Forms of the Baroque Era

air: in English, the usual word for a tune, as in “Air with Variations”. It was also used as a direct translation of the Italian aria. In French it could also mean an instrumental movement, sometimes introduced into a suite.

allemande: a slow common meter dance, in binary form. It was one of the four standard dances of the suite, generally opening the composition or following immediately after the introductory movement.

anthem: in the Church of England, a chorale piece of moderate length sung by the choir as part of Morning or Evening Prayer. The text, generally in prose, was not part of the set liturgy, but was chosen from the psalms or another part of the Bible. The music, often in several contrasting sections, was for choir and organ; a “verse anthem” made use of solo voices as well. In the Chapel Royal under Charles II (reigned 1660–85), stringed instruments accompanied the anthems by Purcell and other leading composers, and on royal or national occasions, a larger orchestra might be employed, as in Handel’s coronation anthems.

aria: a closed, self-contained song, found in an opera, oratorio, or cantata, where it often alternates and contrasts with recitative. The earliest type was a strophic song, sometimes with varied accompaniments, but by the later 17th century, the da capo aria had become standard. In a da capo aria the lyric had two stanzas. The first was set to a self-contained piece of music (the “A” section) ending in the main key . The second, sometimes offering a contrast of sentiment, was set to new music passing through other keys (the “B” section). The words da capo followed, directing a return “to the beginning” for a repeat of the “A” section, which, however, was often embellished by the singer. By the time of Handel, at least the “A” section was usually in full ritornello form.

ariette: the French equivalent of a da capo aria.

ballad opera: a mock opera, really a spoken play in which the actors sing many short songs; these are popular tunes of the time set to new, often satirical words, and sung with the simplest accompaniment. The form was English, originating with John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728), the only specimen that remains in the modern repertoire.

cantata: In the baroque era this was an extended secular piece for solo voice, generally alternating recitatives and arias, either with continuo accompaniment only, or with a small group of instruments. Bach’s church cantatas were never called by that name in his time, but were in the category of sacred concertos. However, the term has stuck. Bach wrote the “cantatas” for use in the Lutheran liturgy on Sundays, holy days, and certain special occasions. Many, though not all, are based on a chorale (hymn), using the tune in several different settings and paraphrase the verses for arias and recitatives between the statements of the tune. One of the most famous is Wachet auf (“Sleepers wake”). Bach wrote a few secular cantatas on similar lines, such as the “Coffee Cantata”.

canzona: A seventeenth-century instrumental form, modeled on the French chanson, with lively and well-marked themes treated in counterpoint. Some were for brass instruments, others for two or three melody instruments with continuo, others for keyboard solo. As time went on they were divided into contrasting sections, which ultimately turned into movements, as the canzona became the sonata.

chaconne: a form of continuous variations, almost always in triple meter, in which the same bass is repeated over and over. It was originally a dance brought from Latin America.

chorale (pronounced “ko-RAHL”; German "Choral"): the Lutheran term for a hymn (text and tune), a strophic form suited to congregational use. German composers developed a strong culture of chorale “workings” (Choralbearbeitungen), whether for voices, instruments, or organ, culminating in the works of J.S.Bach.

chorale cantata: a sacred cantata (strictly, sacred concerto) in which one or more movements are based on workings of a chorale tune.

chorale prelude: an elaboration of a chorale on the organ before it is sung by the congregation. The term has been used loosely for any organ working of a chorale, though in many cases these probably did not function as preludes in Lutheran practice.

church sonata (Italian sonata da chiesa): a sonata for one or more instruments with continuo, usually in three or four non-dance movements, hence distinguished from the sonata da camera.

comédie-ballet: a staged entertainment of the French court in the later 17th century, developed by the dramatist Molière and the composer Lully. It was essentially a spoken comedy, interspersed with songs, dances, and longer musical sections called entrées.

concerto: In the early baroque, a piece of music for several performers, generally including singers; Monteverdi and Schütz produced many examples. The sacred concerto was an ancestor of the so-called cantata of Bach’s time. Shortly before 1700 the term “concerto” began to refer to a purely instrumental composition. Some concertos set off a group of solo instruments from the rest of the string orchestra; these were generally known by the term concerto grosso. A subset of these were solo concertos, where a single instrument was matched with a string orchestra, as with Vivaldi’s many specimens. Their form soon became standardized at three movements, the outer ones at a fast tempo and in ritornello form, the middle one slower and often in a contrasting key. Although by far the majority of solo concertos were for violin, trumpet concertos were also popular, and Vivaldi wrote them for many other instruments. Bach invented the harpsichord concerto (with Brandenburg No. 5 and later concertos for up to 4 harpsichords) and Handel invented the organ concerto, which he often played in the theater between the acts of an oratorio.

