Questions tagged [baroque-period]
A time period in Western art music spanning between 1600-1760 CE, approximately.
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Placing the downbeats in this five-bar passage in Bach's Italian Concerto
I am asking about bars 13-19 in the first movement of J.S. Bach's Italian Concerto (BWV 971; sheet music). My ear always hears bar 13 plus the first crotchet of 14 as one extended bar of 3/4 and then ...
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Which type of trumpet is typically used to perform Bach Brandenburg 2
Could anyone explain how to choose what design of trumpet to perform Brandenburg 2 on? I'd expect it to be performed on a Bb piccolo trumpet - but there are three-valve and four-valve piccolos, and ...
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What was the shortest note length commonly used during baroque period?
Eighth and sixteenth notes were obviously common enough. I've also seen some examples of 1/32 and 1/64 (link). Were 1/32 and 1/64 used frequently? And what was the shortest note length commonly used ...
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What is this particular type of chord progression, common in classical music, called?
I don't know anything about music theory but I am a fanatic when it comes to listening to classical music. For a while I have been curious about a type of chord progression which is very common in ...
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5/7b in figured bass
What does 5/7b mean in figured bass?
If it is just a 7th chord in root position, then why is it not just 7b?
In other places in the same score, 7 or 7b are used to denote a 7th chord.
Here is the ...
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Figured bass and ties
How does one play figured bass when the bass line contains ties?
For example, here are the first three measures of Vivaldi's "Filiae maestae Jerusalem" (sheet music source).
Do I understand ...
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Baroque notation question
Here's a snippet from a 1624 facsimile of Juan Arañés' "Libro Segundo de Tonos y Villancicos".
This is a rather syncopated, lively song, with a time signature of C3.
Note values seem to be ...
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Renaissance or Baroque pieces with no instrumentation
I found out today that Michael Praetorius's Terpsichore is written with no indication about what instruments to use. I knew that the Art of the Fugue doesn't have instrumentation either, but I'd ...
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A♭ major 9th chord in Bach is unexpectedly dissonant/jazzy
Measures 21-24 in Prelude VII from Bach's Well Tempered Clavier I
I was looking at the Prelude VII by Bach and noticed that on the measure 23 Bach ended that phrase with a A♭ maj9 chord. I was ...
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What are some nice/clever ways to introduce the tonic's dominant seventh chord?
I'm in C minor and want to modulate to its subdominant key of F minor. One way to do this is to introduce the tonic flat seventh chord C-E-G-B♭, which is the dominant seventh chord of F minor. ...
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Combining forms to make a new musical form
Has there ever been a composer between Baroque and early Romantic periods (within piano literature) who created a new form based on a combination of previously separate forms into a new iteration or ...
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Did Bach use a pendulum clock as a metronome?
The reason I ask is because I have heard say that tempo ordinario is something like 60 bpm. Is it much of a stretch to assume Bach and his contemporaries could have used pendulum clocks as metronomes (...
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Baroque mordent with leading "slur"?
I'm currently studying Bach's Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1052 on the piano and arrived at the second movement. In there, I noticed a mordent that I'm not all too sure how to play. Here's a picture, it's ...
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Two different approaches to the mordent in one piece in baroque? [duplicate]
I've got a question regarding the mordent over the two different notes with different realization in Bach's Partita No.4 Aria (as in the image). The first one starts from a note above while the second ...
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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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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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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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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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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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"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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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