Chapter 8 Flashcards
The Early Baroque Period
Renaissance vs Baroque
- instruments as important as voices
- emphasis on solo singers
- voices with accompaniment (vs a Capella)
- functional harmony instead of different kinds of modes
- written for theater, church, chamber music settings
Extravagance and control
- large-scale works for large ensembles
- thorough, methodical expression
Basso continuo/ground bass
repeating bass line, ostinato, played by the cello/keyboard- provides the functional harmony that is in music of this time
functional harmony
relying on major and minor scales and focused on chord progressions, using harmony as it would be used currently
Opera
biggest, newest, most extravagant thing happening in the Baroque period- sung through, recitative and aria, solo singers with instruments
recitative vs. aria
RECITIATIVE
- free, speechlike, accompanied by continuo, advances motion
ARIA
- consistent meter, melodies, orchestral accompaniment, reflects on action- what happened in recitative that comes before it
dance
opera firmly linked to ballet
stylized dances and suites for harpsichord
- suites, virtuosity, vocal music
virtuosity
more complex, difficult music
vocal music
Baroque favored solo singers, imitative polyphony moved to instruments
Toccatas
free form works; captures spirt of improvisation
canzonas
rigorously organized; emphasize imitative textures
stylized dances
short, binary form, often in suites
sets of variations
based on vocal melodies or harmonic patterns
Instrumental Music
- dance suites
- virtuostity
- influence from vocal music
- genres: toccatas, canzonas, dances, variations
Ostinato
repeating figure, repeats over and over
- also seen in virtually every other culture; we discussed African ostinato forms
- which culture can you hear ostinato? Different African cultures
