http://www.biography.com/people/george-handel-9327378

George Handel Biography

Songwriter (1685–1759)

Quick Facts

Name

George Handel

Occupation

Songwriter

Birth Date

February 23, 1685

Death Date

April 14, 1759

Education

University of Halle

Place of Birth

Halle, Germany

Place of Death

London, United Kingdom

Originally

Georg Friedrich Händel

Georg Friedrich Haendel

Synopsis Early Life Opera Oratorios Health Issues Death and Legacy

Cite This Page

George Handel composed operas, oratorios and instrumentals. His 1741 work, Messiah, is the most

famous oratorio.

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Synopsis

Baroque composer George Handel was born February 23, 1685, in Halle, Germany. In 1704

Handel made his debut as an opera composer with Almira. He produced several operas with the Royal Academy of Music before forming the New Royal Academy of Music in 1727. When

Italian operas fell out of fashion, he started composing oratorios, including Messiah. George Handel died April 14, 1759, in London, England.

Early Life

Baroque composer George Handel was born George Frederick Handel on February 23, 1685, to

Georg and Dorothea Handel of Halle, Saxony, Germany. From an early age, Handel longed to study music, but his father objected, doubting that music was a realistic source of income. In

fact, his father would not even permit him to own a musical instrument. His mother was, however, supportive, and encouraged him to develop his musical talent. With her cooperation, Handel took to practicing on the sly.

When Handel was seven years old, he had the opportunity to play the organ for the duke’s court

in Weissenfels. It was there that Handel met composer and organist Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow. Zachow was impressed with Handel’s potential, and invited Handel to become his pupil. Under

the tutelage of Zachow, Handel mastered composing for the organ, the oboe and the violin alike by the time he was 10 years old. From the age of 11 to the time he was 16 or 17 years old, Handel composed church cantatas and chamber music that, being written for a small audience,

failed to garner much attention and have since been lost to time.

Despite his dedication to his music, at his father’s insistence, Handel initially agreed to study law. Not surprisingly, he did not remain enrolled in law courses for long. His passion for music

would not be suppressed.

In 1703, when Handel was 18 years old, he decided to pursue music in full force, by accepting a violinist’s position at the Hamburg Opera’s Goosemarket Theater. During this time, he

supplemented his income by teaching private music lessons in his free time, passing on what he had learned from his own mentor, Zachow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Baroque composer. For his grandson of the same name, see Johann Sebastian

Bach (painter). For other uses of Bach, see Bach (disambiguation).

Portrait of Bach, aged 61, Haussmann, 1748

Johann Sebastian Bach[1] (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German

composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through

his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include

the Brandenburg concertos, the Mass in B minor, The Well-Tempered Clavier, two Passions, keyboard works, and more than 300 cantatas, of which nearly 100 cantatas have been lost to

posterity.[2] His music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.

Bach was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach, into a great musical family; his father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the director of the town musicians, and all of his uncles were professional

musicians. His father probably taught him to play violin and harpsichord, and his brother, Johann Christoph Bach, taught him the clavichord and exposed him to much contemporary music.[3][4]

Apparently at his own initiative, Bach attended St Michael's School in Lüneburg for two years. After graduating, he held several musical posts across Germany: he served as Kapellmeister (director of music) to Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, Cantor of the Thomasschule in Leipzig,

and Royal Court Composer to August III.[5][6] Bach's health and vision declined in 1749, and he died on 28 July 1750. Modern historians believe that his death was caused by a combinatio n of

stroke and pneumonia.[7][8][9]

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and

performances of his music in the first half of the nineteenth century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.[10]

Life

Childhood (1685–1703)

See also: Bach family

Johann Ambrosius Bach, Bach's father

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach, on 21 March 1685 O.S. (31 March 1685 N.S.). He was the son of Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians, and

Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt.[11] He was the eighth child of Johann Ambrosius, (the eldest son in the family was 14 at the time of Bach's birth)[12] who probably taught him violin and the basics

of music theory.[13] His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), introduced him to the organ, and an older second cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731),

was a well-known composer and violinist. Bach drafted a genealogy around 1735, titled "Origin of the musical Bach family".[14]

Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later.[6] Bach, aged 10, moved in

with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), the organist at St. Michael's Church in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.[15] There he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brother's, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable

and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly.[16][17] He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the works of

great composers of the day, including South German composers such as Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied)[3] and Johann Jakob Froberger; North German composers;[4] Frenchmen, such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand, Marin Marais; and the

Italian clavierist Girolamo Frescobaldi. Also during this time, he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian at the local gymnasium.[18]

At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend George Erdmann, was awarded a

choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg in the Principality of Lüneburg.[19] Although it is not known for certain, the trip was likely taken mostly on foot.[18] His two years there were critical in exposing him to a wider facet of European culture. In

addition to singing in the choir he played the School's three-manual organ and harpsichords.[18] He came into contact with sons of noblemen from northern Germany sent to the highly selective

school to prepare for careers in other disciplines.

While in Lüneburg, Bach had access to St. John's Church and possibly used the church's famous organ, built in 1549 by Jasper Johannsen, since it was played by his organ teacher Georg

Böhm.[2] Given his musical talent, Bach had significant contact with Böhm while a student in Lüneburg, and also took trips to nearby Hamburg where he observed "the great North German organist Johann Adam Reincken".[2][20] Stauffer reports the discovery in 2005 of the organ

tablatures that Bach wrote out when still in his teens of works by Reincken and Dieterich Buxtehude showing "a disciplined, methodical, well-trained teenager deeply committed to

learning his craft".[2]

Weimar, Arnstadt, and Mühlhausen (1703–08)

St. Boniface's Church, Arnstadt

In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's and being turned down for the post of organist at Sangerhausen,[21][22] Bach was appointed court musician in the chapel of Duke

Johann Ernst in Weimar. His role there is unclear, but likely included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so much

that he was invited to inspect the new organ, and give the inaugural recital, at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Weimar.[23] In August 1703, he became the organist at St Boniface's, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and

a fine new organ tuned in the modern tempered system that allowed a wide range of keys to be used.

St. Mary's Church, Lübeck

Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up

between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir, while his employer was upset by his unauthorised absence from

Arnstadt; Bach was gone for several months in 1705–06, to visit the great organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude and his Abendmusiken at St. Mary's Church in the northern city of Lübeck.

The visit to Buxtehude involved a 400-kilometre (250 mi) journey on foot each way. The trip reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earlier works. Bach wanted to become

amanuensis (assistant and successor) to Buxtehude, but did not want to marry his daughter, which was a condition for his appointment.[24]

In 1706, Bach was offered a post as organist at St. Blasius's in Mühlhausen, which he took up the

following year. It included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, Bach married Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including Wilhelm

Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who both became important composers as well. Bach was able to convince the church and city government at Mühlhausen to fund an

expensive renovation of the organ at St. Blasius's. Bach, in turn, wrote an elaborate, festive cantata—Gott ist mein König (BWV 71)—for the inauguration of the new council in 1708. The council paid handsomely for its publication, and it was a major success.[18]

Return to Weimar (1708–17)

Portrait of the young Bach (disputed)[25]

In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen, returning to Weimar this time as organist and from 1714

Konzertmeister (director of music) at the ducal court, where he had an opportunity to work with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians.[18] Bach moved with his family into an

apartment very close to the ducal palace. In the following year, their first child was born and Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister joined them. She remained to help run the household until her death in 1729.

Bach's time in Weimar was the start of a sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and to include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic

motor-rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as Vivaldi, Corelli, and Torelli. Bach absorbed these stylistic aspects in part by transcribing Vivaldi's string and wind

concertos for harpsichord and organ; many of these transcribed works are still played in concert

often. Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian style in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement.[26]

In Weimar, Bach continued to play and compose for the organ, and to perform concert music

with the duke's ensemble.[18] He also began to write the preludes and fugues which were later assembled into his monumental work The Well-Tempered Clavier (Das Wohltemperierte

Clavier—"Clavier" meaning clavichord or harpsichord),[27] consisting of two books, compiled in 1722 and 1744,[28] each containing a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key.

The autograph of Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor (BWV 1001)

Also in Weimar Bach started work on the Little Organ Book for his eldest son, Wilhelm

Friedemann, containing traditional Lutheran chorales (hymn tunes) set in complex textures to train organists. In 1713 Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during a

renovation by Christoph Cuntzius of the main organ in the west gallery of the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen. Johann Kuhnau and Bach played again when it was inaugurated in 1716.[29][30] Musicologists debate whether his first Christmas cantata Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63,

was premiered here in 1713,[31] or if it was performed for the bicentennial of the Reformation in 1717.[32]

In the spring of 1714, Bach was promoted to Konzertmeister, an honour that entailed performing

a church cantata monthly in the castle church.[33] The first three cantatas Bach composed in Weimar were Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182, for Palm Sunday, which coincided with the Annunciation that year, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, for Jubilate Sunday,

and Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 for Pentecost.[34]

In 1717, Bach eventually fell out of favour in Weimar and was, according to a translation of the court secretary's report, jailed for almost a month before being unfavourably dismissed: "On

November 6, [1717], the quondam concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County

Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavourable discharge."[35]

Köthen (1717–23)

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music) in 1717. Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach's talents, paid him well, and gave

him considerable latitude in composing and performing. The prince was Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his worship; accordingly, most of Bach's work from this period was secular,[36] including the orchestral suites, the cello suites, the sonatas and partitas for solo violin,

and the Brandenburg concertos.[37] Bach also composed secular cantatas for the court such as Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a. At least one significant influence upon Bach's

musical development during his years with the Prince are recorded by Stauffer as Bach's "complete embrace of dance music, perhaps the most important influence on his mature style other than his adoption of Vivaldi's music in Weimar".[2]

Despite being born in the same year and only about 130 kilometres (81 mi) apart, Bach and Handel never met. In 1719 Bach made the 35-kilometre (22 mi) journey from Köthen to Halle with the intention of meeting Handel, however Handel had recently departed the city. [38] In 1730,

Bach's son Friedmann travelled to Halle to invite Handel to visit the Bach family in Leipzig, but the visit did not come to pass.[39]

On 7 July 1720, while Bach was abroad with Prince Leopold, Bach's first wife suddenly died.

The following year, he met Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a young, highly gifted soprano 17 years his junior, who performed at the court in Köthen; they married on 3 December 1721.[40] Together they had 13 more children, six of whom survived into adulthood: Gottfried Heinrich, Johann

Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian, all of whom became significant musicians; Elisabeth Juliane Friederica (1726–81), who married Bach's pupil Johann Christoph Altnickol; Johanna

Carolina (1737–81); and Regina Susanna (1742–1809).[41]

Leipzig (1723–50)

St. Thomas Church, Leipzig

In 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor of the Thomasschule at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and

Director of Music in the principal churches in the town, namely the Nikolaikirche and the Paulinerkirche, the church of the University of Leipzig.[6] This was a prestigious post in the mercantile city in the Electorate of Saxony, which he held for 27 years until his death. It brought

him into contact with the political machinations of his employer, Leipzig's city council.

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig, c. 1850

Bach was required to instruct the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide church

music for the main churches in Leipzig. Bach was required to teach Latin, but he was allowed to employ a deputy to do this instead. A cantata was required for the church services on Sundays

and additional church holidays during the liturgical year. He usually performed his own cantatas, most of which were composed during his first three years in Leipzig. The first of these was Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723, the first

Sunday after Trinity. Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles. Five are mentioned in obituaries, three are extant.[34] Of the over three hundred cantatas which Bach composed in

Leipzig, approximately one hundred have been lost to posterity.[2] Most of these concerted works expound on the Gospel readings prescribed for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year. Bach started a second annual cycle the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724, and composed only

chorale cantatas, each based on a single church hymn. These include O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, Nun komm, der Heiden

Heiland, BWV 62, and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.

