance, but also
chromaticism
—the use of tones from the chromatic
scale, not included in the scale of the current key—came to be used more freely.
The reliable movement of the bass voice and the systematic use of logical chord
progressions supported the increasingly bold use of chromaticism and disso-
nance in music.
EARLY OPERA
The Baroque did not invent musical drama. The ancient Greeks had combined
music with drama; in the Middle Ages, music accompanied liturgical plays; and
in the sixteenth century, short but spectacular music dramas called
intermedii
had
entertained audiences between the acts of a play. Even madrigals sometimes con-
stituted mini-music dramas, with different voices or combinations of voices an-
swering each other in dialogue form.
However, with the possible exception of the Greeks, musicians before the Baroque
period had not produced a type of vocal music suitable for a full-length music
drama. The several independent voices of a polyphonic madrigal made it dif cult
to follow a complex text. Even the solo madrigal, a late sixteenth-century solo song
with instrumental accompaniment, remained too dependent on musical consider-
ations to enhance the expression of a lengthy text.
First Practice
Second Practice
Polyphonic texture
Homophonic texture
Music dominates text
Text dominates music
O en used for church music
O en used for secular songs
TABLE
COMPARISON OF FIRST AND SECOND PRACTICES
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On the other hand, the new type of vocal writing introduced by members of the
Florentine Camerata eminently suited dramatic recitation. This development
had unparalleled importance in the history of Western music, demonstrating
that a soloist could express a text clearly and dramatically while singing beau-
tiful music. The earliest
operas
(musical dramas sung throughout) consisted
almost entirely of the new style. Less elaborate than some of the earlier interme-
dii, the earliest operas, composed around 1600, set the same texts,
librettos,
to
music over and over again. The well-known stories, based on Greek mythology,
gripped audiences’ attention with the expressiveness of the new singing style
and with the sheer beauty of the highly trained singing voice.
Monteverdi, however, was the
rst composer to realize that fully successful
music drama requires a skillful blending of the literary, visual, and performance
arts. Like his contemporaries Caravaggio and Shakespeare, Monteverdi was a
pioneer in the expression of human emotion. His 1607 opera
L’Orfeo,
a great suc-
cess in its day and today generally considered the
rst great opera, formed a pow-
erful bridge between the Renaissance and the Baroque and still profoundly moves
audiences in opera houses around the world.
More varied and more complex than earlier vocal music, Monteverdi’s operas are
magni cent in their own right while pointing toward the elaborate operas of the
mature Baroque. “Tu se
9
morta” from
L’Orfeo
(Listening Example 16) may be heard
as a kind of speech-song, not yet clearly either
recitative
or
aria
. (Stirring scenes
from
L’Orfeo
are available on YouTube.)
Recitative
Composers in the Baroque period recognized the need for two types of solo sing-
ing: one to move the story along, and one to express emotional reaction to dramatic
events. The rst,
recitative
(from the same root as
recitation
), is closely related to
spoken declamation. The term refers both to the style of singing, and to a piece, or
a section of music, sung in that style.
res-i-tah-teev’
(or reh-chih-tah-teev’)
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
WORDS AND MUSIC
What do you consider the ideal
relationship between words and
music in vocal music? Should either
dominate? Does the relationship
vary between opera Broadway
musicals rap rock and religious
music? Do you pay more attention
to words or music?
“Tu se
9
morta” from
L’Orfeo
COMPOSER
Claudio Monteverdi
DATE
GENRE
Early Baroque opera
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
In the recitative “Tu se
9
morta” from
L’Orfeo
Monteverdi
mixes extremely expressive text declamation with sophisticated word painting
In this poignant soliloquy Orpheus Orfeo grieves over the death of his beloved
wife Euridice vowing in his despair to follow her to the underworld and bring
her back to life or to remain there with her forever The homophonic texture is
the result of a composition for voice in which a written bass line indicates the
chords to be filled in by accompanying instruments in this case a portable organ
and bass lute The occasional pauses such as a er the first word
e
ff
ectively indi
cate Orfeo’s distraught emotional state Dissonances used for expressive e
ff
ect
occur most o en at the end of lines
Monteverdi used dramatic word painting on
the words “stele” stars
“abissi”
abysses
and “morte” death
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Tenor voice portable organ and bass lute homophonic tex
ture singing in the rhythm of speaking expressive dissonance word painting
LISTENING EXAMPLE
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
ORFEO’S GRIEF
Orpheus expresses his grief over Euridice’s
death.
Tu se
9
morta, se
9
morta Thou art perished,
mia vita.
art perished,
beloved
ed io respiro,
and I yet linger,
Tu se
9
da me partita,
Thou art from me
departed
se
9
da me partita per
art from me
mai più,
departed forever,
mai più non tornare,
yea never returning,
ed io remango nò!
And I remain
Nò!
here—no! No!
ORFEO’S VOW
Orpheus vows to journey to the underworld and
use his powers of persuasion to rescue Euridice.
Note the low pitches on “abissi” and “morte,” at
the depths of the tenor range, in contrast with
the extremely high pitch on “stele.”
Che sei versi alcuna
For if verses may
cosa ponno,
have any power,
n’andrò sicu ro al più
then shall I seek the
profondi abissi,
most profound
abysses,
e in tenerito il cor del
and with my song
rè del l’ombre,
entreat the king
of shadows
meco trarotti a
to let me bring thee
riverder le stelle,
to see again the
heavens,
o se ciò negherammi
or if this cruel fate
empio destino,
still denies me,
rimarò teco in
I shall stay with thee
compagnia di
within the realm
morte!
of shadows!
ORFEO’S FAREWELL
Orpheus bids farewell to the world of the living.
Addio terra,
Farewell, earth,
Addio cielo,
Farewell, heavens,
e sole, addio.
and sunlight,
farewell.
Several characteristics of recitative render it particularly suitable for the rapid ex-
change of dialogue or the ef
cient and economical presentation of a long text.
Melody
The melody of a recitative re
ects something of the natural in ection
that would occur in a spoken presentation of the text.
The vocal range of a recitative
is usually rather narrow, as it is in speech, although extremely high or low pitches
may be used for descriptive or dramatic purposes.
CHAPTER
DRAMATIC MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
Rhythm
The rhythm of recitative is free or
exible, with the words normally set
in syllabic style. The rhythm may be metered, but in performance the singer freely
adapts the rhythm to that of the text.
Form
Recitative is
exible in form, adaptable to the demands of the text.
