• Bach - keyboard music, suites, cantatas

• Handel - oratorios, operas, suites

• Vivaldi - concertos (many for violin)

1600-17501600-1750GERMANY, ITALY, ENGLAND, FRANCEGERMANY, ITALY, ENGLAND, FRANCE

TITLE: Hallelujah Chorus, from Messiah (1741)COMPOSER: George Frederick HandelGENRE: oratorioINSTR: soloists, chorus & orchestraNOTES: - oratorio is a large musical work consisting of solos, duets, choruses- unlike operas, they are not staged or acted, and often deal with sacred topics

CHARACTERISTICS

FORMS:many new forms, including:• concerto (features usually 1 instrument w/ orch)• opera (large-scale work for singers & orch)• oratorio (like opera, but sacred and no costumes or acting)• cantata (like oratorio, usually for special occasion)• sonata (instrumental work; usually 3-4 parts)• fugue (highly polyphonic instrumental work)• suite (large-scale work for orchestra)

INSTRUMENTS:• rise of instrumental music (voice still very common, but instruments become more popular; orchestra begins to form)• strings, harpsichord, voice, organ, flute, oboe, french horn, timpani

CHARACTERISTICS

ELEMENTS AND FEATURES:• polyphonic texture• religious music still very prominent (cantatas..)• binary forms predominate• terraced dynamics (no < >)• improvisation (instrumentalists would be expected to add their own interpretation)• ornamentation (trills...) used a great deal (as a way to make the melody more intricate or fancy)

CHARACTERISTICS

• Haydn (1723-1809)– 104 symphonies; string quartets

• Mozart (1756-1791)– 41 symphonies; operas; piano works

• Beethoven (1770-1827)– 9 symphonies; piano sonatas

1750-18251750-1825GERMANY/AUSTRIA, FRANCE, ITALYGERMANY/AUSTRIA, FRANCE, ITALY

TITLE: Voi Che Sapete, from Marriage of Figaro (1786)COMPOSER: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartGENRE: operatic ariaINSTR: soprano & orchestraNOTES: - translates to ‘You who know (what love is)’- arias (as opposed to recitatives) are more melodic and emotional; here, sung by the page (Cherubino), he describes his love for the Countess- opera buffa (comic opera)

CHARACTERISTICS

FORMS:• symphony• string quartet• sonata• theme & variations• rondo (ABACA)• minuet• opera (Mozart)

CHARACTERISTICS

INSTRUMENTS:• to the orchestra:

add trumpet, clarinet, trombone

CHARACTERISTICS

ELEMENTS AND FEATURES:• highly structured• homophonic texture• consonance• aristocratic audience• secular music• ternary forms• dynamics: < and >