Baroque Dates: (1600-1750)
1. What does “musical style” mean? Different types of musical compositions developed throughout different eras
2. What was going historically during this era? What was life like? New ideas and art was being introduced everywhere. It was a time of personal expression and drama. There was controversy between Catholics and Protestants which caused long periods of religious war. It was also a time of scientific research and astronomical studies.
3. Was did the term Baroque originally mean? Odd, irregular,rough, or uneven
4. Why did early baroque composers favor homophony?
It was a new concept in texture, a melody in one voice supported by a harmony in the others
5. What texture did late baroque composers prefer? Homophony
6. The musical style of the Baroque era began in what country and then spread throughout Europe? Italy
7. Church modes gradually gave way to what? The major and minor scales
8. Did instrumental music become Just as important as vocal music? Yes
9. What are some characteristic traits of baroque rhythms? Fast harmonic, often continuous, made up of repeating patterns
10. What are some characteristic traits of baroque melodies? Often are elaborated and ornamental.
They give the impression of dynamic expansion. A characteristic often found in baroque melodies is a short opening phrase followed by a longer phrase with an unbroken flow of rapid notes.
11. What are the dynamics like in Baroque music? Abrupt shifts from loud to soft achieved by adding or subtracting instruments.
12. Were chords becoming more important? Yes
13. What voices or parts become more important? The outermost voices (bass and soprano) acquired a dominant position.
14. What is the basso continuo? What instruments play it? A strong, supporting, continuous bass line played by a cello, bassoon, or string bass
15. What was a baroque orchestra like? Basically string ensembles with a few wind instruments
16. What family of instruments were the most important? The violin family
17. What is a movement? Did baroque compositions often consist of multiple movements? A movement is a semi-independent section within a work, in baroque compositions there were many enlivenment works
18. What is the primary or most important way that the movements might contrast one another? They should contrast in tempo, key, material, texture, and timbre, but cost importantly, only one mood should be expressed
19. What is opera? What does it include? Where was it invented? The opera is a musical drama that tells a story and is sung throughout. It began in Greece.
20. What is the libretto? The texts that early operas were composed to.
21. What is an aria? A song-like vocal piece, more concerned with music than with text, and accompanied by an orchestra. They often have soaring melodies, metered rhythm, and formal design
22. What is a recitative? It is a style of delivery much used in operas in which a singer is allowed to adopt the withy’s of ordinary speech.
It does not repeat lines as formally composed songs do. It resembles sung ordinary speech more than a formal musical composition.
23. What is a dad capo aria? A form with an ABA design. The first and second sections contrasting in mood, melodic material, and key, are presented; then the singer repeats the first section adding vocal embellishments
24. What is the ground bass aria? Composing a piece over a bass station. The bass pattern recurs throughout the piece, supporting the melody and harmonies above it
25. What is the first significant opera? Monteverdi L’Oreal 6. What is an oratorio?
A vocal dramatic work conceived for entertainment based on a religious subject often with a story derived from the Old Testament
27. What is a passion? A passion is a special oratorio telling the story of Chrism’s crucifixion. Includes recitatives, arias and choruses
28. What is a chorale? A Lutheran congregational hymn tune
29. What is a church cantata? A enlivenment vocal dramatic work often accompanied by an organ and a small orchestra
30. What is a sonata? What are the different types? A enlivenment form for one or more solo instruments accompanied by a basso intuition.
The different types were Sonata dad camera (concert performance) and Sonata dad cheese (church performance)
31 . What is a fugue? A polyphonic composition with two to six melodic lines or voices
32. What is a prelude? A brief keyboard piece that may be either an independent composition or the introduction to another piece or set of pieces
33. What is a suite? (often called a Baroque or dance suite) A enlivenment piece composed for the lute or keyboard with the style, tempo, and rhythmic patterns of a particular dance
34. What is a confusion? Any of several forms usually of Italian origin.
It refers to orchestral introductions to operas and cantatas.
35. What is the concerto gross? A solo concerto? How many movements does it have? A concerto gross is small group of solo instruments that accompany a string orchestra. A solo concerto is instead only one instrument. They both generally have three movements
36. What is the arteriole form and how does it work? A retooling is the form that typically begins a movement. Retooling form focuses on a contrast between two musical ideas. The idea presented in the retooling will be revisited many times again in the song.
37. What is a toccata? Form for lute or keyboard exploiting technicality and brilliance. It has a flexible rhythm and elaborate embellishment of the melody lines.
38. What are terraced dynamics? Moving hands from one keyboard to another, abruptly, causing changes in dynamic level Composers: Please include the following for each (l need to be able to tell 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
39. Claudio Monteverdi 1567-1643) Was an Italian composer who referred to the two styles of compositions as the “first” (Polyphonic texture, music dominates text, Church music) and “second”(Homophobic texture, text dominates music, Secular songs) practices of music. He wrote his madrigals in the new expressive style (second practice) observing specific tonal principles. His opera L’Oreal was considered the first great opera. He also served as the choirmaster for SST. Marks in Venice for thirty years
40. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) An English composer known for his mastery of composing over a ground.
He composed moving arias and operas. He was also an organist and wrote chorale music, keyboard works, and instrumental music.
41. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) He was an Italian Baroque composer, teacher, and priest. He traveled all over Europe as a guest conductor of opera and orchestral performances. He wrote choral and orchestral compositions along with operas. His most famous composition is his set of four violin concertos, The four seasons.
42. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist. Bach’s compositions were mainly performed for the church.
He produced a read amount of choral music and two large oratorios called Passions. He wrote mainly for practical purposes such as to teach or to compose music for the church. He also composed a beautiful Mass which contained some the most well known music ever written.
43. G. F. Handel (1685-1759) Was a German composer known for his successful operas and later for his oratorios. His works had much dramatic flair. He is best recognized for his oratorio, Messiah which included the well known “Hallelujah” chorus. He considered this work to be divinely inspired and composed it in only about three weeks.
