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UNIT THREE: THE BAROQUE ERA (CA 1600- 1750)

UNIT THREE: THE BAROQUE ERA (CA 1600- 1750)
• Derived from the Portuguese barroco – which means “oddly shaped pearl”
• Era of absolute monarchy and religious conflict
• Characteristics were reflected in the arts and culture of the period. Dramatic subject matter, vivid colors, violent images and intricate ornamentation in particular marked the visual arts
• Developments in mathematics, science and medicine.
• Many new forms, genres, and textures, new instruments have developed
• Development of figured bass and the importance of basso continuo
• The creation of the 1st opera popularized a new texture: monody, emphasizing the polarity of the outer voices with a single vocal line replaced with the rich vocal polyphony of the Renaissance. Addition, the relationship between text and music in operas and cantatas and oratorio. The quest was to show human emotions through music was realized in both vocal and instrumental genres.

OPERA:
BACKGROUND:
• Invented in Florence , Italy around 1600
• 1st opera composed by members of the Florentine Camarata
• Inspired by a renewed interest in classical antiquity (Greek drama)
• Precursors include Medieval liturgical drama (Hildegard von Bingen), madrigal cycles (Claudio Monteverdi) and Italian intermedio ( musical interlude between acts of a play)
• Most important new development in 17th music

CHARACTERISTICS:
• Drama presented through music
• All or most of the text is sung
• Components include recitative, aria, ensembles, choruses
• Brings together music with art, literature, theater and dance
• Remains popular to this day

April 10, 2014 0 Comments

UNIT TWO :THE RENAISSANCE ERA (CA 1450- CA 1600)

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC IN THE RENAISSANCE ERA
New instruments has evolved more came into being and repertoire emerged.

FITZWILLIAM VIRGINAL BOOK
• Close to 300 works in the collection
• Includes styles: dances, fantasias, preludes, arrangements of songs and madrigals and variations
• English keyboard composers of the time are represented , William Byrd, John Bull, Thomas Morley, and Giles Farnaby
• Idiomatic approach to keyboard writing
• Style of writing is often virtuosic: rapid scale passages, ornamentations and many novel figurations
• Fanciful titles “Carman’s Whistle”(William Byrd), “The King’s Hunt”(John Bull), “The Ghost”( William Byrd)

DANCE MUSIC

BACKGROUND:
• Social dancing was a very popular form of entertainment
• Earliest notated dances were from 13th
• By 16th more and more dances were notated b/c of developments in music publishing
• Improvisation continued to play an important role in hoe the music was created
• Dance music was performed on keyboard, lute and by instrumental ensemble

CHARACTERISTICS:
• Dances were generally polyphonic
• Often in 4 parts textures, reflecting vocal models
• Instrumentation was generally not specified
• Melodies often adapted from pre-existing vocal works- madrigal and chansons
• Popular 16th dances: branle, pavane, galliard, saltarello, allemande
• Dances were often paired to emphasize contrast as (pavane – slow and stately and galliard- lively and energetic) combination.

April 10, 2014 0 Comments

UNIT TWO :THE RENAISSANCE ERA (CA 1450- CA 1600)

CARLO GESUALDO (CA 1561-1613)
MYSICAL STYLE:
• Italian composer and lutenist
• Intensely emotional style
• Extravagant word painting
• Exaggerated chromaticism with high level of dissonance
• Abrupt chord changes
• Frequent use of repetition
• Wrote his own texts, often reflecting his guilt and remorse.
GENRE AND TITLE:
• Madrigal:6 books
• Sacred music , Tenebrae Responssoria
• Instrumental music

ENGLISH MADRIGAL
BACKGROUND:
• The Italian madrigal spread from Italy yo England in the 1580
• The publication of Musica transalpine in 1588 launched the popularity of the madrigal in England
• As English composer s cultivated the genre, it took on a slightly different character
• Prominent English composers as Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Morley , Tomas Weelkes, John Wilbye composed madrigals
CHARACTERISTICS
• Resembles the Italian madrigal of the mid 16th
• Polyphonic and homophonic textures alternate
• Utilized word painting
• Pastoral texts
• Included nonsense syllables as “fa la la “ and “nonny nonny no”

JOHN FARMER (1570- 1601)
MUSICAL  STYLE:
• Composed 4 voices madrigals
• Combined chordal homophonic textures with imitative polyphony
• Favoured light-hearted, pastoral texts
• Modal harmonies, largely diatonic
• Employed vivid word painting
GENRES AND TITLE
• Madrigal: 1 collection, containing 16 madrigals , Fair Phyllis and A Pretty Little Bonny Lass

 

April 10, 2014 0 Comments