The Aesthetics of the Baroque Period in Music
1. One argument say that it comes from the Italian barocca, meaning bizzare or strange.
2. Another argument says that it comes from the Portuguese barrocca, meaning an irregularly shaped pearl.
1600-1750 (A year that’s easy to remember following the Renaissance, ending in the year of J.S. Bach’s death)
The ‘filling of space’- Painters, sculptors, and musicians were concerned with filling up the space on their scores and canvas and making their art like an elaborate stage setting
The Baroque Movement was also influenced by:
1. Louis the 16ths palace court in Versailles
(decadence, a symbol of wealth and power)
2. The needs of the churches
(theatrical and emotional qualities would make worship more attractive)
The Baroque Movement in Art-
Artists such as Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt exploited their materials to expand the potential of colours, detail, ornament and depth.
Sir Francis Bacon foreshadowed the entire Baroque phenomenon with the phrase, “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. [Essays; of Beauty, 1597]”
Strangeness of proportion: aka CONTRAST and EXCESS
Composers chose to use any artificial method they could contrive to manipulate audiences into having a genuine emotional reaction
(Doctrine of the Affections states that animal spirits and vapors continually flow throughout the body that can easily be manipulated by emotional music. Plato, and the Greeks knew of the powerful force that music can have on the human mind.)
� The Birth of Opera- In an attempt to recreate the music of the Greeks, composers noticed that music consisted of a single vocal line with instrumental accompaniment. So they started writing music that way. They also observed that the Greek plays were actually sung. Hence, the birth of opera in 1600-07, with the story of Orpheus, the god who used the power of music to enter Hades.
Techniques in which to ‘stir’ our emotions (affections):
Dramatic Contrasts:
1. Contrasting movements (fast-slow-fast or slow-fast-slow)
2. Dynamic contrasts (terraced dynamics)
3. Textural contrasts (Concerto grossi would combine a large orchestra (continuo) against a solo instrument (ripiendi).
Wildly Elaborate Ornaments
(trills, mordents, appoggiaturas and combinations of all three)
Improvisation
Driving rhythms (promoting forward motion)
Complex and elaborate melodies (that remain constant throughout the developing contrapuntal lines of the inner-voices)
Terraced dynamics (dynamic changes occur in ‘steps’ as if the piece is ‘shifting’ to another mood)
Predominantly polyphonic texture (the soprano and bass line are the most important voices, yet additional voices will compete for the listener’s attention)
Unity of Mood (Characteristics of a piece will convey one mood throughout a movement or piece)
Programmatic Extra-musical Elements (Extra-musical ideas run rampant throughout the Baroque Period)
-References-
Baroque Music (1600-1750). [Online]. Available: http://library.thinkquest.org/27927/Baroque_main.html
Doctrine of Affections. (2004, October 16). Moot Thoughts and Musings [Online]. Available: http://covblogs.com/diber/archives/003105.html
Gordon, S. (1996). A history of keyboard literature: Music for the piano and its forerunners. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996.
Howard, J.A. (1999). If it ain’t BaroqueâÂ?¦ [Online] Available: http://www.sesk.org/Aesthetics/Music/Baroque.htm
LaRue, P. (2004). Baroque Music [Online]. Available: http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/music/larue/music315/315%20%20Baroque%20Music.html
