Questions tagged [baroque-period]
A time period in Western art music spanning between 1600-1760 CE, approximately.
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Should I practice some J.S. Bach for piano technique and where should I start?
I want to know if playing J.S. Bach would improve my overall piano technique. I look for pieces that help me to become better. I usually play romantic composers. I have played pieces such as
Chopin'...
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2answers
44 views
How to realize the figured bass of the second movement of BWV 1014?
I am planning a performance of the second movement of Bach's violin sonata BWV 1014 in B Minor. The beginning of second mvt, Allegro is shown below.
As you can see there are some figured bass below ...
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2answers
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What does the plus (+) ornament mean?
I am learning a baroque piece on the recorder. Some notes have an unusual ornamentation symbol. How is a note with a plus sign over it played? It was suggested to play it as a mordent. Is that correct?...
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I wrote a subject for a fugue which I wanted to write. Is it adequate? [closed]
Hi, I'm having trouble writing a fugue. I wrote this subject and also two different counter-subjects, but I'm not sure how to really introduce all the voices for the exposition. Is the subject two ...
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2answers
60 views
Are Baroque Bassoons more difficult to play?
In an article introducing The Breaking Winds Bassoon Quartet, it mentions that
The muffled, dark-sounding bassoon of the baroque era was so hard to
play in tune that composers didn't write solos ...
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0answers
49 views
Difference between baroque and classical keyboard concertos
I'm trying to compare a Baroque Harpsichord Concerto with a Classical Piano Concerto. But I'm just wondering in what aspects that the Baroque Concertos influenced the Classical Piano Concerto. I am ...
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1answer
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Who copied who, and why?
In the Baroque era we have Bach and Telemann.
Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D Major and Telemann's Viola Concerto in G Major: Presto sound the same.
What's up with that?
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1answer
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“Row, row, row your boat” and Telemann's Concerto in B Flat TWV44:43
Does the same rhythm from "Row, row, row your boat" copy the ending of Telemann's Concerto?
It appears lots of music copied the style of the Baroque era.
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121 views
Why does the conductor also play harpsichord when there is already a harpsichordist in the orchestra?
When listening to Baroque chamber music, it is not uncommon to see the harpsichordist or the soloist being also the conductor.
However, there were two harpsichords in this concert, one dual manual ...
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1answer
142 views
Is this entire movement by Bach really only a single measure with just two chords?
I'm spending a lot more time with early music, and as I was studying the score to J. S. Bach's third Brandenburg Concerto, I encountered something unexpected: an entire Adagio movement that's only one ...
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2answers
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Did Bach use the Partimento technique?
I was researching techniques used in classical improvisation. And I keep coming across two terms. One is "Partimento". Which is an Italian method of improvising on a bass line. Another is "The Rule of ...
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1answer
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A question regarding transposition and fugal answers
Is it compulsory to introduce the answer of a fugue at +5 or -4 scale degrees relative to the home key? I'm not asking whether it's necessary to transpose the answer; my question is whether ...
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1answer
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Does basso continuo make it unnecessary to have a Director?
I was watching a baroque violin concert on Youtube and there was one person in the comments section talking about the uselessness of having a Director, since the concert included a basso continuo.
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3answers
275 views
What is this old time signature (2 with a vertical line through it)?
On the fourth line of page 5 of the score of Fasch's Ouverture-Suite in F major, one reads a time signature that is the number 2 with a vertical line through it:
What does it mean? I know some '...
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3answers
173 views
What is the historically informed way of playing the 1/16 notes in Handel's Water Music suite no. 1 overture?
Handel's Water Music suite no. 1 starts with a slow overture with 1/16 notes at the middle and end of each measure:
Some performances play it "as written" [Koopman], but some play the 1/16 notes ...
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2answers
200 views
Functional analysis of chorale 'Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe' BWV 244/46
I did some analysis of the chorale 'Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe' (from Matthew Passion BWV 244 no.46), see below. But how would I analyse the first chord in measure 2? Obviously, it's an E ...
