Baroque Music

Question 1

Baroque period dates

Answer 1

1600-1750

Question 2

What is Idiomatic writing?

Answer 2

Writing for specific instrumental capabilities

Question 3

The most important musical lines in Baroque music

Answer 3

Soprano and bass (the other lines filled out the harmony)

Question 4

Writing for specific instruments

Answer 4

Idiomatic Writing

Question 5

Which instruments were favoured by Baroque composers?

Answer 5

Instruments that could vary dynamics and carry a melodic line - eg Violin, high winds (oboe) or play a bass line (eg viol)

Question 6

What are two instruments that were no longer used in the Baroque period?

Answer 6

Shawms and racketts

Question 7

What does a shawm look/sound like?

Answer 7

An oboe. Nasal, high pitched, penetrating

Question 8

What does a rackett look/sound like?

Answer 8

Small, wooden, buzzing, low pitch

Question 9

Baroque style was full of…

Answer 9

Movement and action - filled space (in music, art and architecture)

Question 10

What is figured bass?

Answer 10

A bass line with numbers that indicate the chords to be played above this bass line. 6 = first inversion chord, 6/4 = 2nd inversion chord, nothing = root position chord

Question 11

How big was a Baroque orchestra?

Answer 11

Usually quite small. Could be one per part. Often depended on purpose and size of intended venue (salon in palace or cathedral) could be up to 150 players!

Question 12

What was the make up of a Baroque Orchestra?

Answer 12

Strings, Brass (natrual trumpet and horn) Woodwinds (bassoon, oboe, wooden flute, recorder) percussion sometimes (timpani) Harpsichord often played by the conductor

Question 12

What is a basso continuo?

Answer 12

Two instruments: keyboard (organ or harpsichord), bass (cello, viol, or bassoon). Keyboard ‘realised’ (played/improvised) harmonies. Bass played bass line of the figured bass

Question 13

What is the Doctrine of Affects?

Answer 13

Baroque principle of the union of text/poetry and music. Inherited from Renaissance – “word painting”, where music mirrors words. Usually a single mood or emotion per piece, which is set out in the opening motive. (Contrasts to Classical which has contrasting emotions)

Question 15

What are the three pairs of opposite ‘affects’ making 6 moods in Baroque music

Answer 15

Love - Hate, Joy - Sorrow, Wonder - Desire

Question 16

What musical instruments did Bach play?

Answer 16

Clavier, stringed instruments, voice (chorester) organ

Question 17

When was Bach born and when did he die? What was significant about his family background, given his chosen career?

Answer 17

1685 - 1750 His family were musical

Question 18

Which institution did Bach have a strong affinity for? Give evidence of this.

Answer 18

Church. He played for 2 churches when young and studied biblical studies as well as music.

Question 19

What other institution did Bach work for and in what capacity?

Answer 19

Aristocracy - He worked for two Royal families as Court musician and conductor.

Question 19

How many times was Bach married and how many children did he have

Answer 19

2 x married 17 x children! - many died young.

Question 21

Where was the Church Bach worked for and for how long? What sort of music did he write during this time?

Answer 21

Liepzig 27 years. Wrote lots of church music here.

Question 22

What were some types of music Bach wrote for the organ?

Answer 22

Preludes, Fantasias, and Toccatas.

Question 23

What was a type of Music Bach wrote for solo strings?

Answer 23

The partita

Question 24

Bach Harpsichord/Clavichord works:

Answer 24

The Well Tempered Clavier, Inventions and Sinfonias, Collections of dance suites, Goldberg Variations

Question 25

What was repeated in the Goldberg Variations and how many times?

Answer 25

Bass line - 30 times

Question 26

What is a Concerto Grosso?

Answer 26

BIG Concerto for orchestra and small group of soloists.

Question 27

What is a cantata and how many did Bach write?

Answer 27

A cantata is a sacred vocal work written for church each Sunday - Bach wrote 295

Question 28

Name a bigger orchestral work Bach wrote

Answer 28

Brandenburg Concerto - 6 of them. Example of concerto grosso

Question 29

What large choir and orchestral works did Bach write?

Answer 29

Mass in B minor and the St Matthews and St John’s Passions

Question 30

What is a clavichord and how does it make sound?

Answer 30

A clavichord is a small rectangular keyboard instrument with a soft tone, used especially in private homes from the early 15th to early 19th centuries. Strings struck.

Question 31

What is an organ and how does it make sound?

Answer 31

Has one + sets of pipes, a wind system, and one + keyboards. Pressurized air produced by the wind system passes through pipes to create sound. Stops allow the organist to control which ranks of pipes sound at a given time. Pedals - keyboard played by organist's feet.

Question 32

What is a harpsichord and how does it make sound?

Answer 32

Strings plucked by a 'quill'. Can ‘couple’ keyboards to make sound louder.

Question 33

What is equal temperament?

Answer 33

All twelve pitches within an octave are the same distance from each other

Question 34

What is unequal temperament?

Answer 34

Notes from a key worked out in relation to the first note using a mathematical ratio of 2/3s length. The result: notes are not exactly equal distance from each other. Notes work within a key but changing from one to another is hard.

Question 35

What are the benefits of equal temperament?

Answer 35

Makes it easy to modulate from one key to another

Question 36

What piece did Bach write to celebrate equal temperament?

Answer 36

The Well Tempered Clavier

Question 37

How many pieces were in Bach's 'ode to equal temperament' and what musical form were they in?

Answer 37

24 Preludes and fugues. (48 pieces all together)