Bach drew the soprano and alto choristers from the School, and the tenors and basses from the School and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; it was probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, that he wrote at least

six motets, at least five of which are for double choir.[42] As part of his regular church work, he performed other composers' motets, which served as formal models for his own.[18]

Café Zimmermann, Leipzig, where the Collegium Musicum performed

Bach broadened his composing and performing beyond the liturgy by taking over, in March

1729, the directorship of the Collegium Musicum, a secular performance ensemble started by the composer Georg Philipp Telemann. This was one of the dozens of private societies in the major

German-speaking cities that was established by musically active university students; these societies had become increasingly important in public musical life and were typically led by the most prominent professionals in a city. In the words of Christoph Wolff, assuming the

directorship was a shrewd move that "consolidated Bach's firm grip on Leipzig's principal musical institutions".[43] Year round, the Leipzig's Collegium Musicum performed regularly in

venues such as the Café Zimmermann, a coffeehouse on Catherine Street off the main market square. Many of Bach's works during the 1730s and 1740s were written for and performed by the Collegium Musicum; among these were parts of his Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) and

many of his violin and harpsichord concertos.[18]

In 1733, Bach composed a Missa of Kyrie and Gloria which he later incorporated in his Mass in B minor. He presented the manuscript to the King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and

Elector of Saxony, August III in an eventually successful bid to persuade the monarch to appoint him as Royal Court Composer.[5] He later extended this work into a full Mass, by adding a

Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the music for which was partly based on his own cantatas, partly new composed. Bach's appointment as court composer was part of his long-term struggle to achieve greater bargaining power with the Leipzig Council. Although the complete mass was

probably never performed during the composer's lifetime,[44] it is considered to be among the greatest choral works of all time. Between 1737 and 1739, Bach's former pupil Carl Gotthelf Gerlach took over the directorship of the Collegium Musicum.

Places where Bach lived

In 1747, Bach visited the court of King Frederick II of Prussia at Potsdam. The king played a

theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on his theme. Bach improvised a three-part fugue on one of Frederick's fortepianos, then a novelty, and later presented the king

with a Musical Offering which consists of fugues, canons and a trio based on this theme. Its six-part fugue includes a slightly altered subject more suitable for extensive elaboration.

In the same year Bach joined the Corresponding Society of the Musical Sciences (Correspondierende Societät der musicalischen Wissenschaften) of Lorenz Christoph Mizler. On

the occasion of his entry into the Society Bach composed the Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her" (BWV 769).[45] A portrait had to be submitted by each member

of the Society, so in 1746, during the preparation of Bach's entry, the famous Bach-portrait was painted by Elias Gottlob Haussmann.[46] The Canon triplex á 6 Voc. (BWV 1076) on this portrait was dedicated to the Society.[47] Other late works by Bach may also have a connection with the

music theory based Society.[48] One of those works was The Art of Fugue, which consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on a simple theme.[49] Bach never completed the final fugue.

The Art of Fugue was only published posthumously in 1751.[50]

Bach's last completed large work was the Mass in B minor (1748–49) which Stauffer describes as "Bach's most universal church music. Consisting mainly of recycled movements from cantatas written over a thirty-five year period, it allowed Bach to survey his vocal pieces one last time and

pick select movements for further revision and refinement."[2] The final work Bach completed was a chorale prelude for organ, entitled Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit (Before thy throne I

now appear, BWV 668a) which he dictated to his son-in-law, Johann Christoph Altnickol, from his deathbed. When the notes on the three staves of the final cadence are counted and mapped onto the Roman alphabet, the initials "JSB" are found.[51]

Death (1750)

Bach's grave, St. Thomas Church, Leipzig

Bach's health declined in 1749; on 2 June, Heinrich von Brühl wrote to one of the Leipzig

burgomasters to request that his music director, Gottlob Harrer, fill the Thomaskantor and

Director musices posts "upon the eventual ... decease of Mr. Bach".[52] Bach became increasingly blind, so the British eye surgeon John Taylor operated on Bach while visiting Leipzig in March or April 1750.[53]

On 28 July 1750 Bach died at the age of 65. A contemporary newspaper reported "the unhappy

consequences of the very unsuccessful eye operation" as the cause of death.[54] Modern historians speculate that the cause of death was a stroke complicated by pneumonia.[7][8][9] His son Emanuel

and his pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola wrote an obituary of Bach.[55] In 1754, Lorenz Christoph Mizler published a detailed obituary of Bach in the musical periodical Musikalische Bibliothek. This obituary arguably remains "the richest and most trustworthy"[56] early source document

about Bach.

Bach's estate included five harpsichords, two lute-harpsichords, three violins, three violas, two cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, and 52 "sacred books", including books by Martin

Luther and Josephus.[57] He was originally buried at Old St. John's Cemetery in Leipzig. His grave went unmarked for nearly 150 years. In 1894 his coffin was finally found and moved to a vault in St. John's Church. This building was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II,

so in 1950 Bach's remains were taken to their present grave at Leipzig's Church of St. Thomas.[18]

Legacy

Statue of Bach by Donndorf, Eisenach

After his death, Bach's reputation as a composer at first declined; his work was regarded as old-

fashioned compared to the emerging galant style, a movement which can be seen as the precursor

to the classical style of the late eighteenth century.[58] Initially he was remembered more as a player and teacher.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was recognised by several prominent composers for his keyboard work. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van

Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.[59]

Beethoven described him as "Urvater der Harmonie", the "original father of harmony".[60]

Statue of Bach, Leipzig

Bach's reputation among the wider public was enhanced in part by Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography of the composer.[61] Felix Mendelssohn significantly contributed to the revival of

Bach's reputation with his 1829 Berlin performance of the St Matthew Passion.[62] In 1850, the Bach-Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was founded to promote the works; in 1899 the Society

published a comprehensive edition of the composer's works with little editorial intervention.

During the twentieth century, the process of recognising the musical as well as the pedagogic value of some of the works continued, perhaps most notably in the promotion of the cello suites by Pablo Casals, the first major performer to record these suites.[63] Another development has

been the growth of the "authentic" or "period performance" movement, which attempts to present music as the composer intended it. Examples include the playing of keyboard works on

harpsichord rather than modern grand piano and the use of small choirs or single voices instead of the larger forces favoured by nineteenth- and early twentieth-century performers.[64]

Bach's music is frequently bracketed with the literature of William Shakespeare and the science

of Isaac Newton.[65] In Germany, during the twentieth century, many streets were named and statues were erected in honour of Bach. His music features three times – more than any other composer – on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record containing a broad sample of

the images, common sounds, languages, and music of Earth, sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes.[66]

A large crater in the Bach quadrangle on Mercury is named in Bach's honor[67] as are the main-

belt asteroids 1814 Bach and 1482 Sebastiana.[68]

Works

Main articles: BWV and List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

Music of Johann Sebastian Bach

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140)

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opening chorale to cantata BWV 140, performed by the MIT Concert Choir

Prelude No. 1 in C major (BWV 846)

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from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, performed on harpsichord by Robert Schröter

Aria from the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988)

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opening aria to the Goldberg Variations, performed on piano by Kimiko Ishizaka

Problems playing these files? See media help.

In 1950, a thematic catalogue called Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder.[69] Schmieder largely followed the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and

1905: BWV 1–224 are cantatas; BWV 225–249, large-scale choral works including his Passions; BWV 250–524, chorales and sacred songs; BWV 525–748, organ works; BWV 772–994, other keyboard works; BWV 995–1000, lute music; BWV 1001–40, chamber music; BWV 1041–71,

orchestral music; and BWV 1072–1126, canons and fugues.[70]

Organ works

Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works in both the traditional German free genres—such as preludes, fantasias, and toccatas—and stricter forms, such as chorale preludes and fugues.[18] At a young age, he established a

reputation for his great creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. A decidedly North German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, with whom Bach came into

contact in Lüneburg, and Dieterich Buxtehude, whom the young organist visited in Lübeck in 1704 on an extended leave of absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach copied

the works of numerous French and Italian composers to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later arranged violin concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. During his most productive period (1708–14) he composed about a dozen pairs of preludes and

fugues, five toccatas and fugues, and the Little Organ Book, an unfinished collection of 46 short chorale preludes that demonstrates compositional techniques in the setting of chorale tunes. After

leaving Weimar, Bach wrote less for organ, although some of his best-known works (the six trio sonatas, the German Organ Mass in Clavier-Übung III from 1739, and the Great Eighteen chorales, revised late in his life) were composed after his leaving Weimar. Bach was extensively

engaged later in his life in consulting on organ projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.[71][72]

Other keyboard works

Bach wrote many works for harpsichord, some of which may have been played on the clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopaedic fashion.

The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book consists of a prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys in chromatic order from C major to B minor (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as "the 48"). "Well-tempered" in the title refers to the temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach's time were not flexible enough to allow compositions to utilise more than just a few keys. [73]

The Inventions and Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These short two- and three-part contrapuntal works are arranged in the same chromatic order as The Well-Tempered Clavier, omitting some of the rarer keys. These pieces were intended by Bach for instructional purposes.[74]

Three collections of dance suites: the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV 812–817), and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six suites built on the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue.[75] The French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the gigue.[76] The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model. [77]

The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with thirty variations. The collection has a complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather than its melody, and musical canons are interpolated according to a grand plan. There are nine canons within the thirty variations, every third variation is a canon. [78] These variations move in order from canon at the unison to canon at the ninth. The first eight are in pairs (unison and octave, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The ninth canon stands on its own due to compositional dissimilarities. The final variation, instead of being the expected canon at the tenth, is a quodlibet.

Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831), Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).

Among Bach's lesser known keyboard works are seven toccatas (BWV 910–916), four duets (BWV 802–805), sonatas for keyboard (BWV 963–967), the Six Little Preludes (BWV 933–

938), and the Aria variata alla maniera italiana (BWV 989).

Orchestral and chamber music

Bach wrote for single instruments, duets, and small ensembles. Many of his solo works, such as his six sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001–1006), six cello suites (BWV 1007–1012), and partita for solo flute (BWV 1013), are widely considered among the most profound works in the repertoire.[79] Bach composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote trio sonatas;

solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba; and a large number of canons and ricercars, mostly with unspecified instrumentation. The most significant

examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.

Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg concertos, so named because he submitted them in the hope of gaining employment from Margrave Christian Ludwig of

Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721; his application was unsuccessful.[18] These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre. Other surviving works in the concerto form include two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and BWV 1042); a concerto for two violins in D minor (BWV 1043),

often referred to as Bach's "double" concerto; and concertos for one to four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but

arrangements of his concertos for other instruments now lost.[80] A number of violin, oboe, and flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In addition to concertos, Bach wrote four orchestral suites, and a series of stylised dances for orchestra, each preceded by a French

overture.[81]

Vocal and choral works

Cantatas

As the Thomaskantor, beginning mid of 1723, Bach performed a cantata each Sunday and feast day that corresponded to the lectionary readings of the week.[18] Although Bach performed cantatas by other composers, he composed at least three entire annual cycles of cantatas at

Leipzig, in addition to those composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar.[18] In total he wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which approximately 200 survive.[82]

His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation, including those for solo singers, single choruses, small instrumental groups, and grand orchestras. Many consist of a large opening

chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets) and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a

contemporary reflection on it. The melody of the concluding chorale often appears as a cantus firmus in the opening movement. Among his best known cantatas are:

Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (Actus Tragicus)

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147

In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as council

inaugurations. These include wedding cantatas, the Wedding Quodlibet, the Peasant Cantata, and the Coffee Cantata.[83]

Motets

Bach's motets (BWV 225–231) are pieces on sacred themes for choir and basso continuo, with instruments playing colla parte. Several of them were composed for funerals. The six motets

certainly composed by Bach are Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, Jesu, meine Freude, Fürchte dich nicht, Komm, Jesu, komm, and Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden. The motet Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren (BWV 231) is spurious; it is part of

an incomplete cantata or motet by Telemann.[84]

Passions

Bach's large choral-orchestral works include the grand scale St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, both written for Good Friday vesper services at the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche in alternate years, and the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the liturgical season of Christmas).[85][86][87] The two versions of the Magnificat (one in E-flat major, with four

interpolated Christmas-related movements, and the later and better-known version in D major), the Easter Oratorio, and the Ascension Oratorio are smaller and simpler than the Passions and

the Christmas Oratorio.

