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Period: 1567 to
Claudio Monteverdi
An Italian composer trained in the Renaissance style, also adept at composing "modern" music. He used dissonances in his music for text expression. -
Period: to
Francesca Caccini
Soprano and the daughter of Giulio Caccini. She was the first woman to compose operas. -
Dafne
The first opera, composed by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri. -
Invention of Opera
Invented by Peri and Giulio Caccini in Florence, Italy. -
Euridice
First extant opera, composed by Caccini and Peri -
Period: to
Early Baroque
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Establishment of the Dutch East India Company
A multinational corporation founded by a government-directed consolidation of several rival Dutch trading companies. It is believed to be the largest company to ever have existed in recorded history. -
L'Orfeo
An opera composed by Monteverdi, libretto by Alessandro Striggio. -
Establishment of the Jamestown Settlement
The first successful permanent English settlement in what would become the United States. The settlement thrived for nearly 100 years as the capital of the Virginia colony; it was abandoned after the capital moved to Williamsburg in 1699. -
Period: to
The Thirty Years War
A conflict fought largely within the Holy Roman Empire from 1618 to 1648. Considered one of the most destructive wars in European history, estimates of total deaths caused by the conflict range from 4.5 to 8 million, while some areas of Germany experienced population declines of over 50%. -
Period: to
Barbara Strozzi
Studied under Francesco Cavalli at the Accademia degli Unisoni. She published eight sets of songs, each dedicated to a different person. Most poems were written especially for her songs. -
Teatro de San Cassiano opens
The first public opera theater opened in Venice. -
The Coronation of Poppea
The final opera composed by Italian composer Monteverdi. Composed when was 75, it was based on mythology and premiered in Venice. -
Period: to
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. One of the most important composers for the violin, especially in the instrument’s early years. Wrote Catholic sacred music, violin sonatas, and ensemble music. -
L'astratto
The Distracted One, a cantata composed by Strozzi. Showcases text painting using chromaticism. -
Period: to
Middle Baroque
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Period: to
Arcangelo Corelli
The master of the Trio Sonata, he made clear distinctions between the different types of sonatas. -
Period: to
Henry Purcell
Singer, organist, composer of instrumental and vocal music. He worked in the court of Charles II when stage plays were again allowed. -
English Restoration
End of commonwealth of England & return of monarchy. -
Period: to
Alessandro Scarlatti
The father of composer Domenico Scarlatti. A teacher in Naples; many of his students helped create the new classical style. His death marks a better indicator of the end of the Baroque than does Bach’s in 1750. -
Period: to
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de le Guerre
A French musician, harpsichordist and composer. She was called "the wonder of our century." -
Period: to
François Couperin
A French composer, organist, and harpsichordist. -
Sonata No. 1
Mid-Baroque violin sonata composed by Biber. The opening Praeludium is for violin and basso continuo; the violin part uses a virtuosic style similar to that of solo vocal singing. -
Period: to
Antonio Vivaldi
Music director at the Pieta, an orphanage for girls in Venice. He composed many operas, sacred music, and instrumental works. He was very popular during the height of his career (1720s). Considered the greatest master of the Baroque concerto. -
Period: to
Georg Philip Telemann
A German composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. -
Period: to
Jean-Joseph Mouret
One representative composer from this French court: served the son of King Louis XIV. Composed operas, suites, and “grand divertissements [entertainments]”. -
Period: to
Domenico Scarlatti
A keyboard virtuoso, he served Spanish and Portuguese royal families. He had a progressive style and was aware of his modern flare. He wrote over 500 sonatas for harpsichord, operas, cantatas, and keyboard exercises. -
Period: to
George Friedric Handel
A German composer known for orchestral suites such as Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music. He lived in England and wrote Italian music. -
Period: to
Johann Sebastian Bach
A German composer and musician. He is known for his orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos. He is undisputedly the greatest master of the fugue. -
Period: to
John Gay
An English playwright and poet, he invented the Ballad Opera. -
Dido and Aeneas
An opera composed by Henry Purcell with libretto by Nahum Tate. -
Clarinet Invented
Johann Christoph Denner invented the clarinet by modifying the chalumeau. -
Piano Invented
Bartolomeo Cristofori is credited with the invention of the modern piano. He switched out the plucking mechanism of the harpsichord with a hammer. -
Period: to
Late Baroque
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Water Music
Composed by G.F. Handel, performed for a royal party on the Thames River in London on July 17, 1717. 22 movements -
Le Quattro stagioni
The Four Seasons; a cycle of four violin concertos. Showed word painting in instrumental music; each concerto is accompanied by a poem that we believe he wrote. An example of programmatic music -
The Art of Fugue
An incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, The Art of Fugue is the culmination of Bach's experimentation with monothematic instrumental works.