🎻Music of the Baroque Unit 4 – Baroque Keyboard Music: Genres & Instruments

Historical Context

• Baroque period in music history spanned from approximately 1600 to 1750
• Characterized by the rise of instrumental music, especially keyboard music
• Keyboard instruments became more advanced and widely available during this time
• Composers began writing more complex and virtuosic pieces for keyboard instruments
• Keyboard music served various purposes, including accompaniment, solo performance, and composition
• Development of keyboard music closely tied to advancements in instrument construction and tuning systems
• Keyboard music reflected the Baroque era's emphasis on ornamentation, improvisation, and emotional expression

Key Composers

• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643), an Italian composer and keyboardist
  • Considered one of the first great composers of keyboard music
  • Known for his toccatas, canzonas, and capriccios
• Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667), a German composer and keyboardist
  • Student of Frescobaldi and influential in spreading the Italian keyboard style throughout Europe
  • Composed suites, toccatas, and ricercars
• François Couperin (1668-1733), a French composer and harpsichordist
  • Member of the prominent Couperin musical family
  • Known for his ornate and expressive keyboard works, including ordres (suites) and character pieces
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), an Italian composer and harpsichordist
  • Composed over 500 single-movement keyboard sonatas
  • His works showcased the technical possibilities of the harpsichord and influenced later composers
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), a German-born composer who worked in England
  • Composed keyboard suites, fugues, and variations
  • Also known for his operas, oratorios, and orchestral works
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), a German composer and keyboardist
  • Considered one of the greatest composers of all time
  • Composed a wide range of keyboard works, including preludes, fugues, suites, partitas, and concertos

Baroque Keyboard Instruments

• Harpsichord, a plucked string instrument with a distinct bright and crisp sound
  • Strings are plucked by quills attached to keys
  • Limited dynamic range, but capable of producing a variety of timbres through stop changes
• Clavichord, a struck string instrument with a soft, expressive sound
  • Strings are struck by metal tangents attached to keys
  • Allows for some dynamic control and vibrato through key pressure
• Organ, a wind instrument that produces sound by forcing air through pipes
  • Can range in size from small positives to large church organs with multiple manuals and pedals
  • Capable of sustaining notes and producing a wide range of timbres through stop combinations
• Fortepiano, an early version of the modern piano developed in the late Baroque period
  • Strings are struck by hammers, allowing for greater dynamic control than the harpsichord
  • Became more prominent in the Classical era but was used by some late Baroque composers

Major Genres and Forms

• Toccata, a free-form composition showcasing the performer's technical skill and improvisational abilities
  • Often features virtuosic passages, rapid runs, and arpeggios
• Fugue, a contrapuntal composition based on a principal theme (subject) that is introduced and developed through imitation
  • Demonstrates the composer's mastery of counterpoint and compositional techniques
• Suite, a collection of dance movements in the same key
  • Typically includes movements such as allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue
  • Composers often added additional movements like preludes, minuets, or gavottes
• Sonata, a multi-movement work for solo keyboard or keyboard with accompaniment
  • Baroque sonatas often featured a slow-fast-slow-fast structure
  • Scarlatti's single-movement sonatas were a notable exception
• Variation, a composition that presents a theme and then a series of variations on that theme
  • Variations could be melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic
  • Composers showcased their inventiveness and technical skill through increasingly complex variations
• Prelude, an introductory piece that establishes the key and mood for a larger work or collection
  • Could be improvisatory in nature or more structured
  • Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier features preludes paired with fugues in all 24 major and minor keys

Performance Practices

• Ornamentation played a significant role in Baroque keyboard music
  • Composers often provided written-out ornaments (trills, mordents, turns) or expected performers to improvise them
  • Ornaments were used to emphasize important notes, create variety, and display the performer's skill
• Improvisation was an essential skill for Baroque keyboardists
  • Performers were expected to embellish and elaborate on written scores
  • Improvisation could include adding ornaments, filling in harmonies, or creating entire sections like preludes or cadenzas
• Articulation and touch were important aspects of Baroque keyboard technique
  • Performers used a variety of articulations (legato, staccato, slurs) to shape phrases and create expression
  • Finger technique and hand position were adapted to suit the requirements of different instruments and styles
• Tempo and rhythm were often flexible and subject to the performer's interpretation
  • Composers provided general tempo indications (adagio, andante, allegro) but expected performers to use their judgment
  • Rhythmic alterations like notes inégales (unequal notes) and over-dotting were common, especially in French music
• Keyboard instruments were often used in ensemble settings
  • Harpsichords and organs frequently provided basso continuo accompaniment for vocal and instrumental works
  • Keyboardists were responsible for realizing the figured bass and supporting the ensemble

