Baroque MusicBaroque Music

1600-17501600-1750

The Concerto

• Comes from concertare (to contend with)– the opposition of two dissimilar bodies of

sound

• Two types of Baroque Concerto– Solo concerto

• Violin favored instrument• Fast-slow-fast scheme

– Concerto grosso• Tutti or ripieno

Antonio Vivaldi(1678-1741)

• Known as the “red priest” because of his hair

• Music master at an all-girl school; although well-established career, died mysteriously in poverty

• Wrote over 500 concertos, about 230 for violin

• Wrote operas, cantatas, chamber music, an oratorio, a famous “Gloria”

• Known as “father of the concerto” (and for establishing the ritornello)

• Most of his concertos bear descriptive titles (Four Seasons)

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

• A group of four violin concertos

• Use of rapid scale passages, virtuosic

• Word painting – hear “birds,” etc., in the music. Poems, probably written by the composer, describe each season. Each line of the poem is printed at a particular spot in the music.

“Spring” from Four Seasons

• Description on p. 446

• Poem on p. 447

• Ritornello – a recurring theme that unifies the movement

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos

• Dedicated to the Margrave Christian of Brandenburg

• Concerto grosso (big group [tutti or ripieno] vs. little [concertino] group)

• Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (p. 450)– Three movement scheme– Concertino: violin, oboe, recorder, trumpet– Ritornello unifies the movement

The Baroque Suite

• Comes from an earlier tradition of pairing dances of contrasting tempos and characters.

• A set of dances (standard four w/others)– Allemande– Courante– Sarabande– Gigue

• Written in the same key• Orchestral suites and keyboard suites

Handel’s Water Music

• Played for a royal party, held by King George I, on the Thames River in London on July 17, 1717. (p. 453)

• Contains 22 numbers, divided into 3 suites

• Contains many of the “optional” dances; suite movements are not in the standard order

• Suite in D Major: Allegro, p. 454

Bach and the Chorale Prelude

• Prelude – a fairly short piece based on the continuous expansion of a melodic or rhythmic figure

• “pre” – before; a piece played to introduce a group of dance pieces, among others

• Preludes – used in church• Chorale preludes combine hymns with

improvisation• Bach wrote over 140 organ chorales

Bach’s Chorale Prelude:A Mighty Fortress is Our God

• p. 457-458

• 1709

• Features imitation and a cantus firmus melody (tune of the hymn)

• Composed for a three-manual organ

Bach’s Preludes and Fugues

• Well-Tempered Clavier– To “show off” the new system of tuning

keyboards– One Prelude & Fugue in EVERY key– Wrote 2 books of these

• Preludes – different characters• Fugues – imitative pieces (mostly 3 or 4 voices)

Bach’s Prelude and Fugue No. II in C Minor, WTC I

Performance on harpsichord

• Prelude – Perpetual motion– Contains free, cadenza-like section– Ends fast

• Fugue– 3 voices