S.2 Music. The Baroque Period Caltec S.2

THE BAROQUE PERIOD (1600 -1750) The transition from Renaissance to Baroque musical style began in the late sixteenth century. The poly -choral motets of the Venetian school, with two or more independent choirs juxtaposed to exploit the resulting contrast in color, provided the seedbed for the Baroque notion of conflict. Composers of the Venetian school also employed large performing forces, including choirs of instrumentalists, in their music. This led to the development of concertato style, in wh ich the playing of a soloist or small group of players was contrasted with that of the full ensemble. This style of composition led to the development of the concerto. The concerto, of course, is an instrumental form, and during the Baroque era, instrument al music assumed far greater prominence than previously. An examination of the madrigals of Monteverdi, written over a fifty year period, reveals many of the stylistic changes that signaled the transition from Renaissance to Baroque. Monteverdi's early madrigals (written 1587 -1603) were composed in the style of the high Renaissance. Similar in character to the works of Marenzio in their use of chromaticism, they nevertheless begin a departure from the ideal of equality of voices and moved toward the Baroque notion of soprano - bass polarity. In contrast, his last four books of madrigals (written 1605 -1638) include independent instrumental sections contrasted with choral interludes (concertato style) and increasing use of figured bass. Text was of extreme impor tance to composers of both the Renaissance and Baroque eras. However, the manner in which it was approached differed markedly. The Renaissance ideal was of several independent vocal lines, each with its own inflections and accentuation. In the early to mid seventeenth century, the trend was away from this polyphonic ideal, toward soprano -bass polarity, in which a single melody was …