Transcript Sonata

Baroque Solo and Chamber Music
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The Baroque period saw the gradual development of a significant body of
instrumental music.
Stringed
Instruments
The age of the great violin makers
(the Stradivari family)
Wind & Brass
Instruments
Improvements were made in
construction of virtually all instruments
Keyboard
Instruments
The organ and harpsichord became the
basic keyboard instruments
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A large body of works was written for the harpsichord and organ.
Single-movement keyboard pieces appeared as…
Toccata
Fantasia
Scale passages,
runs, and trills
Displays of
virtuosity
Prelude
Free form and
improvisatory
These pieces were used as introductions to
The Fugue
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A fugue is based on the polyphonic
(two or more independent melodies heard simultaneously)
development of a melody
Melodies may be sung or played by instruments
The terms soprano, alto, tenor, and bass are used for
instrumental high to low ranges as with voices
The initial section of virtually every fugue follows a
plan that is more or less standard
This section is called the
exposition…
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Johann Sebastian Bach
wrote The Art of the
Fugue
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Subject
Introduction of a
polyphonic melody by
one voice
Countersubject
Contrasting melody that
counters, or is played
along with, the subject
Each voice imitates
entrance until all
voices have stated
the subject
Piece continues
with sections that
function either as
new statements of
the subject or as
transitions
between
statements of the
subject
These
transitions are
called
episodes
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Organ fugue
Polyphonic texture
Solo organ performance
Composed while Bach was court organist
at Weimar (1709)
Listening Guide
Excerpt
from CD 1, track 9,
pp. 95-96
Listen to the opening of the fugue:
Notice all voices state the subject and the
excerpt ends with an episode.
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Baroque organ literature included works intended for performance in
conjunction with religious ceremonies.
Chorale
A German hymn, often used as a unifying theme for a
cantata
Chorale Prelude
A work based on a particular chorale, performed as an
introduction to a religious service.
“The Live Experience: Playing the Organ” (p. 97) explains how organists achieve rich and
varied sounds on this instrument.
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Multi-movement work; each
movement based on a dance
Allemande
(German)
Courante
(French)
Sarabande
(Spanish)
Bourée
(French)
Gigue
(English or Irish)
Gavotte
(French)
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Listening Guide
Example
from CD 3, track
17, pp. 96, 98
Solo cello
AABB form
Monophonic texture
Quadruple meter
Fifth movement of six movement work
Composed for cellist at Anhalt-Cöthen
and probably first performed as
entertainment for prince
Listen to the entire bouree:
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The term sonata was applied to instrumental pieces that varied
greatly in structure , character, and the number and type of
instruments
Sonata da chiesa
Sonata for church
Sonata da camera
Sonata for chamber in a home or
palace
Later, three types of sonatas were predominant:
Sonata
unaccompanied
instrument
Solo Sonata
solo instrument
and continuo
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Trio Sonata
often two violins,
cello, and keyboard
continuo
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A talented
female composer
Father was a
musician in Paris
A child prodigy
Performed on the
harpsichord at age 5
King Louis XIV supported her music education
and hired her to perform regularly
1665 –1729
She dedicated many compositions to Louis XIV
Her works include songs, cantatas, operas, and sonatas for chamber groups
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Sonata
Solo violin with harpsichord and
viola da gamba continuo
Rondeau form with repeating theme
Homphonic texture
Listening Guide
Excerpt
from CD 3, track
18, pp. 99-100
Triple meter
Performed for and later dedicated to
King Louis XIV
Listen to the first 6 statements of the theme
Notice the theme is set in three keys, beginning
and ending in D minor
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