Baroque Era: Questions Baroque Dates: 1600-1750
- What does musical style mean? An expressive style of music
- What was going historically during this era? What was life like?
- Was did the term Baroque originally mean? An insult to describe a misshapen or oddly colored pearl
- Why did early baroque composers favor homophony?
- What texture did late baroque composers prefer? Polyphonic
- The musical style of the Baroque era began in what country and then spread Throughout Europe? Italy
- Church modes gradually gave way to what? Major/ minor scale/tonal system
- Did instrumental music become Just as important as vocal music?
- What are some harmonistic traits of baroque rhythms? Regular meter and bar lines are finally present: rhythmic patterns repeated throughout a piece.
- What are some characteristic traits of baroque melodies? Elaborate and ornamental; not symmetrical (phrases not of equal length); melodic patterns.
- What are the dynamics like in Baroque music? 1
- Were chords becoming more important? No
- What voices or parts become more important? Bass- because of the choral structure (root of the chord in the bass), soprano?because of the melody lines.
- What is the basso continuo? What instruments play it? The bass line/part of the sic in addition to the group of instruments playing the part. Keyboard and a cello, bassoon, etc.
- What was a baroque orchestra like?
- What family of instruments were the most important? Strings
- What is a movement? Did baroque compositions often consist of multiple movements? A movement is an independent section of a larger work, like a chapter of a book. It is often related in some way (by key structure or melodic or rhythmic motif) to the larger work as a whole. Baroque music was often segmented into movements, slow- fast-slow (French Overture) or fast-slow-fast (The confusion, or Italian overture), and not dance movements, as in Handel’s Water Music or Bach’s lute suites
- What is the primary or most important way that the movements might contrast one another? Tempo
- What is opera? What does it include? Where was it invented? Dramatic vocal form blending visual, literary, and musical arts, in which all dialogue is sung. Costumes, sets, props, and it’s staged. Florence, Italy.
- What is the libretto? The words to the opera
- What is an aria? More lyrical, song like portion of an opera. Not speech like, for a solo voice
- What is a recitative? Rapid words advancing story quickly and clearly Eng, it imitates the natural rhythms of speech. Progresses the story. Only accompanied by the basso continuo.
- What is a dad capo aria? Ternary (ABA) form. The text for both A sections is exactly the same. Singers typically ornamented or embellished the 2nd A Section
- What is the ground bass aria? Has a repeated pattern in the bass
- What is the first significant opera? L’Oreal
- What is an oratorio? Like an opera but not staged; based on biblical stories
- What is a passion? Type of oratorio based on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ
- What is a chorale? A Lutheran hymn tune associated with German Protestantism
- What is a church cantata? A very short onstage opera written for instruments and one or two voices in a single scene or situation
- What is a sonata? Instrumental work with 4 contrasting movements. What are the different types? Solo, trio, sonata De camera, sonata De cheese
- What is a fugue? A carefully worked out polyphonic piece of music using a theme, subject or motive that occurs in all voices
- What is a prelude? A rambling, improvisatory sounding piece that is often paired with and played before a fugue
- What is a suite? Often called a Baroque or dance suite) A collection of dances. Written only for instruments. All dances were in the same key center to unify the dances.
- What is a confusion? An Italian word for symphony.
- What is the concerto gross? Small group and large group orchestra A solo concerto? Solo instruments and orchestra. How many movements does it have?
- What is the arteriole form and how does it work? The first and last movements of concerti gross arena in the formed which is based on alternation between tutu and solo sections. Composers: Please include the following for each (l need to be able to ell that you read about them and did not Just Google them or use Wakefield, etc. And copied and pasted-read your textbook please) a. Dates b. Nationality c. Importance/major contribution d. Types of compositions e. Extra little tidbit
- Claudio Monteverdi-Laotian composer of the first great opera, named Roofer
- Henry Purcell- 1685-1750 English an early baroque composer; one of his famous works was dido and nanas. Born in 1659
- Archangel Cornell-1 563-1713 Developed violin technique in addition to composing from his home country of Italy. Genres: sonata, concerto gross. Trio Sonata in C major, La Folia
- Antonio Vivaldi- nicknamed the red priest an Italian composer practically invented the retooling form. Composer of the four seasons
- Johann Sebastian Bach- 1685-1750 German composer who improvised on the pipe organ and was especially known for his fugues. He wrote in every Baroque style except opera.
- G. F. Handel- 1685-1759 German composer who became an English citizen and wrote the messiah. Became the Experimenter for George, the elector of Hanover in Germany. Genres: Over 20 oratorios, opera serial, Orchestral suites, solo keyboard works, trio sonatas. Music for the Royal firework’s, the water music.
