Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Pachelbel, And Handel

Some of the great composers during this time were Franz Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,

Johann Sebastian Bach, born in the year 1685, was a German born composer, virtuoso organist and keyboard player, a

Vivaldi grew up in a Catholic family. His father was a talented violinist and would be his first teacher. This allowed them to perform together. He also took lessons from a choral teacher who knew violin. Vivaldi loves speed. At age 15, he began studying for the priesthood, which gave him 10 years to study and develop the musical and composing talents that is displayed in his works. Vivaldi spent his entire life, other than the last six or so years, with his father. As a child, they toured Venice together. Then, later on as a man, he toured Italy and later Europe. Vivaldi and his father were a pair and it seems that they held a good relationship. His father helped to write out some of the pieces that Vivaldi would think of. He preferred a combination of the choral religious music, dramatic-operatic, and classics of Italy. His most influential works were written for the orchestra of a Venetian girls’ orphanage where he was music director. It was for them that he wrote his famous concertos. Vivaldi also invented the concerto-grosso.

The Baroque Era and the Classical Era are two critical time periods in observing music. Some of the most famous composers have written pieces that are popular in the world today. The two periods share many similar characteristics, however new genres and forms developed throughout each period because of new ideas and knowledge spreading. My personal favorite is the Baroque period because of the abundance of new musical knowledge that was introduced, particularly in Vivaldi’s famous piece La Primavera, Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, I.

19.  Franz Schubert. Born in 1797, died in 1828 from Vienna. Wrote well over 600 works. Was the Master of the Art Song. He wasn’t financially successful and his symphonies were performed after he died. 
20.  Robert Schumann. Born in 1810, died in 1856 from Germany. Wrote piano pieces and symphonies. Known for his gift of melody. Eventually was committed and later died. 
21.  Clara Schumann. Born in 1819, died in 1896 from Germany. First well known female composer. Married to Robert Schumann. Stop composing at age 36. Mainly wrote piano pieces. After husbands death she dedicated the rest of her career to promoting her husbands work. 
22.  Frederic Chopin. Born in 1811, died in 1849 from Poland. Came to Paris at age 21, wrote exclusively for piano. Wrote free form preludes, nocturnes etudes and impromptus. Composed mainly chamber music. Had and affair

The composer that I chose is Charles Ives, an American modernist and musical composer from the 20th century born on October 20, 1874 in a small town of Danbury, CT and died on May 19, 1954 in New York City, NY. Charles Ives was one of the first American composers international renown and had a unique voice in American music. Which today he’s known for his amazing original orchestral music and as an American composer and Musician.

The Baroque and Classical periods are where we see the emergence of renowned composers like Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart and Beethoven. The music from these famous composers are some of the world’s most recognizable and beautiful classics of all time. Music of these eras are still being used in many of today’s movies and commercials. Musical characteristics developed from these eras are still used and heard presently in popular music.

Some of the most well known composers came to be in the in the classical music period. Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the composers, along with other greats of the time like Haydn and Mozart, which helped to create a new type of music. This new music had full rich sounds created by the new construction of the symphony orchestra.

Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. When he was childhood was probably playing the violin around venice and going to mass every Sunday. His religion was being a catholic and singing during mass every sunday. Antonio had eight siblings, four brothers and four sisters. They were Francesco Gaetano Vivaldi, Zanetta Anna Vivaldi, Cecilia Maria Vivaldi, Bonaventura Tomaso Vivaldi, Margarita Gabriela Vivaldi, Gerolama Michela Vivaldi, Iseppo Gaetano Vivaldi, and Iseppo Santo Vivaldi. When he was 25 he became a priest. He got a nickname called “The Red Priest,” because of his red hair. He retired after 3 years because of illness. After priesthood he work for an Italian prince.

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

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a huge composer during the baroque era. He started out as a principal organist and later went on to write many organ and keyboard compositions. He was hired to write many hymns and perform them in

(2) Schubert was one of the most prominent composers in the Romantic era. He was the first composer to live off only the money he got from composing. He wrote many compositions during his short lifetime, especially art songs (“OnMusic”).

Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in the town of Venice, Italy. His father was quite the musician and helped his son master the violin and also helped him get find lessons from some the best composers in Italy. Sadly, do to his symptoms that were similar to asthma often causing him to have severe shortness of breath he was unable to master several instruments. At one point in his early life he even became a priest but this was short lived do to his continuing health issues therefore he had to give up his priesthood. “At the age of 25, Antonio Vivaldi was named master of violin at the Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy) in Venice” (). This is where he spent in upwards of thirty years teaching his students and only having

Neither Bach nor Shostakovich was a musical innovator. Bach was the ultimate Baroque composer; his pieces are models of perfected compositional techniques, filled with the smoothly flowing harmonies and complex polyphony characteristic of the time. His numerous dance suites, both for solo instruments and orchestra, merely stylized the popular dances of the time. His six suites for unaccompanied cello are beautiful examples, predictable and perfected, but in a way that never grows old.

The baroque period of music commenced in the year 1600 and ended around 1750 (Fuller – “Baroque”). Its texture was mainly polyphonic (Fuller – “Classical”). Polyphonic means that two or more different melodies are played simultaneously (McComb). This provides an energetic rhythm, long melodies, and many ornaments. The most famous composers of this time period were Vivaldi, Corelli, Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, J.S. Bach, and Couperin. Many new styles of music were introduced, such as operas, sonatas, oratorios, suites, fugues, and concertos. Orchestras began to develop, but it was not until the classical period when orchestral music was perfected (Fuller – “Baroque”).