Baroque Era

Being a vocalist, it’s hard not to notice that vocal music wasn’t a highly talked about genre during the Early Baroque. Since vocal music is a familiar genre, its lack of appreciation can catch the attention of many Baroque fans, especially those who are studying the voice. Taking the time to analyze the Baroque period more in depth by exploring the ultimate goal of the era, the composers of the era, and by examining music scores, especially those of Claudio Monteverdi, I was able to grasp an understanding of the role played by vocal music during this period. In this paper, drawing on books about Early Baroque vocal music, score evidence of composer Claudio Monteverdi, and the musical goals of Baroque composers, I will argue that vocal music …show more content…
The Baroque period was a time where composers and listeners wanted to hear music that made them feel a certain way. Stepping away from the musical aspect of the Baroque era, this period was a turning point for the everyday people of Europe. There was an increase of knowledge and technology, especially with the discovery of the earth’s exact position in the universe by Nicolaus Copernicus, the Europeans were growing together as a society and this reflected in their music. There are two main philosophies that are critical for the understanding of early baroque composers. The first was a sense of communication through music. Composers sought to revive the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome by being aware of the emotions being evoked from the audience. The second philosophy is the realization of patronage. The freedom given to composers today to make music at your own leisure was not given to Baroque composers. Many composers of this time were employed by the church or by a Duke. Composers were told when and what kind of music to make, so it is incredible the individuality many composers were able to display due to these strict restrictions. It wasn’t an easy task to come from a strict era and try to mix it with leniency of your own personal …show more content…
Monteverdi is known as one of the most important and universal composers of his time and marked the change between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods. His perfected monodic style was a predecessor to Baroque Italian opera, in fact, he wrote the first known successful opera, Orfeo. Although Monteverdi was the most acknowledged composer of early Baroque, he wasn’t the only important composer of the time. Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi were two very important composers, especially for instrumental music. Corelli composed the most popular instrumental music of his time. He specialized in the concerto grosso. Although he was not the true inventor of this genre, he made sure to popularize it, making himself known as the “Father of the Concerto Grosso”. His use of modern tonal harmonic progressions set the new tonal system for the Baroque period. Vivaldi, a very popular violinist, was known for his hundreds of concertos that later influenced composer such as Johann Sebastian Bach. These three composers were the most influential composers of the early Baroque period and most of their works, not necessarily including Monteverdi, consisted of instrumental music, which again resurfaces the question, why isn’t vocal music a popularly written