The Classical Er The Baroque Period And The Baroque Era

Music reached its peak of success between the 17th and 18th century. This time period is known as the Baroque period. Countless composers achieved immense success during this point in history, two of the most famous being, Johann Bach and George Frideric Handel. The first opera, oratorio, and cantata occurred during the Baroque period. Amazingly, most of the instruments used during the period, remain in use today. The Baroque period in music obviously played a tremendous role in the growth of music through its numerous successful composers and various types of instruments.

The classical style of the ancient Athens, derived from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in the 15th century, has had a universal impact on many cultures during previous time periods. The classical period reflected traditional forms focused on symmetry and elegance; it flourished during the time of the Renaissance through artist such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo De Vinci. The artists’ main goal was to attain the absolute beauty in their art by showing emotion through detail, almost through perfection. Some examples of well-known classical arts during the Renaissance were ‘Belvedere Torso’ and the ‘Medici Venus’. In the 17th century the classical style was revived, now called the neo-classical style. It was born in Rome but its popularity flourished all over Europe. The neo-classical movement clashed with the age of Enlightment and continued through the 19th century. The neo-classical principles were based around the same characteristics as the classical arts such as: balance, proportion, order, simplicity, clarity, and reason. It was strongest in architect, sculpture, and decorative arts. The neo- classical style continued to spread throughout the world and became sought after in the 17th and 18th century in countries such as France and The United States, and it influenced some of the greatest government buildings in America.

A body of instruments accompanying the concertino in an orchestra in a baroque concerto grosso

Early Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries such as Neoclassicism differ greatly from the realism and impressionism of the modernist movement. Modernism was embraced by a group of artist that believed they should express what was real to them the way they saw it with freedom and individualism. These artist worked against the limiting artistic pillars of Classicism that was taught and promoted by The French Academy. These modern techniques were considered taboo to art critics and even French leadership at the time such as Napoleon III and The Academy. The Academy rejected these non-classical works from the public sphere by not including them in the Salon, hiding them away from public opinion and other artist that should be inspired by

The eighteenth century was a very creative time in world history. It gave birth to art that expresses feelings. This art was in the form of music paintings and is even seen in Architecture. The name baroque was borrowed from art history and actually came from a jeweler term meaning odd pearl or irregular pearl. Europe rulers sponsored the arts until France “rose to new heights in the seventeenth century” (Joseph Kerman) this is in contrast to merchant princes of the renaissance who were the first supporters.

The Baroque era existed between 1600-1750, it was an era of freedom in composition, improvisation, drama and urgency which was present in many aspects throughout the era.Historical event took place,  such as the thirty year war which occurred between the years 1618-1648, the discovery of New York by Henry Hudson in 1626, building of St. Peter's square in 1656 and the ruling of different kings in this time period. Through the work of Bach,Vivaldi and Handel, the Roman Catholic Church, dramatic aspects and writing for royalty are ideas and influences that make this era distinct from other eras.

The use of ornamentation in Baroque music was a creative, and sometimes improvised outlet for period musicians that spurred from human instinct to manipulate melodic material. This urge to change melodic material by altering the rhythm, or melody can be seen throughout history. Music including Gregorian chant, which predates the Baroque era, contains some elements of ornamentation. It can be seen throughout the Baroque, Classical era, and even in modern music. Although improvisation has been repressed by modern conventions of performance, it shows itself in the style of improvised jazz and avant-garde free improvisation. Performers use improvisation as a means of self-expression and a way to express composer intent. During the Baroque era, there were many different styles and methods of ornamentation depending on location, style, date, and composer of a piece of music. Understanding the historical developments of the Baroque era and the development of ornamentation can help modern performers of Baroque music better understand how to play a more historically accurate performance.