Texture
Recitative is generally homophonic in texture, consisting of a vocal line
supported by an instrumental accompaniment.
1.
Dry recitative
is accompanied by occasional chords played on a keyboard,
or by a small group of instruments.
2.
Accompanied recitative
is accompanied by an orchestra.
Aria
An
aria
(in English works sometimes called an
air
) is more closely concerned with
music than with text. It often corresponds to a dramatic soliloquy, providing the
opportunity for re
ection on, and emotional reaction to, events that have occurred
in the drama and/or have been related through recitative. In this sense, the aria
was well adapted to the Baroque doctrine of the affections, con
ned as it was to
the expression of a particular mood or emotional state. The text of a Baroque aria
is usually rather short, with words and phrases repeated for dramatic emphasis
and for musical organization.
Arias differ from recitatives in melody, rhythm, form, and accompaniment
(Table 14.2).
Melody
Arias often have soaring melody lines, designed to move the emotions
and display the beauty of the singing voice. Because the text is of secondary im-
portance, there may be ample opportunity for vocal display. During the Baroque,
singers were expected to add elaborate embellishments to the melody, especially
during the repetition of a section of the piece.
Rhythm
An aria has metered rhythm and is performed with less distortion of the
rhythm than is typical of recitative.
Form
An aria has a formal design. One frequently used form is the
da capo
aria,
which has an
ABA
design. The
rst section (
A
) and the second (
B
), usually con-
trasting in mood, melodic material, and key, are presented; then the singer repeats
section
A
, usually adding vocal embellishments.
Accompaniment
An aria is accompanied by the orchestra, which not only sup-
ports the vocal line and enriches the sonority but often has a melodic function as
well, introducing or imitating phrases of the vocal line and providing instrumental
preludes and interludes.
Recitative
Aria
Melody
Close to spoken inflection
Usually narrow range of pitch
Designed to express emotion and
display the singing voice
Rhythm
Free, flexible
Metered
Form
Flexible, adapted to text
Follows a formal design
Texture
Homophonic
Homophonic
Accompaniment
Keyboard (
dry
) or orchestra
(
accompanied
)
Orchestra
TABLE
COMPARISON OF RECITATIVE AND ARIA
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HENRY PURCELL
C
Much as with the madrigal, the British imported Italian opera
but then invented their own style of opera in the English lan-
guage. One of the greatest English composers of all time,
Henry Purcell
(Figure 14.1), excelled in the creation of vocal
dramatic works, including the brief but lovely opera
Dido and
Aeneas,
written for performance by the limited resources at a
girls’ boarding school.
A boy chorister in the Chapel Royal until his voice broke ear-
lier than normal, Purcell then assumed other musical chores
at the court, soon becoming a
ne organist, a knowledge-
able keeper of instruments, and a music copyist. He wrote
sacred choral music, numerous keyboard works, and ne in-
strumental music, all revealing his mastery of canon and of
ground bass:
the art of composing a piece over a bass ostinato.
The bass pattern, or
ground,
“obstinately” recurs throughout
the piece, supporting the melody and harmonies above it.
Purcell’s moving aria “When I am laid in earth,” from
Dido
and Aeneas,
illustrates his gift for composing over a ground.
Further, this aria and the recitative that precedes it (Listening
Example 17) beautifully illustrate many of the principles we
have outlined distinguishing these two dramatic vocal forms
from each other. (This scene from
Dido and Aeneas
may be
viewed on YouTube.)
Pur’-cel
FIGURE
Henry Purcell
“Thy hand Belinda” recitative and “When I am laid
in earth” aria from
Dido and Aeneas
COMPOSER
Henry Purcell
DATE
GENRE
Baroque opera recitative and aria
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
A er the Trojan wars
Prince Aeneas has been forced by
storms to land his ships in Carthage where he and Queen Dido fall deeply in
love When circumstances force Aeneas to leave Carthage Dido declares that
she cannot live without him Her servant and friend Belinda is unable to comfort
her and Dido dies
whether from a broken heart or by her own hand is unclear
Purcell composed this expressive recitative and aria which occur at the end of
the opera directly preceding Dido’s death in the key of G minor a key that he
o en used in his dramatic music to symbolize death
The chromatically descend
ing ground bass in the aria enhances the sense that Dido is losing breath and
strength as she sings Throughout the aria Dido repeats significant words from
each of her phrases to dramatic e
ff
ect
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Soprano string ensemble quadruple meter recitative and
triple meter aria
ground bass ostinato
two part form word repetition
LISTENING EXAMPLE
CHAPTER
DRAMATIC MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
LATE BAROQUE OPERA
The
rst public opera house opened in Venice in 1637, and soon there were opera
houses in other Italian cities and other countries as well. But by the early eighteenth
century, the classical ideals of the Florentine Camerata had been overturned. No
longer did opera purport to express a dramatic text simply and naturally. The
drama now had become a mere framework around which composers and stage
designers created marvelous musical and visual effects. Staging, costumes, and
scenery grew ever-more elaborate. With the aid of complicated machinery, gods
ew to earth, people ascended to heaven, and earthquakes,
res, and tempests
added to the entertainment. At an opera staged by Bernini in Rome, a “
re” on the
stage appeared so real that the audience
ed from the theater!
It seems ironic that the classically inspired melodies of the Florentine Camerata
composers led very soon to the extravagant, amboyant, romantic form of later
Baroque opera.
Bel Canto
Arias reigned supreme in late Baroque Italian opera, their simple, repetitive, and
familiar texts providing an effective vehicle for virtuosic vocal display. The singing
RECITATIVE
The notes closely follow the rhythm of the
words as they would be spoken, obscuring
the sense of meter. Accompaniment consists
only of sparse chords. Notice the poignant
dissonances on the first syllable of the word
“bosom” and on the word “death.”
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me;
On thy bosom let me rest.
More I would, but death invades me.
Death is now a welcome guest.
GROUND
The ground, or bass ostinato, introduces the
aria. It descends chromatically, suggesting
the descent from earth to grave.
ARIA A SECTION
As the ground begins again, Dido begins
her aria, repeating the significant words “am
laid,” “no trouble.”
When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs
create no trouble in thy breast.
A SECTION REPEATED
The first line of text is repeated.
B SECTION
The lovely melody, redolent of sighs and
sobs, soars to an unforgettable peak as Dido
pleads for remembrance, repeating the
phrase, “Remember me.”
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
B SECTION REPEATED
The text to the B section is repeated.
