BAROQUE MUSIC

Objectives: You will

(1) learn the skills of score reading and simple analysis.
(2) learn how musical features are combined and used to create music
for distinct purposes and in different contexts.
Keywords: continuo, opera, oratorio, cantata, recitative and aria, suite,
overture, trio sonata, concerto grosso, solo concerto, ritornello, binary,

ternary, and dance forms, fugue, ripieno,

The Baroque period in music spans 150 years, from the birth of opera
and oratorio around 1600 to the death of JS Bach in 1750. It was a
significant period of time in which there were many developments. The
start of the Baroque period saw the orchestra begin to take shape with
the string section at its centre, the widespread use of the major-minor
key system and the increased importance of instrumental music. New
structures and types of music introduced and developed by baroque
composers included opera, oratorio and cantata, recitative and aria,
suite, overture, trio sonata, concerto grosso, solo concerto, ritornello
form, and fugue. Composers held the idea that a single ‘affection’
(musical mood or feeling) should persist throughout an entire piece or
movement. One of the main distinguishing features of baroque musical
style is the inclusion of the basso continuo. Continuo players were given
only the bass line of the music, which was played on an instrument such
as a cello, double bass, or bassoon. But the composer expected another
continuo player on a chord playing instrument – such as harpsichord,
organ, or lute – to use their skill and musicianship to improvise chords,
filling in the harmonies, and also decorating the musical texture.
Composers often wrote figures below the notes, indicating the chords
which were expected – and so such a bassline is called a ‘figured bass’.
The idea of an accompaniment played by continuo instruments was to
persist throughout the baroque, and provide the basis for the
harmonies, and the texture, of almost every type of piece.

The Concerto
A concerto is a work for soloist(s) accompanied by orchestra with the
idea of contrast at the forefront. This includes contrast between solo
and orchestral sections of music, the virtuosity of the soloist(s)
compared with the more straightforward orchestral parts, the pitch of
the soloists versus the orchestra and the changes of tempo in or
between movements. Baroque concertos have several movements, in a
variety of forms. These can include ritornello form, binary form, ternary
form or movements in dance form. Learners should study both the solo
concerto and concerto grosso, alongside other forms of Baroque
instrumental music.

Focus work: Vivaldi (1678–1741)

The Italian composer Vivaldi is most famous for his concertos, in which
he established a standard three movement form. He spent much of his
working life at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice (a convent, orphanage
and school), composing music for the students there. Vivaldi’s set of
solo concertos known as The Four Seasons were published in 1725, so
were written at some point before then. They are part of a larger set
called The Contest of Harmony and Invention. Each concerto in The
Four Seasons is based on a poem, with Vivaldi supplying the line of the
poem at the relevant point in the music.

Spring from The Four Seasons

As in all the concertos forming The Four Seasons, this is in three
movements fast-slow-fast. Instruments
Each concerto is scored for solo violin accompanied by string orchestra.
In a concerto the orchestra may sometimes be referred to as the tutti.
In the score the solo line appears at the top, followed by the two
orchestral violin parts, then the viola (in the alto clef) and finally the
bass and continuo line. This would have been played by several
instruments, including cellos, probably double basses (sounding an
octave lower) and also an instrument capable of playing chords over the
printed bass line. In performance this part can be realised by a
harpsichord, organ or plucked string instrument such as a theorbo.
Numbers under the bass stave (known as figured bass) indicate the
chords to be played. Together these instruments are known as the
basso continuo (often simply ‘continuo’) and are an absolutely crucial
part of any Baroque piece of music, not just concertos.
Baroque orchestral music sometimes included wind (flutes, oboes or
bassoons), brass (trumpets or horns) or timpani, but in small numbers
and always with the strings as the main part of the ensemble. The solo
violinist and the orchestra make use of a range of techniques, including
tremolo (bar 44). There is also significant use of ornamentation, as
frequently found in Baroque music; here it is used to suggest birdsong.
In the final movement of ‘Spring’ the orchestral violins are muted (con
sordino). Throughout the concerto the solo part is much more virtuosic
than that of the orchestra and is generally at a higher pitch.

