Baroque Era

opera background

"invented" in Florence, Italy, around 1600 first operas were composed by members of Florentine Camerata who were inspired by classical greek drama precursors of opera included Medieval liturgical drama (Hildegard von Bingen), madrigal cycles (Claudio Monteverdi), and italian intermedio (musical interludes between play acts)

virginal

(1) English name for HARPSICHORD, used for all types until the seventeenth century. (2) Type of HARPSICHORD that is small enough to place on a table, with a single keyboard and strings running at right angles to the keys rather than parallel with them as in larger harpsichords.

recitativo secco

-Italian for "dry recitative" -a speech-like, declamatory style of singing -supported only by continuo -employed in opera, oratorio, and cantata

stile rappresentativo

-Italian for "representational style" -the term used by the Florentine Camerata musicians to describe the monodic style -a recitative-like melody moving freely over a foundation of simple chords -the music was meant to heighten the emotional power of the text

oboe d'amore

-a mezzo-soprano oboe -pitched lower than a regular oboe with a pear-shaped bell

cantata

-a multi-movement choral work -sacred or secular -for soloists, chorus, and orchestra -consists of recitatives, arias, ensembles, and choruses

taille

-a tenor oboe with a pear-shaped bell

oboe da caccia

-an alto oboe -built in the shape of a curved hunting horn but with a pear-shaped bell that gave the sound an outdoor quality

le nuove musiche

1602, publication with examples of monodic style, advice on ornamentation to make elaborate vocal lines; italian for "The New Music", by Florentine composer Giulio Caccini; examples of the new musical texture, monodic style, the new "expressive style"

Rameau's Treatise on Harmony

1722 treatise suggested that figured bass represented different positions of same chord reduced amount of voice leading rules and established the basic harmonic thinking that we still use today

"ahi, caso acerbo" principal characters and plot summary

5 voice chorus in A minor, echoes orfeo's sorrow in losing Euridice and resolution to get her from underworld chorus laments cruelty of fate (acts like Greek chorus and comments on couple's shattered dreams)

chorale

A hymn tune associated with German Protestantism Intended for congregational singing (step/narrow leap) used as basis of cantatas and other genres many composed by Martin Luther sometimes adapted from Gregorian chants/other popular sources 4 voices (SATB) by composers like JS Bach

Binary form

AB, both parts often repeated, section A generally ends with authentic cadence in dominant/relative major key, frequently used in Baroque dances and keyboard pieces

Ternary form

ABA, section A generally ends with closed cadence in tonic key, section B generally creates contrast with different key/new material often used in Baroque arias

rounded binary form

ABA1, opening material from section A returns after B, key structure similar to binary form

"Thy hand, Belinda" (recitative principal characters and plot summary)

Aeneas left Dido's palace, tragic queen contemplates death Dido expresses sorrow to friend Belinda and prepares for death recitative begins in C minor and ends on dominant of G minor (prepares for next aria)

concerto grosso

Baroque concerto type based on the opposition between a small group of solo instruments (the concertino) and orchestra (the ripieno).

basso continuo

Baroque performance practice with usually 2 performers - 1 plays notated bass line, other realizing figured bass harmonies are usually played on keyboard instrument or plucked string instrument

the "affections"

Baroque philosophy inspired by ancient greek and roman writers and orators single affections (clear emotions) are projected throughout entire compositions

terraced dynamics

Baroque practice of changing dynamic abruptly (stark contrast instead of gradual change)

ritornello form

Compositional form usually employed in the baroque concerto grosso, in which the tutti plays a ritornello, or refrain, alternating with one or more soloists playing new material.

hornpipe

Country dance of the British Isles, often in a lively triple meter; optional dance movement of solo and orchestral Baroque suites. A type of duple-meter hornpipe is still popular in Irish traditional dance music.

Water music Hornpipe (suite 2, mvt II) background info (key, meter, form, tempo)

D major 3/2 ternary form (ABA) allegro

"When I am laid in earth" (aria) principal characters and plot summary

Dido embraces impending death and asks Belinda to remember her but to forget fate (G minor and triple meter underscores sombre mood)

harpsichord

Early Baroque keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by quills instead of being struck with hammers like the piano.

