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Part 3
The Baroque Era
1600 1750
Part at a Glance
The Baroque Era
Projecting Cultural Power through Music
Chapter 16 Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 in F Major,
BWV 1047, finale
Timeline: The Baroque Era
The Splendor of the Church
Chapter 15
Chapter 17 Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantata 140, Awake, a Voice Calls to Us,
selections
Opera, Oratorio, and the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Part Objectives
After reading the part opener, students should be able to:
3.2 Explain how music projected cultural power for both the court and the church
during this period.
3.3 Describe the rise of opera and oratorio as entrepreneurial enterprises.
the Baroque period.
MyMusicLab Resources
Timeline: The Baroque Era
A Closer Look: The Baroque Opera House
Chapters at a Glance
Chapter 10 Claudio Monteverdi, Orpheus, selection from Act II
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Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons
Chapter 15
Part Summary
The art and music of the Baroque Era has been characterized as extravagant and even
bizarre, and with these adjectives comes a style that is full of energy and emotion,
ornamentation, and extremes. Musicians sought to move their audiences by artfully
portraying emotion, relying on an idea of the affect one particular emotion inherent
in each piece.
Part 3 touches on the use of music to project cultural power and promote heads
of state (noting George I, Louis XIV, and the Margrave of Brandenburg, with particular
Finally, the Baroque Era saw the rise of the soloist and of the orchestra, both of
which are examined in Part 3. Chordal accompaniments made possible a solo repertoire
that articulated the ideals of Baroque music (especially in dramatic representations of
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Chapter 10
Claudio Monteverdi
Orpheus, selection from Act II
Chapter at a Glance
Listen to This First
Homophonic Texture: One Character, One Voice
Word-Music Relationships: Between Speech and Song
Connect Your Playlist: Recitative
Chapter Objectives
After reading the chapter and listening to the work, students should be able to:
10.2 Define basso continuo and its significance in homophonic texture.
10.4 Distinguish between homophonic and polyphonic settings of the text by listening to
Orpheus.
10.6 Identify the difference between the older style of the prima prattica and the newer
style of the seconda prattica.
Key Concepts
homophony, basso continuo, recitative, word painting
Chapter Highlight: Early Baroque Opera
The new texture of homophony a single melodic voice with accompaniment helped
create the new genre of opera. Homophony enabled singers to portray individual
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Chapter Summary
When the philosophers, musicians, and poets known as the Florentine Camerata got
were reviving an ancient Greek synthesis of music and drama. The story of Orpheus a
singer so gifted he could persuade the guardians and gods of the underworld with his
singing Orpheus was not the first
opera, but it is the most famous of the early ones. He incorporated various styles that
were current in the earliest years of the seventeenth century to produce a dramatically
effective and moving dramatic work that was sung the entire way through.
Listening Guide
Orpheus included in Chapter 10 begins with the
when he learns that Euridice has died. Students can clearly hear the solo voice and
MyMusicLab Resources
Animated Notation: Homophonic Texture: One Character, One Voice
Automated Listening Guide: Claudio Monteverdi: Orpheus, selection from Act II
Chapter Audio: Chapter 10
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Discussion Topics and Critical Thinking Questions
1. When opera emerged around 1600, the morality plays of the Middle Ages had been
forgotten. What do you think may have contributed to the forgotten synthesis of
poetry and music? Why were the poets, musicians, and philosophers who met in
2. Considering the fact that Monteverdi wrote his early opera Orpheus for a private or
court performance, why do you think that he used Greek mythology as the foundation
for the story line? Do you think that a mythological story line would be just as
successful in a public opera house?
Activities and Exercises
were they different from what we would see in an orchestra pit today?
Orpheus. Make
connections between what students see in the artwork and what they hear in the
Journaling Prompt
The story of Orpheus is an obvious one for an opera a man who sings so well he gets to
visit the land of the dead and bring his wife back. Pretend you are an opera composer
and you need an opera libretto. What story would you choose and why?