Mass in B minor

Main article: Mass in B minor

Bach assembled his last large work, the Mass in B minor, near the end of his life, between 1748

and 1749, mostly from pieces composed earlier (such as the cantatas Gloria in excelsis Deo,

BWV 191 and Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12). The mass was never performed in full during Bach's lifetime.[88] All of these movements have substantial solo parts as well as choruses. It is not known what direction of development Bach had intended for his last Mass to take. As

Stauffer states, "If Bach had lived longer, it is likely that he would have created a definitive fair copy of the Mass, similar to those of the St. John and St. Matthew Passions... As Otto Bettmann

once remarked, Bach's 'music set in order what life cannot.'"[2]

Musical style

Bach's seal, used throughout his Leipzig years. It contains the letters J S B superimposed over their

mirror image topped with a crown.

Bach's musical style arose from his skill in contrapuntal invention and motivic control, his flair

for improvisation, his exposure to North and South German, Italian and French music, and his

devotion to the Lutheran liturgy. His access to musicians, scores and instruments as a child and a young man and his emerging talent for writing tightly woven music of powerful sonority,

allowed him to develop an eclectic, energetic musical style in which foreign influences were combined with an intensified version of the pre-existing German musical language. From the

period 1713–14 onward he learned much from the style of the Italians.[89]

During the Baroque period, many composers only wrote the framework, and performers embellished this framework with ornaments and other elaboration.[90] This practice varied considerably between the schools of European music; Bach notated most or all of the details of

his melodic lines, leaving little for performers to interpolate. This accounted for his control over the dense contrapuntal textures that he favoured, and decreased leeway for spontaneous variation

of musical lines. At the same time, Bach left the instrumentation of major works including The Art of Fugue open.[91]

Bach's devout relationship with the Christian God in the Lutheran tradition[92] and the high

demand for religious music of his times placed sacred music at the centre of his repertory. He taught Luther's Small Catechism as the Thomaskantor in Leipzig,[93] and some of his pieces represent it;[94] the Lutheran chorale hymn tune was the basis of much of his work. He wrote

more cogent, tightly integrated chorale preludes than most. The large-scale structure of some of Bach's sacred works is evidence of subtle, elaborate planning. For example, the St Matthew

Passion illustrates the Passion with Bible text reflected in recitatives, arias, choruses, and chorales.[95]

Bach's drive to display musical achievements was evident in his composition. He wrote much for the keyboard and led its elevation from continuo to solo instrument with harpsichord concertos

and keyboard obbligato.[96] Virtuosity is a key element in other pieces, such as the Prelude and Fugue in E minor (BWV 548) for organ in which virtuosic passages are mapped onto alternating

flute and reed solos within the fugal development.[97]

Bach produced collections of movements that explored the range of artistic and technical possibilities inherent in various genres. The most famous example is The Well-Tempered Clavier, in which each book presents a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key. Each

fugue displays a variety of contrapuntal and fugal techniques.[98]

Performances

Present-day Bach performers usually pursue one of two traditions: so-called "authentic performance practice", utilising historical techniques; or the use of modern instruments and playing techniques, often with larger ensembles. In Bach's time orchestras and choirs were

usually smaller than those of later composers, and even Bach's most ambitious choral works, such as his Mass in B minor and Passions, were composed for relatively modest forces. Some of Bach's important chamber music does not indicate instrumentation, which allows for a greater

variety of ensembles.

Easy listening realisations of Bach's music and their use in advertising contributed greatly to Bach's popularisation in the second half of the twentieth century. Among these were the Swingle

Singers' versions of Bach pieces (for instance, the "Air" from Orchestral Suite No. 3, or the Wachet Auf chorale prelude) and Wendy Carlos' 1968 Switched-On Bach, which used the Moog

electronic synthesiser. Jazz musicians have adopted Bach's music, with Jacques Loussier, Ian Anderson, Uri Caine, and the Modern Jazz Quartet among those creating jazz versions of Bach

works.[80]

Johann Sebastian Bach

Daripada Wikipedia, ensiklopedia bebas.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (21 Mac 1685–28 Julai 1750) adalah seorang penggubah dan pemain

organ Jerman yang prolifik. Karya keagamaan dan sekularnya untuk alat-alat muzik koir, orkestra dan solo menggabungkan elemen-elemen muzik era barok dan membawa muzik era tersebut ke peringkat kematangan muktamad. Walaupun beliau tidak memperkenalkan sebarang

bentuk yang baru, beliau memperkayakan gaya Jerman yang lazim dengan teknik gaya gerak imbang, pengawalan penyusunan harmonik dan motivik dari skala terkecil sehingga ke terbesar,

dan pemadanan irama dan jalinan dari luar negeri, khususnya dari Itali dan Perancis. Ramai orang menganggap Bach sebagai penggubah Barok yang terutama, serta salah seorang penggubah yang terutama dalam sejarah. Bersama-sama dengan tokoh-tokoh seperti George

Frideric Handel, beliau merupakan salah satu tokoh yang terkemuka dalam peralihan daripada muzik era barok ke muzik era klasikal.

Karya-karya Bach yang dihormati kerana mempunyai sifat intelektual yang mendalam, penguasaan teknik, dan keindahan seni, telah mengilhami kesemua ahli muzik dalam tradisi

Eropah, daripada Mozart sehingga ke Arnold Schoenberg. Antara karya-karyanya ialah:

Konserto Brandenburg Suit papan nada dan ragam lagu Mass dalam nada B Minor Keghairahan St. Matthew Penawaran Muzik Seni Fiug

http://cmed.faculty.ku.edu/private/hyltonbar.html

From Hylton, J.B. (1995) Comprehensive Choral Music Education Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 171-176.

THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1600-1750) The transition from Renaissance to Baroque musical style began in the late sixteenth

century. The polychoral motets of the Venetian school, with two or more independent

choirs juxtaposed to exploit the resulting contrast in color, provided the seedbed for the Baroque notion of conflict. Composers of the Venetian school also employed large

performing forces, including choirs of instrumentalists, in their music. This led to the development of concertato style, in which the playing of a soloist or small group of players was contrasted with that of the full ensemble. This style of composition led to the

development of the concerto. The concerto, of course, is an instrumental form, and during the Baroque era, instrumental music assumed far greater prominence than previously.

An examination of the madrigals of Monteverdi, written over a fifty year period, reveals many of the stylistic changes that signaled the transition from Renaissance to Baroque. Monteverdi's early madrigals (written 1587-1603) were composed in the style of the high

Renaissance. Similar in character to the works of Marenzio in their use of chromaticism, they nevertheless begin a departure from the ideal of equality of voices and moved

toward the Baroque notion of soprano-bass polarity. In contrast, his last four books of madrigals (written 1605-1638) include independent instrumental sections contrasted with choral interludes (concertato style) and increasing use of figured bass.

Several pairs of contrasting terms have been applied to the "old style"of Renaissance music versus the "new style" of the Baroque. Stile antico andstile moderno is one such

pair. Another, used by Monteverdi, was prima prattica and seconda prattica. In the first half of the seventeenth century the two styles coexisted, with the earlier style employed most frequently in sacred music, while the new style was evident in secular music, most

notably in the operas of the early Baroque. Text was of extreme importance to composers of both the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

However, the manner in which it was approached differed markedly. The Renaissance ideal was of several independent vocal lines, each with its own inflections and accentuation. In the early to mid seventeenth century, the trend was away from this

polyphonic ideal, toward soprano-bass polarity, in which a single melody was sung and a

figured bass line was played by an accompanying instrument or instruments. By the late Baroque era, in the first half of the eighteenth century, polyphony had returned to

popularity. The polyphony of the late Baroque differed from that of the Renaissance: It was rooted in tonal harmony and characterized by an energetic, metrically conceived,

driving rhythm. The tradition of requiring full participation by the performer in decisions concerning

tempo, articulation, ornamentation, and other matters continued from the Renaissance

into the Baroque era. Keyboard players presented with a figured bass line were expected to "realize" it, filling in chords, adding ornaments, and otherwise embellishing their

playing. Singers, particularly soloists, were expected to improvise ornamentation and elaboration for a melody found in the score.

Although all of the stylistic changes mentioned here occurred over a period of decades,

the year 1600 is widely accepted as a convenient if somewhat arbitrary date to mark the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Baroque. It should also be noted that

many if not all of these changes ere interrelated. For example, the move away from polyphonic texture toward an accompanied melody was closely related to the shift from modality toward the major-minor key system and the use of figured bass. The increasing

significance of new instrumental forms grew out of the employment of dependent instrumental parts, contrasted with choral sections. The total impact of all of these

changes taken together propelled music forward into e new era. Important Forms

In the Baroque period, some of the important choral forms, such as the ass and the motet,

represented the continued development of Renaissance ideas. Others, such as the cantata and the oratorio, were newly created or assumed a new importance in terms of stylistic

development. Some forms crossed the boundaries of sacred and secular. The cantatas of Bach, for example, inclucled both classifications. For the purposes of this discussion, opera is not considered. A brief definition of each of the important Baroque choral forms

is presented here. Anthem. The anthem tradition begun in Elizabethan England by Gibbons, Byrd, Tallis

and others continued in the Baroque, reaching its highest state in the anthems of Purcell and Handel. The Baroque anthem was more elaborate than that of the Renaissance, utilizing recitatives, instrumental accompaniments with continuo, independent

instrumental sections and interludes, and elaborate solo passages. Cantata. Derived from the Italian word cantare meaning "to sing," the cantata developed

in the seventeenth century as an extended piece of accompanied secular music with recitatives and arias. In Germany, the Lutheran chorale formed the basis for extended treatment in the "chorale cantata," a sacred work written for soloists, chorus, and

orchestra, and brought to its highest development by J.S. Bach. Madrigal. In the Baroque era, the madrigal continued to be popular and came to embody

the "new style" in the form of the continuo madrigal developed by Monteverdi, using figured bass, and incorporating sections for solo, duet, or trio with continuo and contrasting sections for instruments with those for choir.

Magnificat. A musical setting of the canticle of the Virgin Mary found in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Polyphonic settings were written as early as the fourteenth

century. The Magnificat is a part of the Catholic service of Vespers and the Anglican

service of Evensong. Monteverdi, Hassler, Purcell, and most importantly Bach, wrote significant settings of this text.

Mass. During the early Baroque, the mass tended to be a conservative musical form, similar in style to the Franco-Flemish mass of the sixteenth century. As the seventeenth

century progressed, masses began to incorporate concertato style and to have instrumental accompaniments. These developments led to the five masses of J.S. Bach, whose B Minor Mass is one of the towering monuments of Western music. Unlike his

other masses, the B Minor Mass is two hours in length and divides the ordinary into twenty-five separate movements characterized by a wide range of expressive and musical

devices. Motet. The motets of the Venetian school were written in concertato style, exploiting the

colors of contrasting choral and instrumental forces. Schutz, Monteverdi, and Lully wrote

motets that included a wide variety of forces, textures, and emotions. This led to the multimovement motet of the late Baroque, exemplified by the works of Bach and

Buxtehude. Oratorio. The setting of a sacred or heroic text for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. The

details of the story are conveyed through recitative. Similar in character to opera, an

oratorio is not staged, nor are the singers costumed. The first important composer of oratorio was Carissimi. The Baroque oratorio reached its highest point in the works of

Handel. Passion. The passion is a musical setting of the events at the end of Christ's life, from the

Last Supper to the Crucifixion. The story is carried in recitatives sung by the Evangelist.

