Feature of Baroque

 The baroque music was active in the 18th century from the 17th century. The feature of the music at this time was that a gorgeous opera had become active.

 



 Vocal music was a center of music in the old days. However, the instrumental music tune has increased because the performances of musical instruments have gone up when becoming a baroque age. Therefore, various musical instruments have been developed. Musical instruments that had been often used were the recorders, viola de gamba^[1], and cembalos. The improvement was added also as for musical instruments that were before. The cembalo is musical instruments that became it in a present piano. The color of the cembalo keyboard is opposite to the piano. However, it went out of use because neither the recorder, viola de gamba nor the cembalo had the room for the improvement when changing at the classical period in the baroque age.

viola de gamba



The cembalo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It is a baroque age that the opera that was the play music arose. The opera was made in Italy. The opera is the performing art that synthesizes literature, the play, the art, and music.



 In the first, it tried to manage to reproduce the play in a Greek age. People were not satisfactory in a chorus of a multi voice alone. Then, it thought the music of the form of accompaniment with musical instruments to be a soloist. However, a Greek play was not researched in detail at that time. It was presented, and it was read aloud, and however, the opera was born though it did not know whether to have been sung the birth very of a Greek play while researching.

 "Euridice" called the first opera was born by Girolamo May who is research music, Rinuccini who is poet, and Peri and Caccini who is composer.

 As for this opera, the harpsichord, the lute, and viola de gamba were used. Afterwards, monte Verdi built the base of the opera. He composed "Orfeo" in 1606. After, the opera has extended to Venice, Rome, and Naples.

 

 As the instrumental music tune developed, it was necessary to match conditions of musical instruments. The rule to adjust pitches of each musical instrument was made. It is a tuning method that is called "Temperament". Andreas Werckmeister establishes this rule. And Johann Sebastian Bach wrote "The Well-Tempered Clavier", and he made this rule known.

 There are "Major key" and "Minor key" in the tonality. The concern for harmony has risen. The music scale of major key and the minor key was considered to be a discord. However, it has been gradually standardized in the baroque age. In around 1680, Johann Pachelbel composed "Canon", and it became an example.

 

 The comparison between the melody and the bass was very valued in this age. It is called a thorough bass to mark the figure that shows harmony, and to supplement and to perform harmony with the keyboard and others improvising.

 

 There are musical historically two important things in the baroque age. The first was born the play music. The second was that instrumental music rises. Thus, the baroque music was constructed.

 

[1]The volumes are smaller than violins. Musical instruments are supported by the leg and played.