History of European art music[edit]

The term "Baroque" is generally used by music historians to describe a broad ran
ge of styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a pe
riod of approximately 150 years.[1]
Although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied
to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music, in an anonymo
us, satirical review of the premire in October 1733 of Rameau's Hippolyte et Aric
ie, printed in the Mercure de France in May 1734. The critic implied that the no
velty in this opera was "du barocque," complaining that the music lacked coheren
t melody, was filled with unremitting dissonances, constantly changed key and me
ter, and speedily ran through every compositional device.[1]
The systematic application by historians of the term "baroque" to music of this
period is a relatively recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first
to apply the five characteristics of Heinrich Wlfflin's theory of the Baroque sys
tematically to music.[3] Critics were quick to question the attempt to transpose
Wlfflin's categories to music, however, and in the second quarter of the 20th ce
ntury independent attempts were made by Manfred Bukofzer (in Germany and, after
his immigration, in America) and by Suzanne Clercx-Lejeune (in Belgium) to use a
utonomous, technical analysis rather than comparative abstractions, in order to
avoid the adaptation of theories based on the plastic arts and literature to mus
ic. All of these efforts resulted in appreciable disagreement about time boundar
ies of the period, especially concerning when it began. In English the term acqu
ired currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of Bukofzer and Paul Henry Lang
.[1]
As late as 1960 there was still considerable dispute in academic circles, partic
ularly in France and Britain, whether it was meaningful to lump together music a
s diverse as that of Jacopo Peri, Domenico Scarlatti, and J.S. Bach under a sing
le rubric. Nevertheless, the term has become widely used and accepted for this b
road range of music.[1] It may be helpful to distinguish the Baroque from both t
he preceding (Renaissance) and following (Classical) periods of musical history.
History[edit]
The Baroque period is divided into three major phases: early, middle, and late.
Although they overlap in time, they are conventionally dated from 1580 to 1630,
from 1630 to 1680, and from 1680 to 1730.[4]
Early baroque music (1580 1630)[edit]
Claudio Monteverdi in 1640
For more details on this topic, see Transition from Renaissance to Baroque in in
strumental music.
The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellect
uals in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giov
anni de' Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and dra
ma. In reference to music, they based their ideals on a perception of Classical
(especially ancient Greek) musical drama that valued discourse and oration.[5] A
s such, they rejected their contemporaries' use of polyphony and instrumental mu
sic, and discussed such ancient Greek music devices as monody, which consisted o
f a solo singing accompanied by a kithara.[6] The early realizations of these id
eas, including Jacopo Peri's Dafne and L'Euridice, marked the beginning of opera
,[7] which in turn was somewhat of a catalyst for Baroque music.[8]
Concerning music theory, the more widespread use of figured bass (also known as
thorough bass) represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear und
erpinnings of polyphony.[9] Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figur
ed bass is a visual representation of those harmonies commonly employed in music
al performance.[10] Composers began concerning themselves with harmonic progress

ions,[11] and also employed the tritone, perceived as an unstable interval,[12]

