Baroque Era Answers

1611- King James Version of Bible printed 1628- Dr. William Harvey explains the body’s circulatory system 1649- Period of Commonwealth begins in England 1650- Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and Barbara Strozzi publish their music 1667- John Milton’s masterpiece Paradise Lost published 1682- French court of Louis XIV established at Versailles 1687- Sir Isaac Newton’s theory of gravitation issued 1689- Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas performed 1711- Antonio Vivaldi publishes his first collection of concertos 1731- G.F. Handel begins presenting his English oratorios in London 1732- George Washington born 1740- Maria Theresa succeeds to the Austrian throne 1749- J.S. Bach composes The Art of Fugue 1770- Williams Billings publishes The New England Psalm Singer As Europe became increasingly aware of other parts of the globe, a number of Baroque operas engaged with exoticism, while there was also a significant dialogue among national cultures of European countries. Absolute monarchy, exemplified by Louis XIV of France, was the main form of European government during the Baroque. Employed by Baroque composers to create musical drama: Dynamic contrasts, Dissonance The most notable Baroque innovation was the development of “drama through music,” which we now call opera Figured bass: Notation with numbers above or below a bass note indicating the chord required Major-minor tonality: Harmonic system in which each chord functions in relation to a key center Equal temperament: Tuning system based on the division of the octave into equal steps The members of the Florentine Camerata realized that the new style was applicable to entire dramas as well as to short poems, leading to “drama through music” or what we now call opera. Characterize Baroque harmony and melody: Continuous expansion of melody, equal temperament, major-minor tonality Hallmark of Baroque performance: Increased virtuosity, increased improvisation Castrato: Male soprano roles It was for the middle classes that the comic opera and the novel, both genres filled with keen and witty observations on life, came into being during the Baroque era. Roles played by Baroque women: Singers, composers of sacred music, composers of secular music Took place in Baroque: The investigation of how the blood circulates by William Harvey, the formulation of the theory of gravitation by Sir Isaac Newton, the Florentine Camerata cultivated a “new style” that emphasized homophonic textures in music, the establishment of major-minor tonality. The Baroque marks the introduction of a melody moving freely over simple chords, called the “new style” in Florence. The Baroque system of figured bass enabled the performer to fill in the harmonies. In the major-minor tonal system, tonic is the most important note As musical instruments developed technically, the level of virtuosity rose in the Baroque Female musicians, particularly singers, experienced expanded roles in Baroque music life. Two singers, Francesca Caccini and Barbara Strozzi, were among the earliest female composers to publish their works. In comparison to the Renaissance, Baroque music is characterized by a texture wherein a single melody stands out known as homophony. The term “Baroque” means misshapen, extravagant, or even distorted. Took place during the Baroque: The Florentine Camerata cultivated a “new style” that emphasized homophonic textures in music, the establishment of major-minor tonality Chapter 23 As women, both Barbara Strozzi and Chiara Margarita Cozzolani challenged male-dominated traditions of creating and making music. Cozzolani’s Magnificat closes with a particular prayer of praise to God called the doxology In the Baroque era, convents were one of the few institutions that fostered musical creativity in women. The text of the Magnificat focuses upon the moment when the Virgin Mary was told that she would bear a son, a moment that is known in the Catholic Church as the Annunciation. Amor dormiglion is an aria in da capo form, which consists of an A section, a B section, and then a repeat of the A section. The song is clever in the way that the text is gender-neutral, which allowed a female singer to engage with the topic of love in a meaningful way. Baroque-era convent activity: Evening observance of Vespers, new compositions by women in the convent, public concert held outside of the convent This line is briefly in duple meter as it begins the B section of the aria, admonishing Cupid for being lazy. Describes Stozzi’s career: By composing, by singing, by publishing music Magnificat by Cozzolani features changing texture between soloists and choruses, shifts between duple and triple meter, and frequent changes in tempo. Barbara Strozzi, a Benedictine nun who was also a musician and composer, is noted for having her works published and circulated beyond the convent. Cozzolani composed her Magnificat for soloists, double choirs, strings, and organ. Chapter 24 In the recitative, a few instruments play simple chords, but when the aria begins, the accompaniment changes and the instruments play notes more frequently Aria- A song, usually of a highly emotional nature Recitative- A kind of musical declamation or speech Libretto- The text/script of an opera Overture- An orchestral introduction Monteverdi was one of the first great composers of opera At the time of Monteverdi’s opera The Coronation of Poppea, public opera houses were beginning to open in Venice. Composed by Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, The Fairy Queen Composed by Monteverdi: Orfeo, The Coronation of Poppea The rhythm of the recitative is free, and the rhythm of the aria is more regular. The harmony of the aria is based on a chromatic ground bass that descends by half step. The slow and melancholy triple meter expresses in the aria Dido’s lamentation at Aeneas’s departure. Instrumental section in opera: Sinfonia, Overture Describes Dido and Aeneas: It was first performed at a girls’ school in London, The opera ends tragically, It is based on Virgil’s Aeneid Dido sang a lament at the end of Purcell’s opera because Aeneas left her In composing opera, a composer often works with a librettist, who supplies the text for the various recitatives, arias, and choruses and provides the story’s main threads and subplots. The masque was an English form of entertainment that combined music, poetry, and dance Chapter 25 In the Lutheran tradition, the cantata was performed in the service