The Baroque Era
The Baroque EraTHE BAROQUE AGE
Social and Cultural Background
Baroque is a term borrowed from the visual arts and one that is used
in many different senses. The Baroque Era applies to the years between
1600 and 1750. The most famous composers of this time were Bach, Handel,
Vivaldi and Teleman.
Politically it was an age of magnificent absolute Monarch�s. The most
magnificent of all was Louis XIV of France. Louis ruled from 1634 until 1713.
During this time the need to create a national culture or a regional style
that would match or surpass the elsewhere created cultural models was
pressed for.
When looking at Baroque architecture it is noticeable that the
sculptures and paintings are never still: they are twisted, moving, struggling,
and dramatically lighted. Paintings of the Baroque Era focused more on
dramatic subjects and experimented with dramatic lighting.
The Baroque Era was concerned with feelings, the stronger the
better. This could be seen throughout the churches. In church structure
the proportions are grandiose, they are designed to impress and awe the
observers. Gold and rich textures and surfaces can be seen all through the
churches.
All of these themes that I have discussed are also clear in the music
of the Baroque period. It paints pictures of vibrant colours and triggers
strong emotions. The desire to discover these themes is evident in the
invention of the exciting new form music, opera, and in the use of operatic
techniques in dramatic music for the church.
Important Musical Developments
Composer-performers would strive at becoming Kapellmeisers in this
Era. A Kapellmeister is a music director at one of the great courts. They
were responsible for all the music performed in the court. These positions
were very unstable though and composer were always on the lookout for new
opportunities.
The responsibilities of performers during this era was to write music
at a furious pace due to the demand. Bach, for example, was responsible for
one cantata a week while he was music director at Leipzig. Due to the pace
the music was written, the performers of the pieces had to fill in the
details. Baroque music can therefore be classified as a type of jazz because
the soloists would play their own versions of a basic melody with rhythm
section improvises, based on a chord pattern.
Baroque music sounds different from music of other periods due to
its lack of dynamic range. The composers at this time usually did not specify
dynamics on their pieces, they simply wrote �loud� or �soft.�
The most prominent element in Baroque music was rhythm and
texture. Baroque�s fast movement generally caused the feeling of rhythmic
drive. Tempos were always constant. The least prominent element was
melody. Gradual rise of tonality on the other hand was a...
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