The Baroque Period:

• 1600-1750

• use of woodwind and natural brass

• mainly strings

• contrapuntal texture (lots of busy lines)

• major or minor keys and simple harmony

• chamber orchestra

• basso continuo played by harpsichord or organ

• terraced dynamics

• short melodic motifs with plenty of ornamentation

• modulations

• Key composers: Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Pachelbel

Handel’s Coronation Anthems:

• composed during the Baroque Period

• large SATB choir and orchestra

• trumpet fanfares

• organ basso continuo

• homophonic chordal sections of voices and polyphonic sections where imitation is common

• melismatic word setting common in choir parts

• diatonic harmony with clear perfect cadences

Opera:

• large choral work, singers and orchestra

• a story set to music with 3 sections

• types of song are aria, chorus and recitative

Handel’s “Messiah” Oratorio:

• used aria, recitatives (free rhythm, occasional instrumental chords) and choruses

• composed during the Baroque period

• word painting and melismatic wording setting

• polyphonic and homophonic texture

• performed by soloists, SATB choir and orchestra

Solo concerto: (think features of Mozart’s clarinet concerto)

• typically 3 movements which are medium fast, slow, fast

• in the Baroque period it was a group of soloists accompanied by an orchestra

• in the Classical period it became more focused on a virtuosic solo instrument

• featured a cadenza (improvised virtuosic passage)

• had main melodic themes which were repeated and developed

• melodies usually built on scales and arpeggios and are often 4 or 8 bars

• balanced phrasing

The Classical Period: elegance and simplicity

• 1750-1810

• clear, balanced phrasing

• use of perfect cadences

• less complex textures

• bigger orchestra than Baroque

• Key composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert

Classical Symphonies:

• 4 movements

• Symphony orchestra

• timpani tuned to tonic and dominant

• range of textures

• feature main motifs which repeated in each movement

• all the typical features of Classical period

The Romantic Period: drama and expression

• 1810-1900

• wide range of dynamics

• directions such as rubato, dolce, amorose, agitato

• added notes in chords (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths) to create dissonance

• orchestra much bigger, brass instruments got valves

• Key composers: Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Chopin, Verdi

Piano developments during the Romantic Period:

• bigger and louder, more notes

• greater dynamic range

• two pedals (damper and sustain)

• hammers covered in felt to produce a softer tone

Lieder:

• strophic or through-composed

• short melodic motifs

Verdi’s Requiem:

• sung in Latin by a full SATB choir and accompanied by an orchestra