Chapter 7 The Early Baroque Period The Rise of Instrumental Music

Key Terms Dance Stylized dances Suites Movements Virtuosity Fugue Variations Registrations Toccata Canzona Balletto Corrente Passacaglia Chromaticism

The Rise of Instrumental Music Vocal music was Renaissance ideal— instrumental music lagged behind Though it didn’t catch up with opera, instrumental music became much more important in Baroque era Many new instrumental genres created Three sources of inspiration for instrumental composers Dance, virtuosity, & vocal music

Dance Dance had always been popular Ballet was an integral part of new genres such as opera, especially in France Dances from popular operas were compiled in dance suites for orchestra Composers also wrote dances (often stylized) & suites for lute, harpsichord, & chamber ensembles The rhythms of favorite dances came to permeate all genres, even church music

Virtuosity Virtuoso instrumentalists always existed Due to low status of instrumental music: They improvised their music (played by ear) Their music was rarely written down In late Renaissance and early Baroque, composers began to write it down Written works did not capture complexity of virtuoso improvisation Performers came to use written music as a guide for (often ornate) improvisation

Vocal Music Baroque vocal music abandoned vocal ensemble music in favor of solo singers Imitative polyphony of older motets & madrigals moved to instrumental medium Imitative instrumental genres were written mostly for keyboard (organ & harpsichord) Often associated with church music Fugue is the most famous genre to emerge from these practices

Vocal Music (2) Vocal music also provided a large body of well-known tunes, sacred and secular Instrumental performers would often improvise on these tunes Instrumental composers began to write sets of variations on these tunes

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Leading organ virtuoso of early Baroque Worked in Florence & Rome (at St. Peter’s) Famous performer, composer, & teacher Known for expressiveness & extravagance of his improvising & his compositions His favored genres included: Toccatas, canzonas, stylized dances & suites, and sets of variations on vocal melodies

St Peter’s in Rome

Some Instrumental Works Toccatas— Free-form pieces that capture the spirit of improvised performances Canzonas— Rigorously organized works emphasizing imitative texture–ancestor of the fugue Stylized dances— Short binary form works, often in suites Sets of variations Based on vocal melodies or harmonic patterns

Frescobaldi, Suite (1a) Canzona— An imitative keyboard work modeled after Renaissance chanson. First section uses a single motive imitatively

Frescobaldi, Suite (1b) Canzona (cont.)— The second, contrasting section introduces a new motive for imitation Sections tend to end with strong cadences

Frescobaldi, Suite (2) Balletto and Corrente— Pairing slower and faster dances was a common practice (cf. pavane & galliard) Both dances use binary form, homophonic texture, same key, & very similar bass lines In other respects the dances differ–good examples of “inner” vs. “outer” form Balletto uses duple meter, slow tempo Corrente uses triple meter, faster tempo

Frescobaldi, Suite (3a) Passacaglia— A set of variations on a brief series of chords (and their accompanying bass line) Originated in Spain as an improvised bridge between verses of a song Frescobaldi may have been the first to turn it into a variation form Similar to ground bass works, but the bass line is repeated less strictly

Frescobaldi, Suite (3b) Frescobaldi’s Passacaglia Based on a four-measure harmonic pattern that ends (inconclusively) on the dominant At times he inverts or omits the ground bass Eighteen variations over this simple pattern Frescobaldi creates endless variety through changing rhythms and chromaticism In a surprise move, the last five variations are more sober, switching to minor mode