GROUND
The violins and violas play a heavily sighing
figure imitatively as they accompany the
final presentation of the ground.
PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
voice attained artistic levels never before conceived, and audiences
ocked to the
opera house to hear their favorite soloists sing their favorite arias. People chatted,
ate, and drank during the recitatives, interested only in the beautiful melodies and
vocal display of the arias. The term
bel canto
(Italian for “beautiful singing”) is
applied to this type of opera, which emphasizes the beauty and virtuosity of the
singing voice, even at the expense of dramatic integrity.
For the
rst time, clear distinctions were drawn between music that was instru-
mentally conceived and music intended to be sung; moreover,
how
one sang (or
played an instrument) was as important as
what
one performed. Heated disputes
occurred between composers, who wanted their melodies sung as written, and
singers, who took increasing liberties with the melody lines. Differences between
those who believe that the text of an opera is most important (“opera is primarily
a dramatic form”) and those who believe that the text may be sacri ced for musi-
cal effect (“opera is primarily a musical form”) began with the earliest operas and
persist today.
Most admired of all singers were
castrati,
men who had been castrated before their
voices changed from soprano or alto to adult male ranges and timbres. With adult
lungs and chests, castrati developed powerful voices with extreme ranges of pitch.
Some became international stars.
A taste for women’s voices developed, however, during the seventeenth and early
eighteenth centuries, leading to the decline of the castrato and the rise of the
prima
donna
(“
rst lady”), or virtuoso female singer. (The term originally referred to the
singer of the principal female role in an opera.) Schools for destitute girls in Ven-
ice and other cities provided advanced music instruction in singing and playing
instruments, and noble families encouraged their daughters to become accom-
plished musicians. Soon there was a demand at courts, at castles, and on vari-
ous private occasions for performances by professional as well as amateur female
musicians. Women were largely denied the professional opportunities available to
men as directors of court or church music ensembles; but a few
gifted women attained prestigious posts, composing and direct-
ing as well as performing music to generous acclaim.
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
By the 1720s, audiences were beginning to tire of the highly styl-
ized Baroque opera. The librettos held scant interest; little effort
was put into the acting; and
rst French, then German and Eng-
lish audiences lost interest in performances sung in Italian. This
change in public sensibility had profound effects on the career of
George Frideric Handel
(Figure 14.2).
Handel, who was born in Germany, spent considerable time
in Italy, and eventually became a British citizen, personi es
the con
icted experience of the Baroque composer. A religious
man and one of the greatest organists and harpsichordists of his
day, Handel nevertheless composed more music for the theater
than for the church. Even his religious music had a decidedly
dramatic air, for drama was in his soul. Having spent three
years in Rome, Handel proceeded to compose a large number of
highly successful Italian operas.
FIGURE
George Frideric Handel
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CHAPTER
DRAMATIC MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
In 1710, Handel was appointed court musician to the elector of Hanover, Ger-
many; but soon his independent personality (characteristic of romantics of any
period) led him to request a leave of absence to visit England—a visit from which
he never returned. Handel liked England, where he wrote and produced many
Italian operas for the appreciative English audience.
Slowly, however, Handel realized that changing public taste meant the end of
the reign of Italian opera in England. Impending bankruptcy forced the formerly
wealthy composer to abandon Italian opera—to his good fortune and ours—and
compose oratorios instead.
ORATORIO
The
oratorio,
like the opera, developed early in the Baroque period, and the two
forms share many characteristics. Both are vocal dramatic works originally con-
ceived for popular entertainment. However, an oratorio is based on a religious
subject, often with a story derived from the Old Testament of the Bible. Some early
oratorios were costumed and staged in the manner of operas, but by Handel’s time
oratorios were conceived for concert performance, as they are today.
There are proportionately fewer recitatives in Handel’s oratorios than in his op-
eras, and the oratorio arias are less
amboyant and generally require less virtuos-
ity. The
chorus
—a composition for a group of singers (also called a chorus or choir)
with several voices on each part—is used extensively. Like an aria, a chorus has
formal design, metered rhythm, and an orchestral accompaniment. It may be ei-
ther homophonic or polyphonic in texture, and contrasting homophonic and poly-
phonic passages often add musical and dramatic force within a particular chorus.
Messiah
Handel’s
Messiah,
the world’s best-known and best-loved oratorio, in some
ways is quite uncharacteristic of the oratorio form. It is a series of contempla-
tions on the life of Christ, rather than a story with an integrated plot; its subject
is drawn from the New Testament rather than the Old; and its soloists comment
on dramatic events in which they do not participate. Handel composed
Messiah
in about three weeks, and though he included some music borrowed from his
own earlier compositions, he always considered this long and powerful work
to have been divinely inspired.
Handel’s other oratorios, also enthusiastically received by his English audiences,
continue to thrill listeners around the world today. Based on familiar Bible sto-
ries, they are performed in English and have stirring choruses that especially ap-
pealed, as choral music does today, to the English. King George II, for example, is
said to have been so enthralled by
Messiah
’s glorious “Hallelujah” chorus
(Listening
Example 18) that he rose impulsively from his seat. Whether the story is true or not,
it has become customary for the audience to rise when this chorus is performed.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
J. S. Bach
(Figure 14.3) was born the same year as Handel but died nine years
before the great composer of
Messiah.
By that time, many composers already had
abandoned the heavy drama and fervent religious expression of the Baroque for
the lighter, more graceful, and more secular Rococo and Classical styles, and the
year of Bach’s death is generally accepted as the end of the Baroque.
or-a-tor’-ee-o
–
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
HANDEL’S
MESSIAH
Do you think Handel’s
Messiah
will
continue to be as popular in the
twenty first century as it was in the
twentieth? Explain your answer
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THE BAROQUE
“Hallelujah” Chorus from
Messiah
COMPOSER
George Frideric Handel
DATE
GENRE
Oratorio
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
Newspaper accounts of the first performance of
Messiah
by Handel called the oratorio “the finest Composition of Musick that was ever
heard ” The e
ff
ectiveness of this chorus
the best known of the many powerful
choruses Handel included at dramatic moments in the oratorio
stems from the
contrasting homophonic polyphonic and monophonic sections and the frequent
reiterations of “Hallelujah!” The rhythmic and dynamic structure of the piece
constitutes a series of ever building waves of sound The overall e
ff
ect is one of
constantly increasing musical energy that climaxes in the final proclamation of
“Hallelujah!”
