Baroque Music:

The word Baroque derives from the Italian word barocco, meaning bizarre.Music before the Baroque period was very primitative in sense that there wasn’t much melody and harmony. The Baroque period of music however; is the complete opposite. Baroque music contains several different aspects of music including polyphony, a broad understanding of melodic and harmonic ideas and also a classy/ crisp sound.

Several of the composers that came out of the Baroque period are known by people today. Not only do they live on in history, but their music lives on as well. People still study Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel’s works through transcribed notations that have either been lost and found, or documented and re- transcribed into modern notation.

Opera was also a new aspect/ genre of the Baroque period. “[Baroque opera was] Written initially to celebrate specific events (usually royal or vice-regal) this rôle was taken over by the serenata and the developing larger cantata forms and the operas became entities in themselves, drawing large audiences at the many theatres which appeared, creating an almost 'popular culture' with the Europe-wide distribution of new works, and importantly for the later development of singing, creating a need for virtuoso performers which was fulfilled by singers like Farinelli, La Romanina, Bordoni, Cuzzoni, Senesino, Cafarelli, Carestini and those who followed.”

Claudio Monteverdi’s opera L'Orfeo became a landmark which demonstrated the array of effects and techniques that were associated with this new school, called seconda pratica, to distinguish it from the older style or prima pratica. Monteverdi was a master of both, producing precisely styled madrigals that extended the forms of Luca Marenzio and Giaches de Wert. But it is his pieces in the new style which became the most influential. These included features which are recognizable even to the end of the baroque period, including use of idiomatic writing, virtuoso flourishes, and the use of new techniques.

Quick Facts/ Information about the Baroque period:

·         AABB was the essential song form of the Baroque period.

Basso continuo - a kind of continuous accompaniment notated with a new music notation system, figured bass, usually for a sustaining bass instrument and a keyboard instrument

·         Monody - music for one melodic voice with accompaniment, characteristic of the early 17th century, especially in Italy

·         Homophony - music with one melodic voice and rhythmically similar accompaniment (this and monody are contrasted with the typical Renaissance texture, polyphony)

·         Text over music - intelligible text with instrumental accompaniment not overpowering the voice

·         Vocal soloists

·         Dramatic musical expression

·         Dramatic musical forms like opera, dramma per musica

·         Combined instrumental-vocal forms, such as the oratorio and cantata

·         New instrumental techniques, like tremolo and pizzicato

·         Clear and linear melody

·         Notes inégales, a technique of playing pairs of notes of equal written length (typically eighth notes) with a "swung" rhythm, alternating longer and shorter values in pairs, the degree of inequality varying according to context. Particularly characteristic of French performance practice.

·         The aria

·         The ritornello aria (repeated short instrumental interruptions of vocal passages)

·         The concertato style (contrast in sound between orchestra and solo-instruments or small groups of instruments)

·         Precise instrumental scoring (in the Renaissance, exact instrumentation for ensemble playing was rarely indicated)

·         Idiomatic instrumental writing: better use of the unique properties of each type of musical instrument

·         Virtuosic instrumental and vocal writing, with appreciation for virtuosity as such

·         Ornamentation

·         Development to modern Western tonality (major and minor scales)

·         Cadenza- an extended virtuosic section for the soloist usually near the end of a movement of a concerto.

Genres from the Baroque Period:

Vocal

• Opera
• Zarzuela
• Opera seria
• Opera comique
• Opera-ballet
• Masque
• Oratorio
• Passion (music)
• Cantata
• Mass (music)
• Anthem
• Monody
• Chorale

Instrumental

• Chorale composition
• Concerto grosso
• Fugue
• Suite
• Allemande
• Courante
• Sarabande
• Gigue
• Gavotte
• Minuet
• Sonata
• Sonata da camera
• Sonata da chiesa
• Trio sonata
• Partita
• Canzona
• Sinfonia
• Fantasia
• Ricercar
• Toccata
• Prelude
• Chaconne
• Passacaglia
• Chorale prelude
• Stylus fantasticus

Overview of Music History

There are several genres and periods of music that one could study in a class such as Music Appreciation. But, the main periods of music that I am going to analyze in this blog include; Ancient, Medieval,  Renaissance,  Baroque,  Classical period,  Romantic,  20th century, and Contemporary music.

