Baroque

1600-1750

baroque

Main Characteristics

• Predominant texture: melody-dominated homophony
• It aimed to arouse emotions and make musical performances spectacular
• It had an insistent, mecanical rythm with strong, reapeated beats
• It was based on diatonic scales and used overeaborated melodies

Religious Music

Instrumental & Vocal

Vocal

• Cantata: based on religious text with recitatives, arias and choruses
• Oratorio: similar to the opera, with a religious plot
• Passion: similar to the oratorio, of the passion and death of Christ.

• Mass
• Motet
• Coral

Cantata

Passion

Secular Music

Oratorio

Instrumental

• Orchestra: consisted of all the instrument families but was much smaller than it is today
• Fugue: was one of the main Baroque forms for keyboards instruments (1 movement) and used the imitative counterpoint
• Suite: pairs of dances performed together in the Renaissance (for a solist or orchestra)
• Sonata: consisted of 4 movements, alternating fast and slow tempos (written for 1-3 instruments)
• Concerto: consisted of 3 contrasting movements (concerto grosso, concertino and solo concerto)

Vocal & Instrumental

suite

• During this period, the first operas were created (in Italy): Orpheo (by C.Monteverdi), 1607.
• Opera: aimed to revive classical greek theatre. It's similar to a play but sung.

sonata

opera

Instruments

• Aerophones: flute, oboe, trumpet, basson and organ.

• Membranophones: kettledrums.

• Plucked string: Baroque guitar.

Composers and important works

• J.S. Bach: one of the greatest composers of all times. He developed the Fugue, inventions, and instruments such as the Organ.

• Antonio Vivaldi: also one of the most recognized composers of this era. He stood out in concertos, they required a lot of technique (virtuosism).

• J. F. Häendel: in his lifelong work we can recognize the "Water Music" and various concertos.

Fugue in D minor

Four seasons

Water Music

By Inés Vera, Sofía Bujeda, Pau Boj, Irene Blasco y Paola Bernad.