Transcript The Baroque Music Period

The Baroque Music
Period (1600-1750)
Common Baroque Instruments
ORGAN
 Keyboard wind
instrument
 Commonly
associated with
church music
 First invented in
the 3rd century BC
Harpsichord
 Similar
to piano
 Strings played by
plucking rather than
hammering
 Lost popularity when
the pianoforte was
invented
Baroque Composers
Johann Sebastian Bach
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Member of a large
musical family
Favorite instrument was
the organ
His death in 1750
marked the end of the
Baroque Period in
music
Wrote “Brandenburg
Concerto” and “Jesu
Joy of Man’s Desiring”
George Frideric Handel
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Born in Germany,
studied music in Italy,
and lived mainly in
England
Best known for his
vocal works
Wrote “The Messiah”
which includes the
Hallelujah Chorus
Went blind late in his
life.
Antonio Vivaldi
 The
son of a
professional violinist
 Was a Catholic
priest
 Composed The Four
Seasons.
Scientific Discoveries
 People
were beginning to trust their own
minds
 Scientists such as Galileo and Newton
were unlocking the secrets of the
universe
 Telescope
 Microscope
During the Baroque Period…
The first permanent
British colony is
formed in
Jamestown,
VA,(1607)
 The first African
slaves are brought
to British
America(1619)

 20
young women
are tried and killed
for witchcraft in
Salem, Mass.(1692)
 George Washington
is born in Virginia.
(1732)
Characteristics of Baroque Music
-Emphasized emotion in music writing
-Repetitive rhythms that drive the music
forward
-”Flowery” and fast movement
-Complex melodies that repeat
-Dynamics are important finally
-Uses embellishments, ornamentation and
word painting
-Unique harmonies
-Bass lines that repeat. *Ostinatos
-BAROQUE- comes from the Italian word “baracco”
meaning exuberant (over the top)
-Composers usually wrote music for a specific
reason. They often wrote church music, concertos,
or for specific people in the courts where they
worked. These people were called patrons.
-The term COMMISSION means that a composer is
paid to compose music for someone specific.
COUNTERPOINT- 2 or more different ideas or lines
of music interacting