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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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General Characteristics
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1. Term Baroque (1600-1750)
a) Used by Charles de Brosses around 1750 in describing the facade of the Pamphili Palace in Rome which was being made over in a kind of filigree ornamentation b) The term was embraced by art historians in the late 19th century to describe a whole period of art and architecture (1) term originally meant abnormal, bizarre, exaggerated, grotesque. or in bad tastes (2) art critics Jacob Burckhardt & Karl Baedeker in 19th century brought out the positive side of the term - describing the flamboyant, decorative, and expressionistic tendencies of 17th century painting & architecture. (3) adopted by music historians in the 1920's applying the term to music from late 16th century thru mid 18th century. i) music is to diverse to apply the baroque label to designate all music as baroque ii) rather, defines a period, evoking the artistic & literary culture of an entire period iii) Dates are approximations with characteristics appearing before 1600 with many declining by 1730 (4) Within the chronological limits of 1600-1750 composers accepted a set of conventions for organizing music and shared ideals of how it should sound - most important they believed that music's principal goal was to move the affections |
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Geographical and Cultural Background
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a) Italian attitudes dominated the musical thinking of this period - by the end of the
Baroque era the music of Europe had become a single language with Italian roots (1) from mid 16th to mid 18th century Italy remained Europe's most influential musical region i) Florence with a brilliant period of musico-theatrical innovation at beginning of the 17th century ii) Rome exerting a steady influence on sacred music and for a time an important center of opera, cantata, & instrumental music iii) Venice & Naples becaming a centers of opera iv) Bologna & other northern cities witnessing important developments in instrumental music (2) France which developed and maintained its own distinctive national idiom could not escape the Italian influence i) particularly strong throughout the first half of the 17th century ii) Jean-Baptiste Lully whose works did most the establish the French style (emerging after 1630's) was ironically a Florentine brought to France at age 13 (3) Germany, the 30 Year's War overwhelmed an already weakened musical culture i) in the second half of 17th century music was rebuilt on the Italian style ii) Bach & Handel owed much to the Italian influence ii) Bach & Handel owed much to the Italian influence (4) England - music faded from the glories of the Elizabethan & Jacobean ages with the period of the Civil War & the Commonwealth (1642-1660) revived toward the end of the century with a nearly complete surrender to the Italian Style b) Wealthy absolute governments ruled Europe in this period and their patronage helped cultivate new genres of music (1) the court of Louis XIV of France (reigned 1643-1715) was the most imposing (2) the church continued to support music but its role was less important in the Baroque era than it had been priviously (3) public concerts with paid subscriptions or admission were still rare, not becoming widespread until the later 1700's (4) other arts & sciences also benefited during the Baroque i) England - John Donne & Milton ii) Spain - Cervantes, Velàzqueze, & Murillo iii) France - Corneille, Racine, & Molière iv) Netherlands - Rubens, & rembrandt v) Italy - Bernini, & Borromini vi) Science & Philosophy - Bacon, Descartes, Leibniz, Galileo, Kepler, & Newton |
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New Musical Idiom
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1. General
a) Music was profoundly influenced by the changes taking place in the intellectual and artistic realms (1) expanded the vocabulary to meet new expressive needs (2) poured more intense and more varied emotions into the musical genres inherited from the Renaissance (3) by the middle of the century, the new resources of harmony, color, and form coalesced into a common language with a firm vocabulary |
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Two Practices
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a) Composers and observers recognized that they had inherited a plurality of styles
from the previous century b) Montiverdi in 1605 distinguished between a Prima Practica and a Secunda Practica (1) prima practica (or - stile antico/stylus gravis) i) the style of vocal polyphony codified by Zarlino ii) music dominated the verbal text (2) seconda practica (or - stile moderno/stylus luxurians) i) text dominated the music ii) dissonances used more freely to express the feelings evoked in the text c) By the middle of the century, theorists had proposed more complex and comprehensive systems of style classification (1) most widely accepted was a threefold division into church, chamber, and theater music - with a particular social function and certain technical traits (2) by the end of the century, these distinctions were glossed over and compositional vocabulary was the same for the three categories (2) by the end of the century, these distinctions were glossed over and compositional vocabulary was the same for the three categories |
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Idiomatic Writing
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a) Polyphony tended to homogenize instrumental and vocal writing
