Essay about Baroque music

A roughly 150-year period known as the “baroque music period”

Featured a variety of traditional European musical genres. Theory, imitative counterpoint, and diatonic tonality all evolved at this time in the music. Along with improved musical ornamentation and notation, it also featured improved instrument playing techniques. Baroque music also saw an increase in performance complexity, scope, and size, as well as the emergence of opera as a musical performance genre. Baroque music was characterized by ornamentation, emotion, unification, and a contrasting beat. Its melodies had expansions, a continuous moving line, and terrace dynamics. Baroque had different composers from various places in Europe. Despite producing baroque music, most composers uniquely composed their music compared to others.

The Early Baroque music

Lasted from 1600 to 1654 pioneered by Claudio Monteverdi. In the year 1607, Monteverdi first opera was produced and named La Tavola. Later he presented Orfeo, which became the most remarkable piece of music during the 17th century. Prima Prattica music styles were composed using several music instruments, which included harpsichords, strings, woodwind, chamber organs and brass (Buelow, 2004 p. 23). The selection of the instrument was left to the director of the play. Monteverdi chose spirits of Hades, reeds, five trombones, gambas, three violins that brought about a dark timbre in music.

The middle Baroque music

Lasted from 1654-1707. ‘Louis XIV was among the most influential composers during this era. He composed his music in a unique style through incorporating the palace style as well as the court system of lasts and manners. As a result of his composition technique, baroque music developed an urge of being performed in open space since it had been confined state patronage and churches.

Apart from Lous XIV, Jean Baptiste Lully

Was another influential composer during the middle era of baroque music. His career escalated after partnering with Moliere in producing pays with dances referred to as comedy ballets. While composing his music, he contrasted between orchestrated and stately sections (Buelow, 2004 p. 35). Additionally, his music composition also focused on intonation and precision despite the lack of standards in tuning instruments. Furthermore, Lully also focused on harmonious inner voices as well the association with a soloist in his compositions.

Corelli Arcangelo

Is also another influential composer during the Baroque period. He composed his music using an organized violin pedagogy and technique. Notably, Corelli developed the concerto grosso through the use of violins, a cello and a basso continuo. Its composition is based on high contrast: the alternation of sections between those played by small groups and orchestra. Additionally, he used terraced dynamics through using sharp transitions from soft to loud and vice versa. Moreover, he juxtaposed fast and slow sections over each other. Other influential composers of this era included: England’s Henry Purcell who is described as a fluid composer since he managed to make shifts from useful music to simple anthems. Additionally, he also composed sacred music as well as staged music. Additionally, he also made use of the keyboard in his compositions

The late Baroque music

Lasted from 1680 to 1750. Its major composers included Antonio Vivaldi, Domenico Scarlatti as well as Frederick Handwell. Vivaldi success emerged from his orchestra and other published works which included concerti, violin sonatas, and trio sonatas. While composing, he uses particular patterns like a fast, slow, fast movement plan for his art and the utilizing the ritornello in fast movements (Soergel, 2005 p. 120). Likewise, Scarlatti Domenico was a baroque composer who used the keyboard to make his music. Moreover, his brother Pietro Filip was also an Italian choirmaster, organist, and composer. He had a special composing ability that entailed contrasting sonorities and harmonies in his vocals. This factor made his appealing to audiences interested in opera.

Frideric Handel

Was also a popular German composer who mainly composed his music through advancing styles of different and earlier artist. He improved his melodies by incorporating intonations as well as practiced ornamentation. Moreover, he also incorporated performance in his melodies.

In accordance to Monteverdi

Baroque music was divided into two: Prima Prattica and second Prattica. Prima Prattica had a different composition technique from Seconda Prattica. A major difference is a shift from the choral vocals to soloist vocal composition and well as the basso continuo innovation. These composition changes were based on the argument that a soloist managed to communicate their emotions effectively. Additionally, the Seconda Pratticca composers managed to incorporate various facial expressions as well as dramatic presentations which enhanced the communication of sentiment and mood in their vocal piece. Additionally, Seconda Prattica was also composed through recitative techniques which eventually led to the development of opera. Furthermore, a significant composition difference between compositions of the two styles was the technique referred to as bass figuring. The technique enhanced the use of a lute, harp or keyboard to create a harmonic structure rather than reading multiple instruments scores. An example of the prima prattica composers is Gioseffo Zarlino while second Pratticca had composers like Claudio Monteverdi.

References

Buelow, G. J. (2004). A history of baroque music. Bloomington, IN [u.a.], Indiana Univ. Press

Soergel, P. M. (2005). Arts & humanities through the eras. Detroit [u.a.], Gale.