The Age of the Enlightenment or Age of Reason was a movement in Europe during the late 17th and most of the 18th centuries. The new movement represented a conflict between supernatural and religious ideas of the world and a new understanding based on reasoning. The Enlightenment was a product of scientific revolution that focused on experiments and observations and not spirituality as it was during the Middle Ages. Enlightenment’s main ideas lay in its faith in scientific method of investigation. Some basic tenets of the Age of Reason include believe that reasoning is a main ability of a human that lets him think and act rationally; as well as acceptance of the beliefs on the basis of reasoning rather than authority of a priest, sacred text,

The Age of Reason was an eighteenth-century movement. It represented a genesis in the way man viewed himself, the pursuit of knowledge, and the universe. To go away from one country and start a whole new one takes a great amount of courage. New ideas filled the horizon and people were eager to explore these ideas, freely. The enlightenment produced numerous books,

I stare up into the sky and wonder when my time will come. As I near the end of this life, I look back on the world I used to know. My final lesson will be one of memory as I tell you of the old world that existed during the Baroque period of time. Their world differed greatly from ours’. Today we have machines to do our work for us, but in their world they did not. Instead, they had to cast aside slothfulness and put their bodies to good use. If you truly want to know what their world was like, then pay attention as we fly to the past and observe their architecture, reenact their plays, and let our ears fall in love with their music.

Unlike the Baroque period of music with its flourish and embellishments, the Classical period of music had a more structured and formal format to its music. Music of this time period, which lasted from 1750 to 1820, is distinguishable by its high-spirited and fast paced style. The most popular forms of music at this time were sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets. Although opera was still immensely enjoyed, it did not maintain the stamina it had gained in the Baroque period. Advances were being made in concertos, pieces where a soloist played the main melody while accompanied by an orchestra, and also gained popularity. Also the piano was being used more and utilized in these concertos as the solo instrument. Two men were leaders in

The style of variations has, over time become more and more diverse. Variations had become noticeably more involved with composers during the baroque period with several German composers having a large impact on variations are composed. Although some composers focused only on variations some German composers during the Baroque period several such as Scheidt, Pachelbel, and J. S. Bach were integral to the further development of variations. From their choice of music to where these composers studied, almost all of it had a huge impact on variations.

The Baroque style helped change the role of the viewers. Italian Renaissance kept viewers at a distance from the work but played with varying perspectives making them "reflect intellectually on what they were seeing" (714). Bernini helped develop the new Baroque style by allowing the viewer to see the sculpture from all sides. The new "three-dimensional perspective" helps give David more lifelike qualities by allowing the viewer to see the "lean, sinewy body, tightly clenched mouth, and straining muscles" (717). Incorporating the viewer into the surrounding space, Bernini, "implies the presence of an unseen adversary somewhere behind the viewer" recognizing the viewer as a part of the sculpture and the action, a major component of the Baroque

It is hard to believe that what began during the Renaissance would be followed by what we refer to as the Baroque period beginning in the 1600’s and later the Rococo. The term Baroque was first used in the eighteenth-century by critics in a negative way. “To the eyes of these critics, who favored the restraint and order of Neoclassicism, the works of Bernini, Borromini, and Pietro da Cortona appeared bizarre, absurd, even diseased—in other words, misshapen, like an imperfect pearl” (Camara, E., n.d. para. 12). Stylistic style differs in the Baroque period with the use of interrupted contours, dynamism, and instability. In addition, artists were moving toward a more realistic subject matter and not the idealized portrayals we saw in the Renaissance period.

Classism’s qualities still are featured throughout the artworks that are being made today. Some of this movement’s features would include how most of the sculptures that are done are idealized. Idealism is when someone is painted, or sculpted with the ideal body and face. Realism is another feature in Classical Art. Realism is seeking truth through the artwork, they could no longer achieve the look they were going for by just chiseling away at a block of stone. Therefore, they based they techniques on modelling, by building first out of clay on new models and then they would copy them into stone. One of the last main features in this movement would be how mathematically correct everything is. Artists in these eras were very conscious about correct proportions, measurements, and symmetry. That is how those artists made it possible to create such perfect and idealized masterpieces.