concerto grosso: a multi-movement work setting a group of solo instruments (the concertino) against a full string orchestra (the ripieno). Each group generally included a basso continuo. Corelli’s 12 concertos (Op. 6) Handel’s “12 Grand Concertos” (Op. 6), and most of Bach’s six “Brandenburg” concertos are good examples.

courante (Italian corrente): one of the four standard dances in a suite, in binary form, generally following the allemande, to which it is sometimes linked by similarity of theme. The French type was stately, and in an ambiguous triple/compound meter. The Italian type, usually entitled corrente, was in a rapidly flowing triple meter.

divertissement: a portion of a French opera or ballet, in which the polt is interrupted and songs and dances are combined with spectacular effects.

dramatic opera: see semi-opera.

fantasia (fancy, fantaisie): a keyboard work of unstructured form, originally an improvisation. It always retained a relative freedom and unpredictability, and could be expected to show variety of texture and style, including counterpoint. It could stand alone, or form an introduction to a fugue or suite. Closely related genres are the prelude, ricercar, tiento, and voluntary.

galliard: a lively triple meter dance, usually in three sections, each repeated. It was popular in the 16th century, and still in use in the early baroque period, often preceded by the more stately pavan.

gavotte: a dance of moderate tempo in common meter, beginning on the third beat of the measure, and in binary form. A gavotte, or more often a pair of gavottes, was often included in a suite. The second one was sometimes a musette.

gigue: a fast dance in compound meter, and in binary form. It originated in Britain and Ireland (as a “jig”). It became one of the four standard dances of the baroque suite, which it normally ended. Especially in the hands of Bach, the gigue was often a fully worked-out fugue, whereas Handel’s gigues sometimes retain the character of a wild Irish dance.

glee: an English unaccompanied partsong, originally for male voices including countertenors.

Gloria in excelsis: a movement of the mass, also sometimes set separately for occasions of rejoicing, as for example by Vivaldi.

intermezzo: a comic entr’acte performed between the acts of an opera seria, usually in two halves, involving low characters with human foibles. The genre became independent of opera seria in Naples in the 1720s: the most popular example is Pergolesi’s La Serva padrona (1733).

madrigal: a type of through-composed (i.e. not strophic) partsong that was enormously popular in Italy in the 16th century, and was imitated in England and elsewhere. By 1600, the trend to illustrate lines and even individual words with vivid musical settings had become extravagant, in a style known as “mannerism” (see word painting). Soon after, a basso continuo became a normal feature of the madrigal, supplying independent accompaniment; some of the voices dropped out, and most of Monteverdi’s later madrigals are solos or duets with continuo.

Magnificat: the Song of Mary, a fixed element of evening worship in the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. Elaborate settings were frequently composed for special occasions; Bach’s Magnificat uses soloists, chorus and orchestra and divides the text into separate sections.

masque: a type of English court entertainment that flourished in the early 17th century and was occasionally revived after the Restoration (1660). The music consisted of songs, dances, and instrumental pieces separated by speech and action.

mass: For musical purposes, a mass is a setting of the Mass Ordinary, the five unvarying sections of the liturgy: Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis, Credo (Creed), Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. These were merely chanted in a “low mass”, but were set to composed music for grand ceremonies, either in the traditional style of polyphony (like Monteverdi’s three specimens) or in the more modern responsorial chanting of Low Mass.

Matins: the morning office of the Roman liturgy, translated as “Morning Prayer” in the Church of England. It includes Te Deum.

motet: originally a Latin sacred work for unaccompanied choir. In the baroque period, there are also solo motets with continuo accompaniment. Schütz and Bach wrote German motets for choir and organ.

musette: a gavotte of pastoral character, imitating the bagpipe by means of a drone bass (see pedal point); it served as a second gavotte in many suites.

ode: in England, a ceremonial work in several movements, with a specially written text to honor a royal or national occasion, or to celebrate St. Cecilia, patron saint of music. Most odes were scored for soloists, chorus, and a variety of instruments.

