The Baroque into Classical

String Quartet

(Classical) A composition for solo string instruments, usually two violins, viola and cello; it is widely regarded as the supreme form of chamber music

Binary Form (AB)

(Classical) A form comprised of two complementary sections, each of which is repeated.

Sonata Form

(Classical) A formal model for individual movements developed in the Classical period and typically used in instrumental genres such as symphony, sonata, and string quartet. Reliably in a sonata form movement, there will be three distinct sections: Exposition: The first section presents the basic material of the piece; for that reason, it is called the exposition. Development: In the next large section, material from the exposition is reexamined, "discussed," "argued," fragmented, reassembled, juxtaposed in new ways in a generally dramatic atmosphere. Recapitulation: Finally the opening section returns, to some degree changed for the sake of variety and also to make it more stable and conclusive. These three sections are the basic constituents of sonata form movements. (Note that this organization resembles literary models, say, the form of an essay: exposition of ideas, development of those ideas, final recap and summary. Metaphorically, one might call sonata form a logical discourse on stated themes, or a drama in the abstract.)

Galant Style

(Classical) A style in mid-eighteenth-century Rococo music involving a certain delicacy, grace, and simplicity of effect within a homophonic texture. The galant style can be precious and superficial, but at its best it is a vital element in the expressive palette of composers including Haydn and Mozart.

Minuet and Trio Form

(Classical) Form that joins two binary form minuets to create an ABA pattern where A is the minuet and B is the trio

Variation Form

(Classical) Form that presents an uninterrupted series of variants (each called a variation) on a theme; The theme may be a melody, a bass line, a harmonic plan, or other musical subject

Symphony No. 94 "Surprise"

(Classical) Franz Joseph Haydn Nickname of Haydn's Symphony in G major, No.94 (Hob. 1: 94), composed in London 1791 , so called because of a sudden forte drumbeat in the slow movement. In German, the symphony is known as mit dem Paukenschlag (With the drumstroke), a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of an otherwise piano (quiet) opening theme in the variation-form second movement. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic, as if nothing had happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke. The early symphony was made up of either three or four movements. With respect to large-scale form, the fast-slow-fast (or fast-slow-moderate) movement sequence familiar from the Baroque concerto and overture furnished the basic pattern for the early symphony, and it continued to appear prominently throughout the period, especially outside the Viennese sphere of influence. Second movements of early symphonies are generally in the relative or tonic minor, the dominant, or the tonic, with the subdominant coming to the fore after about 1750. The Surprise Symphony is scored for a Classical-era orchestra consisting of two each of flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, plus timpani, and the usual string section consisting of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. The symphony belongs to a group of pieces called the London symphonies. The novel use of the timpani in the symphony was a first. The use of humor in the piece was also rather novel. I. Adagio - Vivace assai (fast) II. Andante (slow) III. Menuetto: Allegro molto (dance) IV. Finale: Allegro molto (very fast)

The Creation

(Classical) Franz Joseph Haydn Oratorio composed in 1797 and 1798, a work that in the next century would rival Handel's Messiah in popularity. What strikes modern ears in Haydn's version of Chaos is not wildness, but rather a tremendous freshness of sound, avoiding most of the familiar harmonic and melodic grooves. The climax, a mighty C major chord as the choir proclaims "And there was Light," is a soul-stirring moment. The last public appearance of Haydn's life was at an 1808 performance, when during the piece the old man became so emotional that he had to be carried out of the hall in a chair. As he left, his onetime pupil Beethoven rose to kiss his hands and forehead; at the door Haydn paused to raise his hand in final benediction to the crowd and to his life in music.