Dido and Aeneas background (genre, composer, first performance, librettist, source of plot)

English style opera, Purcell, 1689, Nahum Tate, Nahum Tate's Brutus of Alba/The Enchanted Lovers (1678) and epic poem Aeneid by Virgil

ordre

French term for "suite"

clavecin

French term for harpsichord

double

French term used for embellished version/variation of dance/movement performed as alternative to original during repeats/da capo/dal segno section can use standard ornaments or melodic variation in improvisatory style

canon

From Greek word for "law" strict genre of polyphonic composition - each voice enters in succession with same melody when each voice enters on same pitch = round

fugue

From Latin fugere ("to flee") highly structured polyphonic composition featuring imitative counterpoint built on theme/subject generally begins with successive entries of subject in each voices

Opera seria

Italian for "serious opera" sung throughout to Italian-language libretto generally based on historical/mythological subject, tragic/hero

opera

Italian for "work" drama that's sung combines vocal and instrumental music with drama, visual arts, and often dance includes recitatives, arias, ensembles, and choruses originated in Italy around 1600

L'Orfeo Background Information (genre, composer, first performance, librettist, source of plot, structure)

Italian style opera, Monteverdi, beginning of Baroque era (1607), Alessandro Striggio, Greek mythology, prologue and 5 acts

Rameau genres and examples

Keyboard: 3 collections of harpsichord music Ensemble: pièces de clavecin en concerts (character pieces for chamber ensemble) Opera: typically begin with French overture

da capo aria

Lyric song in ternary, or A-B-A, form, commonly found in operas, cantatas, and oratorios.

Handel genres and examples

Opera: rinaldo, guilio cesare, serse, and orlando Oratorio: messiah, judas maccabeus, and israel in egypt sacred vocal: ode for saint cecilia's day and te deum keyboard: suites for harpsichord, including suite no. 5 in e major (which contains air and variations nicknamed "harmonious blacksmith"), and organ concertos orchestral: suites such as water music and music for royal fireworks, concerti grossi, and organ concerto

"Tu se' morta" (recitative) principal characters and plot summary

Orfeo has learned from Messenger that Euridice is dead in his grief, he resolves to get her from underworld

agréments

Ornament in French music, usually indicated by a sign.

notes inégales

Seventeenth-century convention of performing French music in which passages notated in short, even durations, such as a succession of eighth notes, are performed by alternating longer notes on the beat with shorter offbeats to produce a lilting rhythm.

ritornello

Short, recurring instrumental passage found in both the aria and the Baroque concerto

Rameau pubications

Traité de l'harmonie (treatise on harmony) published in 1722 continued to publish treatises concerning aspects of tonal harmony throughout remainder of career

augmentation

a compositional device where a melody, theme or motif is presented in longer note-values than were previously used

monody

a general term connoting solo singing accompanied by a basso continuo in the early Baroque period

castrato

a male singer who was castrated before puberty and retains a soprano or alto voice

concerto

a musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale.

recitativo accompagnato

a recitative accompanied by the orchestra instead of merely the harpsichord; the opposite of simple, or secco, recitative

ground bass

a repeating melody, usually in the bass, throughout a vocal or instrumental composition

Arioso

a style of singing and a type of song midway between an aria and a recitative

Handel musical style

absorbed international styles of his time (German French and Italian) successful career as keyboard player and composer in Germany, Italy, and especially England opera and oratorio virtuosity and accessibility developed and invented genres (opera seria, English oratorio, orchestral and keyboard suite, organ concerto)

clavichord

an early stringed instrument like a piano but with more delicate sound

Cantata No. 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott background info (genre, composer, first performance, basis, librettist, language, translation of title, structure, performing forces)

cantata, JS Bach, late Baroque era (1715, revised ca 1744), chorale by Martin Luther (only used in movements I, II, V, and VIII), Salomo Franck, German, A mighty fortress is our God, 8 movements, SATB soloists with SATB chorus (strings, continuo and pairs of oboes - trumpets and drums added later by WF Bach)

