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