The Baroque Era and Art

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the era known as Baroque. This era was the time period between 1600 and 1750. The paper discusses how the Baroque era is generally associated with extravagant and ornamented art, music, architecture and styles. According to the paper, "Baroque" means "curious, odd, or strange" in French.

From the Paper:

"Baroque music was the period of musical styles that preceded the Classical Music Era, and followed the music of the Renaissance. The majority of what people today will refer to as "Classical Music" actually originated during the Baroque period. Composers from this period include J.S. Bach, George Friedrich Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Claudio Monteverdi, some of the most commonly known "household names" in Classical Music. Important innovations were made in music of this time period, such as music theory, diatonic tonality, and the development of imitative counterpoint (Wikipedia "Baroque Music"), so while the music of this era, like the visual art, is known for its ornamental showmanship, it is also vitally important to the development of serious Western music. Like Renaissance music, Baroque music uses a lot of polyphony and counterpoint, but in the Baroque era these same concepts were used in a different way as " the order of these consonances becomes important, for they begin to be felt as chords in a hierarchical, functional tonal scheme." (Wikipedia "Baroque Music") The role of ornamentation increased during the Baroque era and then diminished come the following Classical Era, and the role of the counterpoint which was important during the Baroque Era was also faded out when the Classical Era began. Vocal soloists, dramatic music expression, opera, clear and linear melody, development to modern Western tonality using major and minor scales, and homophony are among other features that typify the music of the Baroque era. Music was also an integral part of theater -- such as the introduction and popularity of opera -- and dance which were popular during the Baroque Era."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Baroque." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque>.
• "Baroque Architecture." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_architecture>.
• "Baroque Art." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_art>.
• "Baroque Music." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_music>.
• LaChiusa, Chuck. "Baroque - 1600-1750." Buffallo Architecture and History. 2006. <http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/DCTNRY/b/baroque.html>.

More papers on The Baroque Era and Art:

• Essay # 34787 : "Baroque Music and Art"
• Analytical Essay # 129861 : "Baroque Era Philosophy and Painting"
• Comparison Essay # 65249 : "Comparing the Renaissance and Baroque Eras"

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