to create dissonance. Investment in harmony had also existed among certain compo
sers in the Renaissance, notably Carlo Gesualdo;[13] However, the use of harmony
directed towards tonality, rather than modality, marks the shift from the Renai
ssance into the Baroque period.[14] This led to the idea that chords, rather tha
n notes, could provide a sense of closure one of the fundamental ideas that became
known as tonality.
By incorporating these new aspects of composition, Claudio Monteverdi furthered
the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period
. He developed two individual styles of composition
the heritage of Renaissance
polyphony (prima pratica) and the new basso continuo technique of the Baroque (s
econda pratica). With the writing of the operas L'Orfeo and L'incoronazione di P
oppea among others, Monteverdi brought considerable attention to the new genre o
f opera.[15]
Middle baroque music (1630 1680)[edit]
The rise of the centralized court is one of the economic and political features
of what is often labelled the Age of Absolutism, personified by Louis XIV of Fra
nce. The style of palace, and the court system of manners and arts he fostered b
ecame the model for the rest of Europe. The realities of rising church and state
patronage created the demand for organized public music, as the increasing avai
lability of instruments created the demand for chamber music.[16]
Jean-Baptiste Lully
The middle Baroque period in Italy is defined by the emergence of the cantata, o
ratorio, and opera during the 1630s, and a new concept of melody and harmony tha
t elevated the status of the music to one of equality with the words, which form
erly had been regarded as pre-eminent. The florid, coloratura monody of the earl
y Baroque gave way to a simpler, more polished melodic style. These melodies wer
e built from short, cadentially delimited ideas often based on stylized dance pa
tterns drawn from the sarabande or the courante. The harmonies, too, might be si
mpler[clarification needed] than in the early Baroque monody, and the accompanyi
ng bass lines were more integrated with the melody, producing a contrapuntal equ
ivalence of the parts that later led to the device of an initial bass anticipati
on of the aria melody. This harmonic simplification also led to a new formal dev
ice of the differentiation of recitative and aria. The most important innovators
of this style were the Romans Luigi Rossi and Giacomo Carissimi, who were prima
rily composers of cantatas and oratorios, respectively, and the Venetian Frances
co Cavalli, who was principally an opera composer. Later important practitioners
of this style include Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Legrenzi, and Alessandro Stradell
a.[17]
The middle Baroque had absolutely no bearing at all on the theoretical work of J
ohann Fux, who systematized the strict counterpoint characteristic of earlier ag
es in his Gradus ad Paranassum (1725).[18]
One pre-eminent example of a court style composer is Jean-Baptiste Lully. He pur
chased patents from the monarchy to be the sole composer of operas for the king
and to prevent others from having operas staged. He completed 15 lyric tragedies
and left unfinished Achille et Polyxne.[19]
Musically, he did not establish the string-dominated norm for orchestras, which
was inherited from the Italian opera, and the characteristically French five-par
t disposition (violins, violas in hautes-contre, tailles and quintes sizes and bass
violins) had been used in the ballet from the time of Louis XIII. He did, howeve
r, introduce this ensemble to the lyric theatre, with the upper parts often doub
led by recorders, flutes, and oboes, and the bass by bassoons. Trumpets and kett
ledrums were frequently added for heroic scenes.[19]

Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli is remembered as influential for his achievements on the other
side of musical technique as a violinist who organized violin technique and pedag
ogy and in purely instrumental music, particularly his advocacy and development of
the concerto grosso.[20] Whereas Lully was ensconced at court, Corelli was one
of the first composers to publish widely and have his music performed all over E
urope. As with Lully's stylization and organization of the opera, the concerto g
rosso is built on strong contrasts sections alternate between those played by the
full orchestra, and those played by a smaller group. Dynamics were "terraced", t
hat is with a sharp transition from loud to soft and back again. Fast sections a
nd slow sections were juxtaposed against each other. Numbered among his students
is Antonio Vivaldi, who later composed hundreds of works based on the principle
s in Corelli's trio sonatas and concerti.[20]
In contrast to these composers, Dieterich Buxtehude was not a creature of court
but instead was church musician, holding the posts of organist and Werkmeister a
t the Marienkirche at Lbeck. His duties as Werkmeister involved acting as the sec
retary, treasurer, and business manager of the church, while his position as org
anist included playing for all the main services, sometimes in collaboration wit
h other instrumentalists or vocalists, who were also paid by the church. Entirel
y outside of his official church duties, he organised and directed a concert ser
ies known as the Abendmusiken, which included performances of sacred dramatic wo
rks regarded by his contemporaries as the equivalent of operas.[21]
Late baroque music (1680 1730)[edit]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (July 2014)
George Frideric Handel
Johann Sebastian Bach, 1748
Through the work of Johann Fux, the Renaissance style of polyphony was made the
basis for the study of composition.[18]
A continuous worker, Handel borrowed from others and often recycled his own mate
rial. He was also known for reworking pieces such as the famous Messiah, which p
remiered in 1742, for available singers and musicians.[22]
Timeline of Baroque composers[edit]
See also: List of Baroque composers