FAQ
Q: What does 'baroque' mean?
A: Baroque refers to the characteristics of the style of artistic expression occurring in the late 17th and early 18th century. In general, the style involves the use of complex forms, extravagant ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension.
Q: Specifically, what is baroque music?
A: The style of polyphonic music containing elaborate ornamentation and contrasting elements.
Q: Who composed Baroque music?
A: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, etc..
Q: What information is in the dictionary?
A: Baroque (French). Bizarre. Term applied to the ornate architecture of Germany and Austria during the 17th and 18th centuries and borrowed to describe comparable musical developments from about 1600 to the deaths of Bach and Handel in 1750 and 1759 respectively. It was a period in which harmonic complexity grew alongside emphasis on contrast. In opera, intererst was transferred from recitative to aria, and in church music the contrasts of solo voices, chorus, and orchestra were developed to a high degree. In instrumental music the period saw the emergence of the sonata, the suite, and particularly the concerto grosso, as in the music of Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. Most baroque music uses continuo. Note that 18th century writers used 'baroque' in a pejorative sense to mean 'coarse' or 'old-fashioned in taste'.
A: Baroque refers to the characteristics of the style of artistic expression occurring in the late 17th and early 18th century. In general, the style involves the use of complex forms, extravagant ornamentation, and the juxtaposition of contrasting elements often conveying a sense of drama, movement, and tension.
Q: Specifically, what is baroque music?
A: The style of polyphonic music containing elaborate ornamentation and contrasting elements.
Q: Who composed Baroque music?
A: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, etc..
Q: What information is in the dictionary?
A: Baroque (French). Bizarre. Term applied to the ornate architecture of Germany and Austria during the 17th and 18th centuries and borrowed to describe comparable musical developments from about 1600 to the deaths of Bach and Handel in 1750 and 1759 respectively. It was a period in which harmonic complexity grew alongside emphasis on contrast. In opera, intererst was transferred from recitative to aria, and in church music the contrasts of solo voices, chorus, and orchestra were developed to a high degree. In instrumental music the period saw the emergence of the sonata, the suite, and particularly the concerto grosso, as in the music of Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel, and Bach. Most baroque music uses continuo. Note that 18th century writers used 'baroque' in a pejorative sense to mean 'coarse' or 'old-fashioned in taste'.