(1) much of it could be sung or played by almost any combination of voices and instruments (2) but even the earliest music for solo lute, organ, or harpsicord contained particulars idiomatic for the instrument (3) the prominent role of the soloist - singer or instrumentalist - invited composers to address their thoughts to a particular medium i) development of the violin family was especially important - the forceful overhand bowing possibility produced an unvocal & idiosyncratic sound ii) technical improvements in wind instruments made them suitable for exposed solo performance b) Instrumental and vocal styles began to diverge - eventually becoming so distinct that composers could consciously borrow vocal idioms in instrumental writing and vice versa |
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The Affections
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a) Vocal & instrumental composers were united in a common goal to express or
represent a wide range of feelings vivdly & vigorously - continuing the efforts of the late 16th century madrigal b) Sought musical means to express or arouse the "affections" such as rage, excitement, grandeur, etc - thought then as relatively stable states of the soul (1) not to express personal feelings but rather in a generic sense (2) to endow them with a more objective reality c) Music was free to expand its expressive field in whatever directions a composer's imagination led d) This freedom stimulated the development of music's emotional power and elevated its standing among the arts |
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Musical Characteristics: Rhythm
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a) in contrast to the even rhythmic flow of the Renaissance polyphony, the Baroque
was either very regular or very free b) Regular dance rhythms were characteristic of much earlier music but not until the 17th century was most music written in measures - marked by barlines implying patterns of strong & weak beats (1) at first these patterns were not recurrent i) time signatures corresponding to a varying succession of harmonic & accentual patters ii) set of by barlines at regular intervals (2) composers used irregular, flexible rhythms when writing vocal recitative and improvisatory pieces such as toccatas & preludes |
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Musical Characteristics: Basso Continuo
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a) typical texture of the Renaissance was a polyphony of independent voices
b) typical texture of the Baroque period was a firm bass & a florid treble - held together by unobtrusive harmony b) typical texture of the Baroque period was a firm bass & a florid treble - held together by unobtrusive harmony (1) new was the emphasis on the bass and the highlighting of the treble (2) resulted in the seeming indifference to the inner parts as lines (3) evident in the system of notation call "throughbass" or "basso continuo" c) the composer wrote out only the melody and the bass - the bass being played on one or more continuo instruments (harpsicord, organ, or lute) - reinforced by a sustaining instrument (bass viola da gamba, violoncello, or bassoon) (1) above the bass notes the continuo filled in the required chords - which were not otherwise written out (2) if the chords were other than common triads, the composer added numbers (figures) or flat or sharp signs above or below the bass notes d) the realization of such a figured bass varied according to the type of piece and the skill and taste of the player (1) this continuo was not always required if the full harmony was provided in the melodic parts (2) but for solos & duets the continuo was necessary to complete the harmonies and provide a fuller sound (called "ripieno") |
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Musical Characteristics: The new Counterpoint
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a) counterpoint remained the basis of composition - but a new kind of counterpoint
b) the different melodic lines now had to fit into the pattern of chords set up by the continuo c) this harmonically driven counterpoint - individual lines subordinated to a succession of chords - held sway over the remainder of the Baroque era |
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Musical Characteristics: Dissonance
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a) dissonance began to be recognized less as an interval between two individual
voices and more as an individual tone that did not fit into a chord (1) a greater variety of dissonance was tolerated (2) though by middle of the century conventions developed about when & how they were introduced and resolved b) dissonance helped define the tonal direction of a piece in which chains of dissonant led inexorably to a cadence establishing a keynote or tonic |
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Musical Characteristics; Chromaticism
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a) followed a similar development from experimental forays on the one hand to
freedom within an orderly scheme on the other b) later composers submitted chromaticism to the control of tonal harmony |
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Musical Characteristics; Major-minor Tonalities
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a) Music of the late Renaissance foreshadowed this kind of tonal organization
(1) tonal harmony operated within the system of major-minor tonalities familiar to us from music of the 18th & 19th century (2) Rameau's "Tristise on Harmony" in 1722 completed the theoretical formulation of the system - then in practice for at least half a century (3) the figured bass bridged counterpoint from homophony and linear-melodic to a chordal-harmonic structure |
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Early Opera; forerunners
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Opera is a drama that combines soliloquy, dialogue, scenery, action, and
