Glossary

Patronage	During the baroque era the aristocratic courts, in addition to the churches, were patrons of the arts. Secular classical music was abundant, performed mostly for the courts and the upper class.



Textures	One of the first developments in the baroque period was the emphasis on harmonic or chordal writing (homophonic texture), with one predominant melody and subordinate lines or an accompanient (harmonic background). This was a change from the older style of composition that emphasized the combination of two or more equal melodic lines (polyphonic texture). Composers still wrote polyphonic music, but many now created music with homophonic texture, an essential ingredient in the development of opera. By the late baroque, it was common to use polyphonic textures in instrumental and keyboard music as well as sacred choral works.



Polyphony	Two or more melodies



Fugue	An imitative polyphonic composition that originated as a keyboard genre during the baroque period. It is, however, a compositional technique used during and since the baroque in both choral and instrumental music. A fugue is built on a single theme whose entrances appear imitatively in several voices (melodic lines at different pitch levels), usually three or four, and then are developed in a intricate contrapuntal interplay.



Major and minor tonality	The basis of composition shifted from the system of church modes (modality) and to major-minor tonal system (tonality)--the system of scales and keys that produces the sounds with which most of us are familiar. This is the system of the tonic, (the chord or rest) and the dominant, (the chord of movement). The tonal system allows for diatonic writing (notes in the key) and additional color and modulation through chromatic or altered tones (notes outside the key). Much baroque music is diatonic.



Continuo	A technique for providing a harmonic basis in the new homophonic music of the baroque period. It was a style of accompanient for a singer or one or two solo instruments. The bass line provided the underlying structure for the harmonies, and it usually was played on a cello. The chords were not completely notated and were improvised on a keyboard instrument, usually a harpsichord. The performer determined what chords to play from the bass line and the figured bass. The figures were numbers below certain notes of the bass line that served as amusical shorthand to indicate the harmonies.



Word painting	Word painting began during the Renaissance as composers realized that music could convery the moods and meanings of a text, expressing a wide range of ideas and feelings. During the baroque period, the interest in word painting became more pronounced and the technique became more sophisticated. Composers went to great lengths to depict not only specific images but also the emotions of a text, to mirror the text in the music as literally as possible.



Instruments	For the first time in Western music, instruments became equal in importance to the voice, for composers and for listeners. Orchestras were made up of instruments similar to those of today, but there was no standard set of instruments or instrumentation. The baroque orchestra was not as large or as varied as the modern symphony orchestra, and the instruments generally were smaller and quieter than their modern counterparts. The primary instruments were the violin family plus trumpets, oboes, and flutes. The lute was a popular plucked instrument, and the primary keyboard instruments were the harpsichord and the organ. The fortepiano, the forerunner of the modern piano, had been invented but was not well enough developed to be widely used during the baroque period.



Concerto and concerto grosso	A three-movement work for solo instrument and orchestra that emerged during the baroque period and has been a common instrumental genre ever since. The concerto grosso was an important genre of this period that featured a small group of soloists with orchestra. The arrangement of the movements is fast-slow-fast. Many concertos since the baroque era include a cadenza, an unaccompanied passage in free rhythm in which the soloist displays his or her greatest virtuosity.



Overture	A festive opening to an opera or other musical stage production. It sets the tone, sometimes identifies principal themes and characters, and prepares an audience for the opening scene. Overtures have become popular concert pieces, sometimes achieving popularity and subsequent performances where the stage production did not. Because of this popularity, many composers have composed overtures as independent concert pieces. In the baroque era, the French overture was a popular instrumental genre, and in the romantic period, the concert overture assumed even greater popularity.



Dance suite	A multimovement work for keyboard or orchestra. It includes contrasting, stylized dances popular in the baroque period. The principal ones are the allemande, courante, sarbande, and gigue.



Sonata and trio sonata	Since the classical era, a multimovement work for piano or for a solo instrument with piano. The typical order of movements is fast, slow, dance, fast. In the baroque period, the sonata was a multimovement work written for a solo instrument and continuo, and the trio sonata was written for two solo instruments and continuo.



