Influence of Baroque Music to Classical Music

The Opera is described as the relationship between words and music. Opera is dramatic staged secular vocal work with orchestral accompaniment .Consisting of alternating recitatives, arias, and chorus numbers. Soloists, solo ensembles, choruses, dancing, dramatic action, costumes, staging are all components of opera. It was important because it added interest in dramas and music and it created interest is homophonic texture. Cantata was another important Baroque style. Cantata extended solo or choral work. It was created for Lutheran worship service. Cantatas include harmonized chorales, polyphonic choruses, arias, recitatives, solo ensembles, and instrumental accompaniment. Oratorio is dramatic work for chorus, solo voices, and orchestra. It is similar to cantata except it is longer and to a larger scale. Most were based on biblical texts to teach and entertain. Chamber music works for solo instruments performing together in small ensembles. Trio Sonatas were important chamber music pieces during the Baroque Period. Church sonatas would be performed in church. Chamber sonatas were meant for concert performance. Finally, orchestra varied in size and instrumentation. This style was favored by royalty and wealthy families. Most court orchestra were made up only bowed stringed instruments although woodwinds and others were gradually

Handel had started to experiment with oratorios in 1732, after the success of a ballad opera called the Beggars Opera by Johann Pepusch and John Gay. His own operas had declined in popularity, and operas were expensive and difficult to produce (Barber, and Donald). An oratorio was basically the same thing as an opera, except there were no expensive sets and costumes (Bonds). Handel composed Messiah from August 22 to September 14, 1741, a space of only 3 weeks. After finishing the oratorio, he put it away and started to work on another oratorio, Saul. It sat collecting dust for months, until Handel was invited to Ireland to visit the Duke of Devonshire in early November of 1741. After a rather disappointing opera season in 1740 and 1741, Handel was eager to get to Dublin. The libretto for Messiah was written by Charles Jennens (who also wrote the libretto for Saul) in the summer of 1741. It contained a compilation of verses from the bible; it didn’t tell a story, but reflected on the life of Christ and the Christian message, which is why it is a popular performance with churches today (Barber, and Donald). Messiah contains a recitative, “He that dwelleth in heaven”, and an aria, “Thou shalt not break them”. A recitativeis a style of singing that is between a lyrical song and speech, and makes the words clearer and easier to understand. An aria is the lyrical movement or piece for solo voice with some kind

His career includes 42 operas, 29 oratorios, 16 organ concerti, over 120 cantatas, trios and duets, chamber music, odes, and many ecumenical pieces, his most famous work being the Oratorio “Messiah.” Composed in 1741, the oratorio was preformed first in Dublin in 1742. It had a scriptural text from the King James Bible and was written for modest vocal and instrumental forces. The work, although very much in the style of Handel, is a series of thoughts on the Christian idea of redemption and utilizes a mixture of traditions. After Handel’s death in 1759, the Oratorio began to gain popularity even further and was adapted to larger scale choirs and orchestras. Handel has very much influenced the world of music, especially through his operas, and has grown in popularity throughout the years. As the inventor of English Oratorios and being so well known for his Italian operas his style and influence is felt around the world even still in the music of today.

When we put Purcells Didos lament next to Handels Messiah in order to compare and contrast them you will notice some interesting things; to start they are both a different genre since one was created during the Baroque time period and the other in the classical, obviously they are both composed by a different person, Didos lament is an opera aria whereas Ev’ry valley is an oratorio aria. Operas purpose is secular entertainment which is usually performed in a theater and is fully dramatic with staging and costumes. Oratorios purpose is sacred entertainment which is also performed in a theater but is a concert type. The both have the same musical form of a recitative and they are both accompanied by an orchestra. Both the opera and Oratorios were made around the same time. To make it a little

Music during the Baroque period was diverse and composers began to rebel against the styles that were popular during the Renaissance. In the Baroque era music was driven by the text and the emotions behind it. Vocal and sacred music developed greatly during the Baroque period. During the mid-17th century the Italian phenomenon opera dominated most of the theatres in Europe. Sacred music was deeply influenced by the opera, contributing to the development of the oratorio and cantata genre. The opera, oratorio, and cantata contain musical similarities; among all three genres they feature recitative, soloist orchestras, and duet arias.