Other soloists perform recitatives and arias, and the role of the chorus varies from the singing of chorales, more complex contemplative choral sections, and turba sections in

which the chorus assumes the identity of the crowd. Te Deum. The opening words of this text, "Te deum laudamus," mean "We Praise Thee,

God." It is sung at the Roman Catholic office of Matins, at Anglican Morning Prayer, and

for other festive sacred and secular occasions. Purcell and Handel each wrote significant musical settings of the Te Deum.

Vespers. Evening worship in the Roman Catholic rite. Vespers includes a series of psalms, a hymn, and the Magnificat. Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 utilized choir, instrumentalists, and was written in concertato style. It is the most important Baroque

example of the form. Composers

Two composers predominated in the first half of the Baroque period. Their music embodies many of the elements of the transition from Renaissance to Baroque style. These two composers were Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) and Heinrich Schutz (1585-

1672). Born in Cremona, Italy, Monteverdi composed eight books of madrigals, three masses,

vespers, magnificats, and motels. He wrote at least twelve operas, three of which have been preserved. As mentioned earlier, Monteverdi's music illustrates the transition from the prima prattica to the seconda prattica, from Renaissance polyphony to Baroque

homophony. Schutz was the greatest German composer of the seventeenth century. Born in Saxony, he

studied with Gabrieli in Venice. Schutz's music is diverse, reflecting his long life and the varied conditions under which he worked. His first published compositions were Italian

madrigals. He was Lutheran, and his sacred compositions were written for the Lutheran church. Schutz wrote several highly varied collections of motets as well as oratorios and

passions. Other important composers of the early Baroque include Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-

1687), Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1591-1652), Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630), and Ciacomo Carissimi (1605-1674). Carissimi's fifteen oratorios are of particular importance. They contain recitatives, arias, choral sections, and instrumental interludes,

utilizing a variety of textures. In the late Baroque period, the works of Bach and Handel predominated and constitute an

important part of the choral repertoire performed today. Other major composers of this period include Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1701), Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1634-1704), Henry Purcell (1659-1695), Georg Philip Telemann (1681-1767), and Antonio Vivaldi

(1675-1741). The music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) represents the culmination of the two

centuries of musical development that preceded it. Bach's choral, orchestral, and keyboard music display an amazing variety of expressive quality, technique, and organization. His choral output includes six motets, a magnificat, five masses, three

hundred cantatas, and two complete passions. While all of Bach's choral works constitute an important part of the repertoire, two works

are choral monuments: the B Minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion. In addition, the hundreds of Bach cantatas include a wide variety of difficulty levels, and some are performable by choirs with limited experience and resources. The relatively modest

resources required for the performance of many Bach cantatas is understandable, since he wrote the majority of them for performance by his church choir in Leipzig and was

limited by the available finances and personnel. Although his singers were regularly under his instruction, the instrumentalists who constituted the orchestra were recruited on an ad hoc basis and in fact were probably sightreading the music in performance.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was born in Halle, Germany. Handel was a cosmopolitan man, traveling to Italy for three years in 1707 and living in London from

1711 until his death. His choral output included twenty-one oratorios, three Te Deums, fourteen anthems, and two passions. His oratorios were designed for concert presentation rather than for use in the church. They were musical narratives of the lives of heroic

figures from the Bible and mythology. Handel's best known oratorio, Messiah, is atypical of the rest in that it presents a series of meditations on the life of Christ and its

significance rather than a dramatic narrative of a sequence of events. Baroque Style

The performance of Baroque choral music requires life and energy. It is music that is full

of emotion. In Baroque music there tends to be unity of emotion within a given section of a composition. This stems from the Baroque idea that an individual is controlled by a

single affect or emotion at any given time. But this does not mean the music should be emotionless. More overt emotion may be displayed in a Baroque choral piece than in music from the Renaissance. Contrast in emotion must be achieved as one section ends

and another begins in a new tempo and with new dynamics. Terraced dynamics, wherein dynamic changes occur between sections of music (as

opposed to long crescendos and decrescendos within sections) is a typically Baroque

musical characteristic. Similarly, the tempo of a Baroque composition should be steady within each section of a work. Sharp contrasts in tempo occur between sections.

The tone to be used in a Baroque mass is bigger and more dramatic than what would be appropriate for a sixteenth-century setting of the same text. A freer approach to vibrato

along with a wider dynamic range help distinguish the two styles. The use of an orchestra to accompany Baroque choral music adds to the variety of color

available and accentuates the need for choir members 0 sing with warmth and projection.

As was the case in the Renaissance, it was quite common and accepted to double the vocal lines in a composition with instruments. In the Baroque period, in addition to the

instrumental doubling, compositions also typically contained an independent orchestral accompaniment, often calling for strings, trumpets, oboes, and a keyboard instrument (harpsichord or organ) providing the continuo.

Some Baroque choral music tends to be "instrumental" in conception. Such music is characterized by driving dotted rhythms, and it must be infused with life, energy, and a

sense of propulsion. Slower sections should be distinctly contrasting.

History of Baroque Era of Music

introduction composers see also:

o History of Music o History of Medieval Era of Music o History of Renaissance Era of Music o History of the Classical Period of Music o History of the Romantic Era of Music

Introduction:

baroque is the French term applied to ornate architecture of Germany & Austria during 17th & 18thC & borrowed to describe comparable music developments from ~1600 to the deaths of Bach & Handel in 1750 & 1759 respectively.

it was a period in which harmonic complexity grew alongside emphasis on contrast: o in opera, interest was transferred from recital to aria o in church music, the contrasts of solo voices, choir & orchestra were developed to a high

degree o most baroque music uses basso continuo

in 18thC, the term was used to pejoratively denote "coarse" or "old-fashioned in taste" new instruments:

o glockenspiel - 1st used 1739 by Handel in Saul where he called it a carillon o baroque trumpet

o baroque oboe o musette - type of French bagpipe, popular in court circles in 17th & 18thC o orchestra:

haphazard in 17thC often consisting of viols, flutes, oboes, cornetts, trombone, drums & harpsichord

by 18thC, violins had ousted viols, baroque trumpet & oboe displaced cornetts, and accompanied by harpsichord or organ

o baroque organ: 18thC type, more brilliant in tone & flexible than its 19thC counterpart

new music styles: o sonata o the suite - eg. partita o concerto grosso o cantata da camera (secular) o cantata da chiesa (sacred) o the art of counterpoint, developed gradually from 9thC, reaches its peak by beginning of

17thC: strictest form of contrapuntal imitation is a canon contrapuntal voices successively entering in imitation is called a fugue

o toccata - a short prelude to display a musician's 'touch' through rapidity & delicacy o gavotte:

old French dance in common time beginning on 3rd beat of bar originated in Pays de Gap where inhabitants were known as gavots popularised at court of Louis XIV in 17thC & became an optional movement of

baroque suite o march used in art music by Couperin & Lully, although had been used by Byrd earlier

Composers:

Lully, Jean-Baptiste (1632-87): o Italian-born French composer to Louis XIV, died when stabbed foot with his staff whilst

conducting, led to gangrene o introduced professional female dancers into ballet o made French opera a popular art o music compositions:

operas comedy ballets choral: Miserere, Te Deum, motets

Corelli, Arcangelo (1653-1713): o Italian violinist, composer o musical compositions:

mainly sonatas da camera & concerti grossi Pachelbel, Johann (1653-1706):

o German organist & composer o

Albinoni, Tomaso (1671-1751): o Italian composer of 81 operas, 99 sonatas, 59 concertos, & 9 sinfonias

o his popular Adagio in Gmin owes very little to himself as it was constructed from a manuscript fragment in 20thC by Italian musicologist Remo Giazotto who owns the copyright!

Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741): o Italian violinist, composer o musical compositions:

operas: Griselda (1735)

sonatas, sacred music Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750):

o German composer & organist, orphaned at age 10, then lived with elder brother o musical compositions:

orchestral: Brandenburg Concertos

chamber music: sonatas, fugues

keyboard: Fantasias, Fugues, Suites, Partitas

organ: preludes, toccata & fugues

chorale preludes cantatas oratorios

Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759): o German composer & organist, son of a barber-surgeon, moved to London o music compositions:

operas: orchestrals:

Water Music (1717) Music for Royal Fireworks (1749)

dramatic oratorios: Messiah (1741) Judas Maccabaeus (1746)

cantatas & chamber duets church music:

Gloria Patri (1707) Zadok the Priest (1727)

instrumental & chamber music: Harmonious Blacksmith (1720)

The Early Baroque

THE BAROQUE

The term baroque was first coined in the mid 18th century (around 1750) by the traveler Charles de Brosses who complained that the a building in Rome had too many filigree ornaments more suitable for a tableware than a building of architectural importance

o The word itself comes from the portuguese barocco, meaning a deformed pearl o The term later assumed a negative conotation, meaning abnormal, bizarre, exaggerated,

grotesque, bad taste, or what Germans might call kitsch (bad or cheap imitation of artworks) or even schund, tresh, garbage

1920s: the term was brought back by musicologists who applied it to mean a period of some century and a half in history of European music, spanning the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries or roughly between 1600-1750

Like in the Renaissance, Italy was the main region of musical influence, although France developed its own style, as well as Germany

Patronage

European courts, such as that of Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715) City-states, such as Venice and many German cities Church Academies, a new type of private urban associations which promoted arts, music, 'high culture

and learning', sciences, something like elitist salons based on other than aristocratic merits or membership

Public concerts, a new way of promoting music o the first public concert open to all by purchasing a ticket was held in England in 1672

Literature, Arts, Sciences

The Baroque era was the time partially simultaneous to the 18th century Enlightenment, during which sciences, arts, and literature saw a great production of works, new scientific inventions and discoveries, and a great plead of outstanding personalities

o England: Milton, F. Bacon, Newton o Spain: Cervantes, Velásquez, Murillo o France: Corneille, Racine, Molière, Descartes o The Netherlands: Rubens, Rembrandt, Kepler o Italy: Bernini, Borromini, Galileo o Germany: Leibniz

New Practices and Experimentation in Music

1605: Monteverdi distinquishes between: 1. Prima pratica, the 'first practice', which was also known as Stile antico, the 'old style' 2. Seconda pratica, the 'second practice', also known as Stile moderno, the 'modern style'

Division of music into: 0. Church music 1. Chamber music 2. Thater music

Theory of Affects

Expression and representation of a wide range of feeling or affacts became a prominant feature of the baroque music

The Basso Continuo

Lit. in It., the 'continual bass', in English known as Thorough Bass or Figured Bass o this was one of the typical textures of a great part of the Baroque music, and a new

emphasis on the firm, i.e. fixed and emphasized bass, and the florid treble o composers would provide the bass and treble (cantus or soprano) lines, and the rest, i.e.

the intermediary voices, would be filled in by performers in a way of improvisation o a new system of notation was invented for basso continuo:

the main melody in the treble was usually a solo singing, while the bass part was played as an accompaniment on a continuo instrument, such as harpsichord, organ or lute

composer would then put the numbers or figures below the bass line -- hence the name, figured bass

these figures stood for the tones improvised as chordal fillers on top of the bass line which was 'thoroughly' written out, and which usually represented the root tones of the chords played

performers would then fill in the remaining tones of chords, making harmonies to accompany the main melody in the treble

this 'filling' of chords was known as ripieno, which in Italian means 'stuffing'

Music Example -- Madrigal (NRAWM CD3:35-36) Perfidissimo volto, "[O] Most Perfidious Face," by Giulio Caccini

Dissonance and Chromaticism

o Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa's or Claudio Monteverdi's madrigals Girolamo Frescobaldi's (1583-1643) and Johann Jakob Froberger's (1616-1667) toccatas

