Vocal Chamber Music The Baroque period saw a new emphasis on the development of chamber music Monody and the basso continuo contributed to this development Strophic song and strophic aria became popular Romanesca and Basso ostinato Typical strophic poetic form was romanesca, which consisted of eight eleven-syllable lines, with the eighth rhyming with the seventh line, a feature known as ottave rime, 'octave rhyme' Romanesca also consisted of a treble melody which was repeated like a melodic formula If the bass part was also given as a formula, then it would be referred to as the ground bass or basso ostinato, 'repeated bass'
Opera in Italy: Venice and Naples
Opera in France
The Masque and Opera in England
Singspiel and Opera in Germany 1678-1738: Opera in Hamburg, the first public opera house outside Venice, Italy Opera in Hamburg was the first German opera, influenced by Italian and French operas German opera developed from the typically German tradition of the Singspiel, lit. 'sing-play', which consisted of songs and spoken dialogues spoken dialogues eventually assumed the form of recitatives Richard Keiser (1674-1739) composed many works for the Hamburg Opera, combining Italian and German operatic elements
Vocal Chamber Music
Catholic Church Music
Lutheran Church Music
» Equal Temperament The process of development of tonal harmony, based on major and minor keys, started in the 15th century with the basso continuo and culminated in the Baroque period The keyboard collections of preludes and fugues (see above) contributed to this development of tonality and equal temperament Contrary to the Renaissance division between the perfect and imperfect intervals, based on nonequal division of the octave, equal temperament divides the octave into 12 eqaul half-steps or semitones, resulting in intervals that are not mathematically 'true' but instead 'sound good' This new temperament of musical intervals became the basis for the new concept of tonality that will be the main feature of Western music until the early 20th century 1. Traité de l'harmonie 1722: The French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), formulated the idea and theory of tonal music and published it in his Traité de l'harmonie, 'Treatise on Harmony' 2. Das wohltemperierte Clavier 1722-1740: The German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), a contemporary of Rameau, composed, in the same year Rameau's treatise appeared, the first part from the set of 24 preludes and 24 fugues for clavier (piano), and entitled it as Das wohltemperierte Clavier, 'The Well-Tempered Clavier' Each of the two parts from the Well-Tempered Piano consists of 12 preludes followed by 12 fugues chromatically set in 12 different major and minor keys, starting with C-major Prelude and Fugue The Organ Chorale Unlike the purely instrumental toccata, prelude and fugue, the chorale was initially a vocal Lutheran church musical form Organ: In the 17th century, the organ accompaniment of the chorale slowly evolved into a separate instrumental form 1. Chorale variations or chorale partita or chorale prelude: the melody of chorale was a theme/subject with a set of variations, sometimes on a cantus firmus in long note values Composers: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) Dietrich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707) Music Example – Chorale Praeludium (NRAWM I, CD5:11-13) Chorale Prelude: Danket dem Herrn, denn er ist sehr freundlich, “Thank the Lord, for He is very kind,” Bux WV 181, for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude the chorale as a cantus firmus with variations
2. Chorale Fantasia the chorale melody is fragmented, with virtuoso display and ornamentation 3. Chorale Prelude a chorale-based short organ piece
Improvisation in the Baroque era
The Early 18th Century – Vivaldi, Rameau, J.S. Bach, Händel – Continued
II. Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
III. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Chapter 12: The Early 18th Century – J.S. Bach – Continued