Renaissance and Baroque

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the concept which is generally considered "Early Music," - the musical styles associated with the Renaissance period, beginning ca. 1450 and ending around 1600, and the Baroque period, commencing ca. 1620 until the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750. The paper shows how these two styles share numerous musical traits which revolve around the application of stable harmony, polyphony and the progressive movement towards humanistic orientation. The paper shows how this contrasts to the musical style of the earlier Medieval period which was dominated by liturgical chant repertories.

From the Paper:

"The harmonic language was at times modal but more often than not was based on chord themes, such as rapid triads interspersed with much tonality. In Bach's case, this was known as the circle of fifths, a harmonic sequence with powerful chord progressions which took on the nature of "sweeping dynamics used for expressive purposes, much like modern-day improvisational techniques" (Masterson 324).
The role of dissonance in Baroque music cannot be downplayed, for it was at
times very influential with its long, drawn-out chordal suspensions characterized by appoggiaturas, or an embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone. The application of seventh chords, ninth chords and on occasion eleventh chords contributed to a vast array of melodic dissonance, often identified by large tonal leaps."

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