Baroque instruments

Baroque instruments including hurdy gurdy, harpsichord, bass viol, lute, violin, and guitar

A double-manual harpsichord after Jean-Claude Goujon ( !"#$ %ee also& 'ist of period instruments

Strings

(iolino piccolo (iolin (iol (iola (iola d)amore (iola pomposa *enor violin Cello Contrabass 'ute

*heorbo Archlute Ang+lique ,andolin Guitar -arp -urdy gurdy

Woodwinds

Baroque flute Chalumeau Cortol (also .no/n as Cortholt, Curtall, 0boe family$ 1ulcian ,usette de cour Baroque oboe 2ac.ett 2ecorder Bassoon

Brasses

Cornett 3atural horn Baroque trumpet *romba da tirarsi (also called tromba spezzata$ 4latt trumpet %erpent %ac.but ( 5th- and early !th-century 6nglish name for 42& saquebute, saqueboute7 6%& sacabuche7 8*& trombone7 ,-G& busaun, busne, busune 9 16 (since the early !th century$ Posaune$ *rombone (6nglish name for the same instrument, from the early :th century$

Keyboards

Clavichord *angent piano

4ortepiano ; early version of piano -arpsichord 0rgan

Styles and forms

The Baroque suite
*he Baroque suite often consists of the follo/ing movements&

0verture ; *he Baroque suite often began /ith a 4rench overture (<0uverture< in 4rench$, /hich /as follo/ed by a succession of dances of different types, principally the follo/ing four& Allemande ; 0ften the first dance of an instrumental suite, the allemande /as a very popular dance that had its origins in the German 2enaissance era, /hen it /as more often called the almain= *he allemande /as played at a moderate tempo and could start on any beat of the bar=>?"@>?A@ Courante ; *he courante is a lively, 4rench dance in triple meter= *he 8talian version is called the corrente=>?"@>?A@ %arabande ; *he sarabande, a %panish dance, is one of the slo/est of the baroque dances= 8t is also in triple meter and can start on any beat of the bar, although there is an emphasis on the second beat, creating the characteristic )halting), or iambic rhythm of the sarabande=>?"@>?A@ Gigue ; *he gigue is an upbeat and lively baroque dance in compound meter, typically the concluding movement of an instrumental suite= *he gigue can start on any beat of the bar and is easily recogniBed by its rhythmic feel= *he gigue originated in the British 8sles= 8ts counterpart in fol. music is the jig=>?"@>?A@

*hese four dance types ma.e up the majority of !th-century suites7 later suites interpolate one or more additional dances bet/een the sarabande and gigue&

Gavotte ; *he gavotte can be identified by a variety of features7 it is in "9" time and al/ays starts on the third beat of the bar, although this may sound li.e the first beat in some cases, as the first and third beats are the strong beats in quadruple time= *he gavotte is played at a moderate tempo, although in some cases it may be played faster=
>?"@

Bourr+e ; *he bourr+e is similar to the gavotte as it is in ?9? time although it starts on the second half of the last beat of the bar, creating a different feel to the dance= *he bourr+e is commonly played at a moderate tempo, although for some composers, such as -andel, it can be ta.en at a much faster tempo=>?"@>?@ ,inuet ; *he minuet is perhaps the best-.no/n of the baroque dances in triple meter= 8t can start on any beat of the bar= 8n some suites there may be a ,inuet 8 and 88, played in succession, /ith the ,inuet 8 repeated=>?"@

Cassepied ; *he passepied is a fast dance in binary form and triple meter that originated as a court dance in Brittany=>?5@ 6Damples can be found in later suites such as those of Bach and -andel=>?"@ 2igaudon ; *he rigaudon is a lively 4rench dance in duple meter, similar to the bourr+e, but rhythmically simpler= 8t originated as a family of closely related southern4rench fol. dances, traditionally associated /ith the provinces of (avarais, 'anguedoc, 1auphin+, and Crovence=>