The Baroque Era

The Baroque Era

1600 to 1750

The Baroque Era was a time of absolute monarchy and religious conflict. The gap
between wealth and poverty created distinct separation. This era also saw
developments in science, math and medicine and these advancements and other
broadening insights gave rise to new currents in philosophy. Over time, these historical
events where displayed and reflected in the art and the music of this era and the
Baroque came to be recognized as the overly ornate.

This began with a group of intellectuals, poets, and musicians who have been credited
with the creation of the first operas. Florentine Camerata introduced the monodic style
of singing in which a single vocal line was used to deliver the text with clarity and
expression. This all grew from their desire to re-create ancient Greek drama as it led to
the invention of opera. The novel musiche is publication that includes examples of the
monodic style, filled with madrigals and arias for solo voice and continuo. In its
introductory remarks, the composer offers advice on how to add ornamentation to
elaborate vocal lines. From this then also emerged stile rappresentativo. Italian for
representational style, the term was used by the Florentine Camerata musicians to
describe the monodic style. A recitative-like melody moving freely over a foundation of
simple chords in which the music was meant to heighten the emotional power of the
text.

This age of ornate musicality was influenced by the evolution of a certain instrument.
We see specific importance on the clavier, the clavichord, and the harpsichord. The
clavier is the German word for any keyboard instrument other than the organ. More
specifically the clavichord is a small rectangular keyboard instrument whos sound is

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generated by small metal tangents that strike the strings inside the instrument. With the
clavichord the application of vibrato to the key produced an expressive sound. On the
other hand, the harpsichord is a keyboard instrument whos sound is generated by small
quills inside the instrument that pluck the strings. The harpsichord often had two
manuals (sets of keys).

The Baroque era saw some very brilliant composers, each becoming known for their
own specialties. Claudio Monteverdi, composer of The Coronation of Poppea, was
largely committed to projecting the meaning of the words. Henry Purcell, composer of
Dido & Aeneas, found fame in his compelling lyricism. Johann Sebastian Bach,
composer of the Brandenburg Concerto, had an extreme faith in his God and, as a
virtuoso organist, displayed the ultimate Baroque craftsmanship. George Frideric
Handel, composer of the Water Music Suites, was known to be a cosmopolitan figure
who embodied the internationalism of his time. And Domenico Scarlatti, composer of
Sonata in D+, found his niche in idiomatic writing as a brilliant harpsichordist.

As these composers have displayed distinguishable characteristics, so does the

Baroque era display unique characteristics to its music. The word Baroque comes
from the potuguese barroco, meaning irregularly shaped or misshapen pearl. It was
first used as a derogatory term in reference to the overly ornate art of the era but is now
applied to art, architecture and music of the 17th and early 18:th centuries. The features
of its music include basso conitnuo, figured bass, ground bass, libretto, terraced
dynamics, and homophonic and polyphonic textures. This era saw the crystallization of
the major-minor system which provided the harmonic backbone for creative features
such as The Affections, binary form, ternary form and rounded-binary form. It also
played a part in the choosing of pairing dance suites which could include an allemande,
courante, sarabande or gigue and were often paired depending of the key.

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The Baroque resulted in an ornate and beautiful repertoire that was urged on by the
quest to express human emotion through music as it was realized in both vocal and
instrumental genres of this era. The relationship between text and music became more
intimate than ever before and proved to display creative initiatives that would influence
the lead into the Classical era.