Trumpet Concerto in E-Flat Major

(Classical) Franz Joseph Haydn Standard trumpet in Haydn's time did not have valves (The trumpet style of Bach's day, which achieved more notes by playing very high, had died out). Written for an instrument with keys something like the later saxophone, giving it a full range of notes. For some reason this ephemeral contraption inspired Haydn to write some of the finest melodies of his career. Allegro Andante cantabile Finale; allegro

"The Emperor" String Quartet

(Classical) Franz Joseph Haydn The quartet is an anthem that was written for Emperor Francis. In it, (the second movement) Haydn quotes the melody from "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" ("God Save Emperor Francis"). He was inspired to write the anthem after returning from London and hearing "God Save the Queen". Lorenz Leopold Haschka (1749-1827) wrote the lyrics, and Joseph Haydn composed the melody. It is sometimes called the "Kaiserhymne" (Emperor's Hymn). The quartet is representative of a genre that Haydn clearly established as his own. Further, it represents the phenomenon of the injection of politics into music. Allegro Poco adagio; cantabile Minuetto. Allegro Finale. Presto

Rococo

(Classical) In the visual arts the Rococo was a time of decorativeness even beyond Baroque tastes, a hyperbolic extravagence of ornament, a devotion to sheer pleasure. Rococo composers virtually abolished counterpoint; the main quality pursued was galanterie - simple, tuneful, and rather breathlessly precious (in the end, usually superficial as well).

Franz Joseph Haydn(b Rohrau, Lower Austria, 1732; d Vienna, 1809 )

(Classical) Known as the "Father of the Symphony". In the late 18th century he took on Beethoven as his student. Equally (if not more so) regarded as the "Father of the String Quartet". Lived in the patronage of the Princes of Esterhaze in the forests of Hungary Famous as early as the mid-1760s, by the 1780s he had become the most celebrated composer of his time, and from the 1790s until his death was a culture-hero throughout Europe. Since the early 19th century he has been venerated as the first of the three 'Viennese Classics' (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven). He was the primary influence (as teacher/mentor) of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart In the 20th century he was understood primarily as an 'absolute' musician (exhibiting wit, originality of form, and motivic saturation), but earnestness, depth of feeling and referential tendencies are equally important to his art.

The Enlightenment

(Classical) Themes: reason, nature, progress "...valued individual faith and practical morality over the church, preferred naturalness to artificiality, and promoted universal education and growing social equality." "...many of our most enduring and often unquestioned assumptions can be traced back to the Enlightenment, including the ideas that music serves human needs, that its primary purpose is pleasure rather than religious or social ends, that music is a universal language, that ideally music should appeal to a wide audience, that we should be able to understand a piece of music on first hearing, and that the feelings music suggests may change as quickly as we know our own emotions do."

Johann Christian Bach

(Classical) Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach , worked largely in London and was usually called the "London Bach" to distinguish him from others of his clan. Trained by his father and by his older brother C.P.E., J.C. worked in Italy for some years before settling in London. His lightness of touch influenced a whole generation of composers, notable among them the eight-year-old Mozart, whom J.C. befriended in London in 1764.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

(Classical) Where J.C. contributed lightness, grace, and formal clarity to the international musical dialogue, C.P.E. (the "Hamburg Bach") added a darker element that the time called the empfindsamer Stil, "expressive style." As Beethoven would be after him, he was famous for his fiery keyboard improvisations (on clavichord, harpsichord, and in later years on the piano - this was a transitional period for keyboard instruments). He seemed to be after something that the musical language of his period denied him - perhaps a kind of Beethovenian expressiveness. He remains a strange, elusive, fascinating figure in history. The rediscovery of his art is still in progress; the beginning point, in any case, is his keyboard sonatas.

Symphony

(Classical) A term now normally taken to signify an extended work for orchestra. The symphony became the chief vehicle of orchestral music in the late 18th century, and from the time of Beethoven came to be regarded as its highest and most exalted form. The adjective 'symphonic' applied to a work implies that it is extended and thoroughly developed

Keyboard Sonata in A Major, Wq. 48/6, H. 29 "Prussian Sonata No. 6"

(Classical) Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Allegro Adagio Allegro

Minuet

(Classical) Dance in moderate triple meter, two-measure units, and binary form.

Galant (French "elegant")

(Classical) Eighteenth-century musical style that featured songlike melodies, short phrases, frequent cadences, and light accompaniment.

Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings in E-Flat Major Op.7 No.5

(Classical) Johann Christian Bach Epitomizes the Rococo style Allegro di molto Andante Allegro

Doctrine of the Affections

A Baroque expressive aesthetic, common in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, holding that music's main purpose is to arouse the "affections" - i.e., emotions such as love, fear, anger, joy, and so on. Some theorists proposed specific tonal, rhythmic, and other musical/rhetorical devices to suggest specific emotions; these ideas probably influenced Bach, Handel, and many other composers. Another corollary was that each piece, or movement of a piece, should concentrate on a single affect, that is, one emotion

Concerto Grosso

A Baroque instrumental genre involving the alternation of a larger group, called the tutti or ripieno, and a smaller group called the concertino

Fugue

A contrapuntal procedure in which a short theme, called the subject, is treated in imitation

Recitative

A free, prose-like accompanied singing style that mimics the normal inflections and rhythms of speech. Invented for and traditionally used in opera, oratorio, and similar genres, both to take care of plot elements and to string together the more melodic sections such as arias and choruses

Trio Sonata

A multimovement piece generally for four players in three parts: two treble instruments and a continuo usually made up of harpsichord and a bass instrument such as cello. The most important chamber music genre of the Baroque

Sonata

A multimovement work for one or more solo instruments, as in "piano sonata" or "sonata for cello and piano." The term changed meanings in the course of music history, but the term most often refers to the genre as it developed in the Classical period and later, involving movements in sonata form and related forms

Aria

An accompanied solo song, usually in an opera or oratorio but sometimes freestanding

Oratorio

An extended musical setting of a sacred text made up of dramatic, narrative and contemplative elements. Except for a greater emphasis on the chorus throughout much of its history, the musical forms and styles of the oratorio tend to approximate to those of opera in any given period, and the normal manner of performance is that of a concert (without scenery, costumes or action). The oratorio was most extensively cultivated in the 17th and 18th centuries but has continued to be a significant genre. Handel's Messiah

L'incoronazione di Poppea

An opera by Claudio Monteverdi Less restricted by artificial conventions, more psychologically penetrating The theme of poppea is the irresistable power of love to corrupt individuals and society. Includes a vocal cast (singers) and instrumentalists Monteverdi's voice in dramatic music is among the most elastic of all time The music constantly changes to follow the emotions shifting fluidity among recitative , arioso (short, aria-like sections), instrumental interludes, choruses, and full blown arias with memorable lyric melodies

Passion

An oratorio on the subject of the death of Christ, based on one of the four Gospels, for example Bach's St. Mattew Passion

Cantata

An unstaged composition for vocal soloist(s), instruments, and sometimes chorus, progressing in an opera-like way with arias, duets, recitatives, choruses, and the like. It resembles an oratorio, but tends to be of medium length

The Four Seasons

Antonio Vivaldi Four solo concertos written in 1725 Flying scales, chattering chordal figures across the strings, imitations of birds, and atmospheric murmurings.

"Cruda Amarilli"

Claudio Monteverdi It is arguably the first madrigal that was written in the "new style" of composition. In the new style, or "seconda pratica" composers wrote more freely, mixing modes (scales) using dissonance and painting text more freely while dealing with topics that in religious music were taboo. The piece was grossly criticized and perhaps as a result gained popularity. The most famous of Monteverdi's critics was Giovanni Maria Artusi. In an open letter L'Artusi, overo delle imperfettioni della moderna musica (1600), Artusi publicly criticized Monteverdi's compositional practices (while managing to never mention him by name). This controversy became something of local lore, intrigue and legend. We see evidence in this madrigal of what scholars refer to as unprepared dissonance (Just as it sounds, a dissonance that comes to the listener unexpectedly according to the rules of counterpoint)

Empfindsam Style (German "sensitive style")

Close relative of the galant style, featuring surprising turns of harmony, chromaticism, nervous rhythms, and speechlike melodies.