opera: drama in music (as expressed in the Italian term for it, dramma per musica). It was born with the baroque age. The first surviving opera, Peri’s Dafne, was premiered at Florence in the year 1600; the first great opera is Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). Opera was an all-sung drama, presented on stage, with a combination of declamatory singing (recitative) in which the plot is carried forward by dialog or soliloquy; songs for one or more characters, expressing their feelings at particular points in the action; and dances and choruses, generally having a largely decorative function. Only the first of these was new around 1600: songs, choruses, and dances had long been used in court entertainments. In the early decades, opera was exclusively Italian, and was solely performed in royal or aristocratic circles for invited guests; the subject matter was classical myth or ancioent history. In 1637 the first public opera houses opened in Venice. Public opera placed increasing emphasis on solo singers, and as time went on the song (aria) assumed more importance, the recitatives became less passionate and more perfunctory, and the choruses and dances disappeared. This was the state of early 18th-century opera seria when it came into Handel’s hands. Opera buffa, originating in Naples around 1710, used the same forms as opera seria but a lighter tone and more popular subject matter. Italian opera spread to most European countries. There were attempts to start other national schools of opera; Purcell had some success in England (see semi-opera) and Spain (see zarzuela), and Hamburg supported a half-German, half-Italian form of opera for several decades. But the most important opera outside Italy was the French school, led by the Italian-born Lully (see tragédie-lyrique and comédie-ballet).

oratorio: a sacred drama, either acted or narrated. It had begun as a devout observance held in an oratory, attached to a church in Rome, after Sunday Vespers. In the 17th century it became a semi-dramatic form, borrowing some features of opera. Carissimi, who wrote both Latin and Italian oratorios, used a narrator in place of stage action to convey a biblical or other religious story, but recitative, aria, and chorus were all employed. Schütz’s, and later Bach’s, passions also used a narrator (evangelist); they were performed as part of the Lutheran liturgy. Handel, who learned to write oratorio in Italy, launched the public oratorio in a London theater in 1733, building his style on the English anthem and ode as well as Italian opera. His oratorios were fully operatic (Messiah is an exception), and were performed in theaters, but without acting.

ordre: see suite.

organ chorale: see chorale.

organ mass: see mass.

overture: the introductory movement to an opera, ballet, oratorio, play, or suite. The 17th-century overture was often in the form of a grave, sometimes pompous common meter section using dotted rhythms, followed by a fast, lively section using imitation or even fugue. This type became known as the “French overture”, and was sometimes followed by one or two dance movements. The French term Ouverture is sometimes used for an entire orchestral suite. In the 18th century many Italian operas began with a three-movement introduction (fast—slow—fast), which was always called sinfonia, but is now sometimes called an “Italian overture”.

partsong: a secular song for several voices of different pitch levels, without independent accompaniment. See madrigal, glee.

passacaglia: a form of continuous variations, almost always in triple meter, in which the same bass is repeated over and over.

passion: a dramatized version of the story of Christ’s passion and death, chanted from one of the gospels as part of the Mass in the week before Easter. The custom was retained in the Lutheran church after the Reformation, and in the baroque era was gradually changed by the introduction of non-biblical texts, instruments, chorales, and finally arias and recitatives, so that by the time of Bach’s famous settings a passion had become virtually a sacred opera.

pavan: a stately dance in common meter, usually in three sections, each repeated. It was popular in the 16th century and still in use in the early baroque period, generally followed by a galliard.

polonaise: a characteristic Polish dance in triple meter and of moderate tempo. It was sometimes used as one of the extra dances in a suite.

prelude: a short introductory movement, often improvised; this quality was retained by mid-17th century French composers when they attached préludes non mesurées (“unmeasured preludes”) to the beginning of their suites. The idea developed, however, into a more imposing, fully composed piece: a praeludium by Buxtehude would include one or more fugal sections as well as freer “improvisatory” material. Bach developed preludes as fully equal movements to the fugues that followed them, and also sometimes used the term for the opening movement of a suite.

ricercar: the Renaissance ancestor of fugue; the term is still occasionally found as the title of a piece in the baroque period.

rondo (French rondeau): a form in which a repeated section alternates with at least two different episodes (ABACA, ABACADA, etc.). The form is found in various contexts, but the name first appears as the title of some late-baroque suite movements.

sacred concerto (Italian sacra concerto, Latin symphonia sacra, German geistliche Konzert): a setting for concerted voices and instruments of a sacred text, either Latin or vernacular. The term was current in the middle and later 17th century, and describes many works by Schütz. The most important heirs were the so-called church cantatas of Bach (see cantata).

sarabande: a dance in slow triple meter, with a tendency to lean on the second beat of the measure. It originated in Latin America, but was adopted as a court dance and is found in many French ballets and operas. It became one of the four regular dances of the baroque suite, in binary form. Its languid rhythm left room for elaborate embellishment, and Bach in some keyboard suites provide a double, or ornamented version, following the plain dance.

semi-opera (also called “dramatic opera”): a form used in London theaters on either side of 1700, consisting of a spoken play with substantial sections of music; Dryden and Purcell’s King Arthur (1695) is an example.

serenata:a dramatic musical form between a cantata and an opera in size and scale, generally commissioned by a monarch or aristocrat for a special occasion; an example is Handel’s Acis and Galatea,

service: in the Church of England, a choral setting in English of the daily canticles for morning and evening prayer (Te Deum, Jubilate, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis), sometimes with additional liturgical texts. In any given service, all movements are in the same key.

