Baroque Period Flashcards
Some features of the baroque period?
- Italy
- music composed for texts conveying extreme emotion
- melodic lines imitated rhythms and inflections of speech
- homophonic texture prominent
- late baroque= return of polyphonic
- dissonance, contrast of sound (solo singers v chorus v instruments)
- modes gave way to major and minor
What is unity of mood?
- One mood expressed throughout
- musical language to depict
Baroque rhythm?
- continuity of rhythm, rhythmic patterns at beginning repeated throughout
- provide compelling drive and energy, forward motion rarely interrupted
Baroque melody?
- also creates a feeling of continuity, opening melody repeated throughout
- continuous expanding, unfolding and unwinding of melody
- elaborate and ornamental
- dynamic expansion
- short opening phrase followed by longer phrase with unbroken flow of rapid notes
Baroque dynamics?
- level of volume fairly constant, sudden shift (terraced dynamics)
- main instruments: organ and harpsichord
- clavichord for home use
Baroque texture?
- usually polyphonic
- imitation between lines or ‘voices’
- piece might shift in texture due to change of mood or words
Baroque chords and basso continuo?
- chords became more important
- melodies composed to fit specific chord progressions
- prominence to bass part, foundation of harmony
- basso continuo played by at least two instruments
- steady flow of chords, emphasise bass part
Baroque words and music?
- word painting
- emphasised words by writing many rapid notes for one syllable
- individual words and phrases repeated as music continuously unfolds
Modulation!!!
- commonly dominant to tonic (5-1)
- major to minor, raised 5th
- tonic to dominant, raised 4th (1-5)
- tonic to subdominant, flattened 7th (1-4)
- minor to major, flattened 7th
Cadences!!
- perfect, sounds very final (5-1)
- plagal, sounds quite final (4-1)
- imperfect, sounds incomplete (1/ anything- 5)
- interrupted, sounds unexpected (5-4/anything)
What is secondary dominant?
Secondary dominant refers to a dominant triad or seventh chord set to resolve to a degree that is not the tonic
Baroque harmony?
- tonal harmonies, chords in major or minor keys
- circle of fifths
- suspensions, pedal points and ground basses
- added sevenths and cadences in chord progressions
What is the circle of fifths?
Relationship among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures and the associated major and minor keys
What is the baroque suite?
- instrumental music closely linked with dancing
- movements all in same key but different tempo and mood
When was the baroque period?
1600-1750
Baroque period ends when Bach dies (1750)