Baroque Music: Characteristics and Forms
The Baroque era began in the late sixteenth century, as Europe underwent a social and economic crisis that shook the Renaissance order. This situation favored a change in mentality, which led to the beginning of the Baroque period. At this time, absolute monarchies thrived, and the people and the bourgeoisie accepted the monarch’s authority. In the field of religion, the Counter-Reformation continued to preside during the Baroque period.
Characteristics of Baroque Music:
- A desire for splendor, artifice, and affectation.
- Melodies and rhythms with more freedom and panache than in the Renaissance.
- Many Baroque works require a constant tempo.
- Harmony modes disappear, and the concept of key rises (with only two scales or modes, major and minor, upon which music from the Baroque to the 20th century is based).
- The concept of the chord is another unusual aspect of Baroque music.
Instrumental Music
Some instruments previously used disappeared, while others were modified. Interestingly, an instrument developed during the Renaissance that was not considered significant became prominent: the violin, along with its entire family. In the case of string instruments, this was the time of the famous families of luthiers, like Stradivari, Amati, and Guarneri (whose violins are considered exceptional).
Chamber Music
At this time, we see the emergence of a new musical form called sonata (in Italian, a work played with instruments). The most important Baroque sonata types are the sonata for solo and continuo and the trio sonata. The first two allowed the main instrument to demonstrate its virtuosity; the performer was even allowed to improvise variations on the notes written by the composer. The trio sonata gave more importance to dialogue.
Vocal Music
As with instruments, composers sought to maximize the musical resources of the human voice. Their field of showcasing was a new musical genre invented during the Baroque: opera.
Secular Vocal Music
The beginnings of opera are found in Italy in the late sixteenth century, when a group of Florentine musicians, under the patronage of Count Giovanni Bardi, tried to create a type of play based on reciting through singing. The desire to find a way to recite while singing led to the invention of the recitative. This procedure applied to the voice a song that imitated the rhythm and intonation of speech.
Next to the recitative, the other key element of the opera is the aria, meaning “song,” and refers to a piece played by a solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. The accompaniment of arias is also more elaborate than that of recitatives. We can find assistance from the full orchestra or solo instruments, called obbligato, which interact with the voice.
Other types of pieces that can be found in opera are:
- Overture: An instrumental piece that the orchestra plays at the beginning of the opera as an introduction.
- Chorus: A piece of choral music, used especially to represent multitudes.
- Dance: Instrumental parts intended to be danced by the artists at some point in the performance.
Opera buffa has a comic plot.
Religious Vocal Music
During the Baroque, masses and motets continued to be written. In this field, new types of music emerged, including the cantata and the oratorio.
- Oratorio: A sung drama with religious themes. It appeared in the late sixteenth century, derived from the ancient medieval liturgical dramas. At first, oratorios were performed with costumes, scenery, and character movements. A kind of oratorio called passion tells the passion and death of Jesus Christ.
- Cantata: Similar to the oratorio in structure and motion, but not dramatic and of shorter duration.