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Period: 1551 to
Early Baroque
Shift from modality to tonality. Baroque composers began to think of harmony in regards to chordal progressions. Homophony was the new texture but polyphony continued to thrive. -
Period: 1551 to
Caccini
Giulio Caccini was one of the founders of opera, and gave a description of the new style of singing in his book of songs in 1602. He wrote 4 stage works and over 75 arias and songs. -
Period: 1557 to
Gabrieli
Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist who was known for his use of instruments in his sacred music. He composed grand concertos, instrumental music, and 90 motets -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the during the time that Queen Elizabeth I ruled over England and was considered to be the golden age of England. During her reign the fine arts flourished seeing more poetry, drama, and different styles of music. -
Period: 1561 to
Peri
Jacopo Peri was also a founder of opera was claimed to be the first with his Dafne in 1597. He had a significant contribution to monody and recitative style. He composed 20 stage works and 30 songs. -
Period: 1563 to
Dowland
John Dowland was an English or Irish lutenist and composer. He was one of the leading composers of lute music. He was Catholic and served in the court of Denmark. Later in life he was appointed to be one of the Kings lutenists. He composed 3 books of songs, many lute pieces, and sacred music -
Period: 1564 to
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet and he has been an important figure in music from his time to even now. -
Period: 1567 to
Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi was the most important composer of the early Baroque period and was one of the inventors of seconda practica. He composed 8 books of madrigals Vespers, 13 operas, however not all survived. -
Period: 1570 to
Florentine Camerata
Began in the 1570's. It was a group of intellectuals that met to discuss the arts. This group included Caccini, Peri, Girolamo Mei, Vincenzo Galilei. -
Period: to
Gibbons
Orlando Gibbons was an English composer of Anglican Church anthems, a keyboardist, and leading composer of the 17th century. He composed sacred choral music, anthems, and consort music. -
Period: to
Schutz
Heinrich Schutz was the most important German composer of the Middle Baroque. He reportedly wrote the first German opera however it was lost. He composed madrigals and hundreds of choral works. -
Opera
Jacopo Peri wrote the first opera Dafne in 1597. Opera started up in the Baroque period as composers were trying to recreate Greek drama, they mistakenly thought Greek plays were sung all the way throughs which resulted in Opera. -
Jamestown
Jamestown was the first permanent colony set up by the English in the US. However, the people there suffered through awful conditions living in a land that no Englishman had ever settled before. -
Period: to
30 Years' War
The war was a religious conflict primarily fought in England. It is still one of the longest and most brutal wars in history, and started off as a battle among the Catholic and Protestant states that made up the Holy Roman Empire but as time passed it became less about religion and more about who would end up ruling. -
Period: to
Strozzi
Barbra Strozzi was a virtuoso singer and most prolific composer of cantatas in the 17th century. Composed madrigals, cantatas, and arias -
Period: to
Legrenzi
Giovanni Legrenzi was an Italian composer and organist and was influential in Middle Baroque. He used many short arias in his operas. He composed 19 operas, 7 oratorios, and sacred and secular music. -
Period: to
Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully was the establisher of French opera and ballet. Was a dancer and violinist and composed 16 operas, 30 or more ballets, motets, and instrumental works. -
Period: to
Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude was a German organist and composer was the most important organ composer before J.S. Bach and was respected by Bach. He composed 100 or more sacred vocal works, 100 or more organ works, and instrumental works. -
Period: to
Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli was the most important Italian composer of sonatas and concertos and was also the most important violinist of the Baroque. -
Period: to
Middle Baroque
Recitative melodies gave way to more lyrical bel canto arias and solo songs. Melodies were more clearly organized than in periods before. Rhythm became a central element in instrumental music, and dotted rhythms were quite common in many genres. -
Period: to
Torelli
Giuseppe Torelli contributed to the most development to the concerto around 1700. He wrote for trumpet and strings and was a virtuoso violinist. -
Period: to
Purcell
Henry Purcell was the most important English composer of the 17th century. Composed songs, anthems, sacred music, six stage works, incidental music, and keyboard works. -
Period: to
Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an important Italian composer who taught in Naples. His death ends Baroque era. He composed many operas, serenatas, oratorios, arias, hundreds of cantatas, and much more. -
Period: to
Couperin
Francois Couperin was a keyboardist and one of the most important French composers. Composed scared and secular vocal works, chamber music, and 27 ordres of keyboard works. -
Period: to
Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer who laid the foundations for late Baroque instrumental music. He was a pioneer of orchestral music, but basically forgotten at his death. -
Period: to
Telemann
Georg Phillipp Telemann was the most prolific German composer of his day and was more popular than J.S. Bach during the Baroque. He contributed significantly to concert life in Germany. He composed, cantatas, Passions, oratorios, masses, motets, operas, and much more. -
Period: to
Handel
Georg Friedrich Handel was a German musician who lived in England. He was the inventor of the English oratorio, and Beethoven respected him above everyone. He wrote 46 dramatic works, oratorios, odes, Latin and English church music, and much more. -
Aria
An aria is a piece for solo voice with instrumental accompaniment. An aria often exists within a larger work such as operas, oratorio, or cantata. By late Baroque arias were considered opportunities for characters to present musical and emotional displays. -
Period: to
Late Baroque
Melodies were governed by fortspinnung and sequences. Melodies were often long and with continuous development towards a cadence. The basso continuo rhythmically and metrically drove music. Polyphony began to represent the serious church style which homophony was the language of modern style.