Tonality: Major-Minor

The basso continuo was a natural musical phenomenon in the process towards developing tonal harmony

The process begun as early as the 15th century continued through the Renaissance and culminated in the Baroque period

See Rameau and his Traité de l'harmonie, and J.S. Bach and his Das wohltemperierte Clavier (below)

Tonality and basso continuo were probbly the most crucial musical concepts and practices that changed the texture and general charactersitics of European music from its contrapuntal, polyphonic and linear-melodic texture to homophonic and chordal-harmonic texture (see Equal Temperament, below)

Early Opera

Opera is a musical-theatrical form

As such, opera may be understood as musical drama with narratives, actions and affections expressed in musical monologues, dialogues and choral sections, usually with instrumental/ensemble accompaniment or with independent instrumental/ensemble sections, including scenes and costumes

Although the musical developments in the Renaissance, especially the madrigal, as well as the typically Renaissance ideas about humanism and the 'revival' of ancient Greek classical culture, have prepared the road for the creation of opera as a new musical theatrical form, it is commonly understood that the beginnings of opera belong to the Baroque, a period which ushered its later development in Europe

Influences

1. Ancient Greek Tragedy

o Ancient Greek tragedies of such authors as Sophocles and Euripides were widely read and discussed in learned circles and academies in Italy

Concerning music, these discussions were mostly on whether ancient Greek tragedies had the whole text sung during their performance or whether only the chorus parts were sung

It is possible that the whole texts in ancient Greek tragedies were either sung throughout or maybe intoned with heightened pitches and emphatic intonation, which was not just a plain declamation or reading of text

In many Orthodox churches throughout the world, the Orthodox Liturgy, for example, is sti l l performed exclusively musically, wi th all its text being sung, either by the priest or the choir (chorus), without a single l iturgical text, hymn,

or prayer being just read Epic songs from the Balkans are also exclusively sung, although they, l ike

ancient Greek tragedies or Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, are long narratives. If asked to just read these epic songs, the peasants from the Balkans usually

make errors and change the text. Only in their musical performances do these text become fully and clearly uttered

It is obvious that the renaissance ideas about the ancient Greek tragedy have influenced the way the renaissance plays were performed

2. Medieval Music Dramas and Plays

o However, it was not only the ancient Greek tragedies that influenced the development of opera

The medieval period had also known various types of musical plays, and other dramatical-theatrical forms, either religious or secular

Sacred Music Drama Ordo virtutum, by the German nun Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (see Palisca's NAWM, 1996: 33-35, and NRAWM CD 1:17 [CD1:7])

The 11th-12th century monophonic conductus The troubadours and trouvères pastourelle Adam de la Halle's (c. 1237 - c. 1287) musical play Jeu de Robin et de Marion The 13th century polyphonic conductus The 15th century English conductus

3. The Madrigal Comedy

o Many leading Italian madrigalists from the second half of the 16th century composed music that included dramatic scenes and even dialogues (see for example Monteverdi's madrigal Cruda Amarilli), full of contrasting moods, with short solos or duets

o When such madrigals included comic and humorous situations, plots, and characters, a new genre developed, the madrigal comedy

o Orazio Vecchi (1550-1605) was the well-known composer of madrigal comedies, the most famous of which is his L'Amfiparnaso, 'The Slopes of Parnassus', 1597

4. Intermedio

o The Renaissance theatrical plays had musical sections interpolated in them, called intermedi or intermezzi (pl. of intermedio and intermezzo)

o 1589: one of the early intermedios was performed in Florence for the wedding of a member of the powerful Florentine Medici family, Grand Duke Ferdinand de' Medici of Tuscany, and Catherine of Lorraine

The Roman nobleman Emilio de' Cavalieri (c. 1550-1602) produced this intermedio

The Florentine Count Giovanni Bardi (1534-1612) was the director o Many leading Italian madrigalists from the second half of the 16th century composed

music for intermedios

Camerata Fiorentina -- The Florentine Camerata

The learned circles in Italy in the second half of the 16th century organized their own informal academies and gathering circles, in which they discussed questions on literature, science, and the arts, including music

o One such circle, later to be known as the camerata, was established in Florence o This camerata was held in the Florentine home of the Count Bardi, and one of its

members, Giulio Caccini, named it the Camerata di Bardi, the 'Camerata of Bardi' o Later writers referred to it as the Camerta Fiorentina, the 'Florentine Camerata'

This Camerta Fiorentina included several musicians who discussed whether ancient Greek tragedies had the whole text sung during their performance or whether only the chorus parts were sung (see above)

o 1. Girolamo Mei (1519-1594) argued that the text of Greek tragedy was sung and he put this forward in his treatise:

De modis musicis, 'On the Modes of Music', 1570s Among other members of the Camerata Fiorentina were:

o 2. Giovanni Bardi (1534-1612), composer of intermedios (see above) o 3. Vincenzo Galilei (d. 1591), the father of the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei

Influenced by Mei's doctrine on the role of music in Greek tragedy, V. Galilei wrote a treatise:

Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna, 'Dialogue On Old and Modern Music', 1581, in which he attacked the theory and practice of vocal counterpoint in the Italian madrigal which, he argued, blurred the meaning of its text and its smooth understanding

o 4. Giulio Caccini (1551-1618), singer, composer, and Bardi's protégé

The First Operas in Florence

1. Dafne

1597: The first known opera, Dafne, whose fragments only survived, was produced in Florence

Jacopo Peri (1561-1633), wrote the music Ottavio Rinuccini (1562-1621), wrote its libretto (text) basing on his

poem Dafne In agreement with Mei's doctrine (see above), Peri and Rinuccini

were convinced that the text in Greek tragedy was sung throughout

2. Euridice

1600: The second known and the first complete opera to survive is L'Euridice, also produced in Florence for the occasion of the wedding of Henry IV of France and Maria de' Medici

The music for Euridice was separately written by two composers: 1. Jacopo Peri, who wrote the music for Dafne 2. Giulio Caccini (see above)

The libretto was written again by Ottavio Rinuccini, basing on his another poem called L'Euridice

Emilio de' Cavalieri, who wrote intermedios, also experimented with wiriting music for opera, and he claimed that he was the first opera writer ever

Music Example -- Opera (NRAWM CD3:37-41) L'Euridice, "Euridice," by Jacopo Peri

Operetic Singing: Aria, Bel canto, and Recitative

New styles of solo singing in opera: 0. Aria

this style is used to bring forward the melody and lyrical qualities, usually in an embellished style, which later became known as bel canto, 'beautiful singing'

1. Strophic Aria Used in Peri's Euridice

2. Recitative, also known as stile recitativo, 'recitative style'

this style of singing is used for speech, dialogue and more dramatic conversation between the main actresses/actors

It has repeated tones, and is performed in free rhythm and in tempo rubato

Monody

Operetic style of solo singing, i.e. arias and recitatives, as well as the solo madrigals, and virtually all other solo singing is generically known as monody

Gr. monos, 'one', and aidein, 'to sing' Monodic style was very much suitable for theatrical purposes, such as

carrying the dialogue

Claudio Monteverdi: Mantua

L'Orfeo

o 1607: produced in Mantua o Alessandro Striggio (c. 1573-1630) wrote the librettist based on his five-act drama o This opera features:

orchestral ritornellos, played between singing and sometimes making almost self-standing short musical pieces

solo arias duets dances madrigal-type choruses Music Example -- Opera (NRAWM CD3:42-56 [CD2:13-21])

L'Orfeo, "Orfeus," by Claudio Monteverdi

Venetian Opera

Abundance of theaters and stage productions Public performances Rich merchants as sponsors Claudio Monteverdi (see above)

Monteverdi: Venice

L'incoronazione di Poppea

o 1642: Produced in Venice o Giovanni Francesco Busenello (1598-1659), libretto o Features:

More lyrical monody Speech-like recitative Lyrical arias Depiction in music of passions, such as a love scene between Nero and Poppea,

two main protagonists Music Example -- Opera (NRAWM CD4:1-5)

L'incoronazione di Poppea, "The Coronation of Poppea," by Claudio Monteverdi

Vocal Chamber Music

The Baroque period saw a new emphasis on the development of chamber music Monody and the basso continuo contributed to this development Strophic song and strophic aria became popular

Romanesca and Basso ostinato

Typical strophic poetic form was romanesca, which consisted of eight eleven-syllable lines, with the eighth rhyming with the seventh line, a feature known as ottave rime, 'octave rhyme'

Romanesca also consisted of a treble melody which was repeated like a melodic formula If the bass part was also given as a formula, then it would be referred to as the ground bass or

basso ostinato, 'repeated bass'

The Concertato and the Madrigals

The Italian adverb concertato, comes form the verb concertare, 'to reach agreement' o English consort, from the verb to concert

The concept of the concertato consists in the idea of writing individual solo parts or several instrumental parts against the main body of ensemble, so that the general impression is an instrumental 'agreement' or 'competition'

The noun concerto, is also dervide from the concertare, meaning several instruments playing in ensemble creating one texture and sound

Instrumental concerto in the Baroque era was a musical piece in which a variety of instruments, sometime including one or more solo instruments, or several ensemble sections, compete with each other and orchestra

o Later in the Baroque and Classical periods, the word concerto would come to mean a musical form in which a solo instrument is playing the main musical part accompanied by the whole ensemble, i.e. orchestra

The Concertato Madrigal and Stile concitato: Monteverdi

A type of the early Baroque madrigal in which the instrumental parts are treated equally as the vocal parts

o Thus the concept of concerto implies instruments Good example of this new trend in 'instrumentalisation' of madrigal are later Monteverdi's

madrigals collected in the Seventh and Eighth Books

o In their concertato style, Monteverdi's Seventh and Eighth Books of Madrigals differ from his first Five Books

The features of Monteverdi's later madrigals are: o basso continuo o basso ostinato o instrumental solos, duets, trios o the renaissance form of these madrigals started to disintergrate, evolving into a more

free type of song

Madrigali guerreri et amorosi, 'Madrigals of War and Love'

The title of Monteverdi's Eighth Book of Madrigals, examplifying this new style of madrigals

o Another style of expressive madrigals, also used in the Eighth Book, is the so-called stile concitato, the 'excited style'

o The famous Monteverdi's madrigal in stile concitato is: Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, 'The Combat of Tancred and Clorinda'

o The purpose and the main concept behind stile concitato was to express certain extramusical feelings in music and paint and depict with music

Music Example -- Romanesca (NRAWM CD4:8-11) Ohimè dov'è il mio ben, "Alas, Where is My Love," from the Seventh

Book of Madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi

The Early Baroque: Instrumental Music

Purely instrumental musical forms in the first half of the 17th century can be classified according to their compositional treatment and techniques:

1. Fugal forms, i.e. pieces which used continuous imitative counterpoint:

o Ricercare In the early 17th century, usually a brief and simpler composition for the

keyboards -- organ or clavier -- with one theme developed in imitation its simplicity separates it from the more complex fantasia Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643): Fiori musicali ("Musical Flowers," 1635), a

collection of organ pieces for use in churches o Fantasia (see below) o Fancy (England)

pieces for Consort, i.e. ensemble, music for viols John Jenkins (1592-1678) Matthew Locke (1621-1677) Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

o Capriccio

o Fuga o Verset

2. Canzona-type forms, using discontinuous imitative counterpoint:

o Canzona ensemble and keyboard canzonas Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667), a student of G. Frescobaldi

o Sonata a composition resembling canzona Solo canzona: one or two melodic instruments, usually violins, and a basso

continuo Ensemble canzona: with or without a continuo by the end of the 17th c. the term sonata stood for both the canzona and the

sonata o Sonata da chiesa o Trio Sonata

3. Variation-type forms, i.e. pieces using a theme and its variations:

o Partita o Passacaglia o Chaconne or Ciaconna o Chorale partita o Chorale prelude

4. Dance forms, using stylized dance rhythms, i.e. either a loose series of dances or a string of

connected dances put in a single piece:

o Suite several movements, based on dances, or distinct moods, or dance rhythms, put

together: 1. Allemande ("German" dance) 2. Courante (French dance) 3. Sarabande (Spanish dance) 4. Gigue ((English-Irish dance)

Keyboard Suite: French suites for the clavecin (harpsichord) and the lute:

Ennemond Gaultier (1575-1651)

Music Example -- Suite for the lute and clavecin (NRAWM I, CD4:31-32) Gigue La poste by Ennemond Gaultier

a) Lute

b) Arrangement for the clavecin (harpsichord) by Jean-Henri d'Anglebert

German suites, partitas, for the clavier: Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) style brisé, "brisk, crisp style"

Music Example -- Tombeau (NRAWM I, CD4:33-34) Lamentation faite sur la mort très douloureuse de Sa Majesté Impérial

Ferdinand le troisième et se joue lentement avec discretion ("Lamentation on the very sorrowful death of His Imperial Majesty Ferdinand the Third to be played slowly and with discretion") by Johann Jakob Froberger

Ensemble Suite

5. Improvisatory forms for solo keyboard instruments:

o Toccata Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643)

Music Example -- Toccata (NRAWM I, CD4:35 [CD2:24])) Toccata No. 3 by Girolamo Frescobaldi

o Fantasia more complex than the ricercare Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), the Amsterdam organist Sweelinck's pupils:

Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), Halle Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1596-1663)

o Prelude

The Late 17th Century Baroque - Opera

Opera in Italy: Venice and Naples

I. Venetian Opera

Venice (northern Italy) was the principle center of the Italian Opera in the second half of the 17th c.

