The Misshapen Pearl
The Baroque Period
The History
The Baroque Period was a changing form of music, the name baroque came for the Portuguese word barocco, "the misshapen pearl." Throughout the era, the music changed constantly. The big connection was that music during this time usually was made specifically for the church or special occasions. The main source of entertainment was music in the aristocratic society.
The Music
Some of the best known composers came from this era, such as Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, etc. Opera became more defined and technical during this time. There are two types of songs in an opera, the recitative and the aria. The recitative was typically was sung to fit the text in the opera, and the aria was a way to show off the performers voice in a beautiful and emotional song.
Some of the composers:
Antonio Vivaldi
He was an Italian composer from Venice. He composed around 500 concertos, 46 sinfonias, 73 sonatas, chamber music, and some sacred compositions. He was connected to the Ospedale della Pieta for most of his life, which was the place he composed for.
George Fredric Handel
Handel was a German composer who is best know for composing the Messiah. He created the work in 24 days. He made a lot of English oratorios, which is how he got such a great reputation, the Messiah is an oratorio.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Bach is also a German composer like Handel. Bach could be considered the most famous composer of the Baroque Era. He was an organist for a church, and was inspired by Vivaldi's works. He composed many concertos and special works, along with string solos.
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Baroque to Classical
The Baroque Era ended around 1750, and the Classical Period began in Western Europe. The Baroque Era inspired a lot of composers in the Classical period. The composers in the classical period took the music styles of the Baroque period and explored the music to meet its full potential.