continuous (or nearly continuous) music (1) Earliest works in this genre date from the very end of the 16th century (2) But the association of music with drama goes back to ancient times i) the choruses and some lyric speeches in the plays of Euripides and Sophocles were sung ii) medieval liturgical dramas were sung and music figures - if incidentally - in the religious mystery & miracle plays of the late middle ages |
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Renaissance Theater of 16thC as forerunner to opera
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(1) Many tragedies & comedies imitated Greek models - the choruses were
sometimes sung - at the opening or ending of an act i) Greek tragedy served as a distant model for the Renaissance theater - scholars of the time disagreed on how centrally music figured in Greek drama a- only choruses sung b- entire text was sung - including actors' parts as expressed by Girolamo Mei (1519-1594) (2) Intermedi: pastoral, allegorical, or mythological interludes- offering spectacular and elaborate musical productions, with choruses, soloists, and large instrumental ensembles - between acts of a comedy or tragedy (3) Madrical Cycles: the madrigal as a miniature drama - represented a series of scenes or moods or wove a simple comic plot in dialogue (4) The Pastoral: the pastoral poem - telling of idyllic love in loosely dramatic form - a predominant genre of Italian verse composition provided one model for early musical plays i) music seemed not only the natural mode of communication but the missing link to the poets' visions and longings ii) pastoral poetry was at once the last stage of the madrigal and the first stage of the opera libretto |
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Florentine Camerata
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(1) Girolamo Mei (1519-1594) a Florentine scholar who had edited a number of
Greek tragedies and when in Rome had embarked on a thorough investigation of Greek Music - particularly its role in theater i) between 1562 & 1573 he read - in Greek - almost every ancient work on music that survived ii) reported his work in 4 books - "De Modis" (Concerning the Modes) - parts of which were communicated to his colleagues in Florence. a- the Greeks obtained powerful effects with their music because it consisted of a single melody - whether sung by a soloist with or without accompaniment or by a chorus b- this melody could move the listener through the natural expressiveness of vocal registers, rises and falls in pitch, and the changing rhythms and tempo |
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Florentine Camerata; Bardi
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(2) Giovanni Bardi (1534-1612) one of his most frequent correspondents - with
Vincenzo Galilei (1520?-1591) - hosted and informal academy at his palace in Florence with discussions on literature, science, and the arts with musicians perfoming new music i) Galilei in his "Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna" used the doctrines of Mei to attack the theory and practice of vocal counterpoint - exemplified by the Italian Madrigal a- only a single line of melody - with pitches and rhythms appropriate to the text - could express a given line of poetry b- several voices simultaneously singing different melodies and words in different rhythms and registers could never deliver the emotional message of the text c- only a solo melody could enhance the natural speech inflections of a good orator or actor (3) Bardi's protègè the singer/composer Giulio Caccini (1551-1618) later referred to this gathering as the "Camerata of Bardi"; |
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Earliest Operas; productions
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(1) Poet Ottavio Rinuccini (1562-1621) & composer Jacopo Peri (1561-1633)
became convinced that the ancient tragedies were sung in their entirety. i) first experiment was "Dafne" (1598) of which only fragments survive ii) "L'Euridice" was a second more ambitious poem (2) Emilio de' Cavaliere (1550?-1602) produced a sacred musical "Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo" the longest entire musical stage work at that time |
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Earliest Operas; techniques
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(1) Peri, Caccini, and Cavalieri had similar approaches to theatrical music - they
all aimed for a kind of song that was halfway between spoken recitation and singing i) Caccini & Cavalieri wrote in a style based on the madrigal and on the airs that poets & singers improvised upon when singing or reciting poetry ii) Peri modeled his prologue on the air for singing poetry but for dialogue he invented a new idiom which was to be known as "stile recitativo" - recitative style iii) NB: this should not be confused with the term monody that embraces all the styles of solo singing practiced in the early years of the 17th century - including recitative, arias, and madrigals iv) Caccini developed a songful yet mainly syllabic style of solo writing a- aimed at clear and flexible declamation of the words b- but embellished the melodic line at appropriate places c- monody thus received a patina of vocal virtuosity d- published collection of his works titled "Le nuovo musiche" |
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recitative style
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(1) In Euridice, Peri realized a style that lies between speech & song - but he
