From The Baroque Powerpoint

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The three main musical works in a typical opera were

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the overture, aria, and recitative.

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An OVERTURE was played at the beginning of the opera to

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set the mood and announce to the audience that the opera was about to “begin”.

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An ARIA was a (usually)

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solo piece that served little to no practical purpose to the plot of the opera but demonstrated the skill and virtuosity of a singer.

(FYI, Sometimes the same aria would be used in completely different operas)

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A RECITATIVE was

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more or less a “sung” (usually chanted) dialogue. Most if not all of the plot was told through recitative.

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Opera was “born”

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in Florence, Italy.

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However, as opera took hold in different parts of Italy and in other countries, each area

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developed its own signature opera style.

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A Castrato was

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a man that had been castrated at a young age so his voice would not deepen as he grew older. Castrati were well-sought after by opera companies to play the female roles and sing the soprano vocal parts.

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While women were not allowed to act on stage, they would occasionally

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step out and sing an aria. As the aria was the epitome of vocal virtuosity, these women came to be known as divas.

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COMIC OPERA was

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basically used to poke fun at governing bodies and was meant to entertain people rather than educate them. The characters were ones the average person could relate to and the music was less complicated and more “folk-style”.

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BASSO CONTINUO developed

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a bass line and accompaniment from the figured bass.

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BASSO CONTINUO developed a bass line and accompaniment from the figured bass.

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Here’s a good description:
In Baroque music, a special subgroup of an instrumental ensemble. It consists of two instruments reading the same part: a bass instrument, such as a cello or bassoon, and a chordal instrument, most often a harpsichord but sometimes an organ or lute. Its appearance in the early 17th century reflected the radically new musical texture of accompanied melody that was especially typical of the new vocal genre of opera. The continuo (which has a counterpart in the bass and rhythm guitar of a rock band) came to be employed in virtually all ensemble music of the Baroque era.

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The most common instruments were:

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 Keyboards – harpsichord and organ (the clavichord was a variation of the harpsichord…for the most part)
 Strings – violin (Antonio Stradivarius—the most famous violin-maker in history lived at this time) and bass viol (aka, string bass / stand-up bass). The viola and cello were also quite common.
 Winds – oboe, bassoon, flute
 Brass – trumpet, horn (think French horn but without the buttons), and trombone
 Percussion – timpani (aka, “kettle drums”)

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GROUND BASS is

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a bass line that repeats itself over and over again (like Pachelbel’s Canon in D).

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Information:
Music Forms common at this time (as you can see, the Baroque is the “beginning of a lot of forms to keep track of”—just kidding. You won’t need to memorize specifics, but listen to the music examples and be able to distinguish how each form is different than another):

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Information:
Music Forms common at this time (as you can see, the Baroque is the “beginning of a lot of forms to keep track of”—just kidding. You won’t need to memorize specifics, but listen to the music examples and be able to distinguish how each form is different than another):

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(Instrumental):
Fugue

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a musical line layered over itself throughout the piece

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(Instrumental):
Theme and Variations

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use a single music theme (or idea) and play it again and again but change it somehow each time it is played.

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(Instrumental):
Dance Suite

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a suite (pronounced “sweet”) is a collection of tunes (in this case, dance tunes) that are combined and played one-after-another as a longer musical work.

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(Instrumental):
Chorale Prelude

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played by the organ, it is similar to the overture of the opera in that it was “fluff” music that was played before (aka “prelude”), set the mood for, and lead into the main attraction (in this case, the church choir aka “chorale”).

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(Instrumental):
Improvisation also called a FANTASY or a TOCCATA

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each had certain guidelines these were basically the result of a musician expressing him/herself (without written music).

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(Instrumental):
Sonata

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Sonata—a longer work comprised of smaller sections (movements) and played by either a solo instrument or a very small group of instruments with or without accompaniment.

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(Vocal):
Cantata

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sacred or secular telling of a story with vocal solos, orchestra, and chorus but without staging or costumes. Small-scale.

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(Vocal):
Oratorio

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based on Bible verses it tells a sacred story with solos, orchestra, and chorus but without staging or costumes. Medium-scale.

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(Vocal):
Opera

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tells a story with vocal and instrumental forms but with staging, costumes, pageantry, pomp and circumstance, you name it! This wasn’t just large-scale, this was the KINGPIN!