Greater emphasis on the singer -- operetic divas, virtuosity, and the aria, than on drama and spectacle

Venetian Arias

o Strophic aria o Refrains o Dance type arias (in rhythms of suite movements) o quasi-ostinato or the running bass accompaniment, i.e. with a basso ostinato type of

accompaniment o continuo aria, accompanied by the harpsichord or bass, i.e. basso continuo

II. Neapolitan Opera

The late 17th century in Naples (Southern Italy) Emphasis on the beauty of music and the more stylized musical language Recitative: renewed attention on the recitative

Italian Recitative

o Recitativo semplice, "simple recitative," and recitativo secco, "dry recitative," accompanied by the basso continuo

o Recitativo accompagnato, the "accompanied recitative," and recitativo stromentato, "stirring recitative," accompanied by the orchestra

o Recitativo arioso or simply arioso, the "aria like recitative," in between the free recitative and the rhythmically strict aria

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)

o Operas: Mitridate (Venice, 1707) Tigrane (Naples, 1715) Griselda (Rome, 1721)

Da capo aria

o Da capo, It. "from the head" -- a two section melody (AB) in which the singer, at the end of the B section, returns to the beginning of the A section and repeats it, so that the final musical form is ABA

Music Example -- Da capo aria (NRAWM I, CD4:36-38 [CD2:24]) Da capo aria, "Mi riverdi," "You see me again," Act II, Scene 1, from the

opera La Griselda by Alessandro Scarlatti

Opera in France

1670s: French opera was started under the patronage of Louis XIV It became known as tragédie lyrique, 'lyric tragedy'

o French emphasis on poetry and drama, on moderation and bon goût, 'good taste', in contrast to Italian melodramatics and emotional excesses

Two traditions influenced French opera: 1. French court ballet 2. French tragedy represented by writers such as Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) and Jean

Racine (1639-1699)

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)

The first composer of French operas who combined elements of drama, music and ballet, and thus established a new musical genre in France

Born in Italy but moved to Paris at an early age 1653: becomes a member of Louis XIV's Vingt-quatre violons du roy, 'Twenty-four violins of the

king', the court string ensemble 1672: a royal previlege gave Lully's Académie royale de musique, the Royal Academy of Music, a

monopoly in the sung drama, i.e. opera

Divertissement

long interludes in Lully's operas: o pompous and gracious music o showing the splendor of the French royal court o ideals of courtly love o chivalry o spectacular choruses o ballet scenes with lively dances o instrumental portions, divertissements, became separate pieces arranged as orchestral

suites (see above ) Lully's librettist was Jean-Philppe Quinault

French Recitative

Lully adopted Italian recitative and adapted it to the French language and poetry

Italian types of recitative, i.e. the rapid and dry recitativo secco or more melodramatic recitativo

arioso (see above), did not suite the rhythm and accents of French language

1. récitatif simple, the 'simple recitative', with a shift between duple and triple meters 2. récitatif mesuré, the 'measured recitative', also sometimes marked as Air, 'aria', i.e. more

songlike and uniform style of singing

o Music Example -- French Opera Monologue (NRAWM I, CD4:42-44) Monologue "Enfin il est en ma puissance," "Finally he is my power," Act II, Scene

5, from the opera Armide (1686) by Jean-Baptiste Lully, libretto by Jean-Philippe Quinault

The French Ouverture

Before it became the opera ouverture, Lully composed ouvertures for his ballets

Consists of two parts:

1. Homophonic part, slow and majestic, with dotted rhythms 2. Fugal-Imitative part, in fast tempo

Sometimes the first part would be repeated at the end, making the ABA form

o Music Example -- French Opera Ouverture (NRAWM I, CD4:39-41) Ouverture from the opera Armide by Jean-Baptiste Lully

The Masque and Opera in England

In 17th century England, the masque was a musical-theatrical genre, similar to French court ballets, intended for entertainment of aristocratic circles

English opera began in the second half of the 17th c., during the Commonwealth (1649-1660) (see below)

Stage plays were prohibitd during this period, only to be allowed again after the Restoration by King Charles II (r. 1660-1685) (see below)

However, music plays, which could be called concerts, were not banned, so that music dramas, i.e. operas, continued throughout the Commonwealth and Restoration

o In English history, Restoration refers to the period after the fall (1660) of the republican

Commonwealth and Protectorate, when the monarchy was restored in the person of Charles II. Early in 1660 the Convention Parliament invited Charles to return from exile on condition that he grant an amnesty to his former enemies (excepting those responsible for the execution of his

father, Charles I) and guarantee religious toleration. Having met these conditions in the Declaration of Breda, Charles landed in England on May 25, 1660. The promise of religious toleration was broken when the royalist Cavalier Parliament a dopted the Clarendon Code (1661-65) imposing severe restrictions on dissenters from the Church of England. (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1998)

o The reopening of London theaters by Charles II in 1660 began the 40-year period of Restoration

drama, noted for such theatrical innovations as movable scenery, opera, the introduction of

actresses--and especially its satiric comedy and bombastic and violent tragedy. The era's drama had close ties to the court, an association reflected in the licentiousness and linguistic vitality of the so-called comedy of wit, or comedy of manners.

o Although criticized for its l ibertinism and narrow social focus, at its best Restoration comedy

intell igently explores the social and sexual gamesmanship of fashionable society, whether as comic spectacle, as in the plays of Aphra Behn, Sir George Etherege, and George Farquhar; as questionings of personal and social morality, exemplified by the work of Will iam Congreve and Thomas Otway; or as evidence of man's moral self-betrayal by hypocrisy and lust--an aspect of

the drama of Will iam Wycherley. Restoration tragedy, however, is generally undistinguished. John Dryden championed the heroic, or rhymed, couplet as a tragic form early in his career but later abandoned it. (Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1998)

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

organist of Westminster Abbey, London incidental music for some 49 plays airs for semi-operas and/or masques

Music Example -- Air (NRAWM I, CD5:5) Air, "Hark! the ech'ing air a triumph sings," for the masque / semi-opera

The Fairy Queen (1692) by Henry Purcell

opera Dido and Aeneas o libretto by Nahum Tate on the story from Vergil's Aeneid o four main roles o basso ostinato arias (see above)

Music Example -- English Opera (NRAWM I, CD5:1-4 [CD2:25-27]) Act III, Scene 2, from the opera Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry

Purcell, libretto by Nahum Tate a) Dido's Aria /Lament, "Thy Hand, Belinda / When I am laid in

earth" o short three act opera with the French overture, dances and homohonic choruses with

dance rhythms o orchestra consists of strings and continuo

Music Example -- English Opera (NRAWM I, CD5:1-4 [CD2:25-27]) Act III, Scene 2, from the opera Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry

Purcell, libretto by Nahum Tate b) Chorus, "With drooping wings"

Singspiel and Opera in Germany

1678-1738: Opera in Hamburg, the first public opera house outside Venice, Italy o Opera in Hamburg was the first German opera, influenced by Italian and French operas o German opera developed from the typically German tradition of the Singspiel, lit. 'sing-

play', which consisted of songs and spoken dialogues o spoken dialogues eventually assumed the form of recitatives

Richard Keiser (1674-1739) composed many works for the Hamburg Opera, combining Italian and German operatic elements

Vocal Chamber Music

The Cantata in Italy

The early 17th c.: The cantata grew out of the monodic strophic variations with many short, contrasting sections

The second half of the 17th c.: The cantata developed into a new musical form with alternating recitatives and arias for solo voice and basso continuo

unlike opera, the cantata was not performed on stage, and its performance did not invovle costumes and stage sceneray, but did have dramatic elements of an opera

beyond his operatic output, Alessandro Scarlatti (see above), composed cantatas as well, more than 600 of them

The Serenata in Italy

A melodramatic form midway between cantata and opera

Catholic Church Music

Strict contraputal style continued in the Baroque music of the Catholic Church Used both the old style à la Palestrina, and the new Baroque style of the basso continuo,

concertato medium with multiple choirs, and solo singing

Italy

o Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna o The Masses consisted of choral and solo parts, as well as duets, which alternated in a concertato

fashion, i.e. with a concertino or tutti against a ripieno (see below), or even with trumpets and strings

o Composers: Maurizio Cazzati (ca. 1620-1677) Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637-1695) Giacomo Antonio Petri (1661-1756)

South Germany

o Johann Josef Fux (1660-1741), composer of church music o Codified the somewhat modernized Palestrina type of counterpoint in a treatise, Gradus ad

Parnassum, "Steps to Parnassus," 1725 this treatise will remain the classical textbook for teaching counterpoint in the next two

centuries it exemplified the stile moderno, the 'new style', of the church music, as opposed to

Palestrina's stile antico, the 'old style'

Austria: Vienna

o Antonio Caldara (ca. 1670-1736)

Oratorio

o performed in churches, but also in the palaces of princes and cardinals, in academies, and other

secular places o substitute for operas during the Lent, the forty day period of fasting and penitence preceding

Easter, observed by Christians as a remembrance of Jesus' fasting in the wilderness o usually consisted of two parts, which in churches were divided by a sermon, and in private

secular setting by an intermission with refreshments o biblical or non-biblical themes, with a verse libretto, l ike in opera

Lutheran Church Music

1650-1750: the 'golden age' of Lutheran church music

1. Chorale

o Continuation of the Lutheran chorale, from the 16th century Reformation o a century later, in the Baroque, the congragational chorale singing became

accompanied by organ (see below) o Johann Crüger (1598-1662), Berlin, composer of Lutheran chorales

2. Sacred concerto

o included concerted choruses (concertato style), solo arias, chorales

3. Concerted Church Music

o variation form in chorale-based concertato compositions o although German was the predominant language, some of this music had Latin texts o Dietrich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707), Lübeck

variations on chorale with instrumental prelude, sinfonia Abendmusiken

lit. 'night musics' (Gr. Abend, night), i.e. public concerts following the afternoon church services in Lübeck during the Advent (Lat. 'coming', i.e. the 'coming of Christ'), a season in the Christian church calendar encompassing the four Sundays before Christmas

quasi-dramatic events including oratorios with recitatives and strophic arias, chorales, organ and orchestral music

o Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706), Nuremberg

4. The Lutheran Church Cantata

o Erdmann Neumeister (1671-1756), Hamburg introduced this new form of music with religious texts set poetically (in verses) in arioso or aria styles a precursor of J.S. Bach's cantatas

o Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722), Leipzig o Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663-1712), Halle o Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), Leipzig, Eisenach, Frankfurt, Hamburg

