Mastering Baroque Music: Styles, Forms, and Composers

Characteristics of Baroque Music

The Baroque period was very different from the Renaissance. The first excerpt began with a deep bass line; the name of this type of bass line is basso continuo or continuous bass.

In the second excerpt, the music aims to create contrasts. The name of this musical style is stile concitato. The third excerpt gives a sensation of movement accompanied by a very mechanical rhythm, using a regular and marked pulse. The concept of meter appears, referring to the sequence of strong and weak beats that structure rhythm.

Secular and Sacred Vocal Music

Secular Vocal Music

Georg Friedrich Handel is an important Baroque composer. The opera is a very important vocal music genre which appeared in the Baroque, defined as musical theatre.

Sacred Vocal Music

The oratorio and the cantata were used by different churches. Oratorios are religious stories expressed in music and based on texts from the Bible. Oratorios are different from opera because they are not acted out on stage; they are performed by an orchestra, choir, and soloists who narrate the story without any decoration or action.

The Evolution of Instrumental Music

In the Baroque period, instrumental music became totally independent from vocal music. Instruments improved, and composers wrote music specifically for particular instruments.

The Concerto: Competition in Sound

The term concerto comes from the Italian concertare, which means to compete or rival. This instrumental genre is like a rivalry between different groups of instruments.

Concerto Grosso

This involves a rivalry or musical dialogue between a small group of instruments, called the concertino. Corelli and Handel were important composers in this genre. It disappeared at the end of the Baroque period because the solo concerto became more important.

Solo Concerto

A dialogue between one instrument and the orchestra. Torelli, Vivaldi, and Bach were important composers. The solo concerto is still a popular compositional form in modern times, typically following a Fast / Slow / Fast structure.

The Dance Suite

The suite: the dance suite was a series of dances.

Historical Auditorium: Baroque Music

The stile concitato is a technique where a single note is played with a very quick rhythm to create an effect of movement or dynamism. Vivaldi used this style in The Four Seasons to describe a storm in his music. Bach is the greatest composer of the Baroque period and is considered one of the most important composers of all time.

The Minuet and the Harpsichord

Baroque music: The minuet appeared in many dance suites in the Baroque period. The minuet is characterized by its ternary meter, a moderate tempo, and marked rhythm. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that is used to strengthen the harmony and also provide certain melodic adornments. It sounds very different from modern pianos. The harpsichord reinforces or plays the basso continuo.