Chamber music	Works for solo instruments performing together in small ensembles, such as a string quartet, a woodwind quintet, or a piano trio. Each part is played on one instrument (no doubling). In the classic era, the string quartet (first and second violins, viola, and cello) became the standard chamber music genre. The quartet typically was a four-movement work with a fast-slow-dance-fast pattern, although many exceptions to this pattern exist.



Keyboard works	Important single-movement keyboard compositions of the baroque were toccatas, preludes, fantasias, and fugues; they were written for either the harpsichord or clavichord (forerunners of the piano) or the organ. The toccata and prelude were improvisatory in character, sometimes having a contrapuntal middle section and sometimes paired with a fugal composition in a performance. The fantasia was a larger, more complex work that might present a series of contrapuntal variations on a single theme. The fugue is a compositional technique that may be used within any composition, but it often describes the structure of an entire piece. A fugue is an imitative contrapuntal form built on one or two themes. Other important keyboard works include: the chorale prelude, an organ work based on a chorale tune that serves as a theme for a set of variations; the passacaglia and chaconne, both of which use a repeated bass line (ground bass, or basso ostinato) as the basis of the composition; and the dance suite.



Cantata and oratorio	A cantata is an extended solo or choral work that flourished during the baroque era. It was intended for the German Lutheran worship service, although some cantatas have secular texts. Chorale cantatas, particularly those by J.S. Bach, include harmonized chorales, polyphonic choruses, arias, recitatives, solo ensembles, and instrumental accompaniment. An oratorio is an extended, sacred choral work intended for concert performance. It emerged during the baroque era and has been a common genre since. It is of large proportions, lengthy (many lasting up to three hours), and dramatic in nature, sometimes including the character of a narrator as a soloist. Polyphonic choruses, arias, recitatives, solo ensembles, and orchestral accompaniment are common components of oratorios.



Chorale	Originally a hymn tune of the German Lutheran Church sung by the congregation in unison and in the German (rather than Latin) language. It was an outgrowth of the Reformation and the rise of the Protestant Church. Chorale tunes, especially during the baroque era, were used as the basis for other compositions: they were harmonized in four-part settings for singing by choirs and congregations; they were used as the basis of sacred polyphonic compositions for trained choirs; and they formed the basis of organ pieces known as chorale preludes.



Aria and recitative	An aria is a lyrical song found in operas, cantatas, and oratorios. It may comment on the text presented in a recitative that preceded the aria. A recitative is a vocal solo in opera, cantatas, and oratorios that declaims the text in a sung-speech manner, in free rhythm with minimal accompaniment, so that all listeners can understand the words. It frequently introduces an aria.



Opera	A dramatic stage production that involves soloists who sing arias and recitatives, solo ensembles, choruses, dancing, dramatic action, costumes, staging, and orchestral accompaniment. It began at the beginning of the baroque era and evolved into a genre that continues in popularity throughout the Western world, particularly in Italy.



Composers: Bach and Handel	Johann Sebastian Bach was a master of baroque forms and genres, realizing their fullest potential. His organ music continues to be among the best of organ literature. His tonal counterpoint in choral music, chord progressions in chorale harmonizations, and fugues for keyboard instruments have been and continue to be studied, perhaps more than those of any other composer. Among Bach's most important attributes was his phenomenal grasp of the technique of composition, particularly n his mastery of the grand art of polyphony and the newer art of tonal harmony. George Frideric Handel was a native of Germany who mastered the Italian musical style, particularly in opera, and achieved his most notable successes during the nearly 50 years he spent in England. Initially, he was known as a composer and producer of Italian operas in England, but his most lasting fame was as a composer of oratorios. His best-known work is, of course, Messiah. Handel is also well-known for his instrumental music in virtually all the usual baroque forms, notably concerto grossos; harpsichord suites; organ concertos; and two orchestral pieces, Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks. Handel composed for a wide audience and became a master in the grand style of the late baroque.

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