Baroque

What is Baroque? The Baroque era is a period of music history, lasting from approximately 1600 to 1750.

Why is Baroque important? The Baroque era is really important for several reasons: 1.It’s when ‘Major and Minor’ scales became used for the first time. 2.New instruments were invented such as the Violin and Harpsichord 3.Some really great music was written, by famous composers, and the pieces are still played today. 4.It saw big developments in the structure of music, such as the Concerto and the Fugue. Vivaldi

What was the Baroque era like? The cultural centre of the world was Venice, Italy. Baroque fashion was to dress very fancy! Baroque architecture was very decorative.

So what did Baroque music sound like? In a word... Fancy! Just like the style at the time, Baroque music is very DECORATED and very ORNAMENTED. The melody is often decorated with TRILLS and other flourishes. Baroque music is CONTRAPUNTAL, having several melodies INTERWEAVING making it sound complex. Dynamics changed very suddenly – LOUD sections, Followed by QUIET sections This was called STEP dynamics

What Baroque instruments should I listen for? Lots of strings! A HARPSICHORD looks like a keyboard, but the strings are plucked, making it sound more ‘shimmery’ than a piano. A combination of a Bass instrument and a Harpsichord is called a BASSO CONTINUO. They play the backing for a melody.

What would I not hear? Piano Invented around 1780 Clarinet Invented during this time but not very common

Who were the key composers? Handel British Bach German Vivaldi Italian

Summary of the Baroque Era Handel Bach Vivaldi ComposersMusical Style Very fancy and decorative melodies, sudden changes in dynamics. Instruments Harpsichord Strings, strings, and more strings! Now go back to the VLE and listen to some examples of Baroque Music