Western Art Music: Baroque Period (Part 1)

​Baroque Music

1600-1750

​Quick Facts

• Preceded by the Renaissance (c.1400-1600) and followed by the Classical period (c.1750-1830).

• It was a movement that started in Italy but spread across Europe.

• It is known for its complexity, drama, emotional exuberance, tension, and grandeur.

• Ornamentation, dissonance, long phrases, and polyphonic textures were often-used compositional techniques.

• Performers were expected to improvise and add ornamentation in performance.

Multiple Select

Which of the following is usually associated with the Baroque? Select all that apply

• Ornamentation

• Grandeur

• Complexity

• Drama

keyboard instrument + bass instrument, e.g. baroque organ/harpsichord and cello/viola da gamba that provide the bass line and harmony for a piece of music

a composition intended to be sung, as opposed to played; generally speaking any work for voices and instruments

​​Cantata

​a large scale piece for solo instrument + orchestra, usually in 3 movements (fast, slow, fast) - the first movement in sonata form

Concerto

​​Basso continuo

a piece for 2 or more soloists + orchestra popular in the Baroque but out of fashion in later eras, e.g. Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons"

​​Concerto grosso

​a set of self-contained instrumental movements of varying characters in the style of the popular dances of the time, often in the order Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue

​​Dance Suite

​musical notation system where a bass line has numbers above or below indicating the intervals needed to complete the implied harmony

Figured Bass

Study this graphic for a few minutes then take a couple of quiz questions

#QuickStudy

Multiple Select

Select the TWO Baroque Composers

• Handel

• Haydn

• Heinrich Schultz

• Hamelin

Multiple Select

Select the TWO Baroque composers

• A Scarlatti

• D Scarlatti

• William Byrd

• Thomas Tallis

Study this graphic for a few more minutes, then take a couple more quiz questions

#SecondStudy

Multiple Choice

ODD MAN OUT: Who is NOT a Baroque Composer?

• Delibes

• Corelli

• Couperin

• Telemann

• Lully