Questions tagged [baroque-period]
A time period in Western art music spanning between 1600-1760 CE, approximately.
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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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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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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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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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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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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 like this:
Is there any real difference between this and a normal violin bow, or is it just cosmetic?
After a quick ...
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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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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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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 ...
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Why are the Goldberg Variations considered a demanding work?
In print, the Goldbergs (Goldberg Variations) have a quasi-legendary status, a hallmark of technical difficulty.
I was perusing the score and it doesn't look terribly intricate for what's possibly a ...
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How much dynamics, tempo fluctuation is acceptable in Baroque music on piano? How to achieve expressivity?
I'm not talking about exaggerated rubato and a deliberate Liberace-style soup of genres, but is it acceptable to add some dynamics and some tiny tempo fluctuations when playing Baroque on piano to ...
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Bach: How is this mordent to be realized? Why do people play it like a trill?
So, the old Invention No. 1 by JSB:
http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/72/IMSLP63611-PMLP03267-Bach_Oeves_Complets_Peters_Liv_7_BWV_772-786_2748.pdf
The B on the 4th beat of the 1st bar ...
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Were the Goldbergs meant to be played in one go?
See, in this very interesting interview (http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/03/16/148769794/why-i-hate-the-goldberg-variations) Jeremy Denk has the following to say:
The piece is eighty ...
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Why did composers of the Baroque sometimes write two of the same dance in a suite?
In Jacquet de la Guerre's Suite No. 3 in A Minor, there are two Courantes.
Later on, in Bach's English Suite no. 1, there are two Courantes, two Doubles, and two Bourées. In fact, all of Bach'...
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What are the characteristics of a Sarabande?
I am playing Bach's English Suite in a minor, and am currently working on the Sarabande. I know it is a slow dance of Spanish origin, but not much else. What are some characteristics of the Sarabande?
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iii9 - I progression in Bach?
In the last of his 15 Sinfonias (aka Three-Part Inventions), Bach uses quite a daring approach to the tonic chord. Occurring in a sequential progression by downward thirds, it can be described most ...
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What does "I Solisti Veneti" mean?
What does Vivaldi mean by "I Solisti Veneti"?
What does the title mean?
There doesn't seem to be a translation I could find of.
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How do I tune my cello to play the second Bach suite(prelude)?
None of the videos on youtube are is concert pitch.
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Suggested text material about Italian baroque composition
As a hobbyist composer who composes in "almost" traditional music styles (baroque-like, classical-like etc.), I am at a stage where I would like to compose authentic music in a specific style.
I have ...
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When were the terms "Major" and "Minor" applied to keys?
In 1547, Heinrich Glarean published Dodecachordon in which he posited that in addition to the 4 existing pairs of church modes (plagal and authentic versions of modes with finals on D (Dorian), E (...
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Parallel Fifths in Pachelbel's Canon in D?
The other day, I was watching a scrolling score of Pachelbel's (in)famous Canon in D on Youtube, when I noticed something interesting. In the excerpt below, shouldn't the the circled notes in the 1st ...
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Baroque music composed in the 21st century
Which characteristically Baroque elements of music composition still have currency in the 21st century? Are there any 21st-century composers or songwriters who still compose primarily or largely in ...
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What does "silonveut" mean?
I am typesetting a Cambini Quartet. In the score for the cello part I see the following phrase:
What does it mean? It appears to say "silonveut".
This is the context (I don't think the piece is ...
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Are instructions on organ stop settings included in the notation of Baroque organ music?
I am currently listening to a collection of Bach's complete organ works for the organ. I love Baroque music and Bach in particular, but I am not very familiar with the organ from the performer's ...
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What are all these symbols in some old sheet music?
Looking at this sheet music of Pietro Antonio Locatelli's "L'arte del violino" Op. 3 we see that the sheet music is pretty old. I have no idea if this is perhaps the original one or not but it does ...
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What instrument is this and why is it held so strangely and played?
Looking at this orchestral performance of sinfonia from Bach's 29th Cantata (BWV 29), it is really curious to see the trombonists (?) holding the horn/trombone with one hand and the way they are ...
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Clarinetist learning baroque recorder
I've seen other questions, such as "Resources for learning to play the recorder" and have done a decent amount of Google searches. Basically, I used to play clarinet rather well, but had to quit due ...
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Confusing passage from The Study of Counterpoint [duplicate]
Here is the passage:
Joseph: I wanted to write a sixth here. But when I studied singing, I learned that fa leads down and mi leads up. Since the progression moves upward from the sixth into a third I ...
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Are repeated octaves permissable in four-part SATB?
I am writing a four-part SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) and wanted to know if repeated (that is, successive) octaves are permissible?
I know that parallel fifths/octaves are not allowed, but what ...
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Name of baroque formation with five musicians (soprano, recorder, violin, viola da gamba, lute)?
I attended a (old) baroque music performance with an ensemble as follows: soprano, recorder, violin, viol (viola da gamba), and lute. The singer stood at the apex of a narrow triangle, furthest away ...
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Baroque Performance Tips
What are some recommendations for performing Baroque music? My studio professor seems to think that I can improvise in the Baroque style as easily as breathing -- which is sadly not true.
The ...
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Recorder type for Telemann's music piece
I notice there are some compositions by GP Telemann for recorder.
I just want to know what type of recorder (alto or soprano) should be used for playing Telemann's pieces.
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Deciding how to articulate Baroque semiquavers
I'm playing a movement (from a Quantz flute concerto) in 2/4 time. There are reasonably lengthy passages of semiquavers with no slurs marked.
I appreciate I want to vary my articulation to make it ...
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J. S. Bach's place in musical history
Was there any reason Bach didn't follow the trends of the times? He was surely very much in touch with contemporary composers, and knew of Handel's and Scarlatti's works specifically. Amazingly, he ...
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Training and Influences of J. S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach is undoubtedly among the most celebrated of Baroque composers, and to many the great composer in all history. The era of the late 17th and early 18th centuries in which he lived, ...
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Why was basso continuo not widely used after the baroque period?
I'm studying a string quartet by Haydn. This (obviously) doesn't have a basso continuo.
Why were basso continuos no longer used in the classical period? Was it something to do with the development of ...
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How much baroque music was derived from improvisation?
I've heard that much music we think of as "baroque" was actually improvised, and only later set in stone. Is this true?
I'm currently playing baroque-style continuo/bass lines in a duo that riffs ...
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What are the shared fundamental components of Baroque and Minimalist music that make them sound similar?
Baroque and minimalist music are two of my favorite genres. In particular, I like the repetitive note sequences with variations. J.-S. Bach's Goldberg Variations and Phillip Glass's Naqoyqatsi are ...
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