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Chorus soprano alto tenor bass
strings trumpets harpsi
chord and bass accompaniment group unison monophony polyphony homophony
contrasting dynamics
LISTENING EXAMPLE
INTRODUCTION
Strings and continuo emphatically state the
joyful “Hallelujah” motive, accompanied by a
strong, rhythmic bass line.
HALLELUJAH
The full chorus sings the first two phrases
accompanied by strings and continuo. The
repetition of the second phrase at a higher
pitch than the first is an example of melodic
sequence.
FOR THE LORD
Monophony and homophony alternate
throughout this section: The chorus and
instruments perform “for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth” in unison monophony;
in the resounding homophonic response,
trumpets and drums reinforce the chorus.
IMITATIVE POLYPHONY
Voices and instruments toss the melodic
motive back and forth in joyful imitative po-
lyphony. Sopranos are answered by tenors
and basses, who in turn are answered by
tenors and altos.
THE KINGDOM
The following chordal passage begins with
a sudden hush, but ends in a stunning
forte
.
The kingdom of this world is become the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
AND HE SHALL REIGN
Imitative polyphony heightens the excite-
ment of the next section, as basses, tenors,
altos, and sopranos in order sing the dra-
matic, angular (disjunct) phrase.
And He shall reign forever and ever.
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CHAPTER
DRAMATIC MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
KING OF KINGS
Sopranos and altos in unison sing “King
of Kings, and Lord of Lords,” answered by
tenors and basses. Excitement mounts as
the pitches soar ever higher. A homophonic
statement closes this section.
AND HE SHALL REIGN
All sections of the choir participate in
this section, in which the three textures
alternate.
HALLELUJAH!
A stunning pause, as dramatic as the pre-
ceding sounds, prepares the final trium-
phant chordal outburst: “Hallelujah!”
To become more familiar with Handel’s
Messiah
listen to the tenor recitative and
aria “Comfort ye my people” and “Ev’ry valley shall be exalted ” The accompanied
recitative is so melodic and so expressive as to suggest an aria
or “air ” to use
Handel’s term
yet the straightforward unembellished delivery and the short con
cluding dry recitative serve as preparation for the joyful air that follows Notice the
clear formal design
ABA
9
B
9
the repetition of text word painting on words such
as “crooked ” “mountain ” and “low ” and vocal virtuosity all characteristic of arias
of this period
Also listen to the aria “Piangero la sorte mia” (I bemoan my cruel fate) from
Handel’s opera
Giulio Cesare
. Consider the di
ff
erences in style between Handel’s
famous oratorio and this operatic aria. (These examples are readily available online.)
FIGURE
Morning hymn Bach at home with
his family
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Although they were contemporaries, Handel and Bach differed in many personal
and professional respects. Both composers wrote religious and secular music, but
Bach remained essentially a man of the church and Handel a man of the theater.
Handel, a great impresario, won and lost fortunes during his turbulent career, while
the practical and methodical Bach dutifully composed and performed for the church.
Handel never married; Bach was a dedicated family man who married twice and
fathered a large number of children. Handel demanded professional independence;
Bach generally served the will of his employers. And whereas Handel produced
operas as a form of lavish entertainment, Bach wrote much of his music for purely
practical purposes—to teach, or to ful
ll his obligations as a church musician.
In the style-conscious manner of his period, Bach wrote many kinds of music, each
suitable for a particular purpose. He produced quantities of choral music for the
churches he served, as well as two large oratorios called
Passions,
based on the
events leading to the cruci
xion of Christ. Although a Protestant, Bach also com-
posed a long and very beautiful Mass, hoping thereby to attract the favorable at-
tention of an in
uential Catholic elector. Though Bach did not receive the position
he sought for several years, his B-minor Mass contains some of the most glorious
music ever written.
CANTATA
Among Bach’s many compositions are nearly two hundred dramatic vocal works,
some religious, some secular, called
cantatas.
(The term
cantata
originally meant a
piece to be sung, as opposed to an instrumental
sonata
.) The Baroque religious can-
tata was speci
cally a vocal dramatic work, based on a religious story, with recita-
tives, arias, and choruses sung in the vernacular and accompanied by an organ and
usually a small orchestra. Intended for church rather than concert performance,
cantatas are considerably shorter than oratorios and often are somewhat restrained.
Cantatas intended for performance in the Lutheran church service, such as Bach’s
“Wachet auf” (Listening Example 19), were based on chorale tunes, generally famil-
iar to the congregation. The chorale text suggested a story, and the tune provided a
musical subject for the work. Recurring in several sections, the chorale also provided
a unifying element throughout the composition. Often the congregation joined the
choir in singing the familiar chorale tune in the last movement of a cantata.
Cantata No
“Wachet auf” Sleepers Awake
fi
rst movement
COMPOSER
Johann Sebastian Bach
DATE
GENRE
Lutheran cantata
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
Bach wrote this cantata for a service in which the Bible
reading was the allegorical story of the wedding of Christ and His church at
tended by five wise maidens while five foolish maidens stayed away The famous
chorale “Wachet auf ” which had been written more than a hundred years earlier
and was well known to the German Lutheran congregation appears in the first
fourth and seventh movements The chorale text suggested a story and the
tune provided a musical subject for the cantata Bach’s genius is apparent in the
manner in which he treated his given material for example he incorporated the
LISTENING EXAMPLE
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DRAMATIC MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
original chorale melody sung by the sopranos throughout this movement while
the other voices embellish it in complex polyphonic texture In addition Bach
doubled the soprano’s melody with the horn the watchman’s instrument as a
constant reminder of the theme of the chorale text
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Baroque orchestra strings woodwinds horn
four part
chorus soprano alto tenor bass
triple meter dotted uneven rhythms chorale
melody polyphony
INTRODUCTION
The orchestra introduces the opening theme
in a “dotted” (uneven) rhythm, possibly in-
tended here to represent a stately wedding
processional. At the end of the introduction,
the higher instruments play a series of ascend-
ing scale patterns while the lower instruments
accompany with a slower descending pattern.
WACHET AUF
Soprano voices sing each phrase of the cho-
rale melody in long notes. The other voices
(alto, tenor, bass) sing the same text but with
di
ff
erent melodies and rhythms, creating a
dense polyphony. A brief instrumental section
that restates a portion of the opening theme
follows each phrase of the chorale.
“Wachet auf,” ru
“Awake,” the voice
uns die Stimme
of the watchmen
Der Wächter sehr
calls us from high
hoch auf der
on the tower,
Zinne,
“Wach auf, du
“Awake, you town
Stadt Jerusalem!”