Movement 1 (Allegro)
Structure / form
As would be expected in a Baroque solo concerto first fast movement,
the structure is ritornello form. This is when varied restatements of a
ritornello theme, in different keys and scored for the full orchestra,
alternate with episodes, in which the soloist often dominates playing
new ideas. Vivaldi’s ritornello statements usually get shorter during a
movement, as repetitions of bars or even whole groups of bars are
omitted. In this concerto Vivaldi combines the poems with ritornello
form, so the constant elements of the poem are usually incorporated
into the returning ritornello theme, while the episodes depict the
changing elements. Vivaldi sets the first five lines of the poem in this
movement.

Ritornello 1 bars 0 to 13 (3)

Episode 1 bars 13(3) to 27(3)
Ritornello 2 bars 27(4) to 30(1) (a shortened statement of the
ritornello theme, taken from bars 6(4) to 10(1).
Episode 2 bars 31 to 40(3)
Ritornello 3 bars 40(4) to 43 (a shortened statement, as in ritornello 2)
Episode 3 bars 44 to 55(3)
Ritornello 4 bars 55(4) to 58
Episode 4 bars 59 to 75 (this episode includes a tutti interruption,
based on the first half of the ritornello theme. It also has many
similarities to Episode 1, since both episodes refer to birdsong).
Ritornello 5 bars 76 to 82 (this is longer than ritornellos 2, 3 and 4, but
still not as long as ritornello 1. It is the second half of ritornello 1, which
is then repeated).

Tonality/Key
As with most Baroque works, Vivaldi modulates to a variety of keys in
the movement, but all closely related to the tonic. The first movement
is in E major, a bright, joyful key, appropriate for the happy arrival of
spring. The movement remains in E major for some time. Episode 2
ends on the dominant chord (B major), but the music has not really
modulated at this point. However, the ritornello which immediately
follows is in the dominant – the A sharps and perfect cadence in the
dominant linking the ritornello and following episode show this. At the
end of Episode 3 the music modulates from the dominant (B major) to
the relative minor (C# minor). Ritornello 4 and Episode 4 are both in the
relative minor, but at the end of Episode 4 there is a modulation back to
E major for the final ritornello. The second movement of the concert is
in the relative minor (C# minor) and the final movement returns to E
major

Harmony
Vivaldi’s harmony is diatonic (using notes from the key) and functional
(with chords having a specific role in moving the music forward). There
is much use of tonic and dominant chords, with perfect and imperfect
cadences. The opening ritornello is very firmly based on the tonic
chord, with a rhythmicised tonic pedal in the continuo. Bars 3 and 6
contain an imperfect cadence, while bars 9–10 and 12–13 form a
perfect cadence. Interestingly, Episode 1 is based entirely on the tonic
chord, with no change of harmony. When Episode 4 is accompanied by
the continuo (unlike the corresponding section about birds in Episode
1), it is by a tonic pedal (C# as the music is in C# minor at this point)
played by the cello (Tasto solo in the score means that the rest of the
continuo do not play).

Melody
The ritornello sections have a memorable melody with a range of a 9th
and making use of mostly stepwise movement or leaps of a third. The
episodes are less ‘melodic’ using repeated notes, scales and arpeggios.
The episodes also feature ornamentation, including inverted mordents
and trills. Although most melodic material is diatonic, there is ascending
chromatic movement in the bass in Episode 3, helping the music to
modulate from B major to C# minor.
Rhythm
This movement uses a wide range of note values, from the crotchets,
quavers and occasional semiquavers in the ritornello, to the
demisemiquavers, triplet semiquavers and dotted notes in the episodes.
This is another way in which Vivaldi creates contrast between the
sections. Bar 73-4 features syncopation, used frequently in the
following bars.