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2answers
225 views
Are suites still danced to today? [closed]
I looked up ballroom dances and these were the recognized ones in America.
Ballroom Dances
Waltz
Tango
Foxtrot
Viennese Waltz
Quickstep
Rumba
Samba
Cha Cha
East Coast Swing
...
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1answer
127 views
Piano: how to play (arpeggios in) music written for harpsichord
I'm playing Bach's Partita for harpsichord BWV 830 on piano (I don't play harpsichord), but this is a more general question really for other Bach keyboard music and also any keyboard music that was ...
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2answers
111 views
In the baroque period, did soloists play all the way through concertos?
In most recordings of baroque concertos that I've heard, the soloist plays straight through without stopping, especially in the first movement. While there are marked solo sections where the soloist ...
8
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3answers
175 views
In which music should I add my own embellishments?
I know that music from the baroque era was composed with the assumption that performers would add their own embellishments (when viable, not for canons or fugues). I've also heard that Mozart didn't ...
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3answers
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Important composers in transitional eras
I understand Beethoven (and Schubert) to be very important composers in the transition from the Classical Era to the Romantic, such that they could be considered the first Romantic composers.
Are ...
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2answers
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Determining dynamics of individual parts in music group
I have been lately wondering how to determine dynamics of individual parts in music group. As we all know sheet music many times doesn't provide all dynamics and phrasing.
It seems obvious to me, ...
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2answers
319 views
Is the Baroque Schleifer, slide, or glissando symbol evolved from the Gregorian chant quilisma?
I posted this question on Wikipedia a year ago, with no answers. These two musical signs look eerily similar.
The Baroque Schleifer or slide (see Wikipedia page):
The quilisma in Gregorian chant (...
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2answers
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Define Apoggiato
I came across this term, Apoggiato. In baroque music, is understand that this means the notes of a piece marked thus should be quite smoothly connected, almost portato.
The Online Musical Dictionary ...
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0answers
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Bach's keyboard concertos on fortepiano?
It is known that J.S.Bach was acquainted with the fortepiano at least twice in his life, in 1726 when he played one of Silbermann's experimental models (and mildly criticized it), and toward the end ...
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1answer
108 views
Is there a standard non-Fux counterpoint method?
The OP for this question refers to a rule for second-species counterpoint which isn't mentioned in Fux's Gradus ad Parnassum. The answer confirms it, and adds yet another rule, referring to "strict ...
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3answers
304 views
Baroque keyboard music
I'm playing Bach French suite no.5 in G major BWV 816 for ATCL diploma exam. This suite was composed in Baroque period, so should I play staccato on each notes? Should I use a bit pedal? Because the ...
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3answers
856 views
The Basso Continuo and the Jazz Rhythm Section
I've seen many musicologists compare the Basso Continuo of the Baroque Era to the Jazz Rhythm Section, an analogy which I think is valid and understandable. Here's one reference (of many) that I ...
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1answer
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What's so important about Venice in the Baroque period?
Many famous Baroque musicians and composers, for example Vivaldi, were children of Venice and did their work there.
What other reasons are there for Venice being a great spawning ground for Baroque ...
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1answer
117 views
Bach Double Variation from Partita 1 for Solo Violin
Has any credible musicologist explained that the double variations in Bach's Partita 1 for solo violin are a variation on the entire harmonic progression from the last movement and not just the bass ...
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3answers
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What is Sanz's tablature for the baroque guitar?
Gaspar Sanz had a tablature system for the baroque guitar which features a mapping between alphabetical letters and chords. From the linked page:
Sanz's tablature is remarkable in that it is ...
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2answers
107 views
Breaking doublestops for Baroque music
As a baroque violinist, I encounter double, triple and quadruple stops, like in Bach, Telemann, and Biber, and I want to articulate them correctly. I am looking for advice on how to break them, and ...
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4answers
826 views
MIDI keyboard action for harpsichord practice
I'm a former pianist who would like to own and play an acoustic grand harpsichord one day, but until i finish school and have a more permanent living situation that will be neither practical nor ...
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3answers
496 views
What led to the historical predominance of the four-part harmony in Western Music?
