baroque study guide Essay

Broadly speaking, the first movement can be divided in to three pieces, each beginning with a version of what I have denoted A_0, the introduction to the piece inwhich motifs float around in a constant void, gaining energy, and morphing into musicalthemes. If we were to impose the sonata structure onto the piece, we would say that the three pieces are the exposition, development, and recapitulation. The exposition introduces two large thematic blocks separated by a transition that

Composers since the early classical era have used sonata form to express through music ideas which are at once complex and unified. This form contains a variety of themes and permutations of these themes, but is brought together into a comprehensible whole when these excerpts reappear. Beethoven, in the first movement of his Piano Sonata Opus 2 Number 3 utilizes this form to its full potential, modifying the typical structure in his characteristic way.

1.  What does “musical style” mean? Genre is the type of music. Style is how you sing it.

This concerto is made up of three movements, with the second movement entitled Larghetto e spiritoso in between two Allegro movements.  Originally intended for two solo violins, violin I, violin II, viola, cello, and bass, this piece has been transposed in various forms and is now commonly performed with two solo violins and piano.  While the other two movements are lively and exciting, the second movement provides a great contrast.  It is in a different key and has a completely different feeling, one of heaviness and melancholy, though its chord progressions and harmonies make it appealing to audiences.  This composition in its entirety gained Vivaldi his greatest popularity as it spread throughout Europe and became a standard for 18th century composers.

23.  Define a classical sonata. A musical composition for solo instrument or a small number of instruments typically in three or four movements in contrasting forms and keys.

Beginning solely by a haut instrument, Susato successfully conveyed a bright sonority to the first dance [Susato, Three dances. 0:00-0.06]. Added percussion instrument at the seventh second, the music was given its first touch to be vivid and plump. It was performed by outdoor woodwind bands including tabor, cornetto, sackbut, shawn, and tambourine. Though there are three dances contained in Susato’s work, and dances flowed from one another, it is not hard to distinguish because of their clearly full-stops between each part. Three dances, composed during Renaissance period(1551) by Susato, is a three rondes music in binary form(A-A-B-B). Its repeated melodies were played by permeant improvisers at that time to help enrich the music with colors

•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.

Since the Baroque era, the concerto has played a vital role in the music world. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a concerto is “a composition for one or more soloists and orchestra with three contrasting movements.” There are two main types: the concerto grosso and the classical concerto; both will be discussed later. While the term concerto is relatively easy to understand in context, when put into use the term becomes more complicated to define.

A popular form among composers was the suite, a series of movements based upon the rhythm and style of a particular dance. The suite could be written for a solo instrument, for example the harpsichord or violoncello, or small instrumental ensemble, and usually included the German Allemande, the French Courante, the Sarabande (originally from Spain), and the English or Irish Gigue (Jig). Many also included the Gavotte, originally a French folk dance characterized by the raising rather than the sliding of the feet. At times, non-dance movements such as the Prelude were also employed. This series of movements was designed to offer interesting contrasts in meter, tempo, and texture.

There were a total of four music pieces performed. They were “Overture from the Singspiel”, “Concerto in e minor”, “Concerto on b minor,opus 104”, and “Symphony#2 in b minor, opus 5”. I think pieces were performed belong to classical style.

In what period was the work composed? List three aspects of the musical style of this period that apply to this work.

Artists used a variety of newer principles and techniques, utilizing mostly Marian texts and combining vocal and instrumental pairs of voices. For three-part song motets, Guillaume Dufay utilized a treble-dominated texture derived from the chanson which is a lyrical composition of French words. More specifically, it is a French polyphonic song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The second movement, Andante con moto, however has two main different interpretations that it could be analyzed as song form or sonata form. The third movement, Con moto moderato, was composed in form of minuet and trio. Finally, for the finale, which consists of the Roman saltarello and the Neapolitan tarantella dance rhythm, contains characteristics of both sonata and rondo form.

Sonata form is the musical form is the form that has been most widely used then any other form. It really toke shape as a main form during the Classical period. It is usually used a first movement in a multi-movement piece and is commonly referred as Sonata-Allegro form. The concept behind it was to try and find a way to organize or categorize musical ideas into a movement based on a particular “key.”

Baroque Period, during which a few of the greatest composers on this planet were born, brought classical music onto a whole new level. The word “Baroque”, which came from the Portuguese for “the imperfect pearl”, implies strange, extravagant and overblown. Toccata, fugue, chorale, ortario, and the concerto Grosso, all of these special musical forms were created and represent this period. The six main characteristics: increased emotional expression, contrast, use of basso continuo, continued harmonic development, use of ornament, and the emphasis of improvisation, molded the unique style of music of the Baroque period.