George Frideric Handel

English composer of German birth. Though consistently acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of his age, his reputation from his death to the early 20th century rested largely on the knowledge of a small number of orchestral works and oratorios, Messiah in particular. In fact, he contributed to every musical genre current in his time, both vocal and instrumental. The composition of operas, mainly on Italian librettos, dominated the earlier part of his career, and are the finest (though not the most typical) of their kind. In his later years his commitment to large-scale vocal works, usually with a strong dramatic element, found a more individual outlet in English oratorio, a genre that he invented and established. Oratorio: An extended musical setting of a sacred text made up of dramatic, narrative and contemplative elements. Except for a greater emphasis on the chorus throughout much of its history, the musical forms and styles of the oratorio tend to approximate to those of opera in any given period, and the normal manner of performance is that of a concert (without scenery, costumes or action). The oratorio was most extensively cultivated in the 17th and 18th centuries but has continued to be a significant genre. Handel's Messiah

A multi-movement musical form common in the Baroque, usually made up of a sequence of dances or dancelike pieces. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the term often meant a series of excerpts derived from a longer work such as a ballet

Example: Tchaikovskys' Nutcracker Suite and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite

"Composers of the Baroque period sought musical means to express or arouse affections, that is, emotions such as sadness, joy, anger, love, fear, excitement, or wonder. The affections were thought of as relatively stable states of the soul, each caused by a certain combination of spirits, or "humors," in the body." Burkholder, J. Peter. A History of Western Music 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2010.

Examples: David, Michelangelo Method for Learning How to Draw the Passions, Charles le Brun

Johann Sebastian Bach

Father was a violinist who came from a long line of musicians. Bach was taught by his father until age nine when both his parents died. He went to study with his brother Johann Christoph Bach where he secretly copied his brothers best collection of organ music. He sang in the church choir at Lüneberg until his voice changed, then he became a harpsichordist and violinist. Thirty miles away in Hamburg worked the legendary organist Reinken; time and again, Bach made the journey on foot to Hamburg to hear the old master play. When he worked at St. Boniface church, his authorities had given him a month's leave to go hear the celebrated organist and composer buxtehude in Lübeck, two hundred miles away. Bach made the journey, on foot, and stayed listening and studying for five months. Perhaps St. Boniface was happy to see Bach move on to an organist position at Mülhausen in 1706. When he worked in Weimar he wrote some of his best organ works and fugues. He also spent time copying the music of Antonio Vivaldi. He picked up some of Vivaldi's melodic conciseness and rhythmic energy, tempering his dark German voice with a touch of Italian sunniness. In 1717, the Kapellmeister for the Duke of Weimer died and when Bach was not immediately named his successor he brusquely asked the duke for his release from his position. Wilhelm's response to this impertinence from a servant was to clap Bach in jail for three weeks. After this he moved to a position with Prince Leopold in Cöthen, during which he composed several solo partitas for violin and cello suites. Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major Following his brief position under Prince Leopold in Cöthen, Bach took a position at St. Thomas in Leipzig. Bach was expected to compose steadily. His output in the first decades at Leipzig included around 265 of his total of 295 cantatas, five masses, six motets, four passions, three oratorios, dozens of organ works, keyboard music, scores of other instrumental works, hundreds of chorale harmonizations; all on top of daily rehearsing and performing duties and teaching his family and private students.

Concerto Grosso in B-Flat Major Op. 3 No. 1

George Frideric Handel How does this work compare to the Concerto Grossi by Arcangelo Corelli? Form: Handel = 3 movements (fast, slow, fast); Corelli = 4 movements (slow, fast, slow, fast) Texture: Handel's concertino has solo woodwind choir and the tutti contains more instruments while Corelli's concertino has strings and continuo and the tutti contains less instruments. Handel: Higher energy and more ornamentation Corelli: More stately and pronounced

Water Music

George Frideric Handel This work may have been the music that was played for the legendary party in 1717, when king and court floated down the Thames in barges accompanied by a barge full of musicians playing Handel. Royal, stately rhythms under a joyous, largely homophonic texture.