siciliana: a Sicilian dance in compound meter, in a fairly slow tempo, generally with some dotted rhythms. It is sometimes found as an instrumental movement, but its greatest popularity was as a style aria in opera and oratorio, where it normally expressed a pastoral mood. An example is “He shall feed his flock” from Handel’s Messiah.

sonata: In the middle and late baroque periods, a sonata was typically a multi-movement work for one or more melody instruments (most frequently violins) with basso continuo. When the combination was for two violins or other high-pitched instruments and bass, it was called a trio sonata. The standard form was established by Corelli, who published classical sets of church sonatas, most of them in four movements (slow-fast-slow-fast was a typical arrangement). They were originally used during church services. Perhaps for this reason, the movements were not dances, but more abstract forms, using counterpoint, sequence, and modulation as principal elements of structure. Corelli used the term sonata da camera for a work for the same instrumental combination made up of dance movements; elsewhere the French term suite was more often used for this type. Sonatas are also found for several other stringed and wind instruments with continuo, or alone. In the late baroque, solo sonatas for organ (J. S. Bach) or harpsichord (Handel, D. Scarlatti, Alberti, C.P.E. Bach) are also found; the three- or four-movement plan is generally retained, except in Scarlatti’s harpsichord sonatas (also termed essercizi), which are in one movement.

suite: One of the principal types of multi-movement instrumental work in the middle and late baroque periods. It was essentially a string of dances in the same key, most or all of them in binary form. Over time the sequence allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue became standardized, especially in Germany, but other dance movements were often inserted, and most suites began with an introductory movement (called by a number of names including prelude, ouverture, and fantaisie) which was often on a larger time-scale than the dances. There are suites for solo harpsichord, lute, violin, flute, and cello, and for orchestra. When scored for one or two melody instruments with continuo, they were sometimes given the Italian name sonata da camera. French keyboard suites are often called ordres, as in the case of François Couperin, who inserted many non-dance movements, many of them fancifully titled character sketches of persons at court.

Te Deum: a hymn of rejoicing used at the summit of Matins in the Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican rites. In England, orchestrally accompanied versions by Purcell and Handel were used to publicly celebrate national victories and other occasions. See also service.

tiento: an improvisatory piece for keyboard, the Spanish or Portuguese equivalent of a ricercar or fantasia, noted for demonstrating a variety of learned techniques of imitation and counterpoint.

toccata: A piece custom-made for a keyboard instrument. The Italian term, literally meaning “touched”, is analogous to cantata (sung) and sonata (sounded, i.e. played on a stringed or wind instrument). Toccatas were generally in a free and idiomatic style, often in several sections and emphasizing virtuosity. Leading examples are by Sweelinck, Frescobaldi, Froberger, and Buxtehude. Bach wrote a number for harpsichord and organ, some followed by a fugue.

tombeau (French: “tomb”):a composition honoring someone who has recently died, generally a musician. French composers wrote lute or harpsichord tombeaus in each other’s honor in the 17th century.

tragédie-lyrique: an all-sung French opera on a serious subject drawn from classical mythology, in five acts with a prologue, made up chiefly of recitatives (récits), short “airs”, ariettes, choruses, and dances.

trio sonata: a sonata for two melody instruments (typically violins) and continuo, which included a cello as well as a keyboard instrument. Some trio sonatas are for two flutes or oboes and a bassoon as part of the continuo. The term is also used, with doubtful validity, for Bach’s organ sonatas, scored as trios for two manuals and pedals.

verse anthem: an anthem featuring a group of soloists as well as a chorus.

Vespers: the evening office of the Roman liturgy, which includes the Magnificat. A monumental setting of texts from the Vespers by Monteverdi was published in 1610.

villancico: derived from a type of popular song, the sacred villancico in the baroque era became the Spanish equivalent of the sacred concerto, often with narrative elements, and combining solo voices, chorus, and obbligato instruments. It was also cultivated in Portugal and Mexico.

voluntary: a piece for organ, played at intervals during or between services in the Church of England. Originally improvisatory, it was close in character to such forms as the fantasia, prelude, and tiento. By the 18th century it had become more structured, and published sets of voluntaries began to appear in London in the 1720s. Though the form was never completely standardized, it tended to be in two to four contrasting sections or movements, some of which displayed the sound of particular organ stops, while others were contrapuntal in character (see counterpoint).

zarzuela: Spanish opera, which survived throughout the baroque era despite the growing fashion for Italian opera. It was a mixture of spoken verse, popular song, and dance.