Higher Listening

Higher Listening

Baroque Unit

The Baroque period lasted approximately between 1600 and 1750. The main developments in this period were:

• More contrast in texture – both homophonic and polyphonic
• Several new instrumental styles were written – fugue, concerto grosso, chorale prelude, French/Italian overture and the Suite
• New vocal styles were developed – da capo aria, cantata, passion and oratorio
• Basso continuo was the foundation for this style
• Baroque music was a very decorative style using many ornaments(trills, mordents, turns, appoggiaturas, acciaccaturas)

The main composers from this period were Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi and Corelli.

Concepts learned in Standard Grade:

Oratorio Cantata

Opera Passion

Recitative Chorale

Aria Tierce de Picardie

Homophonic Overture

Polyphonic Cadences

Melisma Ornaments

Syllabic Obbligato

Antiphonal

In addition to these, you will learn new concepts. These are:

Augmentation Fugue

Basso Continuo Ornaments

Chaconne/Passacaglia Real answer

Concertino Ripieno

Concerto grosso Ritornello

Da capo aria Suite

Diminution Tonal Answer

French/Italian Overture Chords (dominant 7th etc)

Vocal Music

One development of vocal music was the addition of a simple chordal accompaniment. This consisted of a bass line and and another part filled the harmonies. This was known as the Basso Continuo. (it continues throughout the piece)

The ‘basso’ part is usually played by cello.

The ‘continuo’ part is usually played by a harpsichord or organ.

Listen to this vocal piece. How would you describe the texture of it?

The Opera

Monteverdi wrote the first great Operas and combined the new baroque style (with basso continuo) with older contrapuntal movement.

Listen to this piece from an Opera. What type of solo song is it?

Listen to a further excerpt. What type of solo song is this?

The Oratorio

This is a similar work to the Opera but it is based on religious text. The most famous Oratorio is Handel’s ‘Messiah’.

In the Baroque era, there were two types of Overture.

Italian overtures had three sections. Quick – Slow – Quick

French overtures started with a fanfare like slow section with dotted rhythms. This was followed by a quicker section using imitation.

Listen to the overture from ‘ The Messiah’. Which overture is this?

Da Capo Arias

The Da capo Arias were used in both opera and oratorios. A Da Capo Aria is essentially in Ternary Form(ABA) but only sections A and B are written out. Instead of writing section A again, the composer wrote the instruction D.C or Da Capo meaning to return to the beginning.

Instrumental Music

There were several new styles of instrumental work developed in this period.

The Concerto Grosso

This work preceded the Symphony. It consisted of two main groups of instruments. These are:

The Concertino – A small group of soloists.

The Ripieno – The larger group(small orchestra)

During the Concerto grosso, there is often a recurring theme. This is known as the Ritornello.

Listen to the piece. Name the instruments in both groups.