Handel's Messiah

George Frideric Handel Messiah was composed in about 27 days and was premiered in Dublin at the Foundling Hospital (an organization for underprivileged children which still exists today as The Thomas Coram Foundation). The libretto for Messiah was designed and selected from the New and Old Testaments with utmost care by Charles Jennens (1700-73), a literary scholar and editor of Shakespeare's plays who was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. Messiah was first performed in its entirety at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street, on 13 April 1742, with 26 boys and five men from the combined choirs of St Patrick's and Christ Church cathedrals participating. Not originally envisaged as a Christmas tradition, its microcosm of Christian doctrine and faith became a timely thought-provoker for Lent and Easter (and eventually Christmas).

Saul, was verfolgst du mich?

Heinrich Schütz Work for soloists, strings, and two choruses The music pictures the moment when Saul, the harrier of Christians, is stopped on the road to Damascus by the voice of Christ, crying the words of the title, "Saul, why do you persecute me?" This short piece builds to a hair-raising climax, the inexorable shouts of "Saul! Saul! Saul!" leaping among the choirs as they ring accusingly in his ears and his soul. Here the words seem to become music of their own power, and together they become meaning and emotion.

Concerto

In the Baroque, usually a concerto grosso. In the late Baroque, Classical period, and later, usually a multimovement work for soloist and orchestra - most commonly a piano or violin soloist, though all instruments have had concertos written for them. There are also double and triple concertos and the like

St Matthew Passion

Johann Sebastian Bach Tells the story of Christ's death in alterations of narration and heartfelt reflection, interspersed with chorales and choruses. The great choruses set the scene and the emotional tone. In the arias the individuals speak of their anguish and their loss. The universality of the Christ story is that we all suffer, all lose our beloved, all seek solace, all are crucified. The _____________ expresses that sorrow and hope for all time and all humanity.

B Minor Mass

Johann Sebastian Bach The more formal side of the religious experience - the drama, prayer, entreaty, celebration, and affirmation of the Catholic Mass. Here the tone is elevated and objective, starting with the enormous fugue on Kyrie eleison that forms the first chorus. Perhaps most unforgetable is the central Crucifixus, a depiction of the crucifixion in inexorable steps that seem to lead down into the silent blackness of the grave. Spanning almost 2 hours in length, this monumental mass totals 27 movements

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047

Johann Sebastian Bach The Brandenburg concertos are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721. This is an example of a common orchestral genre of the Baroque known as the concerto grosso. A concerto grosso utilizes two ensembles, one large and one small. The large one is called the ripieno or tutti; this includes the orchestra. A group of soloists comprise the smaller group, entitled the concertino. The number of soloists and instruments used was entirely up to the composer to decide. The Brandenburg Concertos are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era. Instrumentation: Natural trumpet in F, recorder, oboe, violin (solo), two violins, viola, violone, and basso continuo (including harpsichord) Allegro (It.- Merry, i.e. quick, lively, bright. Often used as the title of a comp. Or movement in that style.) Andante (It., from andare, "to go"). Moving along, flowing (slowish but not slow). The word is often used for the title of a comp. Andantino. A diminution of andante. Some composers use it to mean a little slower than andante, but the commonly accepted modern usage means a little quicker. Allegro assai (It.: 'very' -A word often used in tempo designations (like the approximately equivalent adjective molto) to indicate the superlative.)

Clavier

Literally, "Keyboard." General Baroque term for all stringed keyboard instruments - harpsichord, clavichord, piano, etc. (though in some writings organ is also called clavier). In the nineteenth century, it became the usual German word for piano

Claudio Monteverdi

Monteverdi wrote only vocal works. Sacred: music for the purposes of worship or religious practices. Madrigals: most important secular genre of sixteenth century Italy (perhaps of the entire Renaissance). What made the madrigal so appealing was the emphasis composers placed on enriching the text through the musical setting (text painting) . In the madrigal, composers explored new effects of declamation, imagery, expressivity, characterization, and dramatization that paved the way for future dramatic forms such as opera. Operas- a drama set to music. Primarily known for his 9 Books of Madrigals and the opera Orfeo Secunda Practica: Monteverdi's term for a practice of counterpoint and composition that allows the rules of sixteenth-century counterpoint to be broken in order to express the feelings of a text.