5. The Passion

o a type of historia, 'story', which were typically German medieval plainchant settings based on some biblical narrative, usually the Gospel interpretations of jesus' suffering

o in the 15th century, these plaichant settings became polyphonically treated, and became know as the dramatic or scenic Passion

o in the 17th century, the concertato style influenced the creation of a new style of the Passion, the oratorio Passion, based on the form of the Baroque oratorio

o this type of the Passion was precursor of J.S. Bach's Passions

The Late Baroque Instrumental Music

Development of new instruments which influenced the creation of new musical forms and genres

1. the keyboard instruments: the modern church organ and harpsichord 2. the stringed instruments: the violin family

Four types of of instrumental music: 1. Organ Music 2. Clavichord and Harpsichord Music 3. Ensemble Music 4. Large Ensemble -- Orchestral -- Music

I. Organ Music

The 18th century Baroque organ builders: o Arp Schnitger (1648-1718) o Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753)

Variety of registrations (registers) o principal or flue pipes o mixtures o reeds o Werks (sing. Werk, pl. Werke)-- division of pipes of a single organ

each Werk having its own set of pipes with its own character and function, giving impression of several organs instead of a single instrument

1. Brunstwerk, in front of the player 2. Hauptwerk, immediately above the player, or the great organ 3. Oberwerk, the upper chest above the great organ 4. Pedal organ 5. Rückpositiv, chair organ, behind the player, only in the largest German

organs

Composers

o Georg Böhm (1661-1733), Lüneburg o Dietrich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707), Lübeck o Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663-1712), Halle o Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722), Leipzig o Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703), Eisenach o

Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706), Nuremberg

The Toccata / Präludium

also sometimes known as Präludium, such in Buxtehude (see below), or Praeludium, Prelude, Preambulum

succession of fugal and non-fugal sections improvisation virtuosity, display of performer's skills figuration Fugal sections:

Imitative counterpoint Rhapsodic approach Precursor of the later baroque fuge Several fugues following each other after after an interlude or a

solid cadence Variations of a fugal theme/subject Music Example -- Praeludium (Toccata) (NRAWM I, CD5:6-10)

E-Dur Präludium, Praeludium in E Major, Bux WV 141, for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude

four fugal sections

The Fuga (Fugue)

Both an independent piece and a section of the Prelude By the late 17th century, the fugue has replaced the early 17th century

ricercare (see above) Dux:

the melodic theme of the fugue is known as the subject or dux (Lat. 'leader')

it is stated in the tonic of the key Comes:

the answer to the dux is known as the comes (Lat. 'companion')

it is stated in the dominant Exposition:

the first statement of the dux and comes in all voices, either two, three or four, depending on the piece

Episodes: sections or passages which separate further fugal

expositions in these sections the full statement of the subject does

not appear, although variations on its melody or motivic work based on the subject may be

modulations to various keys may occur in the episodes, with return to the tonic of the main key at their ends

the return to the tonic is emphasized by pedal point known as the stretto, or fuga stretta, with quick statements of the subject

pedal point may be also stated as augmentation, in which the note values of the subject melody are doubled

Beyond their church use, preludes and fugues were also useful pieces for training students in composition and performance, and to this end the baroque composers wrote collections of keyboard preludes and fugues

J.K.F. Fischer (ca. 1665-1746): Ariadne musica (1715), a collection of keyboard preludes and fugues in 19 different major and minor keys

Equal Temperament

o The process of development of tonal harmony, based on major and minor keys, started in the 15th century with the basso continuo and culminated in the Baroque period

o The keyboard collections of preludes and fugues (see above) contributed to this development of tonality and equal temperament

o Contrary to the Renaissance division between the perfect and imperfect intervals, based on nonequal division of the octave, equal temperament divides the octave into 12 eqaul half-steps or semitones, resulting in intervals that are not mathematically 'true' but instead 'sound good'

o This new temperament of musical intervals became the basis for the new concept of tonality that will be the main feature of Western music until the early 20th century

1. Traité de l'harmonie

1722: The French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), formulated the idea and theory of tonal music and published it in his Traité de l'harmonie, 'Treatise on Harmony'

2. Das wohltemperierte Clavier

1722-1740: The German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), a contemporary of Rameau, composed, in the same year Rameau's treatise appeared, the first part from the set of 24 preludes and 24 fugues for clavier (piano), and entitled it as Das wohltemperierte Clavier, 'The Well-Tempered Clavier'

Each of the two parts from the Well -Tempered Piano consists of 12 preludes followed by 12 fugues chromatically set in 12 different major and minor keys, starting with C-major Prelude and Fugue

The Organ Chorale

o Unlike the purely instrumental toccata, prelude and fugue, the chorale was initially a vocal Lutheran church musical form

o Organ: In the 17th century, the organ accompaniment of the chorale slowly evolved into a separate instrumental form

o 1. Chorale variations or chorale partita or chorale prelude: the melody of chorale was a

theme/subject with a set of variations, sometimes on a cantus firmus in long note values

Composers: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) Dietrich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707)

Music Example -- Chorale Praeludium (NRAWM I, CD5:11-13) Chorale Prelude: Danket dem Herrn, denn er ist sehr freundlich, "Thank

the Lord, for He is very kind," Bux WV 181, for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude

the chorale as a cantus firmus with variations

o 2. Chorale Fantasia the chorale melody is fragmented, with virtuoso display and ornamentation

o 3. Chorale Prelude a chorale-based short organ piece

II. Keyboard Music: Clavichord and Harpsichord

Two important genres: 1. theme and variations 2. suite

Suite composers in France: o Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729) o François Couperin (1668-1733)

François Couperin (1668-1733)

Composed Vingt-sept ordres, twenty-seven ordres, i.e. sets of suite-like pieces for the clavecin (harpsichord)

1716: wrote a musical treatise L'art de toucher le clavecin, "The Art of Playing the Clavecin"

The treatise contains detailed instructions for fingering and playing the agréments, a special type of ornaments for the clavecin worked out by Couperin (see Grout and Palisca 1996:370-371)

Music Example -- Ordre (NRAWM I, CD5:14-19 [CD2:28-30]) Vingt-cinquième ordre, "The Twenty-fifth Ordre," from the collection

Vingt-sept ordres, "Twenty-seven ordres," for clavecin (harpsichord) by François Couperin

La visionaire, "The Dreamer" La misterieuse, "The Mysterious One [woman]" La monflambert, "The Monflambert" (gigue) La muse victorieuse, "The Victorious Muse" Les ombres errantes, "The Roving Shadows"

III. Ensemble Music

The late 17th and early 18th centuries: the violin makers of Cremona, Italy: o Nicolò Amati (1596-1684) o Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) o Giuseppe Bartolomeo Guarneri (1698-1744)

The Ensemble Sonata

the early sonata evolved from the canzona (see above) the term sonata was interchangeable with the sinfonia, and in the early 17th century both

terms meant instrumental prelude or interlude in vocal pieces The late 17th and early 18th century sonata is a form which consists of:

o several movements o the movements are in contrasting tempos o performed by two or four solo instruments and the basso continuo

The main types of the baroque sonata: o 1. Sonata da chiesa, "the church sonata"

a mixture of movements, both of dance and other character, intended for use in churches

o 2. Sonata da camera, "the chamber sonata" a suite of stylized dance movements also variously known as trattenimento, divertimento, concertino, concerto, ballo,

balletto o 3. Trio sonata, "sonata for a trio" of instruments

Both types of the sonatas, da chiesa and da camera, were played on two treble instruments, usually violins, and bass, i.e. the basso continuo

the treble voices could be either vocal or instrumental, or both the basso continuo part was played on the harpsichord or organ, which

provided harmonic fillings, while the main continuo line was usually doubled by the cello

this totaled to four musicians playing the trio sonata: two treble players and two bass players

o 4. Solo sonata violin, flute, or viola da gamba with continuo gained popularity after 1700 see also the early 17th century sonata, above

Sonata composers in Italy: o Giovanni Legrenzi (1626-1690), the teacher of Antonio Vivaldi (see below) o Giovanni Battista Vitali (ca. 1644-1692) o Tommaso Antonio Vitali (ca. 1665-1747) o Maurizio Cazzati (ca. 1620-1677)

Music Example -- Trio sonata (NRAWM I, CD5:20-21) La raspona, trio sonata for two violins and basso continuo (harpsichord

and viola da gamba) by Giovanni Legrenzi Allegro - "Adaggio"

Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713)

o Corelli's compositions are grouped in six opuses containing trio and solo sonatas, both of da chiesa and da camera types, as well as concerto grossos (It. concerto grosso, pl. concerti grossi, see below)

o Corelli wrote exclusively instrumental music, especially for the violin o In his compositions, Corelli used sequences as one of the main tools in creating his

musical texture and organization of tonality o Later, Vivaldi and J.S. Bach will continue in developing tonality on principles established

by Corelli o Corelli's sonatas da chiesa have four movements:

slow -- contrapuntal texture fast -- fugue slow --resembling operatic arias fast -- dance-like

o All movement in trio sonatas are in one key, although some of Corelli's later sonatas have their slow movements in the relative key

Music Example -- Trio sonata (NRAWM I, CD5:22-26 [CD2:31-33]) Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2 for two violins and basso continuo (viola da

gamba and organ) by Archangelo Corelli Grave - Allegro - Adagio - Allegro

Improvisation in the Baroque era

Reading Assignment o Ornaments o Cadenzas

IV. Large Ensemble / Orchestral Music

the way music was performed in the Baroque reflected improvisational attitude in performance --

ornaments of instrumental parts, as well as the number of instruments and the size of performing

ensemble did not matter much

trio sonatas, 'officially' written for two solo violins, could be played by a smaller ensemble instead

no common standard prevailed

during the final decades of the 17th and in the first half of the 18th centuries, a larger type of

orchestra emerged, with bigger sound which could not be anymore called da camera, i.e. chamber

Lully's operatic orchestra with huge and pompous sound slowly became the source of influence in

Europe

new types and forms of music for the orchestra developed:

1. orchestral suite 2. concerto

The Orchestral Suite

German disciples of Lully introduced French orchestral music in Germany, developing a new musical

form, the orchestral suite, known as overture

Composers:

Georg Muffat (1653-1740) J.K.F. Fischer (ca. 1665-1746)

The Concerto

further development of the concertato style of performing and creating music, began in the early

Baroque / late Renaissance madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi, based on basso continuo and the treble as

two main structural frames of music-making

several types of orchestras:

Orchestral concerto -- variouslu known as o concerto sinfonia, concerto ripieno (lit. the "full concert"), concerto a quattro (lit. the

"concert in four" [movements]) concerto grosso, lit. the "large concert"

o this type of concerto or orchestral music designated the whole orchestra, known as the ripieno or tutti ("all")

concertino, lit. the "small concerto," o within the concerto grosso there was a separate small ensemble of one or several solo

instruments, usually strings: two violins and basso continuo o the concertino played against the ripieno, creating new musical tensions, contrasts, and

affects solo concerto, for a solo instrument, usually violin

The Concerto grosso composers:

Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Venice Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709), Bologna (see below) Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1750), Venice Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), the student of Corelli Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764), the student of Corelli

Evaristo Felice dall'Abaco (1675-1742)

Sinfonia

when played in churches, concertos, sometimes under the name of the sinfonia, had the function of 'overtures' to the Mass or as orchestral interludes during the Offertory, such as in:

J.S. Bach's Sinfonia to the second part of Christmas Oratorio and the Sinfonia pastorale in G.F. Händel's Messiah

