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Imagine an arrangement that includes vocals, instrumental music, drama, paintings, sculptures, and architecture. What first came to mind is a musical, but after examining the new ground of opera during the Baroque period, I realized that opera too is a superlative art form.
Developed in the early 1600’s, opera was created fortuitously, in efforts to analyze musical trends and create a simpler style of music. The Baroque era followed the Renaissance era, which is known as the rebirth of culture. Music of the Church was still the primary focus, but strides of becoming on humanity and complex polyphonic texture were emerging. The First Council of Trent decided that complex polyphonic music decreased the clarity of messages and music of the Church was not to be composed in this texture. Likewise, group called the Florentine Camerata agreed upon the idea of simpler music. “The Florentine Camerata was a group of scholars, poets, musicians, and amateurs in Florence, Italy, who formed a type of academy to study and establish musical practice at the end of the 16th century” (‘The Florentine Camerata’, n.d., para.1).
According to Palisca, the group was not formally organized, and it is unclear as to who all might have participated in the discussions. It is known that Vincenzo Galilei and Giulo Caccini frequented the group, but it is likely that Jacopo Peri, Ottavio Rinuccini and Girolamo Mei also participated (‘The Florentine Camerata’, n.d., para.1). When the Camerata researched Greek dramas, they decided that all Greek dramas were sung due to the Greek belief that the readings to the audience should have certain timbre. This erroneous conclusion created a new idea of storytelling solely through singing and it would be called ‘opera’.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, the earliest opera ‘Daphne’ was written around 1598 by Jacopo Peri. Unfortunately, the composition was lost, but in 1600, Peri collaborated with Ottavio Rinuccini, and composed the first opera with music that still exists today, ‘Euridice’. Some notable composers of the time were Monteverdi, Corelli, Scarletti, and Vivaldi. Of all the great composers of the Baroque age, two stand out as towering figures of this era, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Fredric Handel. According to Wikipedia, Arcangelo Corelli’s ‘Opus 6’, is a collection of twelve concerti that was probably composed in the 1680’s but not prepared for publication until 1714. Alessandro Scarletti was noted for his 1693 composition ‘La Giuditta’. Antonio Vivaldi’s most famous opera, ‘L’Olimpiade’, was composed in 1734. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ was created in two books in 1722 and 1742. “It explores the intricacies of each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys and constitutes the largest-scale and most-influential undertaking for solo keyboard of the Baroque era” (Schwarm, 2013, para.1). George Frederic Handel was another great composer of the Baroque period. His father did not allow Handel to choose music as a career choice, therefore his musical career did not begin until after his father’s death. His most famous work was the ‘Messiah’, a religious based oratorio that unlike opera, had no scenery, acting, or costumes. Containing many parts, the most well-known is ‘The Hallelujah Chorus’. The first opera that is still performed today, ‘L’Orfeo’, was composed by Claudio Monteverdi in 1607. Monteverdi’s early works were of the polyphonic texture, but this piece was homophonic and simple due to the decreased complexity of music at the beginning of the Baroque era. As seen in the video, ‘Georg Nigl - L'Orfeo - Monteverdi - Tu se' morta’, the soloist displays great expression and emotion in his deliverance of his song. Monteverdi may have created a simpler instrumental, but the deliverance of libretti or lyrics was powerful enough to create a famous masterpiece. ‘Tu se’ morta’ describes the story of a great Greek musician whose music had the ability to persuade anyone. His name was Orpheus and he sang about the sadness he felt after his beloved wife, Eurydice, died. With his persuasive music, Orpheus sang for the god of the underworld in hopes of bringing her back from the dead.
Although the Baroque era began with constricting musical textures, by the end of the period, music progressed back to the complex polyphonic texture. Even though the texture of the Baroque era was unsuccessful, do not mistake the entirety of the musical elements as a failure. The beginnings of standardized instrumentation for the orchestra and the bass line took on a much more important role that led to a particular sound that is still used today. Additionally, the harmonic structure of music was assisted by the harpsichord and dynamics were further developed. A specific type of dynamic of the era was a terraced dynamic or the sudden change in loudness compared to the gradual crescendos and decrescendos. The notable composers previously mentioned, experimented with music and created an art form that is appreciated by many musical enthusiasts today.
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