chapter 8 prelude: the late baroque period style features of late baroque music

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Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

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Page 1: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Chapter 8Prelude: The Late Baroque Period

Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Page 2: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Key Terms

Walking bass

Harmonic rhythm

Basic Baroque orchestra

Festive Baroque orchestra

Sequence

Ornamentation

Ritornellos

Continuo

Figured bass

Page 3: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Extravagance•Many large-scale works for large ensembles• Intense, dramatic emotional expression

Control•Thorough, methodical expression of emotion•Composers extract maximum effect from small

amount of basic material•Many elements unite to create single “affect”

Page 4: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Rhythm

Rhythmic vitality & energy•Strong influence of dance rhythms

Distinctive, recurring patterns play against a steady beat & strong meter

Freer rhythms in upper instruments

Beat often emphasized by harpsichord & walking bass

Steady harmonic rhythm, too

Page 5: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Dynamics

Subtle expressive nuances common

Overall dynamic level steady for a section or an entire piece

When indicated, dynamics were either loud or soft (f or p)

Composers preferred abrupt, dramatic dynamic changes, not gradual ones•Terraced dynamics

Page 6: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Tone Color

New interest in sonority, instrumental colorsDistinctive sounds of harpsichord, organ, recorder, & “festive” Baroque orchestraIdiomatic writing–takes advantage of unique capabilities of each instrumentYet some works treated flexibly—•Works for violin or oboe or flute•Bach & Handel rewrote earlier works (or works

by others) for different performing forces

Page 7: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

The Baroque Orchestra

Violin family instruments core of orchestra

Louis XIV’s orchestra was influential•Called The Twenty-Four Violins of the King•6 violins, 3 groups of 4 violas, 6 cellos

Continuo a standard part of orchestra

Basic Baroque orchestra essentially a string orchestra

Festive Baroque orchestra added winds, brass, & even percussion

Page 8: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Basic vs. Festive Baroque Orchestra

Basic Orchestra—Violins in 2 groups:• Violins 1• Violins 2

Violas

Continuo• Cellos & Bass Viol

(both play bass line an octave apart)

• Harpsichord or organ (play chords)

Festive Orchestra may add—

2 Oboes

1 Bassoon

Up to 3 Trumpets

2 Timpani (kettledrums)

Page 9: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Basic Baroque Orchestra

Page 10: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Festive Baroque Orchestra

Page 11: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Melody

Often complex, ornate, virtuoso melodies•Often difficult to sing or play

Extended range, reaching high & low

Great variety of rhythmic note values

Intricate, unpredictable twists & turns

Irregular phrase lengths

Infrequent repetition, sequences common

Page 12: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Ornamentation

Addition of fast notes, motives, or effects to a melodyOrnaments were improvised•Added spontaneously in performances by

virtuoso solo singers & players

Enough improvisations were written down to show us how they did it•Even simple tunes were lavishly ornamented

Other examples of improvisation—•Cadenzas or chording continuo instruments

Page 13: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Texture

Standard Baroque texture is polyphonic•Frequent use of imitative polyphony•Composers may use homophonic texture for

contrast (cf. ritornellos or chorales)•But this texture appears in pieces that feature

polyphony elsewhere

Sounds feel alive because every line is in motion, even in dense orchestral works

Simple works for solo and continuo still feel contrapuntal due to active bass

Page 14: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

The Continuo (1)

Melody or polyphony supported by solid harmonic scaffold–basso continuo“Polarized” texture results–strong bass in low register vs. clear, high melodic line(s)Continuo used in most Baroque works •Except those for one instrument

Continuo provides same advantages as rhythm section in jazz or rock band•Keeps steady beat, provides bass line, &

fleshes out harmonies

Page 15: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

The Continuo (2)

Includes both bass line & accompanying harmonies•Bass line played by cello or bass viol, etc.•Chords played by keyboard or plucked strings•Chords must follow figured bass (Baroque

chord symbols)

Page 16: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

The Continuo (3)

Chording keyboard instruments—•Play bass line with left hand• Improvise chords with right hand•Performers can “realize” chords in simple or

complex manner, according to ability

Page 17: Chapter 8 Prelude: The Late Baroque Period Style Features of Late Baroque Music

Musical Form

Forms clearer, more regular than earlierStandardized formal patterns made it easier to provide music for patrons ASAP•Fugue, ritornello form, dance form, etc.

“Scientific” urge to fill patterns in orderly, logical manner•Entire fugues constructed from single theme•Often symmetrical ordering of movements

Baroque works could sustain rich musical experience over long time span