Introductory music theory heavily empasizes analysis and writing of music with four-part harmony, putatively the basis for music at the beginning of the common practice. Why did four-part voice ...
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1answer
65 views
What was the purpose of Jean Adam Guilain's Organ Suites?
I'm looking for context for these pieces, as I am about to play the Suite of the Second Tone in recital. Guilain wrote these Suites, and whenever I hear recordings of them, each movement begins with a ...
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1answer
153 views
Different approaches to Latin pronunciation in Early Music
I know there are several different ways to pronounce Latin. I think no one sings classical music using Classical Latin pronunciation in which, for instance, "c" is pronounced as /k/. I believe the ...
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8answers
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Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D: Why do some recordings seem to be in C sharp?
There are at least two recordings on Youtube of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major which seem to be played a half-step lower, in the key of C sharp. I assume this is a artifact of the ...
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1answer
674 views
How was sonata form innovative? [closed]
I'm just confused about why sonata form was innovative in the classical era, compared to the baroque era? was the structure used in the baroque era less organised??
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1answer
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Are there parallel octaves in L. Couperin's prelude, Suite in A minor?
Are there doublings or parallel octaves, especially with regard to the first several measures, in Louis Couperin's prelude "à l'imitation de Mr. Froberger", from the Suite in A minor?
I would also ...
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4answers
493 views
What is the motif used in many chaconnes in the 17th century?
Wikipedia says that a chaconne is a musical composition involving variations on a harmonic progression or melody (motif), similar to the passacaglia. In essence, it is a musical form. The motif is ...
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2answers
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Orchestra recordings only in piano concertos [duplicate]
I have been thinking about doing a piano recital on my party in July and planned on doing Bach harpsichord concerto no.1, but there aren't any recordings of the orchestra only. Do any of you know how ...
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1answer
642 views
Musical “ellipsis mark” (name & usage of this symbol)
I've been seeing this mark for years, usually in historical (e.g. Baroque) manuscripts, and it's meaning is clear to me. It's a sort of W-shaped squiggle with a tail that (usually) comes at the end of ...
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4answers
221 views
Does anyone have any sources I could use to talk about who influenced Bach?
I am writing an essay about the synthesis of music theory Bach used to create his own music theory, especially in his fugal works. Any help would be appreciated, but if people could provide sources ...
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4answers
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Did baroque composers think of ritardando on their compositions?
I've been always told that whenever I play any baroque piece on the piano, I should take special care when attending to, for example, the amount of right pedal I should use. It sounded perfectly ...
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2answers
554 views
What musical instruments JS Bach owned and had purchased during his career? [closed]
What musical instruments JS Bach owned and had purchased during his career? Is there any historical information on Handel, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Scarlatti, Corelli, Tartini?
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1answer
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Good books for learning how to play the Baroque flute?
I'm looking for good books on learning the Baroque flute, and I already play the modern Boehm flute.
I already have Method for the One-Keyed Flute, are there other recommended books?
Edit:
Modern ...
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3answers
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Difference between a baroque violin bow and a normal violin bow
I just came across a baroque violin bow while browsing for strings, which looks something like this. I wondered if there is any difference between a bow of this kind and a normal bow. After a quick ...
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3answers
497 views
Counterpoint without a leading tone?
In minuet in A minor by Johann Krieger, it doesn't have a major 7th going to the octave, but it has the fifth going to the tonic and the tonic playing an octave above on both notes. Is this a common ...
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3answers
181 views
Which source for Scarlatti K208? Can I mix and match versions?
I'm working on Scarlatti's K208.
The Dover edition includes variants from the Codice Veneziano (C.V.), Codice Santini (C.S.) and from the London original edition (E.O.). The first picture shows a ...
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3answers
569 views
Did baroque composers expect you to “bring out” the voices in their pieces, the way today's critics seem to enjoy in players?
So, I recently had a, sadly, way too short conversation with a pianist on the train.
According to the guy, in the 17th and 18th century polyphonic keyboard works were not played in such a way that ...
