The Baroque Era Essay Research Paper THE free essay sample

The Baroque Era Essay, Research Paper THE BAROQUE AGE Social and Cultural Background Baroque is a term borrowed from the ocular humanistic disciplines and one that is used in many different senses. The Baroque Era applies to the old ages between 1600 and 1750. The most celebrated composers of this clip were Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Teleman. Politically it was an age of brilliant absolute Monarch s. The most magnificent of all was Louis XIV of France. Louis ruled from 1634 until 1713. During this clip the demand to make a national civilization or a regional manner that would fit or excel the elsewhere created cultural theoretical accounts was pressed for. When looking at Baroque architecture it is noticeable that the sculptures and pictures are neer still: they are twisted, traveling, fighting, and dramatically lighted. Paintings of the Baroque Era focused more on dramatic topics and experimented with dramatic lighting. The Baroque Era was concerned with feelings, the stronger the better. This could be seen throughout the churches. In church construction the proportions are grandiose, they are designed to affect and awe the perceivers. Gold and rich textures and surfaces can be seen all through the churches. All of these subjects that I have discussed are besides clear in the music of the Baroque period. It paints images of vivacious colorss and triggers strong emotions. The desire to detect these subjects is apparent in the innovation of the exciting new signifier music, opera, and in the usage of operatic techniques in dramatic music for the church. Important Musical Developments Composer-performers would endeavor at going Kapellmeisers in this Era. A Kapellmeister is a music manager at one of the great tribunals. They were responsible for all the music performed in the tribunal. These places were really unstable though and composer were ever on the sentinel for new chances. The duties of performing artists during this epoch was to compose music at a ferocious gait due to the demand. Bach, for illustration, was responsible for one oratorio a hebdomad while he was music manager at Leipzig. Due to the gait the music was written, the performing artists of the pieces had to make full in the inside informations. Baroque music can hence be classified as a type of wind because the soloists would play their ain versions of a basic tune with beat subdivision improvises, based on a chord form. Baroque music sounds different from music of other periods due to its deficiency of dynamic scope. The composers at this clip normally did non stipulate kineticss on their pieces, they merely wrote loud or soft. The most outstanding component in Baroque music was beat and texture. Baroque s fast motion by and large caused the feeling of rhythmic thrust. Tempos were ever changeless. The least outstanding component was tune. Gradual rise of key on the other manus was a great Baroque invention. This is the major-minor system that is still used today in the 20th century. Opera was one of the most of import developments in the Baroque Era. It began in Florence in 1600. Gallic operas featured more accent on the orchestra and chorus. During this clip Handel invented the cantata. An cantata is a big work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra Sung in concert format, without costumes or presenting, in a concert hall instead than as portion of a church service. Some other instrumentals formed during this epoch were: Concerto Grosso: in three motions, fast-slow-fast, and pits a big group of soloists against the larger twine ensemble. Suite: a less formal construction dwelling of several binary dance motions Fugue: Latin for flight or pursuit, denotes a standard Baroque compositional procedure. Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata No. 140 Bach is the giant of Western Art. Bach was born in Eisenach, No rth Germany, and was raised by an older brother after he was orphaned. Bach s most of import place came in 1723 and lasted until his decease which was January 28, 1750. He was the Cantor at the church of St.Thomas in Leipzig. He was best known as a keyboard performing artist. His greatest pieces though, were his organ pieces. Bach was besides known for his Cantata s. The oratorio was written in reasonably free signifier. They were portion of a long church service. In most cantatas the highest point is during the gap chorus, which is besides normally the longest motion. Cantata no.140 Wachet Auf is an first-class illustration of the chorale oratorio signifier. Bach wrote it for one of the concluding Sunday s after Trinity. The vocal is broken into a five-part construction: 1 ) Chorus 2 ) Recitative and Duets-Soloists 3 ) Chorus 4 ) Recitative and Duet-Soloists 5 ) Choral- Chorus and Congregation Another celebrated piece by Johann Sebastian Bach was Brandenburg Concerto No.5. The Brandenberg concertos are illustrations of a Baroque signifier known as the concerto gross that is based on the rule of contrast between two groups, or sounds of different sounds and at the same clip kineticss. The first motion of this piece is in ritornello signifier. It is made up of three basic forms that work good with instruments. The 2nd motion heard contains soloists and continues without threading orchestra. The 3rd and last motion is made up of soloists and orchestra. George Friederich Handel, For Unto Us A Child is Born from Messiah Handel is known as the other Baroque composer. Handel contrasts greatly with Bach, non merely in their manner of music but in their personalities, life styles, and callings. Handel was non born into a musical household. It wasn T until the decease of his male parent that he quite his jurisprudence calling to go a instrumentalist. After the genre of Italian opera faded Handel hit upon an English version of the early cantata, originally a concert scene of a scriptural narrative in Latin. The success of his cantatas and a steady watercourse of new composings made Handel progressively affluent and celebrated. He passed off in 1759, blind, but was still seen as a famous person. Due to Messiah s length and it s brooding instead than dramatic attack to nature, it makes it a non typical cantata. For Unto Us A Child is Born is a glorious illustration of Handel s choral manner, an component which makes cantatas so popular. As opposed to Bach s manner of composing for merely little groups of male childs and work forces, Handel was fond of grandiose effects, such as dual choruses. Handel s choruses were written strong plenty to affect the audience who had paid admittance to hear the oratorio. The cantata is written in a three portion construction. The three thoughts are distinguishable and are ever kept separate, and neer combined. Out of this simple, insistent construction comes a hearty consequence: the hearer of this piece feels the victory and joy of the text due to it s easy to follow stuff. Antonio Vivaldi, Spring from The Four Seasons Bach and Handel are non the merely great composer of this epoch. Antonio Vivaldi was another maestro of music during the Baroque period. Vavaldi was born in 1678 in Venice. His male parent excessively was a musician, a fiddler at St.Marks s church in Venice. For 36 old ages, from 1704 until 1740, he was music manager at the Ospedale della Pieta, a school for illicit girls of the nobility. He so left his occupation to carry on opera in Italian metropoliss. He finally wrote concertos non merely for fiddle and standard winds-oboe, flute, bassoon-but besides for instruments such as the piccolo, mandolin, and guitar. One of his best known plants is the Four Seasons. It is a set of four concerti grossi which relate to nature during these seasons. The spirit of childlike gaiety can be seen throughout out this piece which is of import to Baroque manner. It is really easy to see why Vivaldi s pieces are still played and enjoyed to this twenty-four hours.