Musical Characteristics

• Baroque keyboard music featured a strong emphasis on counterpoint and polyphonic textures
  • Composers explored the interplay of multiple independent melodic lines
  • Fugues and other imitative forms showcased the composers' contrapuntal skills
• Harmony in Baroque keyboard music was based on the tonal system
  • Compositions generally adhered to a single key, with modulations to closely related keys
  • Harmonic progressions often followed patterns like the circle of fifths or the use of sequential patterns
• Rhythm in Baroque keyboard music was characterized by a strong sense of pulse and meter
  • Dance-based movements often featured clear rhythmic patterns and regular phrases
  • Composers used rhythmic devices like syncopation and hemiola to create interest and variety
• Melodies in Baroque keyboard music were often highly ornamented and expressive
  • Composers used techniques like arpeggios, scales, and figurations to create elaborate melodic lines
  • Melodies were often derived from dance rhythms or based on popular tunes of the time
• Baroque keyboard music explored a wide range of emotions and affective states
  • Composers sought to evoke specific moods or characters through their choice of keys, tempos, and musical figures
  • Works like Couperin's character pieces or Bach's expressive preludes aimed to move the listener's emotions

Notable Works

• Girolamo Frescobaldi's "Fiori musicali" (1635), a collection of liturgical organ works
  • Includes toccatas, canzonas, and ricercars
  • Demonstrates Frescobaldi's innovative use of chromaticism and expressive dissonances
• Johann Jakob Froberger's "Suite No. 20 in D Major" (c. 1650)
  • One of the earliest examples of the keyboard suite
  • Features the standard allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue movements
• François Couperin's "Pièces de clavecin" (1713-1730), four books of harpsichord works
  • Includes a wide variety of genres, including dances, character pieces, and programmatic works
  • Showcases Couperin's elegant and ornate style, as well as his use of descriptive titles
• Domenico Scarlatti's "Essercizi per gravicembalo" (1738), a collection of 30 keyboard sonatas
  • Demonstrates Scarlatti's innovative use of hand-crossing techniques, rapid repeated notes, and wide leaps
  • Explores the technical and expressive capabilities of the harpsichord
• George Frideric Handel's "Suite No. 5 in E Major, HWV 430" (1720)
  • Includes the famous "Harmonious Blacksmith" variations
  • Showcases Handel's skill in writing expressive melodies and virtuosic passages
• Johann Sebastian Bach's "The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I" (1722) and "Book II" (1742)
  • Each book contains 24 preludes and fugues, one in each major and minor key
  • Demonstrates Bach's mastery of counterpoint, harmonic exploration, and technical challenges
  • Serves as a pedagogical tool and a testament to the possibilities of equal temperament tuning

Legacy and Influence

• Baroque keyboard music laid the foundation for the development of keyboard technique and composition in later eras
  • Composers like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven built upon the genres, forms, and techniques established by Baroque composers
• The works of Baroque keyboard composers, particularly Bach, have remained an essential part of the keyboard repertoire
  • Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" is considered a rite of passage for pianists and a cornerstone of Western classical music
• Baroque keyboard music has influenced composers across various genres and styles
  • Jazz musicians have drawn inspiration from the contrapuntal techniques and harmonic language of Baroque music
  • Contemporary classical composers have referenced or incorporated elements of Baroque music in their works
• The study and performance of Baroque keyboard music have contributed to the revival of historical performance practices
  • Musicians have sought to recreate the sounds and techniques of Baroque keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord and fortepiano
  • Scholarly research has provided insights into Baroque performance practices, ornamentation, and interpretation
• Baroque keyboard music continues to be celebrated and performed in concert halls, festivals, and educational settings around the world
  • Organizations like the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies promote the study and appreciation of early keyboard music
  • Competitions, such as the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, showcase the talents of young keyboardists specializing in Baroque repertoire