Description
The Baroque Era spans about a century and a half, from the dawn of the style around 1600 to its end in 1750. Why is 1750 used so definitively? Because the composer who more than any other single figure both dominated and embodied this period so thoroughly—J.S. Bach—died that year.
Like the forerunning eras of early, medieval, and Renaissance music, “Baroque” is a label that was only given in hindsight; it wasn’t used during that time. The word “Baroque” comes from the word barroco, referring to an irregularly shaped pearl: the prevailing aesthetic of florid, highly ornamented beauty gave inspiration not just to the music of this time period, but to its other art forms as well. (Just think of Caravaggio’s religious paintings or Rubens’ portraits, which also express the Baroque ideals of high drama, subtle nuance, and intensely personal expression.) Baroque composers continued to explore and refine the complex textures of Renaissance music, including heavy use of polyphony and counterpoint.
The Baroque era is the period in which the foundations were first laid for many forms that have enjoyed lasting popularity, including opera, the concerto, the sonata form, and even the idea of the modern orchestra. Indeed, music written for instruments such as the then-new harpsichord, violin, and cello began to outpace the number of compositions written for voice. For wealthy (and, typically, titled) patrons, commissioning music and hiring performers became a primary vehicle for expressing status and celebrating important milestones. For example, new works by Vivaldi were frequently sponsored by courtly patrons, including those of Versailles.