Corelli's concerto grossos are a good illustration of the soli/tutti contrasts

Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709)

Concerto grossos -- a new type of concerto that departs from Corelli Three movements:

1. Fast - ritornello (see below) 2. Slow 3. Fast - ritornello

This tripartite structure of concerto grosso was adopted by later composers, such as Vivaldi

Ritornello

derived from vocal music, where it meant the refrain similar to the rondeau, with the exception that all ritornellos, except the

first and last, are in different keys

The Late Baroque -- The Early Eighteenth Century

I. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

One of the leading violinists at St. Mark's in Venice Student of Giovanni Legrenzi (see above) il prete rosso, 'the red-head priest' 1703-1740: employed at a pious music conservatory, Pio Ospedale della Pietà, Venice Extensive musical output:

o 49 operas o 500 concertos and sinfonias o 90 solo and trio sonatas o many cantatas, motets, oratorios

Vivaldi's Concertos

ca. 1712: first published collection of 12 concertos, entitled L'estro armonico, "The Harmonic Fancy," Opus 3, Amsterdam

About two thirds of Vivaldi's concertos are for a solo instrument and orchestra o the solo is mostly for violin, but also for cello, flute, bassoon

Concertos for two violins -- Duo concertos Vivaldi's orchestra at the Pietà (see above) probably consisted of 20-25 strings with harpsichord

or organ for the continuo o often this orchestra also included the winds -- flutes, oboes, bassons, horns -- both as

solos and as part of ensemble Movements:

1. Allegro

2. Slow Movement (e.g. Largo, Adagio, etc.) 3. Allegro

Abandonment of the fugal treatment of voices in favour of a more homophonic texture, with emphasis on the outer two voices, treble and bass

Ritornellos Dramatic tensions between the soli and tutti -- the soloist becomes the main personality in

Vivaldi's concertos o Purely instrumental treatment of the operatic style of ritornello aria in which the singer

-- in this case the soloist -- exchanges dramatic moments with the orchestra Chromaticism

Music Example -- Concerto grosso (NRAWM I, CD5:27-34 [CD2:34-40]) Concerto grosso in G Minor, Op. 3, No. 2, RV 578 by Antonio Vivaldi

Adagio e spiccato (First Movement) - Allegro (Second Movement)

Concertino: two violins and a cello (continuo)

Music Example -- The Violin Concerto (NRAWM I, CD5:35)

Concerto for Violin, Op. 9, No. 2, RV 345 by Antonio Vivaldi

Largo (Second Movement)

Vivaldi's 'Classicism' and Program Music

Vivaldi has introduced a new style in European music, which may be understood as a precursor of the later Classicism of Haydn and Mozart

In his sinfonias, Vivaldi has also founded the main principles of classical symphony, especially in its homophonic structure

His concertos have also influenced the Classical concerto

In his music, Vivaldi attempted to imitate nature and thus musically depict non- or extramusical phenomena, especially in his concertos Four Seasons

This programatic attitude will be carried to an extreme in the 19th century

The Early 18th Century -- Vivaldi, Rameau, J.S. Bach, Händel -- Continued

II. Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)

Rameau's Music Theory

The French composer and music theorist, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), formulated the idea and theory of tonal music and published it as:

o Traité de l'harmonie, 'Treatise on Harmony', 1722 o Treatmeant of the chord as the primal element in music o Understanding of the major triad as the natural phenomenon (not constructed by

humans, but given by nature) o Expension of triads into seventh chords, ninth chords, and eleventh chords o Setting of the principle of the unity of chords regardless of their inversions (all

inversions of a chord are recognizeable as the same chord) o Establishment of functional harmony: tonic-dominant-subdominant chords

Rameau's Operas

In his operatic output, Rameau is considered the successor of Lully However, during his time, he was attacked as a destroyer of Lully's tradition of the tragédie

lyrique and the bon goût (see above) Many operas of Ramueau have ballets and belong to the Lullyist tradition of the opera-ballet,

including: o the French type of recitatives o the French arias o divertissement

Rameau's operatic style is homophonic and rational, fully based on his music theory His harmonic language includes sevenths, ninths, diminished fifths, augmented fourths

Music Example -- French Opera / tragédie lyrique (NRAWM I, CD5:36 [CD2:41]) Recitative-Aria "Ah, faut-il," "Ah, must I," Act IV, Scene 1, from the

opera Hippolyte et Aricie (1733) by Jean-Philippe Rameau, libretto by Abbé S.J. de Pellegrin

III. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

J.S. Bach's creative life as composer is usually chronologically divided according to the places in which he lived and worked:

1. 1703-1707: Arnstadt, organist 2. 1707-1708: Mülhausen, organist 3. 1708-1717: Weimar, court organist and konzertmeister, concertmaster, in the chapel of

the duke of Weimar 4. 1717-1723: Cöthen, music director at the court of a prince 5. 1723-1750: Leipzig, cantor in the St. Thomas church and its school

Composed virtually all existing genres and musical forms of the period, with the exception of opera

Bach's output may be broadly divided into his instrumental and vocal -instrumental music

Bach's Instrumental Music

1. Music for organ

o Toccatas o Fantasias o Chorale Preludes o Preludes and Fugue o Trio Sonatas for organ solo

based on the Italian trio sonata three movements: fast-slow-fast contrapuntal texture

2. Music for the Clavier: harpsichord and clavichord

o Toccatas o Preludes and Fugues o The Clavier Suites

The French Suites (six) standard four movements suites: allemande, courante, sarabande,

gigue The English Suites (six) Partitas (six)

standard movements plus an opening prelude and additional movements

o Variations: Goldberg Variations Bach's keyboard pieces, both for organ and clavier, are collected in several

collections: Clavier-Übung, the "Keyboard Practice" Orgelbüchlein, the "Little Organ Book" Das Wohltemperierte Clavier (see above)

3. Music for Solo Violin and Cello

4. Ensemble Sonatas

5. Concertos

o Brandenburg Concertos (six)

6. Orchestral Suites

7. Other Music

o Die Kunst der Fuge, "The Art of Fugue" o Musikalisches Opfer, "Musical Offering"

Music Example -- Prelude and Fugue (NRAWM I, CD5:37-38 [CD2:42-

43]) Praeludium et Fuga in A Minor for organ, BWV 543,by Johann

Sebastian Bach

Music Example -- Chorale Prelude (NRAWM I, CD5:39) Durch Adams Fall, "Through Adam's fall," BWV 637, chorale

prelude for organ, by Johann Sebastian Bach

Chapter 12: The Early 18th Century -- J.S. Bach -- Continued

Bach's Vocal-Instrumental Music

1. Cantatas

o more than 200 cantatas remained preserved o interpolation of secular operatic arias and recitatives, both of the secco and

accompagnato types, in otherwise religious cantatas o in this sense, Bach's cantatas function as substitutes for operas, a genre Bach did not

attempt to compose

The Church Cantatas

o performed during the Lutheran Liturgy in the Church of St. Thomas, following the reading of the Gospel, and textually usually reflecting its theme(s) of the day

o 1723-1729: Bach composed four complete annual cycles of cantatas

Chorale Cantatas

o based on the Lutheran chorale texts and melodies o Christ lag in Todesbanden, "Christ lay in the bonds of death," BWV 4 o Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, "Wake up, calls us the voice," BWV 140

Secular Cantatas

Music Example -- Chorale Cantata (NRAWM I, CD6:1-12 [CD2:44-48])

Cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, "Wake up, calls us the voice," BWV 140, by Johann Sebastian Bach

1. Chorus 2. Tenor Recitative 3. Aria Duet: Bass and Soprano 4. Chorale 5. Bass Recitative 6. Aria Duet: Bass and Soprano 7. Chorale (Chorus)

Music Example -- Chorale Cantata

(Kerman, Listen, CD2:11-13) Cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden,

"Christ lay in the bonds of death," by Johann Sebastian Bach

2. Passions

o St. John Passion o St. Matthew Passion

3. Mass in B Minor

Music Example -- Mass (NRAWM I, CD6:13-19) Symbolum Nicenum, the "Nicene Symbol [of Faith]," (Credo)

from the Mass in B Minor, BWV 232, by Johann Sebastian Bach a) Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum, "And in the Holy

Spirit of the Lord" b) Confiteor, "I acknowledge [one baptism]" c) Et expecto resurrectionem, "And I expect the

resurrection [after death]"

After his death, Bach and his music were forgotten A renewed interest in Bach's music was energetically propelled in the early 19th century and it

continued to the present In the second half of the 18th century, Bach's music was understood as old fashioned and

contrary to the "spirit" of the Enlightenment, which needed new aesthetics and new taste It was the music of Handel, rather than Bach, that fully matched these requirements

IV. Georg Friedrich Händel / George Frideric Handel,

1685-1759)

Born in Halle, Germany, Händel traveled to and lived for several years in Iitaly as a young man, then returned to Germany only to leave for England for good

1712: Händel arrives to London for the second time o In London, Händel will spend more than 45 years of his life, there he was to die and

finally be burried in Westminster Abbey Hence the two versions of his name: his original German name, Georg Friedrich Händel, and its

anglicized version, George Frideric Handel 1726: Händel becomes naturalized citizen of Britain

Händel's Italian Operas

1718-1719: the Royal Academy of Music was established in London by some sixty wealthy men, with the intention of presenting operas to the London public

Händel became engaged in this enterprise and composed some of his best operas in the Italian style for the Academy:

o Radamisto, 1720 o Ottone, 1723 o Giulio Cesare, 1724 o Rodelinda, 1725 o Admeto, 1727 o Serse [Xerxes] 1738 (famous "Largo" in instrumental transcription of an aria from this

opera) o Deidamia, 1741

Musical features: o Recitativo Secco, accompanied by harpsichord o Recitativo obligato, accompanied by the orchestra o Da capo aria, modeled on those of Alessandro Scarlatti o Dramatic elements and depiction of feelings and affections in music o Coloratura type of singing

Music Example -- Opera (NRAWM I, CD6:20-25 [CD2:49-54]) Chorus Dall'ondoso periglio, "From the perilous sea," Act III, Scene 4,

from the opera Giulio Cesare, "Julius Cesar" (1724), by Georg Friedrich Händel

Music Example -- Opera (Kerman, Listen, CD2:8) Recitativo secco and da capo aria Tirannia,

"Tyranny," from the opera Rodelinda (1725), by Georg Friedrich Händel

Händel's English Oratorios

1728: the success of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay (1685-1732) the English public lost interest in Italian opera The Royal Academy of Music underwent financial hardships This situation affected Händel's operatic output and forced him to turn to English oratorio, i.e.

oratorio with English text, as his new genre English oratorio differs from its Italian counterpart, see oratorio above Händel composed 26 English oratorios, many on biblical themes, others with mythological

ones, or even allegorical o Saul, 1739 o Messiah, 1741 o Israel in Egypt, o Joshua o Hercules, 1744 o Judas Maccabaeus, 1746 o Jephtha, 1751 o The Triumph of Time and Truth, 1757

Musical features: o Beyond two Italian operatic elements, recitatives and arias, Händel incorporated the

non-Italian / non-operatic but nevertheless theatrical elements, such as the: English Masque English chorale anthem French classical drama German historia

o Huge choruses o Drama o Popmpous rhythms alla Lully o Grandiose effects o Dissonances o Some contrapuntal texture within the dominant homophonic structure o Oratorios were not intended for use in churches but rather as a kind of theatrical

performances and/or concert pieces

Music Example -- English Oratorio (NRAWM I, CD6:26-29) Chorus How dark, O Lord, are Thy decrees!, Act II, from the oratorio

Jephtha (1752) by Georg Friedrich Händel

Music Example -- English Oratorio (Kerman, Listen, CD2:9) Recitative There were sheperds, and Chorus Glory to

God, from the oratorio Messiah (1742) by Georg Friedrich Händel