varied his approach according to the dramatic situation i) he wanted to find a kind of speech-song that was halfway between them - similar to the style scholars thought ancient Greeks used for reciting epic poems i) he wanted to find a kind of speech-song that was halfway between them - similar to the style scholars thought ancient Greeks used for reciting epic poems a- Peri recalled the distinction made in ancient Greek theory between the 'continuous' change in pitch in speech and the intervallic or 'diastematic' motion in song b- a combination of speechlike freedom and sustained harmonized accented syllables realized Peri's idea of a medium halfway between speech & song c- Euridice - the Prologue i- Peri devised an idiom that met the demands of dramatic poetry a: each line of verse is sung to a melodic scheme that consists of a repeated pitch and a cadential pattern ending in tow sustained notes b: the chords specified by the basso continuo and its figures have no rhythmic profile or formal plan and are there only to support the voice's recitation - which is free to imitate the inflections & rhythms of speech ii- this was the new recitative ii) realized his idea of a medium halfway between speech & song iii) NB: Euridice was produced twice - one by Peri & one by Caccini (2) Monody made musical theater possible because it could conveyin music both dialogue and narrative clearly, quickly, and with the flexiblity needed for truly dramatic expression |
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Claudio Monteverdi
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i) L'Orfeo (1607) was patterned both in subject matter and mix of styles on
Euridice productions - its proprotions are much expanded compared to Euridice ii) employed a large and varied orchestra - with 26 brief orchestal numbers - Peri's used few instruments having been performed in an apartment of the Pitti Palace |
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Roman Opera
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a) Opera did not take root in Rome until the 1620's
(1) when Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope Urban VII (1623) his nephews were put into advantageous postitions (2) the nephews became ardent sponsors of opera b) The most prolific librettist of sacred, serious, and comic operas was Giulio Rospigliosi - elected pope Clement IX in 1667 c) it was in Rome that comic opera began its independent career d) music of Roman operas - the solo singing fell more and more into two clearly defined types (1) recitative - more speech like than Peri's or Monteverdi's (2) aria - melodious and mainly strophic e) L. Rossi (1567-1653) (1) last Roman opera composer of the early Baroque (2) in his Orfeo of 1647 the antique simplicity of the myth is almost buried under a mass of incidents and characters, spectacular scenic effects, and comic episodes (2) in his Orfeo of 1647 the antique simplicity of the myth is almost buried under a mass of incidents and characters, spectacular scenic effects, and comic episodes i) librettists of the 17th century typically allowed the comic, groteque, and sensational to intrude into serious drama ii) suggests that composers no longer put the integrity of the drama first |
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Venetian Opera
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a) librettist & composer Benedietto Ferrari (ca. 1603-1681) and the composer
Francesco Manelli (after 1594-1667) inaugurated opera in Venice with production of Andromeda in 1637 a the Teatro San Cassiano (1) this theater admitted the paying public - a decisive step in the history of opera (2) until then musical theater depended upon the wealthy or aristocratic patrons b) Venice was an ideal place for opera to florish (1) the venetian carnival brought together a diverse audience (2) a reputation for freedom form religious and social restraint (3) Rich merchants built and supported theaters (4) anyone could rent a seat for a single performance - providing steady financing and multiple performances of a work during the season c) Monteverdi composed his last tow operas (Il ritorno d'Ulisse (1641) & L'incoranazione di Poppea (1642) here (1) despite the trend toward separating recitative & aria he continued to write in a fluid mixture of speechlike recitative and more lyrical and formal monody (2) content more than poetic form and heightened emotional expression rather than charm a dazzle determined the shifts from recitative to aria and back d) Pier Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) (1) a pupil of Montverdi (2) wrote 41 operas to meet the demand e) Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) (1) excelled in lyrical arias & duets (2) Il pomo d'oro (1667) is his most famous |
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Features established with Italian Opera by the middle 17th century - maintained for
the next two hundred years essentially unchanged |
a) concentration on solo singing - to the detriment of ensembles & instrumental music
b) the separation of recitative and aria - i.e. rise of smooth, mainly diatonic lines and easy rhythm gratifying to singer known as "bel canto" c) introduction of distinctive styles and patterns for the arias d) Florentines had considered music an accessory to poetry, the Venetians treated the libretto as hardly more than a scaffolding for the musical structure |
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Vocal Chamber Music
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1. Except in Venice, opera as an extra ordinary event - the bulk of secular music