Music of the baroque period was considered very complex and similar to the other forms of art of this time. Additional brass, woodwind and string instruments had been created to add additional depth to the works of this time. Composers of this time attempted to give voices to their works and invoke emotions. The works were created to tell a story.

The Baroque period stretched across half of European history. It began shortly before 1600 and ended with the death of Bach in 1750. During this time, there were change and

•There wasn't a fixed, standard orchestral group. Ensembles were usually composed of strings, a few woodwinds, percussion, and the harpsichord providing the basso continuo.

The oratorio and cantata of the eighteenth century were both linked, unlike opera, to religious themes. Although intended for very different uses and circumstances of performance, all three genres contained musical commalities. Not surprisingly, the three genres would

One of his many works for voices includes his Italian opera Xerxes. “Io le dirò che l’amo” Is an aria taken from the point in the opera in which the great king of Persia Xerxes I declares to his court that he will tell the woman he longs for that he loves her. The music and words of Xerxes are very flamboyant and paint the picture of demanding king. “How Beautiful are the feet” is an air (an accompanied vocal solo in oratorios) from Handel’s English oratorio Messiah. The Messiah is one of Handel’s most acclaimed works and is performed very often in U.S. church and concert settings.

The Baroque time period was a time of artistic style extravagant motion and clear, simply interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, excitement, and magnificence in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, theater, and music. Opera is an arrangement in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining libretto (text) and musical score, typically in a theatrical setting. Opera came out of the baroque period of people wanting to make music that was more expressive. A group of people in Italy decided that a single line of melody with simple accompaniment would be much more expressive than words. This caused the creation of recitatives, which early operas consisted entirely of. This also caused arias, duets, and

Music has been categorized over time in different periods, each of which have their own characteristics, composers and music style. Two of those important periods were baroque and romantic, which had left an important musical legacy though history. The baroque was the period from about 1600 to 1750. It was called one of the best periods of the music history, because there was a huge change from the style of composition from antique and renaissance music which achieved great expectations about this music. Furthermore, Baroque music was written by great composers such as Bach, Handel, Rameau and Vivaldi who were the most representative composers of the period. In addition, Baroque music was characterized

The Baroque Period (1600-1750) was mainly a period of newly discovered ideas. From major new innovations in science, to vivid changes in geography, people were exploring more of the world around them. The music of the baroque period was just as extreme as the new changes. Newly recognized composers such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi were writing entirely new musical ideas and giving a chance for new voices to be heard that were normally not thought of sounds. Their musical legacy is still recognized today, and is a treasured discovery of outstanding compositions being reiterated with every performance of them.

The chorus is an essential feature of Greek classical drama. Instances of various types of dance, singing, and speech are some elements of a Greek chorus. “Composed of similarly costumed men, they performed on the orchestra located beneath the stage. The chorus stayed in the orchestra for the duration of the performance from which vantage point they observed and commented on the action of the characters.” Oedipus is a play written by Sophocles, a respected playwright, and it is “generally assumed that the main function of the Sophoclean chorus is a philosophical one; that it serves above all as the spokesman for a certain view of life.” The chorus can be dramatic in the following ways: “through the personality of the group forming the chorus and the appropriateness of their relationship to the action and the characters, through the iambic lines spoken by the coryphaeus, through physical participation in the action and through the choral songs.” The chorus is an important component of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus. Aside from its responsibility to effectively represent the people of Thebes, the chorus in Oedipus has a powerful influence over audience perceptions and emotions.

In 1600 a new style of music began to evolve, this form of music was