Baroque

The Baroque era in music is usually defined as being in existence between the years 1600 and 1750; that is, between the late music of Monteverdi and the deaths of J.S. Bach (1750) and Handel (1759). The word 'baroque' roughly means 'irregular pearl' and it refers in the first instance to the visual arts of the period which are noted for their (sometimes excessive) elaborative nature. In musical terms this was expressed in the various ornamentations used by composers in their work - partly due to the ceremonial nature , both secular and sacred, of a large number of compositions of this period. At the start of the era vocal music predominated, but by the 1750s orchestral and instrumental music were becoming increasingly popular - the concerto form first appears in the Baroque era. The revolutionary work of C.P.E. Bach in instrumental music and Gluck's opera reforms marked the transition from the Baroque to the Classical eras.

Key Works (some examples): J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 - 6, Harpsichord Concertos, Violin Concertos, Cello Sonatas, Art of Fugue, Goldberg Variations, The Well Tempered Clavier, Organ Works, Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin, Cantatas, Mass in B Minor, St, John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Corelli: Concerti Grossi Op. 6, Handel: Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks, Concerti Grossi Op. 6, Messiah, Saul, Solomon, Guilio Cesare, Rinaldo, Serse, Lully: Armide, Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Rameau: Les indes galante, D. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas, Schutz: Christmas Story, Musicalische Exquien (German Requiem), Telemann: Tafelmusik, Vivaldi: Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Trial between Harmony and Invention) Op.8 (inc. The Four Seasons), L'estro armonico Op. 3, La stravaganza Op. 4, Gloria, Juditha Triumphans