Jerusalem!”
INTRODUCTION
REPEATED
The introduction is repeated exactly.
MITTENACHT
The second half of the movement proceeds
similarly to the first half, with each line of cho-
rale text followed by a portion of the opening
instrumental theme.
“Mitternacht heisst
“Midnight is this
diese Stunde!”
[very] hour!”
Sie rufen uns mit
they call to us with
hellem Munde:
bright voices:
“Wo seid ihr klugen
“Where are you,
Jungfrauen?
wise virgins?
Wohlauf, de
Take cheer, the
Bräutgam kommt,
Bridegroom comes,
Steht auf, die
Arise, take up your
Lampen nehmt!”
lamps!”
ALLELUJA
The soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sections
enter imitatively, each singing a complex mel-
ody not based on the chorale melody.
Alleluja!
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
MACHT EUCH
BEREIT
The sopranos sing the final two lines of the
chorale as earlier, with the other sections com-
menting in dense polyphony.
“Macht euch
“Prepare yourselves
bereit zur der
for the wedding,
Hochzeit,
Ihr müsset ihm
you must go forth
entgegengehn!”
to meet Him!”
INTRODUCTION
REPEATED
The introduction, repeated exactly, brings the
piece to a logical and satisfying close.
If you enjoyed this music, you might like to hear the rest of the cantata, which has
six more movements, or sections. You will hear dry and accompanied recitatives,
duets for soprano and bass, the chorale tune sung in unison by tenors accompanied
by strings, and finally the chorale gloriously sung by the chorus with full orchestral
accompaniment. (This piece is available online.)
Monteverdi recognized the values of both the Renaissance polyphonic and the
new homophonic styles of composition, referring to them as the
rst and second
practices, respectively. Composers of the Baroque period combined these tech-
niques to introduce three new dramatic vocal forms: opera, oratorio, and cantata.
Each of these new forms included speech-related recitatives, songlike arias, and
elaborate choruses, and each was accompanied by an orchestra.
By the late seventeenth century, Italian opera, dominated by arias in the bel
canto style, had achieved wide popularity. However, English audiences eventually
tired of foreign operas, preferring operas in their own language. Having lost the
fortune he had made as a composer of Italian operas, Handel turned to the com-
position of oratorios instead. His
Messiah
remains the best-known and best-loved
oratorio in the world today.
Bach lived at the same time as Handel, but the two composers differed in temper-
ament and experience. Handel served the theater. Bach was a church musician and a
teacher, primarily dedicated to the service of his employers. His vocal music includes
a large number of cantatas, two long Passions, and the famous Mass in B Minor.
first practice,
stile antico
second practice,
stile
moderno
chromaticism
opera
libretto
recitative
aria
da capo aria
bel canto
castrato (plural, castrati)
oratorio
cantata
Composers
Claudio Monteverdi
Henry Purcell
George Frideric Handel
Johann Sebastian Bach
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CHAPTER
Baroque Instrumental
Music
BAROQUE COMPOSERS OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
bene ted from advances
made in instrumental styles and techniques during the Renaissance. Further, they
enjoyed an advantage compared with composers of vocal music, whose inno-
vations must be limited by the necessity to set a text clearly, and appropriately,
to music.
Therefore, many musical instruments and techniques of playing instruments
were extraordinarily advanced during the Baroque, when for the
rst time instru-
mental music became equal, in quantity and quality, to music for the singing voice.
New instrumental forms evolved as well, augmenting the store of Renaissance
forms already in place.
MUSIC FOR KEYBOARDS
Keyboard music increased in variety and quantity as the lute declined in popular-
ity and the harpsichord and organ became more important. Many kinds of pieces
that had made up the lute repertoire now were played on the harpsichord instead.
The harpsichord also accompanied performances of many kinds, lling in the
tonal harmonies above the increasingly signi
cant bass line.
Several characteristics of the pipe organ made it particularly well suited to the
Baroque taste for dramatic contrasts. For example, organists could achieve abrupt
changes in dynamic level—as, from loud immediately to soft—simply by moving
the hands from one keyboard, or
manual,
to another. This effect, called
terraced
dynamics,
formed a distinctive feature of Baroque music. Further, by changing
stops
organists had a wide range of sonorities available, attractive to the discrimi-
nating Baroque ear.
Thus it is not surprising that this period introduced several important forms of
music intended for keyboard performance (Figure 15.1).
Prelude
A
prelude
is a relatively brief keyboard piece that may be either an independent
composition or the introduction to another piece or set of pieces. Preludes often
sound improvisatory, suggesting that the performer is testing the instrument or
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
warming up for the more structured and virtuosic piece or pieces to follow. The
prelude and fugue,
for example, formed a common pair during the late Baroque.
The
chorale prelude
is a prelude based on the melody of a Lutheran chorale. Like
much of the music of the Baroque, chorale preludes served a practical purpose,
allowing a church congregation to hear and become familiar with a chorale before
singing it themselves at some point in the service.
Fugue
The
fugue
is a polyphonic composition with two to six (though usually three or
four) melodic lines or voices. (Here “voices” refers to either vocal or instrumental
lines of music.) The
rst voice presents the
subject,
or principal melody, which each
of the other voices then imitates in turn. The entrances alternate between the tonic
and dominant keys, with those in the dominant called the
answer
(Figure 15.2).
Whereas the imitation in a round or canon is literal, with each voice performing
the same melody in turn, the imitation in a fugue is merely similar because the
answer begins on a different tone from the subject.
The
exposition,
or opening section, usually is succeeded by passages called
episodes,
with material that may or may not be drawn from the subject. Episodic passages,
FIGURE
Jan Vermeer
The Music Lesson
c
The keyboard
instrument in this painting called
a virginal uses the same plucking
action as the harpsichord
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offering melodic and harmonic contrast to the exposition, may alternate with fur-
ther presentations of the exposition, or with the fugue subject in related keys. Nor-
mally a
nal, often dramatic, presentation of the exposition in the tonic key brings
the fugue to a close.
Soon composers were writing fugues for instruments other than the lute or key-
board. Fugues also proved very effective in choral music. Some keyboard fugues,
such as Bach’s “Little” Fugue in G minor (Listening Example 20), constitute inde-
pendent compositions; some fugues, such as Benjamin Britten’s fugue in
The Young
Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
(Listening Example 5), are the second of a contrasting
pair of pieces; and some fugues form one movement of a multimovement work.
