MEP_Baroque

Baroque Concerto - Concerto grosso ​ is a small group of soloists pitted against a larger group of players called the ​ tutti - The tutti consists mainly of string instruments, with a harpsichord as part of the basso continuo - A concerto grosso consists of several movements that contrast in tempo and character - The first and last movements are often in ​ ritornello form ​ , which is based on alternation between tutti and solo sections - In ritornello form, the tutti opens with a theme called the ​ ritornello ​ and this theme, always played by the tutti, returns in different keys throughout the movement Examples: - Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major by Johann Sebastian Bach Baroque Opera - Opera ​ is a drama that is sung to orchestra accompaniment - The ​ libretto ​ , or text, of the opera is usually written by the ​ librettist ​ , or dramatist, and set to music by the composer - An ​ aria ​ is an outpouring of melody that expresses an emotional state - An aria in A B A form is called a ​ da capo aria - In a ​ recitative ​ , words are sung quickly and clearly, often on repeated tones - Recitative carries the action forward and presents routine information quickly - Recitative was sung by a soloist with only a simple chordal accompaniment - Secco recitatives ​ are recitatives usually accompanied only by a basso continuo - At emotional high points and moments of tension, however, they might be supported by the orchestra, which is called ​ accompanied recitative - An opera ​ chorus ​ generates atmosphere and makes comments on the action - An opera has the same instruments as a full symphony orchestra, but usually it has a smaller string section - Most operas open with a purely orchestral composition called an ​ overture ​ or a ​ prelude - The overture is a short musical statement that involves the audience in the overall dramatic mood Ground Bass - A musical idea in the bass that is repeated over and over while the melodies above it change Examples: - Orfeo (1608) by Claudio Monteverdi, an Italian composer - Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry Purcell, an English composer - Operas in Italian Style by George Frideric Handel

Baroque Fugue - The fugue can be written for a group of instruments or voices, or for a single instrument like an organ or harpsichord - A fugue is a polyphonic composition based on one main theme, called a ​ subject - Throughout a fugue, different melodic lines, called voices, imitate the subject - After its first presentation, the subject is imitated in turn by all the remaining voices - The subject in one voice is constantly accompanied in another voice but a different melodic idea called a ​ countersubject - Episodes ​ offer either new material or fragments of the subject or countersubject - Episodes lend variety to the fugue and make reappearances of the subject sound fresh - A ​ stretto ​ is when a sub