Cantata No. 80, movement I background info and musical style

choral fugue, D major, common time, Allegro (assumed) procedure similar to fugal exposition canon and augmentation chorale melody is presented in imitative counterpoint chromatic dissonance produces word painting

Cantata No. 80, Movement V background info and musical style

chorale for unison chorus, D major, compound duple time, Allegro oboes contribute to authentically Baroque sound diminution

"With drooping wings" (chorus) principal characters and plot summary

chorus of cupids mourn Dido's tragic fate (4 voice choral setting with homorhythmic and imitative passages) keeps G minor tonality of Dido's lament (ponderous pace and quadruple meter)

suite

collection of stylized dance pieces

Cantata background

comes from Italian cantare ("to sing") began as form of chamber music for solo voice with continuo adopted into Lutheran church service in 18th century JS Bach composed over 300 sacred cantatas (only about 200 have survived)

Cantata No. 80, Movement VIII background info and musical style

common time, moderato, SATB chorus, oboes, strings, and continuo soprano sings original chorale melody, instruments double vocal parts

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major background info (genre, composer, dedication date, structure, performing forces)

concerto gross, Bach, late Baroque era (1721), 1 of set of 6 concertos (first concerto has 4 movements; others have 3), string orchestra and continuo in ripieno; violin, oboe, recorder, and trumpet in concertino

suite characteristics

contrasting stylized dances in same key allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue (optional movements include menuet, gavotte, passepied, prelude, and aria) individual dances are generally in binary form

"V'adore pupille" principal characters and plot summary

da capo aria Cleopatra disguises herself as servant to seduce Caesar and secure crown slow, triple-meter setting in F major (highlights seductive approach)

concerto grosso background

derives from Latin concertare ("to debate/collaborate"), In Italian concertare means "to reach agreement" original use was to reference mixed vocal and instrumental ensembles (opposite of a cappella) developed in Italy in 17th century as work for instruments and/or voices based on principle of contrast

La Poule musical style

double used ornamentation virtuosic notes inégales used dissonance propels towards authentic cadences section B begins in dominant key and ends in tonic key (typical of binary form)

opera characteristics

drama presented through music (all/most of text is sung) recitative, aria, ensembles, and choruses combines music, art, literature, theater, and (often) dance

Cantata No. 80, Movement II background info and musical style

duet for soprano and bass, D major, common time, allegro, soprano and bass soloists, oboe, violins, violas, and continuo bass begins with florid countermelody, soprano and oboe da caccia enter with decorated version of original chorale

Baroque

from Portuguese barroco meaning "irregularly shaped/misshapen pearl" first used as derogatory term to ornate art of 18th century now used to reference art, architecture, and music of 17th and early 18th centuries

Florentine Camerata

group of intellectuals, poets, and musicians who worked under patronage of Count Giovanni de Bardi in Florence (created opera in last decades of 16th century) objective was to recreate dramatic style of ancient greeks introduced monodic style of singing (single vocal line for textual clarity and expression) developed monody (musical texture where vocal melody unfolds over bass line supported by simple chordal accompaniment) members included Guilio Caccini, Jacopo Peri, vincenzo Galilei, and Count Giovanni de' Vardi

"Ahi, caso acerbo" musical style

homorhythm (syllabic text setting) alternates with imitative passages word painting

Suite background

in renaissance, dances were often paired to emphasize contrast (pavane and galliard combo) in Baroque era, dance suite elaborated on this contrast began in 17th century France - ordre was used to collect dances in same key in Germany, Johann Jakob Froberger established standard order for dances in 17th century suites were also composed for solo keyboard, strings, flute, and orchestra

Monteverdi notable genres

madrigal, opera, and sacred vocal

Water music Hornpipe (suite 2, movement II) musical style

majestic feeling syncopation imitation in brass section B modulates to relative minor (variation) Section B is more rhythmically and harmonically active

cantata characteristics

multi-movement vocal works can be sacred/secular vocal soloist(s) and chorus with instrumental accompaniment solo passages consist of recitatives and arias, other movements include ensembles and choruses sacred cantatas were performed as part of Lutheran church service in 18th century Germany

figured bass

musical shorthand of Baroque era, numbers placed above/below bass line to show harmony "realized" by basso continuo, harmonic framework for vocal/instrumental work

