Baroque Music

What is it?
A working definition of baroque music is “European art-music composed between 1600 and 1750”. Some characteristics, forms, practices, instruments and voices, and composers of baroque music are discussed below.

Why is it called “baroque”?
The French word is derived from the Portuguese barroco, which means a misshapen pearl. Its first use as a stylistic term was in architecture, where it applied to the exuberant and ornate buildings found in Continental Europe during after the classicism of the Renaissance. The period 1600–1750 was first defined as the baroque era in musical history by American musicologist Manfred Bukofzer in his still valuable book "Music of The Baroque Era" (1947).

Characteristics of Baroque Music
Baroque music sprang from the humanism of the 16th century and the study of the rhetorical principles of ancient Greece and Rome. There was a desire to restore music’s power to arouse and control human passions and emotions. This power was thought to have been well understood by the ancients, but to have fallen into disuse in the smooth polyphony of the Renaissance period. Composers, theorists, and performers strove to make music more dramatic, more forceful, and to give it a clear message and meaning.

One way this was done was by using contrast, on several different levels: between loud and soft; between solo and tutti or other contrasting groups (as in the concerto); between different instrumental and vocal colors; between melody and accompaniment. Instead of writing melodic lines to be either sung or played on any instrument, composers specified what voices or instruments were to play, and made great use of such brilliant instruments as the violin (which was gradually replacing the duller-toned viol), the harpsichord, and the trumpet. Organs were now designed to produce exciting contrasts of tone, as well as awe-inspiring volume. The love of vocal brilliance was so great that some Italian boy singers were castrated so that they could continue to produce the high tones of a child’s voice with augmented power as they grew bigger and more muscular (see castrato).

The typical baroque texture, especially in the earlier period, was that of a high melodic line (or perhaps two) with an accompanying bass some way below. The harmony was filled in by a chordal instrument, such as the harpsichord, lute, or organ. It may surprise some people to learn that the idea of “melody and bass”, which is still very much with us, hardly existed until the baroque era. Before 1600, most music was either a single unaccompanied melody, or a number of melodies fitted together. The new trend was to isolate melody from harmony, and to develop the intellectual and emotional force of each as an independent entity.

The new style, originating in Italy, quickly spread over Europe, but never entirely replaced the old; in church music especially, composers still practiced polyphony and counterpoint, which was sometimes called the “learned” style because of the technical skill required in fitting together a number of independent melodies. Monteverdi, considered the greatest composer of the early baroque, was quite conscious of the splitting of music into two streams, which he called prima prattica and seconda prattica. In the next 150 years, musical styles changed, national variations were developed, and new ideas and forms came into use, but the basic dichotomy between the two styles persisted. Of the two, the prima prattica is the less characteristically “baroque”, as it both antedated and outlasted the period.

Almost throughout the baroque era the main innovations in music came from Italy and spread gradually over Europe. That is why so many musical terms are Italian (for instance, see tempo). Italian opera was adopted, in the original language, in most European capitals, and attempts to imitate it in other languages (with the exception of French) never went very far. Italy alone had conservatories for the teaching of music, and produced many of the greatest virtuosi as well as composers. The violin and its music were also largely Italian products, and other instruments, too, were improved and developed there. Many of the leading instrumental forms and practices also came from Italy. However, other countries developed their own variations of these forms and maintained some indigenous musical traditions (such as the North-German organ praeludium, the English anthem and viol fantasy, the French dance suite). The French established a strong operatic tradition that rivalled the Italian in many pamphlet wars. German composers often openly imitated French or Italian styles, but worked them out with so much flair and thoroughness that they began to develop a sound that was characteristically German. In its full contrapuntal texture and systematic exposition of counterpoint it almost reversed the musical ideals of the seconda prattica.

The baroque era reached its culmination in the early 18th century with the music of Handel and Bach, who, each in his own way, fused the two styles into a satisfying whole. The splendor, drama, and brilliance of the Baroque finds no greater expression than in Handel’s oratorios and ceremonial music, yet he was equally adept at writing learned fugues. Bach brought the arts of fugue and counterpoint to their highest level in all history, but when the occasion required he could also excel in the dramatic expression of personal feeling or the regal grandeur of massed sound.

Baroque music was written largely for monarchs, aristocrats, and authoritarian church leaders. We may not admore the political and social systems of the era, but we can still enjoy its wonderful music.

After a period of relative neglect, baroque music has experienced a strong revival of interest over the last haf-century. In an effort to understand and appreciate baroque music, musicologists have undertaken a vast program of research. Among the results of this research are the re-training of performers accustomed to modern styles and modes of performance (see performance practice).