Baroque and Classical Music

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Baroque and Classical Music
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Musical Periods

• Medieval (before 1450)
• Renaissance (1450-1600)
• Baroque (1600-1750)
• Classical (1750-1820)
• Romantic (1820-1900)
• Twentieth Century (1900- present)
• Modern (1945-present)

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Baroque Music

• Baroque music has a recognisable sound.
• The dynamics change suddenly.
• Short musical ideas (motives) and repetition.
• The harmonies are simple (chords I and V).
• The melodies use ornaments.
• Binary, ternary and rondo forms.
• The texture is often contrapuntal/polyphonic.

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Baroque Instruments

• The harpsichord was popular in Baroque times.
• It was used as a solo instrument or as part of an
  orchestra to fill in important harmonies with the
  cello or bassoon (continuo).
• Other baroque instruments include the flute,
  recorder, oboe, bassoon, organ and orchestral
  strings.

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Styles of Baroque Music

• Baroque Music is of many styles
• Italian, French, English, German.
• Early, middle and late.
• Sacred and secular.
• Instrumental and choral.

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Baroque Composers

• Archangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
• AntonioVivaldi (1678-1741)
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770

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Classical Melody and Harmony

• Classical music grew out of baroque.
• Much greater emphasis on expression and colour.
• Melodies tend to have equal four bar phrases
  split into a 2-bar question and a 2-bar answer.
• Fewer ornaments.
• Binary, ternary, rondo and variation forms.
• Dynamics are more subtle crescendos and
  diminuendos.
• Homophonic.

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New Instruments and Groups

• The piano was invented in 1709 by Bartolomeo
  Cristofori.
• The piano became more popular than the
  harpsichord.
• The clarinet was also invented around this time.
• Orchestras increased in size woodwind, trumpets
  and horns were used more and the string sections
  expanded.

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Classical Composers

• Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

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Baroque and Classical Structures

• Ternary Form
• 3 sections ABA (AABBAA)
• Section A home key
• Section B modulates to related key but returns
  to home key
• Section A (or A1) home key
• Minuet and Trio

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Baroque and Classical Structures

• Rondo Form
• Can have any number of sections.
• A-B-A-C-A-D etc.
• A is the main theme and is in the home key.
• B, C, D are episodes and are in a related key.

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Baroque and Classical Structures

• Theme and Variations
• The theme is a memorable tune.
• The theme is played first.
• After a short pause, the first variation is
  played, followed by the second and third etc.
• Variations should be a recognisable version of
  the main theme but different from all the others.

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Baroque and Classical Structures

• Ground Bass Form
• Continuous set of variations without pauses.
• The bass line is the main theme (the ground)
  and is repeated throughout.
• Melodies and harmonies are played over the ground
  and become more complex.
• 2 baroque dances that are in ground bass form are
  the
• Chaconne and the Passacaglia

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Sequencing

• Repeat a pattern vary the pitch
• Original motive
• Sequence

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Imitation

• Repeat a phrase with slight changes
• Original motive
• Imitation

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Trill

• Lots of tiny quick notes
• 
  Before 1800 After 1800
• It should have the same duration as the written
  note.

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Appoggiatura

• An extra note in a chord
• The appoggiatura starts on a note that clashes
  with the chord,
• then moves to a note that belongs in the chord.
  Usually a
• tone or a semitone apart.

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Acciaccatura

• Squeezing in a tiny note
• Acciaccatura means crushing in and is played as
  fast as
• possible before the note.

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Passing Note

• Links the notes before and after

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Turn

• Set patterns of notes
• Starts on the note above the written note.
• Inverted turn
• Starts on the note below the written note.

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Mordent

• Similar to a turn
• Upper mordent
• Lower mordent
• Mordents start off like trills but end in the
  written note which is longer.