Baroque❶

Baroque (1600 - 1700)-Essay      

       Baroque music is a style of European classical music, this period is exactly a very important time in music history approximately extending between 1600 and 1750. This era is begin in music after the Renaissance and was followed by the Classical aera.

   

   Johann Sebastian Bach             George Frideric Handel

     During this period, as there are many influential composer, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe Rameau and Henry Purcell. They wrote in many different musical genres, such as Opera and oratorio. The Opera invented in the late Renaissance, became an important musical form during the Baroque, with the operas of Alessandro Scarlatti, Handel, and others. The oratorio achieved its peak in the work of Bach and Handel, especially Handel’s “Messiah”. But in this period, they have religious music, instrumental sonatas as well.

     Moreover, voice and strings are most important instrument of Baroque music. In addition, they also have woodwinds, brass, keyboard/Plucked. Indeed, the two most universal stylistic elements of Baroque music is continuo, and ornamentation, such as trills, mordents and grace notes. Both involve the difference between what the compo   ser wrote down and what the performer played. Both are elements of musical style which derived from Renaissance music and persisted into early Classical music. 

     The music of the Baroque period also had a tremendous impact, especially in the Catholic countries of central Europe. The Baroque style continued to be represented in sacred music through the end of the eighteenth century, the masses and oratorios of Haydn and Mozart, while Classical in their orchestration and ornamentation, have many Baroque features in their underlying contrapuntal and harmonic structure.

Source of imformation:

http://www.baroquemusic.org/

http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/M151/Baroque_Music1.html

http://socrates.acadiau.ca/courses/musi/Callon/2233/2233.htm

http://www.baroquemusic.it/

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Baroque_Music

Renaissance

Renaissance (about 1550 - 1600) 

Renaissance means rebirth.

         In the age of enlightenment,people were not controlled by the church anymore, they could working for themselves.Boys and girls have equal rights,both of them could singing in the church.They have mesicine, science, art and music.The most developed is music.On the one hand, the texture of music that they used is antiphony, monophonic and homophonic, and on the other,the lute held the highest respect of all musical instruments.The lute was an ideal accompaniment for voice and other soft instruments, and the most eloquent of all solo instruments.

         From this time, they also have a little bit dance.In the beginning, the hands of boys and girls can not contact directly when they are dance, Later began to direct contact. Actually, the women wore completly dress, but man not. 

       Martin Luther who was excommunicated by Catholic church because he believes that there are a lot of people in the Catholic Church in adverse conditions. Thus derived from a number of new believers which was known as protestant. Church of England was built at this time as well, and the language of the land was vernacular.

                                                Renaissance Architecture

       

Now, let us watch a renaissance dance o(∩_∩)o :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a826x9x1oUs&feature=related

Secular vocal music (Flow my tears)
    
     During the Renaissance, secular vocal music became increasingly popular; throughout Europe. Renaissance secular music was written for groups of solo voices and for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. Word painting was common, and secular music had more rapid changes of mood than sacred music.     
    
     This song was wrritten by the English composer John Dowland in the late Renaissance, probably around 1594. This  music as a pavan in duple time for voice with lute accompaniment. At that time period, this song would have been perfomed by amateur musicians at home, and by professional musicians at court. 


     The song is divided into three repeated sections by the three main cadence in A minor.Obviously, the stucture of this is tripartite, which means there has 3 part, something like‖:A:‖:B:‖:C:‖. The first and the third sections,which end with a perfect cadence.Both of two have a tierce de picardie, and both are decorated with suspensions. But the second section,which end with a imperfect cadence.


      The another important thing that we have to know is the texture of this piece is Homophonic mixed with contrapuntal.


Q & A:


❶Q: What is a pavan?
A: Pavan is an old dance in slow duple time.


❷Q: What is tierce de picardie?
A: Tierce de picardie is a major chord at the end of a piece of music in a minor key and vice versa.


❸Q: What is suspension?
A:  Suspension, in music, a means of creating tension by prolonging a consonant note while the underlying harmony changes, normally on a strong beat.
                 
     The resulting dissonance persists until the suspended note resolves by stepwise motion into a new consonant harmony. In the examples above, the upper note is suspended then resolved.


Now, let's listen to this music: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7vLOjzG4no





Works cited page:
http://www.britannica.com/






Sacred vocal music (O Wilhelme, pastor bone)


     This song was wrritten by the greatest English composer  John Taverner in the early 16th century. At that time period, this song would services in the chaple of the college were sung in Latin. Because this time the established church in England was still Roman Catholic.


Taverner uses a syllabic setting of the text until he reaches the last phrase where the end of the work is highlighted with a melisma in the upper parts.

Also, He used three kinds of texture of this piece,including polyphonic, homophonic and imitative.Taverner's harmony consists entirely of triads in root position and first inversion.

Q & A:


❶Q: What is syllabic ?
A: Syllabic is one note for one syllable.

❷Q: What is melisma?
A:Melisma is many notes for one syllable.



Small ensemble (Comparing Pavane and Galliard)

Pavane

❶Pavane: Old fashion dance. A stately dance in slow duple time.
    Galliard: A lively dance in triple time.

❷Both of them are scored for a consort of 5 solo instruments but are non-idiomatic(not for specific instruments)

❸Thers were likely for domestic use, probably competent amateurs, not for public performance.

❹No dynamics, no performance directions.

❺Ornamentation usually added by performances at repeats.

❻Texture
Pavane: mainly contrapuntal, some imitation and inversion
Galliard: contrapuntal outer sections, middle section homophonic. Some imitation and use of melodic ideas in inversion.

❼Both dance have 3 sections which are repeated know as tripartite.