One of Bach’s greatest legacies, a set of forty-eight preludes and fugues called
The
Well-Tempered Clavier,
includes two sets of paired preludes and fugues in each of
Subject
(tonic)
(Other thematic material)
Answer
(dominant)
Answer
(dominant)
Subject
(tonic)
FIGURE
Exposition of a four voice fugue
Fugue in G minor “Little Fugue”
COMPOSER
Johann Sebastian Bach
DATE
c
GENRE
Organ fugue
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
The prowess of Bach in composing fugues is well apparent
in his many compositions in the genre The composer demonstrated his abili
ties in
when visiting King Frederick the Great of Prussia at his palace in
Potsdam Upon being presented with an appropriate subject by the king Bach
not only improvised a fugue to everyone’s delight but also later fashioned an
extended work called
The Musical O
ff
ering
from the same musical idea The
“Little Fugue” has many features typical of the genre opening with an exposition
in which the theme or subject appears in each of the ranges voices that will
be used in the composition This is a four voiced fugue with voices appearing in
the soprano alto tenor and bass ranges A er the exposition
subsequent en
trances of the subject appear in contrasting keys separated from each other by
episodes
sections in which the subject is not heard Like most fugues this one
closes with further reference to the subject in the tonic key
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Organ imitative polyphony quadruple meter four voice
fugue sequences
LISTENING EXAMPLE
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
the major and minor keys. (“Well-tempered” refers to a method of tuning keyboard
instruments, and “clavier” is a general term for keyboard instruments.) Even dur-
ing the century after his death, when Bach’s music was largely unknown or out of
favor, this work remained in print and highly valued, as it is today.
Toccata
The
toccata,
a popular Renaissance form for lute or keyboard exploiting the perform-
er’s technical brilliance, or virtuosity, became of major importance for harpsichord
and organ during the Baroque. Toccatas, like preludes, often have an improvisatory
character, though all the notes are written out. The rhythm of a toccata is quite ex-
ible, and there is elaborate embellishment of the melody lines, which—in keeping
EXPOSITION
SUBJECT VOICE I
The fugue subject appears first in the soprano
range in G minor with a broken triad (played
one note at a time instead of simultaneously)
in the order
.
ANSWER VOICE II
Voice II enters in the alto range, with the answer
in the dominant key, D minor. Voice I continues
with the countersubject, new thematic material
that fits hand-in-glove against the subject.
SUBJECT VOICE III
Voice III enters in the tenor in the key of
G minor, as Voice II continues with the
countersubject.
ANSWER VOICE IV
Voice IV enters, in the bass range, with the an-
swer in D minor, as Voice III continues with the
countersubject.
EPISODE
Episodes consist of freely composed material.
Note the frequent use of melodic sequences.
SUBJECT VOICE III
The subject begins in Voice III before moving
to Voice I. The key modulates sequentially in
the episode that follows.
SUBJECT VOICE IV
The subject appears in a major key. Each sub-
ject entrance is followed by an episode.
SUBJECT
The subject appears in Voice IV in a major key.
SUBJECT
The subject in Voice I is now in a minor key. A
longer episode follows.
SUBJECT
The final appearance of the subject is in
Voice IV, in the tonic key. Bach brings the piece
to a satisfying—and surprising?—conclusion on
a major chord.
Having studied this famous organ fugue you may enjoy listening to Bach’s Prelude
and Fugue in C major from the
Well Tempered Clavier
Performances of many of the
Well Tempered Clavier
preludes and fugues including several by the famous and
controversial pianist Glenn Gould may be heard on YouTube
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CHAPTER
BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
with the improvisatory quality of the piece—tend to be more rhapsodic than tune-
ful. Just as the speechlike recitative is often succeeded by an aria in vocal music, the
exible and improvisatory-sounding toccata is often followed by a tightly struc-
tured fugue; such contrasts eminently suited the Baroque taste for contrast.
The showy toccatas often featured a favorite melodic device of the Baroque: repeti-
tion of a melodic phrase at different levels of pitch, or melodic sequence. This tech-
nique provides a simple means of moving rapidly through many keys, a source of
fascination to Baroque composers—for whom, after all, tonality was a relatively new
concept with which they delighted in experimenting, always returning, however, to
the security of the tonic. As you listen to music of the Baroque—for keyboard, singing
voice, or orchestral instruments—you will frequently hear long passages of melodic
sequence. (Bach’s dramatic and popular Toccata in D minor for organ, frequently
heard in horror movies and around Halloween, amply illustrates this technique.)
Suite
Appreciation for contrasts between sections of a large composition led Baroque
composers to expand the short sets of dance pieces for lute or keyboard popu-
lar during the Renaissance to multimovement works called
suites.
A suite might
be introduced by a short prelude or overture, after which each section, or piece,
had the characteristic style, tempo, and rhythmic patterns of a particular dance,
thereby conforming to the doctrine of the affections. Of course the highly stylized
dances were conceived as concert rather than dance music.
BASSO CONTINUO
During the Baroque period, composers often wrote only the melody of a piece and
a strong, supporting, continuous bass line, called the
basso continuo
in Italian (or
thoroughbass
in English). Numbers (
gures) placed under the bass line indicated
the harmonies to be
lled in, a “3,” for example, indicating the interval of a third
above the bass. This practice, known as
figured bass,
constituted a kind of music
shorthand that might be compared with systems of jazz notation, in which chord
symbols, written in a variety of ways, substitute for traditional methods of notat-
ing music. With the exception of solo lute and keyboard pieces, all Baroque solo
and ensemble music was accompanied by at least one sustaining bass instrument,
such as a cello, bassoon, or string bass playing the all-important basso continuo,
and a lute or keyboard instrument, which played the bass line and the melody
while also
lling in the unwritten middle voices as indicated by the gured bass.
This system of notation and improvisation exempli ed the vertical, or chordal,
orientation of Baroque musicians’ thought processes in contrast to the linear
polyphony of earlier periods. So important is this concept to the music of the
Baroque, the period is sometimes referred to as the Age of the Figured Bass.
CHAMBER MUSIC
The Baroque brought several wind and string instruments to a peak of perfection.
The
ute, greatly improved in quality, gained in popularity as well. The period also
produced the world’s
nest violins, including those made by the famous Stradivari
and Guarneri families. The new violins differed in several respects from the viols of
the Renaissance. For example, new methods of construction and new bowing tech-
niques produced a louder sound, better suited to the romantic taste of the Baroque.
