Music Appreciation Chpt. 4: Baroque Period
The appearance of long-playing records in the late 1940s spurred a ________________ that made these musicians familiar to many music lovers
"Baroque revival"
Baroque melody also creates a feeling of ____________
Continuity
An organist or harpsichordist could not obtain a _______________ or _____________ by varying finger pressure
Crescendo; decrescendo
Another feature of the middle baroque phase was the new importance of ________________.
Instrumental music
During the late baroque, ______________ became as important as vocal music for the first time.
Instrumental music
The procedure of varying a fugue subject by turning it upside down is called _____________
Inversion
Many aspects of harmony—including an emphasis on the attraction of the dominant chord to the tonic—arose during the _______ Baroque period
Late
The baroque music best known today comes from the ___________
Latest phase
The text of an opera is called ____________
Libretto
The main keyboard instruments of the baroque period were the __________ and ________________, both well suited for continuity of dynamics
Organ; harpsichord
_________________ of rhythm and melody in baroque music is continuity of dynamics: the level of volume tends to stay fairly constant for a stretch of time
Paralleling continuity
Late baroque music is predominantly ________________ in texture
Polyphonic
By the late Baroque period, _____________ returned to favor. Never before were _____________ so prominent and emphatic
Polyphonic texture; unstable chords
The late baroque period (1690-1750)...
Produced most of the baroque music heard today
In a recitative, how are words sung?
Quickly and clearly, often on repeated notes
In late Baroque music, rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning of a piece are...
Repeated throughout it
_____________ in late Baroque music provides a compelling drive and energy—the forward motion is ____________
Rhythmic continuity; rarely interrupted
In Italy, especially, music was composed for texts conveying extreme emotion, and the text __________ the music
Ruled
Medieval or church modes
Scales that had governed music for centuries
The position of court composer was one with many benefits, however, the composer was still a ___________
Servant
In late Baroque music, a piece might ____________ in texture, especially in __________________, where changes of mood in the words demand _______________
Shift; vocal music; musical contrast
____________ and ______________ made some subtle dynamic inflections for expressive purposes in Baroque music
Singers; instrumentalists
What characterizes the aria?
- A song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment - Outpouring of melody that expresses an emotional state
Monteverdi (1567-1643)
- Earlier Baroque period musician - Strove to create unprecedented passion and dramatic contrast in his works.
How does a fugue differ from a round?
- In a fugue, a voice can change to a new melody after presenting the subject - Ina fugue, a new voice presents the subject in a different key, whereas in a round a new voice starts in the same key
Opera commonly fuses together which of the following elements?
- Music - Costumes - Scenery - Acting
Which were important keyboard instruments of the Baroque period?
- Organ - Harpsichord
Clavichord
- Produced sound by means of brass blades striking the strings - Usually not used in large halls because its tone was too weak. - Ideal for home use - Cost was low and - Possessed a satisfying expressive - Wide popularity in Germany
How does the orchestra function during an opera performance?
- The conductor sets the tempo and cues singers - The orchestra sets the atmosphere and mood for the story
What creates a sense of directed motion for melody in Baroque period music?
- The continuous unwinding of a melody - Melodic sequence, the successive repetition of a musical idea at higher or lower pitches
Which statements describe the basso continuo?
- The keyboard player improvises chords following written numbers above the bass part - Has the effect of emphasizing the bass part - Usually played with a keyboard instrument and an instrument such as a cello or bassoon
What were characteristics of musicians in baroque society?
- Towns employed musicians to play in churches and for events as processions - Musicians commonly taught their art to their sons - Italian music schools were connected with orphanages
Three phases of the Baroque period:
1. Early (1600-1640) 2. Middle (1640-1690) 3. Late (1690-1750)
Baroque Period
1600-1750
Monteverdi's music is important because it is a bridge between __________ centuries
16th and 17th
Bach's death in ________ ended the Baroque period
1750
One concerto consists of ____________ movements
3
On what is Monteverdi's first great opera, Orfeo, based?
A Greek myth
What does the Italian term basso continuo refer to?
A bass line and chordal accompaniment usually played by a harpsichord and another instrument
Opera
A drama sung to orchestral accompaniment
What is a movement in musical composition?
A piece that sounds fairly complete and independent and is part of a larger composition
The ____________, could make gradual dynamic changes, but only within a narrow range—from about ppp to mp
Clavichord
How did Bach handle texture?