produced in Italy for both amateur and professional performance was vocal chamber music 2. Strophic Method a) strophic aria not offered the best framework for setting poems without interfering with their continuity a) strophic aria not offered the best framework for setting poems without interfering with their continuity b) the composer could repeat the same melody - with perhaps a rhythmic modification - for each stanza of poetry (1) popular way to compose a strophic song was to base it on a standard formula (2) most composers invented their own music for the first strophe of an aria and then reworked it for subsequent stanzas to make it reflect the changing stresses & emphases of the text - more important to have the melody and harmonic elaboration express the sense and feeling of the separate lines of the poem 3. Short Ground-bass patterns a) chaconne - a dance-song with a refrain that followed a simple pattern of guitar chords was probably imported into Spain from Latin America (1) the Italian varient (ciaccona) reduced the harmonic pattern inot a bass line (2) was not associated with any particular poetic form b) passacaglia - originated in Spain as a ritornello - music having a certain pattern of guitar chords played before and between the strophes of a song (1) it too evolved into a variety of bass formulas i) usually in triple meter and minor mode ii) suitable for supporting instrumental or vocal variations (2) was not associated with any particular poetic form c) characteristic of both in the 17th century is the continuous repetition fo a four bar formula in triple meter and slow tempo d) the two became confused in the 18th century |
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Concertato Medium
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1. Grew out of the practice of writing out separate parts for voices and instruments - or
different groups of voices & instruments 2. Concerto - diverse & sometimes contrasting forces are brought together in a harmonious ensemble a) Concertato madrigal - instruments join with voices on an equal footing b) Sacred concerto - sacred vocal work with instruments c) Instrumental concerto - piece for various instruments, sometimes including one or more soloists and an orchestra with several players to a part (1) today we think of a concerto mainly as a piece for soloists and orchestra (2) the older sense was more inclusive - 17th century concerto is not a style but a mingling of voices with instruments that are playing independent parts d) Stile concitato (excited style) - used for warlike sentiments and actions (1) a prolonged rapid reiteration of a single note or series of them (2) either with quickly spoken syllable in the voice or instrumentally as a measured string tremolo |
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General Stylistic Trends
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1. The musical style of Montverdi and his comtemporaries contained diverse elements -
some dating back to the 16th century & some new 2. Monody & madrigal were combined 3. Formal articulation was achieved through the organization of the bass & the harmonies it supported - as well as the systematic introduction of ritornellos 3. Formal articulation was achieved through the organization of the bass & the harmonies it supported - as well as the systematic introduction of ritornellos 4. Texture was varied by the use of the concertato medium 5. The gradual separation of recitative and aria left the composer free to write melodious arias without having to follow every nuance of the text a) arias began to unfold in graceful, smoothly flowing phrases b) supported by simple harmonies - most often in slow triple meter with a single persistent rhythmic motive c) termed bel canto - a creation of Italian composers - influenced vocal & instrumental music through the Baroque period and beyond |
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Genres of Vocal Solo Music
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1. From the beginning of the century Italian composers turned out thousands of
monodies (solo madrigals, strophic arias, and canzontes) a) these were far more widely known than and of the operas - performed only a few times for restricted audiences b) published in collections (1) Caccini's "Nuove musiche" was the first important collection (2) solo songs of Sigismondo d'India (ca. 1582-before 1629) was an outstanding musical personality of his time |
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The Cantata
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a) the term was applied before 1620 to a published collection arias in the form of
strophic variations b) by the middle of the century had come to mean a composition with continuo, usually for solo voice on lyrical or quasi-dramatic text - it included several sections that included both recetatives and arias c) Leading Italian Cantata Composers (1) Luigi Rossi (1597-1653) was the first eminent master of this type of cantata (2) Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) chiefly remembered for his sacred oratorios (3) Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) and opera composer (4) Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) composer of eight published collections of motets, madrigals, arias, and cantatas |
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Other Composers
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b) English - Nicholas Lanier (1588-1666), John Wilson (1595-1674), & Henry Lawes
(1596-1662) c) France had the air de cour in the form of solos & duets - some independent vocal chamber music other for court ballets |
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4. Vocal chamber music in the early 17th century appeared in many forms and styles -
and combined the elements of the madrigal, the concerto, monody, dance songs, national idioms, dramatic recitative, and the bel canto aria |
4. Vocal chamber music in the early 17th century appeared in many forms and styles -
and combined the elements of the madrigal, the concerto, monody, dance songs, national idioms, dramatic recitative, and the bel canto aria |
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Influences on Church Music
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1. The innovations of the late 16th & early 17th century strongly affected the