Secunda Practica

Monteverdi's term for a practice of counterpoint and composition that allows the rules of sixteenth-century counterpoint to be broken in order to express the feelings of a text.

Antonio Vivaldi

Nicknamed the "Red Priest," a virtuoso violinist who studied priesthood and took his holy orders in 1703 (though he would eventually make his life composing and performing secular music). Worked as music director, composer, and violin teacher at Ospedale della Pietà. Experiencing 600 operas performed in city theaters in Venice during his lifetime, he wrote forty-nine of his own. He also wrote ninety solo and trio sonatas, and reams of cantatas, motets, and oratorios. In Germany, Bach studied Vivaldi's scores, copied them for performance and arranged some for other instruments. From Vivaldi's crisp, propulsive style Bach absorbed a new conciseness of melody and form, and profitable lessons in rhythm.

Henry Purcell

Only significant native English composer of the Baroque. Served as organist of Westminster Abbey. He wrote incidental music for dozens of plays, massive contrapuntal albums, cantatas, and odes. Dido and Aeneas "When I am Laid in Earth" His only true opera. Written for performance in a girl's school, it tells the classical story of Dido's love for Aeneas. Which is fatally frustrated by sorcery. Dido's culminating song as she faces death sets an anguished melody over a descending ground bass

Ornaments

Quick notes that "ornament" the main notes of a line. A regular feature of Baroque and Classical music, in which ornaments are often improvised by the player. Types of ornaments include trills, turns, and grace notes. A trill, for example, is the familiar scintillation of Baroque and Classical music involving a rapid alteration of a note with the one above

Arcangelo Corelli

Specialized in the chamber music genre called trio sonata and the orchestral concerto grosso. It usually involves four players in three parts - two treble instruments (violin, recorder, etc.) and continuo (harpsichord plus a low stringed instrument doubling the bass). Form = slow, fast slow, fast (as opposed to the Classical sonata form of fast, slow, fast.) Concerto Grosso Op. 6 Characteristic feature is textural contrast, seen in back-and-forth alterations of a large group called the tutti or ripieno (usually strings) and a smaller group of two to four soloists called the concertino.

Chorale

Strophic hymn in the Lutheran tradition, intended to be sung by the congregation

Heinrich Schütz

Studied Venetian polychordal style at its source, with Gabrieli and later Monteverdi at St. Marks. Worked as music director of the electoral chapel in Dresden Adapted Italian Catholic style and techniques to the more austere requirements of German Lutheranism. He picked up the guiding principle of Italian monody: The primacy of the words. He made the German language dance and sing as no other composer has

Classical

The Classical period in music tends to be associated with the movement called the Age of Reason or Enlightenment. Following the scientific and intellectual advances of the previous century, thinkers such as Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu, Locke, Jefferson, and Franklin laid groundwork for a new human agenda - a willed progress toward humanitarian and democratic societies, based on the belief that through reason and science humanity is capable of understanding the world and controlling its own destiny, without relying on an authoritarian decree or on whatever gods there may be.

Continuo

The basic "rhythm section" of Baroque music, usually consisting of a keyboard instrument plus a bass instrument, both playing the bass line of the piece, the keyboard also improvising an accompaniment from the harmonies of the piece

Giovanni Gabrieli

Worked as organist and choirmaster at the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice He wrote music to match and fill the space in which it as performed (e.g. grand archways and multiple galleries). He divided singer and players among the galleries; the separate choirs answered one another from front, back, and sides. Such a practice was known as polychordal style. Canzone Septimi Toni A 8 Most often played by brass choirs, making a marvelous effect as the dancelike rhythms chase back and forth among the groups. Among these pieces was the first to make use of contrasting dynamics (loud and soft). Effects of loudness and softness would become as much a feature of the Baroque as contrasting instrumental colors.