along with the sermon, prayers, and Gospel readings Philipp Nicolai wrote the chorale text and tune on which J.S. Bach based his Wachet auf cantata J.S. Bach wrote over 200 church cantatas The final movement is a homorhythmic four-part setting of the chorale tune that would have likely been sung by the congregation. It is performed by SATB voices and an orchestra. Found in No. 4: Tenors sing chorale melody, German language, Strings play countermelody Wachet auf was written for the end of the church year Found in No. 1: Major key, instrumental ritornello, chorale melody in soprano voices In the first movement of Bach’s Cantata No.140, there are four occurrences of the Ritornello Lutheran musical worship is structured around congregational hymns known as chorales, which are specific to a particular service. In the fourth movement of Wachet auf, Bach separates the sung sections with instrumental passages known as ritornellos. Chapter 26 When she sings “Rejoice,” the soprano sings a disjunct rising line Opera by Handel: Rinaldo, Julius Caesar Handel used instrumental ritornellos to unify the aria “Rejoice greatly.” Hallelujah Chorus: Written for SATB voices, chorus, climax of entire oratorio Rejoice Greatly: ABA form, da capo aria, soprano solo Handel’s Messiah is one of the English-speaking world’s best-loved works The first one minute and fourteen seconds of the “Hallelujah Chorus” features a homorhythmic texture at the beginning that then becomes imitative. Handel is said to have invented English oratorio Baroque oratorio: It featured arias, recitatives, ensemble numbers, choruses, and narration. It was generally based on a biblical story The climax of Handel’s Messiah comes at the end of the second part, the Easter section, with the “Hallelujah Chorus.” “Rejoice greatly” has a sacred text The texture of this SATB chorus with orchestra varies from homorhythm (all voices moving together but with different notes) to monophony (all voices singing the same tune together) to Imitative polyphony (voices entering at different times with the same tune.) Handel wrote out the returning A’ section of “Rejoice greatly” from the Messiah Long melisma describes the text setting on the word “rejoice” in the aria “Rejoice greatly” from Handel’s Messiah. The melody of the aria “Rejoice greatly” from Handel’s Messiah would be lyrical lines This da capo aria features an instrumental ritornello and an extensive melisma on the word “rejoice.” The B section has a slower tempo and begins in a minor key. Describes reception of Messiah: It was well received at the time it was composed, since its first performance it has been performed frequently. Chapter 27 Describe Billings: Sung by mixed chorus without instrumental accompaniment, all voices sing the same text syllables at the same time, with the same rhythms, there is predominantly one note per syllable of text. When many people are singing the same melody at the same time, but each singer is modifying the tune slightly, the resulting texture is known as heterophony Describe the mix of language and imagery in the villancico by Gaspar Fernandes: By incorporating Aztec and Christian imagery, by alternating the Nahuatl language and Spanish By the 1720s many New England congregations sponsored “singing schools” that were designed to teach the basics of music notation and theory. Gaspar Fernandes wrote villancicos William Billings wrote anthems Colonists in New England participated in congregational hymn singing Some Puritan leaders considered polyphonic singing to be scandalous William Billings’s David’s Lamentation is an anthem and was designed for sacred congregational singing David’s Lamentation is an anthem by William Billings. It is written for SATB chorus. This work features a syllabic text setting in mostly homorhythmic texture and A-B-B form. The system in which syllables are used to memorize notes in a diatonic scale is called solfege. Billings’s career: His music had political references, he published songs, he taught in singing schools The first book published in North America (1628) was the Bay Psalm Book Some communities in the United States today follow a tradition known as Sacred Harp singing, wherein they sing from shape-note notation. Billings often wrote the melody to his pieces in the tenor line rather than the soprano. Devotional songs performed outside of the church often were in mixed languages Sacred music was written for the Catholic Church Jesuits used music for teaching indigenous people Chapter 28 Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 is largely homophonic with a very active basso continuo line. One of the most important instrumental genres in the Baroque era was the suite, which was a group of short dances. Germany: Allemande France: Courante Spain: Sarabande Technology played a crucial role in the development of music in the Baroque era. Describes instrumentation of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3: Strings, basso continuo Carried by the first violin, a richly ornamented and lyrical melody unfolds over a steady, even bass line Dances included in Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3: Air, Bourree, Gigue Whereas a string orchestra consisting of violin, viola, and basso continuo with cello and harpsichord performs the Air, in the Gigue, oboe, trumpet, and percussion instrument timpani are added as a festive complement to the strings. Air: Aria-like and lyrical melody, strings and harpsichord only, slow tempo, binary form Gigue: Brass and percussion, compound meter, fast tempo, binary form Dances included in a standard Baroque suite: Allemande, Sarabande, Courante, Gavotte Some of the dances in the Baroque suite were of peasant origin, bringing a bit of eathiness to the more formal surroundings. Common Baroque dance suite instrument: Harpsichord and violin Describes Gigue’s Harmony: Highly consonant and predominantly major keys The Air is in two-part, or, binary form, with each section repeated; the B section is longer than the A section. Noted marker of Baroque string instruments: Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri Suite: A group of dance movements, usually in the same key Trumpets of the Baroque era were still “natural” meaning that they had no valves Gigue: Fast-paced, compound meter J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.3 was originally meant for performance with a group of university students and professional musicians that performed weekly concerts at a coffeehouse in Leipzig