The Baroque Suite (Multi-Movement Instrumental Songs)
is a group of dances, usually in the same key! Each piece (movement, song, tune) is in binary form (A-B or A-A-B-B)
Characteristics of the suite
1. It contains a series of dance movements (4 movements) 2.Each movement is a dance type from a different country. 3.The movements are contrasting in tempo and character. 4.They are in the same key (the movements). 5. They are in binary form 6. The concept of the suite was applied to: solo instrumental music, keyboard music or orchestral music.
Baroque factoids
1. The first era of Western music history in which instrumental music was as important as vocal music. (Instrumental music = Vocal music) 2. Baroque composers specified instrumental parts in their compositions, unlike in the Renaissance Period. 3. These instruments were made out of wood during the Baroque period: recorder, oboe, flute 4. These instruments were made from metal: trumpet, French horn, trombone. **Trumpet players were usually not virtuosos due to the lack of valves on the instrument!
The Alla hornpipe movement from Handel's Water Music:
1. is best characterized as: instrumental groups exchanging motivic (motives) ideas. 2. Is in A-B-A form (ternary) exception to the rule (it was usually binary)
Solo Concerto
one performer is being featured with orchestral (keyboard) accompaniment.
Concerto grosso
based on the opposition of small and large groups of instruments. The small group is called the "concertino" while the accompanying group is called the "ripieno"
Characteristics of the Concerto genre
1. A concerto is an instrumental form based on the contrast of two dissimilar masses of sound. 2. The typical solo concerto has three movements (3)
Antonio Vivaldi
1. The greatest and most prolific Italian composer for concertos was Antonio Vivaldi. 2. He was known as the "red priest" due to his red hair. 3. He lived in Venice where he taught music at a girls' school. (orphan school w/mostly girls) 4. Most of his concertos were intended for his girl students, not professional musicians. 5. His most well known work set of concertos was The Four Seasons. 6. Of these four movements, Spring was the most famous. 7. The solo instrument is Spring was the violin (Itzak Perlman). 8. The opening movement of Spring incorporates (uses) ritornello form. (RETURN) 9. Ritornello is the refrain (or return) of the main ideas of the piece. 10. In the slow movement of Spring, from the The Four Seasons, Vivaldi evokes a dog barking through: an ostinato rhythm. (cello)
Who composed the Brandenburg Concertos?
Bach
Brandenburg Concertos
was as collection of six (6) separate concertos.
Harpsichord
the strings were plucked with quills
Tocatta
an improvisatory, keyboard work used to show off one's virtuosity (their technique)
Chorale Prelude
a. A work for organ b. Introduces the chorale to be sung by the congregation (church audience) c. Displays the virtuosity of the organist
Fugue
is a keyboard form based on the principle of voices imitating each other
Bach factoids
1. In the field of keyboard music, Bach's most important collection was "The Well-Tempered Clavier" (clavier means keyboard) a. The Well-Tempered Clavier was a 2 volume set totaling forty-eight (48) preludes and fugues by Bach b. These exercises were specifically designed by Bach to demonstrate that his new keyboard tuning was an improvement over the older tuning style 2. Bach's last demonstration of contrapuntal mastery was "The Art of Fugue". There are four (4) voices (individual lines) written in Bach's Contrapunctus I, from "The Art of Fugue". The Art of Fugue was written for keyboard instruments.
Rococo
was a new social attitude had surfaced that was manifested in a simpler artistic expression that took shape as a reaction against the grandiose gestures of the late Baroque.
The Beggar's Opera
is best described as a ballad or dialogue opera.
Opera buffa
was a new, realistic style of Italian comic opera. This dramatic fun genre reached new heights in popularity and mastery in the hands of Mozart (Classical Period)