Dynamics
Baroque composers often did not write dynamic markings into their
scores. This was because they were either leading the performances
and could tell the instrumentalists how to play or because musicians at
the time knew the expected conventions. Baroque music is famous for
using terraced dynamics, where there are sudden changes from loud to
quiet or vice versa. There is an example of this right at the start of the
movement, where Vivaldi marks the repeat of the opening material to
be played piano, followed by a return to forte at the end of bar 6, etc.
Different performances will offer their own interpretation of the music,
particularly with regard to dynamics and learners could compare the
different versions. Texture
Baroque music is often associated with polyphonic or contrapuntal
textures and there are examples in this movement such as Episode 1.
This also makes use of imitation, with the solo 1st violin imitating the
soloist two bars later. However, the opening of the movement is
homophonic. There are also moments of monophony, such as bars 47
and 50. The episodes usually feature fewer instruments – just the three
solo violins in Episode 1, three solo violins and cello in Episode 4.
However, Episode 2 uses the whole orchestra (with the soloist doubling
the 1st violin part) and episode alternates soloist and orchestra, before
they come together.

Focus work: Handel 1685–1759

Born in Germany, Handel moved to England in 1712. He is known
for works in a wide variety of genres including operas, oratorios and
concertos. His works show both German and Italian influences.
Concerto Grosso
The Baroque concerto grosso preceded the solo concerto and contrasts
a group of soloists (known as the concertino) with the accompanying
ensemble (referred to as the ripieno or tutti). A concerto grosso usually
has four or more movements, sometimes including fugal writing,
ternary, binary and ritornello form.

Concerti Grossi in D major Op. 6 (HWV 319–330)

Handel’s set of 12 concerti grossi were written to be played during
performances of his oratorios and other larger works and incorporate a
wide variety of musical styles in the different movements. The music
was composed during the autumn of 1739, but as was common in the
Baroque era, Handel reused some material from earlier works in the
concertos. The concertos follow the model of Corelli.
Concerto Grosso in D major Op. 6, No. 5 (HWV 323)
Instruments
This concerto is scored for two oboes and bassoon (used only in some
of the movements), solo 1st and 2nd violins and cello, strings and
continuo. As in solo concertos, the soloists sometimes play with the
ensemble and sometimes separately. Unlike Vivaldi’s concerto, the solo
lines are not particularly virtuosic, though the solo cello does play high
enough to be notated in the tenor clef in some editions (in the Largo
fourth movement).

Movement 1 (Larghetto e staccato)

This first movement was based on the opening movement of Handel’s
overture for the Ode to St Cecilia’s Day. It is in the style of a Baroque
French overture, incorporating the stereotypical features including a
slow, majestic opening section, with dotted rhythms, followed by a
faster main section in fugal style (here this is the second movement). In
performances, one may notice that the dotted notes are played ‘double
dotted’, as would have been done in the Baroque period. The notated
dotted crotchet followed by a demisemiquaver rest also creates the
idea of double dotting. After an unusual monophonic opening from the
concertino 1st violin, the two solo violinists play with the ripieno 1st
violins while the solo cello doubles the bass line, giving a homophonic
texture throughout. The movement features many scalic passages and
from the tonic key of D major modulates to the dominant (A major) at
bar 16. Some trills are notated; other ornaments may be added in
performance. Bars 22–23 are a hemiola, where the notated two groups
of three beats are felt as three groups of two beats. This was a common
Baroque device in works in triple time in the bars immediately
preceding a cadence. Bars 23–24 are a perfect cadence using the Ic-V-I
progression and include an anticipation for the final note in the solo
and 1st violins. Since the movement ends in A major, the pedal note
heard in bars 19–21 is a dominant pedal (the note E). Movement 2
(Allegro) Texture This movement is the expected second part of the
French overture, in fugal style. The four-bar subject is introduced by the
solo 1st ripieno 1st violins monophonically. At bar 5 the solo and ripieno
2nd violins enter with the answer (the music of the subject repeated a
fourth lower in the dominant) while the 1st violins play a
countersubject, creating a two-part polyphonic texture. At bar 9 the
solo cello and violas have the subject again, sometimes in unison,
sometimes an octave apart with the violins playing polyphonically and
the continuo playing a simplified version of the subject. At bar 15 the
texture reduces to just soloists and continuo cello (Tasto solo indicates
that the harpsichord does not play), taking bar 3 of the subject and
playing it in imitation half a bar apart. This alternation of solo and tutti
sections continues throughout the movement. At times the writing is
more homophonic, with the violins playing in thirds over a bass line
(e.g. bars 35–36).

