MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD

BAROQUE PERIOD

• “baroque” derived from barroco meaning an “oddly shaped pearl.”
• This era follows the Renaissance at appox. year 1600.
• often associated with features such as:
• ornateness, grandeur, and flamboyance in architecture and painting

Baroque music, on the other hand, is described to have a unity of mood and continuity of rhythm.

Its melody is continuous and repeated throughout the piece. Terraced dynamics, which means the shifting of the intensity of a volume from soft to loud and vice versa, was also observed in this era.

VOCAL FORMS

• Vocal forms of Baroque period follow monodic style of music
• A single voice part was predominant and supported by diff. instruments
• This accompaniment is called the basso continuo.
• Some vocal forms used in the Baroque period:
• Opera, Cantata, Oratorio

OPERA

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