The music of the Baroque period did not have much thought and paid attention to the beauty of rhythm. Operas, oratorios, and cantata were some of the most important new forms of vocal music, while sonatas, concertos, and preludes were written for instrumental music.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567～1643) was the first great composer of "new music". His teachers in Italy were Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) and Giovanni Pergolesi (1710-1736), both Italian Baroque opera masters.
The Italian instrumental music tradition is reflected in the country’s great Baroque composers Arcangelo Corelli (1653～1713), Antonio Vivaldi (1678～1741) and Giuseppe Tartini ( 1692～1770). Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632～1687) and Jean Philippe Rameau (1683～1764) are two masters of French Baroque music.
In England, following the popularity of masquerade during the Stuart dynasty, there was the vocal achievement of Handel (1685~1759). Handel was born in Germany and received his musical training in Italy. And his contemporary Bach (1685 ~ 1750) later pushed Baroque sacred music to a climax in Germany. Other famous German Baroque composers include Heinrich Schutz (1585～1672), Dietrich Buxtehude (1673～1707) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681～1767).
The Portuguese word baroque originally meant non-round, irregularly shaped pearls, and now refers to the luxurious architectural style of Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Musicians use this term to generally describe the musical style of the same period.
Melody characteristics: Phrases vary in length and breath is long. Whether it is vocal music or instrumental music, the melody is unprecedentedly gorgeous and complex, with quite a lot of decorative sounds and progressive sound patterns. Like Renaissance melodies, the progression of the tune often has a figurative, symbolic character. What is striking is the clear harmonic nature of the melody.
Rhythm: It is mainly divided into two types: free rhythm and clear and regular rhythm. The former is used for recitatives, toccatas, preludes, etc., and the latter is used for arias, fugues, dances, etc., and will remain throughout a movement. These two rhythms are often used together, such as recitative and aria, prelude (or toccata) and fugue.
Mode: the major and minor system, which has replaced the past "ecclesiastical mode".
Harmony: A complete functional harmony system of major and minor keys centered on dominant, subordinate and subordinate has been formed, using dissonances for tonal conversion and making the harmony dynamic and emotional. The invention of the twelve equal temperaments in the 17th century is closely related to the full development of the harmony system.
Thoroughbass: (thoroughbass, also known as figured bass or basso continuo)
A unique composition method in the Baroque period. Write a definite note in the bass part of the score for a keyboard instrument and label it with a number that illustrates the harmony above it. The player plays the bass and harmony according to this prompt, and the arrangement and texture of the chord's notes are chosen by the player.
Texture: Polyphonic texture occupies a dominant position, and its writing technology has reached an unprecedented peak. It differs from Renaissance polyphony in that it is counterpoint based on functional harmony. At the same time, there are also many works using the main tone texture.
Music form: Mainly based on multi-movement structures that contrast with each other in rhythm, speed, and style, such as suites, variations, concertos, cantatas, oratorios, etc. Preludes, fugues, oratorios are commonly used. The relationship between narration and aria. The internal structure of the polyphonic piece is a continuum written in an imitative manner (not segmented), but clear elements of presentation, development and representation can be seen. There are also segmented structures, variations, passacaglia and charcoal forms that are variations on the fixed bass melody.
Main music genres: Vocal music: Mass, motets, hymns, opera, oratorios, cantatas, Passions and various solo and choral pieces. Instrumental music: Toccata, prelude, fantasy, fugue, variations, suite, sonata (mainly solo sonata and trio sonata), concerto (orchestral concerto, concerto grosso, solo concerto).
Emotional characteristics: Maintain a basic emotion within a movement, and only form contrast between movements.
Dynamic performance: Instead of pursuing subtle changes in crescendo and decrescendo, a clearer "stepped intensity" is adopted.
Representative composers: George Frideric Handel (1685~1759), etc.
Extended information
The origin of the Baroque period:
As for the origin of the word baroque, the generally accepted view is that it comes from the Portuguese barroco (also known as baroque in Spanish). The word barroco means "unconventional" and refers specifically to pearls with various shapes and defects. The French adjective baroque is derived from Iberian and later moved into English unchanged from French.
It was originally used in art criticism before the end of the 17th century, and generally refers to all kinds of unconventional, strange, and therefore deviant things.
In the 18th century, it was used in a derogatory sense, generally referring to practices that violate the laws of nature and classical artistic standards.
Before the mid-19th century, it was still used as a derogatory term rather than as a name for an artistic style, until Heinrich Wolfflin published "Renaissance and Barock" (Renaissance and Barock).
Baidu Encyclopedia-Baroque Period