These and other musical instruments are heard to advantage in Baroque
chamber
music,
pieces performed by a small instrumental ensemble with one instrument
per line of music. The
sonata
is one form of chamber music.
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
Sonata
The Baroque
sonata,
a multimovement form for one or more solo instruments ac-
companied by a basso continuo, became an important form in the seventeenth
century. Unfortunately, the fact that the continuo, as the term is often abbreviated,
included more than one instrument led to some confusion in terminology. The
trio sonata,
for example, so called because it had three written lines of music—two
melody lines and a bass—required a minimum of four performers, one for each of
the two melody lines and at least two for the continuo. You may listen to several
trio sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli, one of the most famous Baroque composers of
music for strings, on YouTube and other online sites.)
Baroque sonatas were of two types:
1.
Sonata da camera,
similar to dance-related keyboard suites, intended for
concert (secular) performance.
2.
Sonata da chiesa,
intended for performance in church.
(“Chiesa” means church in Italian.) Even the
sonata da
chiesa
included dance movements that simply were not
labeled as such.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
The Baroque generally replaced the Renaissance consort
of instruments of similar timbre with the mixed ensemble
we call an
orchestra.
Early orchestras were basically string
ensembles with a few wind instruments, and sometimes
timpani, adding color, or variety, to the sound. Baroque com-
posers often required great virtuosity of the players in these
early orchestras.
Concerto
The
concertato
principle, described in Chapter 12, appealed
strongly to Baroque musicians, who particularly enjoyed the
effect of contrasting sonorities and dynamic levels. In fact, the
orchestral form called a
concerto
—a multimovement compo-
sition for orchestra and one or more solo instruments—was
based on the concerted efforts of two opposing elements. The
solo concerto
contrasts the orchestra with one solo instru-
ment. Like the sonata, the concerto afforded Baroque compos-
ers the variety they enjoyed in tempo, mood, timbre, and key.
The most proli
c composer of Baroque concertos was Antonio Vivaldi.
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Though ordained a priest,
Antonio Vivaldi
(Figure 15.3) spent most of his life
as a professional musician. He taught at an orphanage-conservatory for girls
in Venice and traveled to other European cities as a guest conductor of opera
and orchestra performances. He wrote vast numbers of choral and orchestral
compositions, as well as many operas, responding to the demand in his day for
quantities of new music.
Among the most famous and best-loved Baroque compositions is Vivaldi’s set
of four violin concertos,
The Four Seasons.
Listening Example 21 features the rst
movement of the “Spring” Concerto from this work.
FIGURE
Antonio Vivaldi
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
INSTRUMENTAL VS VOCAL
MUSIC
Instrumental and vocal music were
of approximately equal interest
in the Baroque Do you think in
strumental or vocal music appeals
more to today’s audiences? Explain
your answer
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BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
“Spring” Concerto from The Four Seasons
fi
rst movement
COMPOSER
Antonio Vivaldi
DATE
GENRE
Solo concerto
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
Scored for a string orchestra and three solo violins each of
the concertos in the set by Vivaldi titled
The Four Seasons
includes dramatic vir
tuoso passages for solo violin Vivaldi prefaced each concerto with a sonnet the
words of which appear in the score in passages where the music is intended to
express a particular programmatic idea For the “Spring” concerto he wrote
this introduction
Spring has come and the birds greet it with happy songs and at the same
time the streams run so ly murmuring to the breathing of the gentle
breezes Then the sky being cloaked in black thunder and lightning come
and have their say a er the storm has quieted
the little birds turn again to
their harmonious song
These attractive concertos abound with colorful references to the sounds and
e
ff
ects of nature revealing Vivaldi’s gi for achieving varied orchestral sonorities
The dynamic variety throughout is limited to piano and forte without crescendo
or decrescendo
the terraced dynamics typical of the Baroque The solo sections
are naturally abruptly so er than those played by the full orchestra due to the
smaller number of instruments playing
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
String orchestra violins violas and double bass
basso
continuo harpsichord and cello
solo violin quadruple meter allegro tempo ter
raced dynamics program music
MAIN THEME
“SPRING HAS COME”
The bold main theme in E major consists of
two phrases, each of which is played forte and
echoed piano.
“SONGS OF THE
BIRDS”
The solo violin along with two additional violins
plays trills in a high range meant to imitate the
sound of bird songs. The other instruments are
silent during this section.
MAIN THEME
The second phrase of the main theme is
played forte in E major.
“MURMURING
STREAMS AND
GENTLE BREEZES”
Gently flowing lines in the orchestra so ly
imitate the sound of streams and breezes.
MAIN THEME
The second phrase of the main theme
returns,
now at a lower pitch in the key of B major.
“STORM”
Thunder, depicted by a tremolo (a shaking
e
ff
ect) in the orchestra, is heard intermittently
throughout this section. The violins play a fast
ascending scale to depict lightning. The solo
violin plays a di
ff
erent fast figure, perhaps rep-
resenting lightning as well.
MAIN THEME
The second phrase of the main theme is played
at a higher pitch in the key of C-sharp minor.
LISTENING EXAMPLE
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“RETURN OF THE
BIRD SONGS”
The three violins again join in a musical
representation of various bird songs.
SECOND THEME
The orchestra enters with material reminiscent
of the main theme. The key modulates.
SOLO VIOLIN
The solo violin has one last passage before the
closing of the piece.
MAIN THEME
The second phrase of the main theme, in the
home key of E major, occurs both forte and
with a piano echo, bringing the movement to a
calm close.
Concerto Grosso
The Baroque also produced an abundance of the kind of concerto called a
concerto
grosso,
a composition for string orchestra plus a small group of solo
instruments
(instead of one solo instrument, as in the solo concerto). The solo ensemble of a
Baroque concerto grosso often consisted of two violins and basso continuo, but
many other combinations also were used late in the period. As in a solo concerto,
passages alternate between those for full orchestra, those for a lighter sound—
in the concerto grosso a small group of soloists instead of one solo instrument—
and those for orchestra and soloist or soloists together. A concerto grosso, like a
solo concerto, generally has three movements, in the order fast-slow-fast.
Vivaldi, Handel, and many other Baroque composers produced numerous con-
certos of this kind for a wide variety of solo combinations and a string orchestra,
often augmented by several wind instruments. Bach organized the rst move-
ment of his Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 (Listening Example 22) according to
the
ritornello
principle, in which a thematic section, the ritornello, most often
played by the orchestra, begins a concerto movement and then alternates, in full
or in part, with the solo sections. The ritornello (Italian for “refrain”) often re-
turns in its original form at the end of the movement. Comparing this movement
to that of the
Vivaldi concerto (Listening Example 21) shows clearly that Bach
was in uenced by the Italian composer’s use of the ritornello principle (labeled
“main theme”).
