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Period: 1567 to
Claudio Monteverdi
Trained in the Renaissance style, also adept at composing “modern” music
Used dissonances in his music (madrigals) for text expression
Seconda prattica: monody with dissonance – very expressive
1590: Became court composer for the Duke of Mantua, wrote L’Orfeo (1607)
Later became the choirmaster at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice
Final opera: The Coronation of Poppea (1642) -
Period: to
Francesca Caccini
Soprano and the daughter of Giulio Caccini
The first woman to compose operas
Was almost employed by the King of France but was bought out by the Medici family – became the highest paid musica in Italy by age 20
Highly praised for her soprano voice and her ability to play any string instrument well – also harpsichord -
Invention of Opera
First opera: Dafne (1597) composed by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri
First extant opera, also by Caccini and Peri: Euridice (1600)
Inventors of opera = the Italian composers Caccini and Peri -
A new Singing style
Monody: sung melody (in Italian text) with basso continuo
Homophonic
Termed the seconda prattica (second practice) -
Period: to
Early Baroque style
Caccini’s Publication of 1601
Monody: secunda prattica
Basso continuo part -
Period: to
Barbara Strozzi
Mother was a servant to Giulio Strozzi who adopted Barbara
Studied under Francesco Cavalli at the Accademia degli Unisoni – founded by Giulio for Barbara
Published eight sets of songs – the first in 1644
Each set dedicated to a different wealthy patron
Did not write opera but her songs and cantatas are very dramatic -
Opera gains popularity
The first public opera theater opened in Venice in 1637
1640s: Arias became the most desired and appreciated pieces -
Period: to
Louis the 14th of France
Notice that in all pictures of the king his legs are prominent – he was an accomplished dancer and showed them off
Louis XIV loved dancing: was an excellent dancer from age 13 – notice the legs again
Believed that ballet demonstrated important qualities of a society: discipline, order, refinement, and restraint
Dancing was a ritualized demonstration of social hierarchy -
Period: to
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist
Lived in Salzburg
One of the most important composers for the violin, especially in the instrument’s early years
Catholic sacred music, violin sonatas, and ensemble music
Biber’s new technique of playing the violin allowed him to easily:
reach 6th and 7th positions
play double stops and polyphony
experiment with scordatura
Biber: Sonata No. 1 (ca. 1676) -
Period: to
Opera in England
During the Commonwealth (1649-60) stages plays were forbidden in England because the Puritans thought theater was an invention “of the devil”
Composers began setting the plays to music
Masques: a type of theatrical entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance
August 1660: Charles II issued patents for two companies of players (theatre troupes) and performances immediately began -
Period: to
Mid-baroque
Usually secular
In Italian
Composed for 1 or 2 singers with basso continuo and possibly a small string ensemble
By the middle Baroque, new genres emerged:
Sonata
Concerto
Suite
Overture
Fugue -
Period: to
Arcangelo Corelli
Italian composer
trio sonata -
Period: to
Henry Purcell
Singer, organist, composer of instrumental and vocal music
Worked in the court of Charles II (reigned 1660-85) when stage plays were again allowed
Dido and Aeneas (1689)
Purcell assimilated the musical styles of Europe:
Italian operatic style
Grand aspects of French music
The lyric melodic quality of English song
Wrote incidental music for plays -
Period: to
Alessandro Scarlatti
The father of composer Domenico Scarlatti
A teacher in Naples; many of his students helped create the new classical style
His death marks a better indicator of the end of the Baroque than does Bach’s in 1750 -
Period: to
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre
She was called “the wonder of our century.”
The 17th century: French -
Period: to
François Couperin
French composer -
Period: to
Antonio Vivaldi
He was called the red priest because of his red hair
Music director at the Pieta, an orphanage for girls in Venice
Composed many operas, much sacred music, and many instrumental works
Popular during the height of his career (1720s)
Wrote nearly 800 concertos of various types:
60 ripieno concertos
425 concerto grosso types
350 solo concertos
45 double concertos (mostly for 2 violins) Considered the greatest master of the Baroque concerto -
Period: to
Late Baroque
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Period: to
Georg Philip Telemann
German
Telemann was extraordinarily prolific
Composed more than 125 orchestral suites
Helped establish the French-style orchestral suite in Germany
Published a collection called “Tafelmusik” (1733)
Friends with J. S. Bach and the godfather of Bach’s eldest son, Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-88), an important composer of the 18th century -
Period: to
Jean-Joseph Mouret
One representative composer from this French court: served the son of King Louis XIV
Composed operas, suites, and “grand divertissements [entertainments]”
Some of his works have been used for TV commercials and in other media -
Period: to
Domenico Scarlatti
Keyboard virtuoso
Served Portuguese and Spanish royal families
Had a progressive style; aware of his modern flare
Wrote over 500 sonatas for harpsichord, operas, cantatas, and keyboard exercises -
Period: to
G. F. Handel
Two very popular orchestral suites:
Music for the Royal Fireworks (often referred to as just Fireworks)
Water Music
A German composer living in England writing Italian music
Extraordinarily talented and intelligent
Virtuoso organist
Messiah (1742) -
Period: to
J. S. Bach
Contrapunctus 1 from The Art of Fugue (1749)
He wrote this collection at the end of his life, and it was not published (1751) until after his death (1750)
Bach is undisputedly the greatest master of the fugue
The art of Fugue
Bach was one of the most skilled musicians in the Baroque