Unit 3. Baroque
1. Introduction
2. Secular vocal music
3. Religious vocal music
4. Instrumental music
5. Baroque music impact
Canon in D major - Pachelbel
1. Introduction
The Baroque in music began in 1600, with the birth of opera, and ended in 1750, with the death of J. S. Bach.
It was a crucial period in the history of music because the use of tonality and harmony was established, the orchestra and the first large forms of vocal and instrumental music were born, and the first virtuosos and great composers appeared.
Baroque music looked for expression and contrast through accompanied monody, mechanic rhythm and the ornamentation of melodies. The use of accompanied monody facilitates the main goal of opera: the intelligibility of the text and the fact that music could emphasize and reinforce the expression of words.
2. Secular vocal music
The madrigal is the most representative form: it loses the characteristic contrapuntal texture from the previous stage to give prominence to a main melody sustained by the harmonic support of lower voices.
This new composition technique was called accompanied monody and basso continuo (protagonist melody accompanied by a harmonic bass) and was translated into all vocal and instrumental forms.
Madrigal "The lament of the nymph - Monteverdi
Opera
Opera appeared in the early 17th century in Florence, when a group of intellectuals around Count Bardi, known as Camerata Fiorentina, attempted to resuscitate Greek classical theatre, which was a combination of poetry, music and dance.
The first preserved opera is Euridice by Jacopo Peri, followed by a second one of the same name but composed by Giulio Caccini. Both of them were performed in the year 1600, marking the beginning of the musical Baroque.
However, the first great opera in history was L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, premiered in the year 1607.
The tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
Opera was structured in:
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Overture: instrumental introduction which marks the beginning of the piece.
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Sung parts: we distinguish two types of singing, depending on the content of the text and the dramatic moment:
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Aria style: expressive melodies performed by soloists for more emotional texts.
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Recitative style: declaimed text for passages requiring a more agile action progress.
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Interludes: instrumental sections inserted in order to join and put together the different parts of the opera.
The evolution of opera in the Baroque made room for two different types:
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Opera seria: plots based on mythological and heroic topics written in Italian.
Tu se' morta, L'Orfeo - Claudio Monteverdi
Castrati were male singers castrated before puberty in order to avoid voice change. This allowed them to obtain an extraordinary technical virtuosity and vocal power. During the 17th and 18th centuries they became the main protagonists of the opera seria.
Aria: Lascia ch'io pianga - G. F. Händel
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Opera buffa: plots based on daily life, with characters closer to the audience. In Germany, the adaptation of the opera buffa will lead to the singspiel, with text in German. In Spain, this type of opera was called zarzuela, with text in Spanish.
Viento es la dicha de amor, seguidillas - José de Nebra
Women
During the Baroque, music was still limited for women. Nevertheless, an exception must be highlighted: the case of Italy, where women could access study in old conservatories and achieve a professional career as instrumentalists and even composers. For instance, Barbara Strozzi became a kapellmeister and published more works than many composers of her time. Most of her compositions are for solo voice and basso continuo. Look at the example given, which belongs to the volume Arias for single voice and continuo.
Che si puo fare - Barbara Strozzi
3. Religious vocal music
Large forms appeared: cantata, oratorio and passion. They imitated the grandeur of opera and its musical recourses, but they were not performed on stage.
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Cantata: it is a simpler form composed by texts or popular religious themes.
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Oratorio: it can be regarded as an opera with a religious theme but without stage performance. It is more elaborate and longer than the cantata. It has a narrator who tells the action.
Hallelujah (from the Messiah oratorio) - Handel
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Passion: it is an oratorio about the passion and death of Christ, inspired by Gospels.
Erbarme dich, mein Gott, St. Matthew Passion - J.S. Bach
Ich will hier bei dir stehen, St. Matthew Passion - J.S. Bach
4. Instrumental music
Characteristics:
- Instrumental music was as important as vocal music.
- Luthiers perfected the construction of instruments.
- Baroque orchestra was based on the bowed string and basso continuo.
Simple forms were mainly aimed at keyboard instruments and based on improvisation and the counterpoint. The most important form was the fugue: complex polyphonic form in one single movement, built on a subject or theme that is introduced at the beginning and imitated constantly.
Toccata & fugue BWV 565 - J. S. Bach
Lady Gaga Fugue
The great forms of instrumental music were the sonata and the concerto: complex forms which sought the contrast of the movements which composed them.
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Sonata: is a compound form divided into four movements or sections which contrast along slow and fast tempos with different textures and rhythms. The sonata can be composed for a solo instrument, a duo or a trio, but always with the accompaniment of the harpsichord as a basso continuo.
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Concerto: is a compound form composed by a sequence of three contrasting movements. Types:
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Concerto grosso: is a dialogue between the full orchestra (tutti) and a small group of instruments (concertino). The most important composer was A. Corelli.
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Concerto a solo: is a dialogue between the full orchestra and a soloist. E.g. Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
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Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. 1st movement. Allegro - J. S. Bach
The four seasons - Vivaldi
The four seasons are a group of four concertos published in 1725.
The violin is the solo instrument, and the orchestra is composed by the entire string family: violins, violas, violoncellos and double basses.
Vivaldi musically reflects the seasons of the year by using string instruments in order to imitate the singing of birds, the sound of wind, storms, etc., and to describe different atmospheres.
Why should you listen to Vivaldi's "Four seasons"
Concerto No. 1: The Spring. First movement: Allegro
Concerto No. 2: Summer. Third movement: Presto
Concerto No. 3: Autumn
Concerto No. 4: Winter. First movement: Allegro non molto
Dance
Ballet evolved inside the French court with the ballet de cour.
March for the Turkish Ceremony - Jean Baptiste Lully
Social dance adopted new dances which became part of the suite, whose most common structures were allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue.
Suite in D minor, Sarabande - Haendel
6. Baroque music impact
One of the best-known examples of approaching popular music to opera is Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
Parts:
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Intro: the work begins with a cappella group vocals introducing the story and setting the mood. Though in a true opera this function would typically be performed by an overture, the immediate evocation of a classical vocal idiom, such as found in a madrigal or chorale, is apparent.
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Ballad: the equivalent of an aria with piano accompaniment.
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Guitar solo
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Opera: the "opera section", as Freddie Mercury called this middle segment, presents an Orpheus-like descent into the insanity of the underworld complete with 'Thunderbolts and lightning, very very fright'ning.. .' Freddie Mercury takes on a devilish persona, singing 'I see a little silhouetto of a man' in parody of a comic opera recitative. His vocal melody breaks to a more fragmented recitative-style with static word and note repetitions. Evoking a popular eighteenth-century Italian commedia dell'arte character, a fantastical dialogue then ensues with the solo line, 'Scaramouche, Scara- mouche, will you do the fandango', answered by a demonic chorus, 'Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very fright'ning'. This in turn is followed by a falsetto solo, engaged in a farcical debate, 'Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Figaro, Magnifico'. Operatic techniques such as a homophonic grand chorus, falsetto singing and distorted operatic phraseology further evoke the exotic insanity of this underworld trial. This section also highlights a mix of Italian and French terms, such as 'Silhouetto', 'Scaramouche', 'Mama mia' and 'Fandango'.
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Hard rock
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Outro
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen