Baroque and Classical Period Midterm Flashcards
Orfeo: Tu se’ morta
Who: Claudio Monteverdi
What: An arioso from the opera Orfeo. Based on the Greek legend of Orpheus. This arioso specifically is a poignant monologue by Orfeo lamenting the death of his bride Eurydice.
Where: Written for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua in Italy.
When: 1607
Why do we care: Tu Se’ Morta comes from one of the first and best examples of the emergence of opera during the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Monteverdi’s compositional style for this opera was quite advanced compared to other composers of this time, where the focus turned from mathematically correct music to the feelings evoked by the music. This piece has a solo vocalist and basso continuo, and is primarily homophonic. It does a great job using word painting to express Orfeo’s sorrow, we hear descending pitches accompanied by dissonant chords when referring to the King of Shadows, and an ascending melody for words like “stars”, “sky”, or “sun”. The use of dissonances and a minor key also play into its expressiveness. Monteverdi also employs stile rappresentativo to allow for heightened emotional expression. The chorus and small orchestra provide a mostly homophonic texture, with some polyphony and dissonance on the word “cruel”.
In ecclesiis
Who: Giovanni Gabrieli
What: “Concertato” motet
Where: St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy
When: 1615
Why do we care: This composition, and many of Gabrieli’s compositions, are significant for their innovative use of spatial and instrumental arrangements. This concertato motet utilizes the cori spezzati technique, taking advantage of the architecture of St. Mark’s Basilica to arrange multiple choirs in different locations to create antiphonal effects. This technique is a hallmark of late Renaissance and early Baroque music. The overall structure of the piece is rondo-like and similar to certain types of liturgical performances, where it has the main text performed in monodies, solos, and duets with an alleluia refrain in between each section. There is a mixture of syllabic and melismatic writing, with long melismas being applied to the refrain and more florid solo passages.
Lagrime mie
Who: Barbara Strozzi
What: Cantata, from her third book of cantatas and arias titled “The Pleasures of Euterpe”
Where: Italian
When: 1659
Why do we care: Barbara Strozzi was one of the most prolific publishers of secular music of her time. This piece is notable because she was a female composer in an era when women were not prominent composers, much less prominent in anything. Her mastery of text painting and emotional depth are unmistakable, making it a quintessential piece of the Italian Baroque. It is a lamento, where the structure alternates between arioso and a repeated refrain. It is set in madrigal-type verse, with 7 and 11 syllable lines and no regular rhyme scheme. Since this is a lament, the weeping motif is emphasized with descending bass in triple meter. There are timely uses of dissonances and a descending harmonic minor scale to further convey lament as a rhetorical device in the recitative-like sections.
Fiori Musicali: Ricercar
Who: Frescobaldi
What: Liturgical organ music, forerunner to the fugue.
Where: Italy
When: 1635
Why do we care: This piece comes from a landmark collection of liturgical organ music and stands as a prime example of the early Baroque ricercar. Formally, the ricercar adheres to a continuous imitative texture, with clearly articulated points of imitation to build on its contrapuntal structure. This ricercar demonstrates unusual flexibility and expressivity compared to more rigid fugal designs of later Baroque composers. The subject of this ricercar is often transformed through inversion, augmentation, and stretto, demonstrating Frescobaldi’s skills in motivic manipulation.
Jephte: Plorate, filii Israel chorus
Who: Carissimi
What: oratorio, lament
Where: Italy
When: 1648
Why do we care: This final chorus of Jephte exemplifies emotional depth and dramatic expressivity that characterize the oratorio’s lamenting style. We can hear a rich use of imitative polyphony, homophonic declamation, and expressive dissonance, which convey profound grief. There are also descending lines and suspensions used to mirror the weeping and mourning of the Israelites. The way Carissimi uses an imitative texture with voices entering sequentially really creates the sense of communal mourning. This chorus serves as both a climactic and cathartic moment in the oratorio, exemplifying the fusion of drama and sacred expression that was a hallmark of early Baroque oratorio tradition.
Trio Sonata Op. 3, no. 2, mov. 4
Who: Arcangelo Corelli
What: Trio sonata
Where: Italy
When: 1689
Why do we care: Corelli was particularly famous for his trio sonatas. His opus 3 trio sonatas, from which this movement is taken from, are considered sonata da chiesa because they use an organ rather than a harpsichord, making them suitable to be played during church services. This piece follows the binary form, and the two distinct sections are not particularly contrasting as they are based on the same melodic material. As for the texture, this piece uses a contrapuntal texture as well as a fugal texture in the opening. An interesting element of the harmonies in this piece is that Corelli uses sequences in the form of patterns of fifths. The piece uses the style of a gigue and evokes the sense of a dance, though it is not meant to be danced to.