Rhythm and tempo

The movement remains at the expected fast tempo throughout, which
together with the fast-moving semiquavers and syncopation, drive the
music forward.
Tonality and harmony
With the preceding movement ending in the dominant key of A major,
this movement returns immediately to the tonic, but with frequent
modulations to related keys, many to the dominant but also to E minor
at bar 31, E major at bar 34 and B minor at bar 44. The mainly
polyphonic texture keeps the movement flowing, but there are frequent
perfect cadences and an imperfect cadence in bar 14. The movement
ends with the same Ic-V-I progression as the first movement. There are
examples of suspensions (e.g. 1st violin bars 18(4)–20(2)) and pedal
notes (e.g. bar 144 onwards).

Melody
Much of the melodic material of the movement is derived from the
opening four-bar subject., which involves a great deal of stepwise
movement. Although the treble melodies do not really feature
sequences, there is a descending sequence in the bass in bars 11–12.
Ornamentation is not marked on the score and the fast tempo means
that there is not always time to add it, but some performances may do
so.

Movement 4 (Largo)
This slow movement includes the oboes and bassoon and alternates
between solo and tutti passages. In tutti passages the 1st and 2nd oboe
and 1st and 2nd solo violins double the 1st and 2nd ripieno violins.
There are frequent examples of imitation (e.g. bars 1–2 between the
solo violins, giving a polyphonic texture, but also homophonic and
monophonic textures (e.g. bars 14(2)–16(1)). In this triple time
movement, there are examples of hemiola before most cadences. The
generally descending line in the violins (in contrary motion with the
bass) adds to the air of sadness created by the slower tempo and the
minor key (the relative minor of B minor) and the use of suspensions.
Trills are frequently indicated. At the end of the movement there is
striking use of silence. The movement ends with a Phrygian cadence: an
imperfect cadence where the bass descends by a semitone. The two
chords involved are IVb–V. This was common in Baroque movements in
a minor key and linked one movement and the next.

Movement 6 (Menuet – un poco larghetto)

It is thought that this movement was added to the concerto just before
publication. It exhibits many typical features of a minuet: triple time, a
moderately fast tempo and sections which are repeated (though there
are more than frequently found in such movements). The wind are still
present (both oboes doubling the 1st violins) and the key has returned
to the tonic of D major. It is tutti throughout, with no separate parts for
the concertino. Terraced dynamics are indicated in the score.

Key Baroque features:

• The continuo
• Major and minor scales
• Ritornello form
• Terraced dynamics
• Pedal notes
• Suspensions
• Polyphonic/contrapuntal textures
• Ornamentation
• An orchestra with a basis of strings and continuo, sometimes with
added flutes, oboes, trumpets, horns or timpani
The works above also provide excellent opportunities for looking at
metre, tempo, harmony and tonality in general.

Wider listening

Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8

‘Christmas Concerto’
Like the Handel, this is a concerto grosso and was the kind of work
Handel used as a model. Possibly composed in 1690, it was published in
1714 after Corelli’s death. The numbering of movements varies (five or
six), depending on how they are separated out. They are at a variety of
speeds and exhibit many typical Baroque features including imitation
and polyphonic textures, suspensions and the circle of fifths.

JS Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D, BWV 1068

This work is one of a set of four, which were called ‘Overtures’ by Bach.
The instruments include oboes, trumpets and timpani, but these are
not used in the famous second movement, often known as ‘Air on a G
string’. As the title ‘suite’ implies, it is a work in several movements:
after an opening overture, with a slow section followed by faster, fugal
music there are four dances.

Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Suite in A minor, No. 3

from Pieces de Clavecin
Published in 1687, this is one of four suites. No. 3 has a prelude
followed by several dances. However, unlike the Bach suite above, this
is for solo harpsichord. There are very frequent ornaments, and the
opening Prelude is improvisatory in style. This work provides examples
of music in binary form and another minuet (to compare with that by
Handel).

Telemann: Trio Sonata in F, TWV 42: F1

This work emphasises the importance of the continuo in Baroque
music: despite the title ‘trio’ and the three separate instrumental parts
in the score, at least four instruments would be required to perform it.
The slower second movement includes pedal notes, while the fast third
movement has terraced dynamics marked at the end.