conservative category of sacred music a) Monody, the basso continuo, and the concertato medium were all soon applied to sacred texts b) the Roman Catholic Church never completely abandoned polyphony - indeed, Palestrina's style (stile antico) became the supreme model for church music b) the Roman Catholic Church never completely abandoned polyphony - indeed, Palestrina's style (stile antico) became the supreme model for church music (1) composers coexisted with stile antico & stile moderno sometimes both in the same piece (2) in the course of time, the old style was modernized - a basso continuo was often added, rhythms became more regular, and the older modes gave way to the major-minor system c) Johann Joseph Fux (1660-1741) codified this quasi-Palestrinian counterpoint in his famous treatise Gradus ad Parnassum - which remained the most influential textbood on the subject for the next two centuries |
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Venice
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a) next to Rome, the most important city of the Italian penensula - reached its summit
of power in the 15th century - but the community that was the outgrowth of past prosperity continued without obvious abatement in the 16th century b) Church of Saint Marks (1) the heart and center of Venetian musical culture (2) independent, it was responsible more directly to the reigning doge than to any outside ecclesiastical authority i) most of the civic ceremonies took place in the church or its vast piazza ii) music at the church was supervised by officials of the state - who spared no expense |
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Venetian Music
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(1) Venetian music was characteristically full and rich in texture, homophonic
rather than contrapuntal, varied and colorful in sonority - with massive chordal harmonies replacing the intricate polyphonic lines of the Franco- Flemish composers (2) Venetian Polychoral Motets i) from before the time of Willaert (ca. 1480-1562) had often written for double chorus ii) divided choirs (cori spezzati) did not originate in Venice but found a congenial home there a- encouraged homophonic choral writing b- broad rhythmic organization (3) Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612) i) the polychoral performances grew to unheard of proportions under him ii) his motet "In ecclesiis" explored explored these new resources |
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The Venetian Influence
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(1) Venetian choirmasters and composers through their teaching, writing, and
composing exercised broad influence in the late 16th & early 17th centuries (2) Gabrieli's students and admirers spread his style though out Northern Italy, Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia (3) Composers i) Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) a German was the most famous pupil ii) Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629) in northern Germany iii) Jocob Handl (1550-1591) active in Olmütz & Prague iii) Jocob Handl (1550-1591) active in Olmütz & Prague iv) Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) another German pupil of Gabrieli v) Mikolaj Zielenski (ca. 1550-ca. 1615) |
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Genres of Catholic Church Music
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1. Monody, the concertato medium, and even the apparatus of the theater were all
turned to sacred uses - Emilio de'Cavaliere (ca. 1550-1602) even before the first surviving opera produced a morality play with music on a stage in Rome |
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The Grand Concerto
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a) Roman counterpoint played a lesser role than the medium of the grand concerto in
the 17th century b) sacred works for huge aggregations of singers and players - sometimes reaching colossal proportions c) Orazio Benevoli (1605-1672) major figure writing in Rome for St. Peter's 3. Concerto for Few Voices a) one, two, or three solo voices sang to the accompaniment of an organ continuo was much more familiar to the average parishioner b) Lodovico Viadana (1560-1627) - one of the first composers to exploit this new medium 4. where resources permitted, the grand concerto was combined with the concerto for few voices a) Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 pioneered the medium b) Alessandro Grandi (ca. 1575/80-1630) was particularly noted for his sacred compositions in the new style |
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The Oratorio
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a) middle of 17th century was a sacred dialogue, which combined elements of
narrative, dialogue, and meditation or exhortation but not usually intended for stage performance with a libretto in Latin or Italian (1) called oratorio because they were most often performed in the oratory - the part of the church where lay societies met to hear sermons and sing devotional songs (2) Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674) - his "Jephte" exemplifies a mid-century oratorio b) both oratorios & operas used recitative, arias, duets, and instrumental preludes and ritornellos but the oratorio differed in numerous ways (1) subject matter was sacred (2) narration was included (3) chorus was used for dramatic, narrative, and meditative purposes (4) seldom - if ever - staged with action described or suggested, not played out |
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Lutheran Church Music
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1. Sacred music in Austria, and the Catholic southern cities of Germany remained
