Baroque Period
The Baroque style was sparked by the interest and concern for the affections , which were 'rationalised emotional states, or passions'. Much of Baroque music conveyed only one affection , thereby achieving unity of mood in a single piece of music. In order to unify a composition, composers drew on constant driving rhythmic patterns, long continuous melodies. Texture was mainly polyphonic. One unique feature of music from this period was the use of the basso continuo which means 'continuous bass'. The function of this was to provide accompaniment and a bass line. The instruments involved in the basso continuo were the harpsichord or organ (keyboard) and cello , bassoon or viola da gamba (bass). The keyboard instrumentalists had to improvise accompaniment from the figures written under the bass lines (figured bass). The figures indicate the intervals above the bass line which would form the chords for the keyboard instrumentalists to base their improvisations on.
Genres used in the Baroque period
Instrumental forms:
Concerto Grosso
Solo Concerto
Orchestral Suite
Partita
Preludes and Fugues
Vocal forms:
Cantata
Mass (Latin)
Oratorio
Opera
Main Composers in the Baroque Period
German
J.S. Bach (1685 -1750)
G.F.Handel (1685-1759)
G.P.Telemann (1681-1767)
Italian
Monterverdi ( 1567-1643)
A. Corelli (1653-1713)
A. Scarlatti (1660-1725)
D. Scarlatti (1685-1757)
French
Lully (1632-87)
F. Couperin (1668-1733)
J.P. Rameau (1683-1764)