Guilio cesare in egitto background info (genre, composer, first performance, librettist, source of plot)

opera seria, Handel, 1724, Nicola Francesco Haym, ancient Roman history

Water music background info (genre, composer, first performance, performing forces, structure)

orchestral suite Handel late Baroque era (1717) Baroque orchestra: strings, continuo, trumpets, horns, oboes, and bassoons 3 suites, total of 22 movements

Rameau musical style

organist and harpsichordist greatest fame as music theorist and composer of operas developed keyboard works characteristic keyboard textures and forms (strong harmonic direction, frequent use of seventh chords, clear modulation schemes, precisely notated embellishments, and occasional use of counterpoint)

Purcell musical style

organist, singer, prolific composer (despite short life) embraced elements of Baroque style (major-minor tonality, figured bass, ground bass, sequential repetition, ornamentation) embraced elements of national styles word painting virtuosic, idiomatic writing

CPE Bach's Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments

published in 1753, practical guide for all aspects of keyboard performance, includes chapters directly related to keyboard playing (fingering, figured bass) and those that apply to all instruments (embellishments, improv, harmony, and counterpoint)

"Tu se' morta" (recitative) musical style

recitative-style moves over basso contintuo recitativo secco and homophony word painting and dissonant intervals

"thy hand belinda" (recitative) musical style

recitativo secco with basso continuo, word painting

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major musical style

ritornello form soloists take turns presenting concertino theme cheerful mood fortspinnung techniques (sequential imitation) modulates to several related keys

Purcell notable genres

sacred vocal, opera, semi-opera, solo song, keyboard, and instrumental ensemble

"V'adore pupille" musical style

sarabande fortspinnung ritornello small ensemble provides onstage accompaniment for Cleopatra's aria, full orchestra punctuates and frames vocal phrases figured bass Caesar responds to Cleopatra using recitativo secco cadenza

Monteverdi musical style

served as music director for Duke of Mantua served as Maestro di capella at Basilica of San Marco in Venice Embraced elements of baroque style (figured bass, major-minor tonality, monody, affections) Elevated opera to its full artistic potential committed to projecting meaning of words

concerto grosso characteristics

several movements for soloist(s) and orchestra, usually 3 movements (fast-slow-fast) 2 types of concerto: solo concerto (soloist) and concerto grosso (group of soloists) based on contrast, outer movements use ritornello form

La Poule background info (genre, composer, publication date, performing forces, key, meter, tempo, form)

suite character piece from collection entitled Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin Rameau late Baroque era (1729) harpsichord G minor simple triple none given, but played in spirited manner binary form (AB)

libretto

text of an opera

ripieno

the body of instruments accompanying the concertino in baroque concerto music.

concertino

the group of instruments that function as soloists in a concerto grosso

Bach musical style

ultimate of Baroque music excelled in sacred music perfected existing genres (especially fugues) mastered contrapuntal art national influences (German=simply homophony and complex polyphony, Italian=lyricism of arias and dynamic instrumental style, French=dance rhythms, overtures, and ornamentation) keyboard music of all levels grouped and organized works sacred works for Lutheran Church

chorus

vocal ensemble, large/small, usually consisting of several voice types adds musical variety to operatic works singers may participate in plot or can be set apart from staging (like narrator)

Bach notable genres

vocal genres: sacred and secular cantata, oratorio, passion, individual mass movements (Kyrie-Gloria pairs and mass in B minor) Instrumental genres: orchestra, chamber, harpsichord and clavichord, organ

recitative

vocal line that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech

"With Drooping Wings" (chorus) musical style

word painting

"When I am laid in earth" (aria) musical style

word painting solo vocal line moves independently (lyrical character of many Baroque arias) 5 measure ground bass is built on descending chromatic pattern (heard 11 times)

Aria

• Italian for "air" • a solo song with accompaniment, heard in an opera, oratorio, or cantata • highly emotional and often virtuosic • may have lyrical or dramatic qualities; often serves to reveal the characters' most intimate emotions