wholelly under Italian influence - with Italian composers particularly in Munich, Slazburg, Prague, and Vienna 2. Composers in the Lutheran central and northern regions began to exploit the new medium early in the 17th century a) along with the new media, the continued to write polyphonic chorale motets as well as biblical motets a) along with the new media, the continued to write polyphonic chorale motets as well as biblical motets b) some by Hassler & Pretorius were in the grand concerto medium - testifying to the Venetian influence on German composers c) Concerto for few voices also attracted German composers (1) Hermann Schein (1586-1630) published an important collection of such pieces in 1618 & 1626 at Leipzig - "Opella nova" the full title being - New Little Works, Sacred Concertos in the Nowadays Customery Italian Manner (2) His sacred concertos set a precedent for a long series of similar works by Lutheran Composers of the 17th century |
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Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672)
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a) the greatest German composer of the the mid 17th century and spanned the
musical styles of north & south - studied in Venice with Giovanni Gabriele from 1609-1612 (1) reputed to have composed the first German opera, as well as several ballets and other stage works - but no such music survives (2) great quantities and varieties of church music dating from 1619 to his final years do remain - Venetian magnificence and color appear frequently in his music b) Schütz completed the fusion of Italian & German styles begun by Hassler and others toward the end of the 16th century c) his works lack only one significant element of the fully developed Lutheran style - seldom making use of traditional chorale melodies although he set many choral texts (1) published Kleine geistliche Konzert in 1636 &1639, in 1636 Musikalische Exequien, Symphoniae sacrae in 1650 |
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Instrumental Music General Characteristics
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a) Instrumental Music in the first half of the 17th century gradually became the equal -
both in quantity & content - of vocal music. NB the categories are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive - the various types may be intertwined in many ways (1) Fugal pieces - in continuous (non sectional) imitative counterpoint i) ricercare ii) fantasia iii) fancy iv) capriccio v) fuga vi) verset (2) Canzona type pieces - in discontinuous (sectional) imitative counterpoint i) sometimes with a mixture of other styles ii) replaced by the sonata da chiesa at mid century (3) pieces that vary a given melody or bass i) partita ii) passacaglia ii) passacaglia iii) chaconne iv) chorale partita v) chorale prelude (4) Dances & other pieces in more or less stylized rhythms - either loosely strung together or more formally integrated in the suite (5) pieces in improvisatory style for solo keyboard instrument or lute i) toccata ii) fantasia iii) prelude b) the violin - rising to prominence in the 17th century - emulated the solo singing voice absorbing many of the vocal techniques into its vocabulary c) Instrumental music is not escape the spell of the recitative and aria styles - although with less impact than the basso continuo |
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Genres
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a) Although titles such as ricercare, fantasia, fancy, capriccio, sonata, sinfonia, and
canzona may seem to have been applied rather indiscriminately - each represented a tradition and a set of precedents that composers of the time generally respected (1) sense of genre was very strong in the early 17th century (2) writing of Athanasius Kircher "Musurgia universalis in 1650 & Michael Praetorius "Syntagma musicum 1618 reflect this |
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Ricercare
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- typically a brief, serious, composition for organ or clavier in which one
theme is continuously developed in imitation (fugal or canonic style) of a sustained legato character - "Ricercar dopo il Credo" by Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) |
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Fantasia & Fancy
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constructed on a larger scale than the simple ricercare and has
a more complex formal organization - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1596-1663) (1) contrapuntal fantasia for strings without basso continuo was the leading early 17th century English Chamber music - cultivated even after the restoration (1660) (2) used borrowed themes and learned devices more frequently to develop the themes as a series of fugues and like the ricercare the theme or themes were of sustained legato character (3) Matthew Locke (1621-1677) & Henry Purcell (1659-1695) - whose fantasias for viols (about 1680) were the last important examples of this |
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Canzona- Variety of approaches
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(1) generally several contrasting sections - each on a different theme in fugal
imitation - rounded off with a cadenza like flourish - more of the formal, abstract quality of instrumental polyphony in the Renaissance tradition (2) variation canzona - transformations of a single theme in successive sections - Maria Trabaci (ca. 1575-1647), Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643), Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) (3) ensemble canzona - a patchwork of short thematically unrelated sections that might be repeated literally or in varied form later in the work - Tarquinio Merula (1594-1665) (3) ensemble canzona - a patchwork of short thematically unrelated sections that might be repeated literally or in varied form later in the work - Tarquinio Merula (1594-1665) i) usually written in four parts ii) usually could be played just as well without the continuo (4) in comparison to ricercare & fantasia a livelier, more marked rhythmic melodic material with emphasis on the division of the piece into sections (indicates origin from the French chanson) |