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
THE CONCERTO GROSSO
The concerto grosso replaced in
popularity by the solo concerto
throughout the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries has had
particular appeal for a number of
recent and contemporary compos
ers
See Listening Example
the first movement of Ellen Taa
ff
e
Zwilich’s
Concerto Grosso
Why do you suppose this form lost
and then regained favor?
Brandenburg Concerto No
in F major
COMPOSER
Johann Sebastian Bach
DATE
c
GENRE
Concerto grosso
PRELUDE TO LISTENING
The six Brandenburg Concertos by Bach today perhaps
the best known of this popular Baroque genre were discovered in a forgotten
archive in the town of Brandenburg more than a hundred years a er their com
position The second concerto features four solo instruments violin flute oboe
and trumpet
but the high pitched Baroque trumpet stands out over the other
instruments when they play together Each of the instruments has solo sections
in the first movement which opens with a fanfare like ritornello theme Perhaps
LISTENING EXAMPLE
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BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
because of the trumpet’s dominance in the outer movements Bach omits it from
the middle movement which is based on imitation on a single musical phrase
and a complementary sighing motive The relentlessly consistent pulse of the
accompaniment further heightens the poignancy and the emotional intensity
of the main melody In the final fugal movement Bach again places the trumpet
in a central role and it announces the fugue subject The solo instruments and
the orchestra toss the subject and a secondary motive
in the rhythm of short
short long
back and forth throughout the episodes that intervene between
subject statements
MOVEMENT I
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Baroque string orchestra with basso continuo cello and
harpsichord
solo group Baroque trumpet oboe flute and violin
terraced
dynamics strong rhythmic drive allegro tempo quadruple meter use of motives
derived from the main theme polyphony homophony
RITORNELLO
THEME SOLO
SECTION
The brilliant ritornello theme is played in unison
by the flute, oboe, solo violin, and violins of
the orchestra, accompanied by the solo trum-
pet, other strings, and continuo in the tonic
key of F major. A short section for the violin
follows.
RITORNELLO SOLO
SECTION
A short version of the ritornello theme in the
tonic, F major, is followed by a solo section for
the other three solo instruments.
RITORNELLO SOLO
SECTION
The theme in the dominant key of C major is
followed by a short solo section for the trumpet.
RITORNELLO
The ritornello is heard briefly in violins in the
key of D minor, accompanied by a trill in the solo
trumpet.
SOLO
The longest of the solo sections, featuring all
members of the solo group, begins with legato
sequences between trumpet and oboe.
RITORNELLO SOLO
SECTIONS
The ritornello is restated in the keys of C minor
and G minor with intervening solo sections.
Motives from the main theme may be heard
throughout the second of the solo sections.
RITORNELLO
The ritornello is boldly stated in the original
tonic key of F major.
SOLO
All of the solo instruments participate in the
final solo section.
RITORNELLO
The ritornello theme is restated in the tonic key
of F major. Notice the slightest relaxation in
tempo, or
ritardando
, at the end.
MOVEMENT II
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Baroque string orchestra with basso continuo cello and
harpsichord
solo group oboe flute and violin
pulsing rhythmic accompani
ment andante tempo triple meter imitative polyphony sighing motive
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PART THREE
THE BAROQUE
THEME
The first of three variations on the melodic
phrase that forms the theme to the movement
is introduced by the violin, which is imitated by
the oboe and then the flute. Each instrument
continues with variations on the melody.
VARIATION ON THE
THEME
The first variation on the theme is played by the
oboe, followed by the violin and the flute.
SECOND
VARIATION
The violin plays the second variation on the
theme, followed by the flute and then the oboe.
SIGHING MOTIVES
The second half of the piece is dominated by a
sighing motive and fragments of the theme.
RESTATEMENT OF
THEME
All three instruments restate the original theme.
FUGUE
EXPOSITION
The trumpet announces the fugue subject in the
tonic key of F. The exposition proceeds with the
oboe, violin, and flute answering, restating, and
answering in turn in the dominant, tonic, and
dominant keys.
SUBJECT
The subject is played by the trumpet in the
dominant key of C, followed by an episode
dominated by melodic sequences.
SUBJECT
The flute and violin play the subject in the domi-
nant key of C, followed by a short episode.
SUBJECT
The oboe enters with the subject in the key of
D minor.
EPISODE
This is the most extended episode of the fugue,
incorporating a number of melodic sequences.
EPISODE WITH
PARTIAL SUBJECT
Partial statements of the fugue subject occur
in the trumpet, flute, and bass orchestral
instruments.
SUBJECT
The trumpet plays the final restatement of the
subject in the tonic key.
MOVEMENT III
WHAT YOU WILL HEAR
Baroque string orchestra with basso continuo cello and
harpsichord
solo group Baroque trumpet oboe flute and violin
allegro
tempo duple meter fugue
You might also listen online to another of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos no
Here
the solo instruments are violin flute and harpsichord and the harpsichord is given a
prominent and virtuosic role unusual in orchestral music of the Baroque The three
movements occur in the fast slow fast pattern heard in Listening Example
the last
movement consisting of a rollicking dance a
gigue
guaranteed to li one’s spirits
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CHAPTER
BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
During the Baroque, instrumental music became of equal importance with music
for the voice. New forms for keyboard and other instruments, organized according
to rules of the recently adopted tonal system of harmony, revealed appreciation for
dramatic contrasts of timbres, tempos, and dynamic levels. Most instrumental and
vocal compositions were accompanied by the basso continuo, played by at least
one sustaining instrument and a keyboard or lute player who realized the harmo-
nies above a gured bass.
The Baroque produced many beautiful sonatas for a variety of solo instru-
ments accompanied by a continuo. The concerto, pitting orchestra against one or
more solo instruments, seemed especially suited to express the Baroque apprecia-
tion for contrasts of sound.
terraced dynamics
prelude
chorale prelude
fugue
toccata
suite
basso continuo
figured bass
chamber music
sonata
orchestra
solo concerto
concerto grosso
ritornello
Violin makers
Antonio Stradivari
Giuseppe Guarneri
Composers
J. S. Bach
Antonio Vivaldi
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