L’estro Armonico: Concerto Grosso no. 8, mov. 1
Who: Antonio Vivaldi
What: Concerto for two violins
Where: Amsterdam
When: 1711
Why do we care: This is one of Vivaldi’s most celebrated works in his outstanding collection of twelve concertos published in 1711. As a concerto grosso, this piece exemplifies dynamic interplay between a concertino and the ripieno. The first movement, Allegro, follows ritornello form, where there is a recurring orchestral theme alternating with solo passages. The ritornello helps solidify the tonic of the key whenever soloists take the piece into a new key through sequences, often done through the circle of fifths. This structure was typical of Vivaldi’s concertos and helped inspire Bach, and other later composers in the way they structure their concertos, where the three movements go fast, slow, and fast.
Suite no. 6 in C Major: Courante
Who: Johann Jakob Froberger
What: Courante
Where: idk
When: 1654
Why do we care: Froberger was influenced by both French and Italian compositional styles, and he blends these traditions seamlessly, incorporating elaborate ornamentation and expressive melodic lines reminiscent of the French school while maintaining strong harmonic foundation rooted in the German and Italian traditions. This keyboard music is particularly French sounding because it uses style brise, which is influenced by lute-playing. It was a very popular style of keyboard music at that time. This courante follows a binary structure, which is typical of Baroque dance music. It explores both duple and triple meter, and we can hear circle of fifths movement throughout the piece as well.
“Mystery” Sonatas: no. 11: The Resurrection, mov. 2: Surrexit Christus Hodie
Who: Biber
What: Sonata
Where: Germany
When: 1674
Why do we care: Biber was a well-respected violinist and composer who wrote a set of fifteen Mystery or Rosary Sonatas. The tunings for these pieces are unique because they are done in the scordatura style. Even more interesting, in The Resurrection, the violinist is required to interchange the middle two strings, resulting in a symbolic cross shape. This sonata is programmatic, telling the story of the triumphant nature of Jesus’ resurrection. Surrexit Christus Hodie resembles a dance, drawing on the gigue. The triple meter and bouncing bowing techniques contribute to an atmosphere of exultation and spiritual transcendence, and the scordatura tuning creates a bright, resonant sonority that underscores the jubilant character of the piece’s narrative.
Armide: Overture
Who: Jean-Baptiste Lully
What: French Opera Overture, tragedie lyrique
Where: France, Louis XIV’s royal court
When: 1686
Why do we care: This opera is well-regarded, featuring some of the best-known music in French Baroque opera. It is more classically oriented. French overtures open operas and became the framework for operas all over. It follows the standard French overture form the Lully codified, consisting of two contrasting sections. The first section is in duple meter and is a stately opening. The second section is in a faster triple meter, lively and imitative, and with fugal textures. Lully’s overture exemplifies the grandeur and elegance of French Baroque orchestration, with its prominent use of strings and continuo.
Armide: Air: Volez, Volez
Who: Jean-Baptiste Lully
What: Aria
Where: France
When: 1686
Why do we care: This aria belongs to Armide’s monologue Enfin, il est en ma puissance,” one of the most psychologically complex and dramatically significant moments in the opera. The aria follows a recitative-like opening, where Armide, having magically subdued the crusader Renaud, expresses conflicting emotions of vengeance and love. Structurally, the aria exhibits the French Baroque practice of freely alternating between declamatory and lyrical passages, avoiding the rigid da capo form found in contemporary Italian opera. The orchestration, featuring delicate yet insistent strings, underscores Armide’s shifting emotional states, reinforcing the expressive contours of the vocal line. Lully uses melismas on key words and carefully placed suspensions to heighten the character’s internal turmoil. Overall, this aria serves as a prime example of how Lully’s operatic innovations, particularly in text-setting and orchestral support, helped shape the expressive capabilities of French opera in the late 17th century.
Pieces de clavecin, vol. I: La Favorite
Who: Francois Couperin
What: Tombeau
Where: France
When: 1713
Why do we care: This is a commemorative harpsichord piece from his Pieces de Clavecin. It is a tombeau in rondeau form. The piece has a recurring refrain that alternates with contrasting couplet. The rondeau form seems similar to ritornello, except that the returning rondeau theme always comes back unfragmented/altered and in the tonic. There is downward movement in the bass, and in the intro it does down chromatically, though it is masked and blended into the music by some embellishments. The downward movement works well with the programmatic idea of lamenting. La Favorite is also marked by Couperin’s characteristic ornamentation (agremants), which serve both expressive and structural roles, shaping melodic contours and emphasizing harmonic nuances. This piece is an excellent example of the French tombeau tradition and a masterful use of rondeau form in a tribute setting.
Essay: The Rise of Independent Instrumental Music in the Baroque Period
The Baroque period (c. 1600–1750) was a transformative era in Western music history, marked by the increasing prominence and independence of instrumental music. Previously, music was largely vocal-centric, with instrumental compositions often serving as mere accompaniment or derivative of vocal traditions. However, during the Baroque era, composers developed new structural, stylistic, and technical means to create more extensive and coherent instrumental pieces, allowing them to stand on equal footing with vocal music. This essay explores the ways in which Baroque composers achieved this independence, focusing on advancements in formal structures, the development of idiomatic instrumental writing, the rise of virtuosity, harmonic innovation, and the role of patronage and performance spaces in shaping instrumental music.
One of the most significant ways in which Baroque composers established instrumental music as an independent art form was through the development of formal structures that provided coherence and direction. The emergence of dance suites, sonatas, and concertos allowed instrumental compositions to attain a sense of unity and progression without reliance on text. For example, the dance suite, a collection of stylized dance movements in binary or ternary form, provided a structured yet flexible framework that enabled composers to explore contrast and continuity within a purely instrumental medium. Similarly, the sonata, particularly in its trio and solo forms, showcased a growing emphasis on thematic development and contrast between movements, fostering musical cohesion akin to the narrative qualities of vocal music.
The concerto, pioneered by composers such as Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli, further emphasized instrumental independence by exploiting contrasts between soloists and the larger ensemble. The ritornello form, frequently used in concertos, created structural clarity through recurring orchestral refrains that alternated with virtuosic solo passages. This balance of repetition and variation allowed composers to craft compelling instrumental works that did not require textual guidance to maintain coherence and dramatic impact.
As instrumental music gained prominence, composers began writing idiomatically for specific instruments rather than merely transcribing vocal lines. This shift allowed them to exploit the unique capabilities and timbres of instruments, resulting in more expressive and technically advanced compositions. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, for instance, exemplify this trend by showcasing the distinct qualities of different instruments, from the warm, lyrical lines of the violin to the agile, virtuosic passages for the harpsichord.
Keyboard music also flourished during this period, with composers such as Johann Jakob Froberger and François Couperin developing highly idiomatic harpsichord works that incorporated rapid scales, arpeggios, and ornamentation tailored to the instrument’s capabilities. Froberger, in particular, played a crucial role in shaping the Baroque keyboard suite, blending French, Italian, and German influences into his compositions. His use of improvisatory-style toccatas and highly expressive allemandes demonstrated how instrumental music could convey deep emotion and narrative-like structures without reliance on text. The fugue, a contrapuntal form that became a hallmark of Baroque instrumental music, allowed composers to explore intricate interweaving lines without the need for text-driven polyphony, further affirming instrumental music’s independence.
A key development in Baroque instrumental music was the increased use of harmonic progressions to create coherence and direction. The introduction of the circle of fifths in sequential passages allowed composers to craft more fluid and logical progressions, strengthening both melodic and harmonic structure. This technique enabled compositions to transition smoothly between keys while maintaining forward motion, adding to the overall sense of unity within a piece. Composers such as Corelli and Vivaldi frequently employed the circle of fifths in their violin sonatas and concertos, using it to generate tension and resolution in a way that replaced the narrative function previously served by text. Bach, in particular, used sequences based on the circle of fifths to develop intricate contrapuntal textures and prolonged harmonic tension, demonstrating its potential for structural and expressive depth in instrumental works.
The Baroque period marked a turning point in the evolution of instrumental music, as composers developed new forms, idiomatic techniques, expressive devices, and harmonic innovations that allowed instrumental works to stand independently from vocal traditions. Through structured forms like the sonata and concerto, idiomatic writing that exploited instrumental capabilities, the rise of virtuosity, and shifts in harmonic language—including the use of the circle of fifths—instrumental music achieved a status equivalent to that of vocal music. These innovations laid the foundation for the instrumental mastery of the Classical and Romantic eras, cementing the Baroque period’s role in shaping the future of Western art music.