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English Consort Music
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(1) consort (ensemble) music for viols which flourished in England in the
beginning of 17th century - Alfonso Ferrabosco the Younger (before 1578 -1628), John Coprario (aka Cooper, ca. 1570-1627) (2) John Jenkins (1592-1678) - leading composer of viol consort music in the mid 17th century |
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Sonata
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(1) a vague term for instrumental pieces in the early 1600's gradually came to
mean a compositon that resembled a canzona in form with special features i) scored for one or two melody instruments - usually violins w/basso continuo ii) often took advantage of the idiomatic possibilities offered by a particular instrument iii) somewhat free & expressive character (2) Biagio Marini (ca. 1587-1663) "Sonata per il violino per sonar con due corde", Op. 8 (1629) is an early example of instrumental monody (3) by the middle of the 17th century the canzona & sonata had thoroughly merged i) written for many different instrumental combinations ii) with two violins & continuo a common medium - usually called trio sonatas (4) sometimes name was qualified as sonata da chiesa since many pieces were written for use in church |
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Variations
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(1) The theme & variations form (a favorite of late Renaissance keyboard
composition) underwent further development (2) often variation did not appear in the title & the term partite was often used in the early 17th century for sets of variations - later called suites (3) Techniques i) Cantus Firmus Variation - melody repeated with little or no change though it might wander from voice to voice - Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654), & English virginalists a- Scheidt (northern Germany) published a large collection of compostions for organ "Tabulatura nova" based on chorale melodies b- works of Scheidt and his influence as a teacher were the foundation of a remarkable development of North German organ music in the Baroque Era ii) melody would receive different embellishment in each variation - most often the top most voice with underlying harmony remaining essentially unchanged - Johann Adam reincken (1623-1722) ii) melody would receive different embellishment in each variation - most often the top most voice with underlying harmony remaining essentially unchanged - Johann Adam reincken (1623-1722) iii) the bass or the harmonic structure, rather than the melody could supply the constant factor - Giroloamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) "Aria di Ruggiero |
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Dance Music
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(1) important not only for its own sake but also because its rhythms permeated
vocal & instrumental - both secular & sacred (2) Suites i) a composition in several movements (rather than a mere succession of short pieces each in a certain mood & rhythm) a- a German phenomenon b- theme & variation technique was now extended to all the dances in a suite ii) exemplified by Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) "Banchetto musicale" (1617) a- contains 20 suites in five parts - each suite having a sequence b- ordered - paduana (pavan), gagliarda (galliard) courante, & allemande with a tripla (variation in triple meter of the allemande) iii) sometimes the suite included or was published separately an "intrada" - a piece usually of festive, march like character. As name suggests, it might serve as the opening movement of a suite |
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French Lute and Keyboard
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(1) French lute style was the basis for important developments in keyboard music
and, indeed, for the entire French style of composition in the late 1600's i) composers in France established the characteristic idiom for the individual dances through their arrangements of actual ballet music ii) written not for an ensemble, but for solo instrument - first he lute and later the clavin (harpsichord) or viola da gamba iii) lute music flourished in France - Ennemond Gaultier (1575-1651) a- Lute "style brisè" - since lute player usually one note at a time - sketched in melody, bass, & harmony - shifting registers - relying on the listener's imagination to supply the continuity of the various lines b- adapted by French composers to the harpsichord - basis for important developments in keyboard music & entire French style of composition in the late 16 & 1700's i- Denis Gaultier (1603-1672) "La Rhètorique des dieux" a published manuscript collection of his works - culminated the French lute music of early 17th century ii- Jaques Champion de Chambonnières (1601/02-1672) earliest important composer of the new keyboard idiom and one of first French clavecinists iii- clavecinists included Louis Couperin (1626-1661), Jean Henri d'Anglebert (1635-1691), Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729), & François Couperin (1668-1733) (2) The French style was carried to Germany by Froberger (1616-1667) who established the allemande, courante, sarabande, & gigue as standard components of dance suites |
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Improvisatory Compositions
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(1) toccata - virtuoso piece - meaning to just "touch the keys".
(2) Frescobaldi sacrificed virtuosity in favor of quite contemplation - and unusual trait for this genre (3) Froberger wrote more solidly constructed though less exuberant toccatas - his free improvisatory passages provide a framework for systematically developed sections in the contrapuntal style of the fantasia |