Bach inclined toward a consistently polyphonic texture
Other baroque masters—_________________, _____________, _____________, ______________—were largely forgotten until the twentieth century.
Claudio Monteverdi Henry Purcell Arcangelo Corelli Antonio Vivaldi
Baroque composers ______________ in their treatment of musical texture
Differed
Early baroque composers used ____________ with a new freedom to depict extreme emotions in their texts
Dissonance
A baroque melody gives an impression of _________________ rather than of balance or symmetry
Dynamic expansion
The ____________ was one of the most revolutionary periods in music history
Earliest Baroque period
Many baroque melodies sound _____________ and _______________
Elaborate; ornamental
Affections
Emotional states such as joy, grief, and agitation represented in late baroque music through specific musical languages. Specific rhythms or melodic patterns were associated with specific moods
True or false: Tone color was the most important element for composers of the Baroque period
False
Two giants of the Baroque period
George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach
How did Handel handle texture?
Handel used much more contrast between polyphonic and homophonic sections
What musical texture did early Baroque musicians favor?
Homophonic texture
Early baroque composers had emphasized ________________; late baroque composers gloried in _____________.
Homophonic texture; polyphony
Early Baroque music typically has a _______________ texture, and late Baroque music had ____________ texture
Homophonic; polyphonic
In late Baroque period music, _____________ between the various lines is very common
Imitation
In Baroque music, a short opening phrase is often followed by a _______________ with an unbroken flow of ______________
Longer phrase; rapid notes
The medieval or church modes gradually gave way to _________________________.
Major and minor scales
In late Baroque period music, a melodic idea heard in one voice is likely to _______________________________________________ as well.
Make an appearance in the other voices
This sense of directed motion in Baroque music is frequently the result of a _______________
Melodic sequence
In Baroque music, there is a continuous expanding, unfolding, and unwinding of _________
Melody
During the ___________ phase of the baroque (1640-1690), the new musical style spread from ________ to practically every country in Europe
Middle; Italy
The beat in Baroque music is emphasized __________ in baroque music than in most Renaissance music
More
Striking changes of emotion in a text may inspire corresponding changes in the __________
Music
Which of the following is a true statement about late Baroque music? - Composers stopped using bass continuo - Music with polyphonic texture gained importance
Music with polyphonic texture gained importance
During the baroque era there was an increasing demand for ______________ music for a variety of venues and occasions
New
Gradual changes through crescendo and decrescendo are _______ prominent features of baroque music
Not
A baroque piece usually expresses __________________: what begins joyfully will remain joyful throughout
One basic mood
Early Baroque musicians felt that words could be projected more clearly by using just ____________ with a chordal accompaniment
One main melody
In late Baroque music...
One mood is maintained at some length before it yields to another
An _________________ will be heard again and again in the course of a baroque piece. Even when a melody is presented in varied form, its character tends to remain __________
Opening melody; constant
Musical discussion by a group called the Camerata in led Florence around 1575 led to the creation of a vocal style called recitative, which in turn led to the development of a type of performance called __________
Opera
Italian composers of the early baroque created __________. Their melodic lines imitated the __________ and __________ of speech
Opera; rhythms; inflections
In late Baroque period music, the ____________ and _________ lines are the most important
Soprano; bass
Melodic sequence
Successive repetition of a musical idea at higher or lower pitches
Terraced dynamics
Sudden alternation between loud and soft
When the dynamics do shift in Baroque music, the shift is _____________, like physically stepping from one level to another. This alternation between loud and soft is called ______________
Sudden; terraced dynamics
During the late Baroque period, what type of dynamics was commonly used?
Terraced or abrupt dynamic changes
Describe concerto grosso
The concerto grosso contrasts and alternates between a small group of soloists and a large group
Generally, how are rhythmic patterns used in Baroque period music?
They start off the piece, and are repeated throughout
What instruments are well suited for continuity of dynamics?
The organ and harpsichord
Why were castratos important and unique?
They had the lung power of men and vocal range of women
In general, why did baroque musicians write music?
To fit specific needs of their employers
By about 1690, major or minor scales were the _____________________________________
Tonal basis of most compositions.
In which city did the first public opera house open in 1637
Venice
Many compositions during the middle Baroque period were written for specific instruments, the ____________ being most popular.
Violin family
The prime exception to this baroque principle of unity of mood occurs in ____________.
Vocal music