            Ancient Period of Music:

The Ancient Period of music dates back before AD 500. The Ancient period of music spreads from geographical areas such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, China, Greece and Rome.  It is possible that early humans were impressed with the power of communication and found the sounds of the instruments to be pleasing. As hunter-gatherer groups evolved into agrarian cultures, music had a place in religious ceremonies and farming.

            Medieval Period of Music:

The Medieval Period of music dates back to 500–1400. The Chant is a monophonic sacred form that represents the earliest known music of the Christian church. The Jewish Synagogue tradition of singing psalms was a strong influence on Christian chanting. Chant developed separately in several European centres. Although the most important were Rome, Hispania, Gaul, Milan, and Ireland, there were others as well.

 By the end of the ninth century, singers in monasteries such as St. Gall in Switzerland began experimenting with adding another part to the chant, generally a voice in parallel motion, singing mostly in perfect fourths or fifths above the original tune (see interval). This development is called organum and represents the beginnings of harmony and, ultimately, of counterpoint.

           

              Renaissance Period of Music:

                                                

• A rebirth of classical learning
• The gradual change from the feudal system to the modern state
• A change in people's views of the earth and the cosmos
• Increased interest in humanist learning
• Increased patronage of music
• Territorial expansion and increased wealth
• The composers of the Renaissance concerned themselves with three different areas of music
• All are unified by many shared musical features

Baroque Period of Music:

• A time of experimentation
• Expanding roles for music
• A growing awareness of national styles
• The full equality of instrumental music

Classical Period of Music:

• The Industrial Revolution
• The philosophy of the Enlightenment
• The political ideals of republican government
• Art and "Nature"
• The social role of music
• The concept of nature in the arts
• Simpler textures
• Simpler melodies
• The piano
• Simpler, rational forms

Romantic Period of Music:

• Increased interest in nature and the supernatural
• The rise of program music
• Nationalism and exoticism
• Changing status of musicians

20^th Century Period of Music:

• Ambivalant attitudes toward the musical past
• A widening gap between "art" and "popular" music
• The advent of sound recording
• The birth of a "World Music" culture

            Contemporary Period of Music:

During the mid 20th century, music evolved in many different directions. Some composers took Schoenberg's "serial" system to new limits. The rise of jazz, as well as an increasing awareness of non-Western music, provided additional inspiration for many, while others ventured into electronic music by manipulating sounds and noises recorded on tape - a style known as musique concrète.

In the 1930s and 1940s, many composers returned to forms and techniques of the Baroque and Classical eras. This "Neoclassical" style was a reaction to the emotional, dramatic character of Romanticism. The Neoclassicists wrote for small chamber ensembles and preferred a tightly knit treatment of thematic material. They did not copy 17th and 18th century forms, but took elements, such as the fugue, and added their own modern harmonies and rhythms. An example of this is Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress (1951).

The rapid advances in technology during the late 20th century are partly responsible for the emergence of a wide variety of musical forms. Electronics played an important role in the development of music, both classical and popular, from the 1960s onward. The ability of the synthesizer to generate artificial tones and sounds attracted composers such as John Cage, Edgard Varèse, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Beginning in the 1970s, the use of computers, with their ability to memorize and play back whole compositions, discouraged live performances. Many composers turned to writing film scores, for which the precision of computerized music is ideally suited.

Minimalism, which emerged in the 1960s, focuses on the development of a single aspect of music, such as pitch or rhythm, while keeping other elements constant. This approach owes much to Indian raga music, in which the pattern of music changes very little.

I personally like the music of the Romantic Period and want to learn more about it than what I already know. The music that came from the Romantic Period is very complex in several different aspects including; rhythmically, melody, harmony and texture. One of my favorite composers from the Romantic Period is Claude Debussy who wrote an incredible solo piano song entitled Claire De Lune.

Chicago Experience

I was there for that concert. His second to last solo piano concert this year. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall. Literally the best concert I have ever been to. 

Experimenting with Creating Links

Heres a link to one of the most experimental drummers in the Jazz community... Brian Blade.

First Post

Hi my name is Jonathan Durham. This is my second time being in Music Appreciation. I am very optimistic and eager to learn some new stuff and review from last year. I already know that this class will make me benefit somehow... because it already has.