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Bach

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role: composer · 90%era: Baroquemovement: Baroque1685–1750

Movement

Baroque music refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transition. Baroque music forms a major portion of the "classical music" canon, and continues to be widely studied, performed, and listened to. Key composers of the Baroque era include Jacopo Peri, who wrote the first operas; Alessandro Stradella, who originated the concerto grosso style; and Arcangelo Corelli, who was one of the first composers to publish widely and have his music performed across Europe.

How this movement sounds

steady pulsebasso continuocounterpointornamentationdance rhythmsterraced dynamics

Baroque listening cues: a steady pulse, energetic rhythmic drive, and lots of repeating patterns and sequences that feel like the music is constantly in motion.

Texture is often built from basso continuo (a bass line plus chords, frequently harpsichord or organ) and counterpoint: several independent lines weaving together (fugue-like thinking even when it's not a fugue).

Baroque expression is often about articulation and rhythm more than massive crescendos. Dynamics can be terraced (step-like) and the emotional character is often sustained rather than dramatically 'swung' every few bars.

Listen for dance rhythms in suites (courante, sarabande, gigue) and for how harmony supports long, flowing lines: tension is created by rhythmic drive and line-shape, not by sudden harmonic shocks.

If you're new to the sound: try following just the bass line (continuo). When you can hear that steady foundation, the rest of the counterpoint becomes much easier to 'read' by ear.

How Bach sounds

counterpointdance rhythmssteady pulseornamentssequences

Baroque music often sounds rhythmically steady and patterned, with repeating figures and clear harmonic direction.

You will frequently hear counterpoint (multiple independent lines) and dance-derived pulses underneath the surface.

Ornamentation (trills, turns) tends to decorate the melody, and intensity builds by layering lines rather than by sudden harmonic shocks.

Wikipedia

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S.Wikipedia

21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orchestral Brandenburg Concertos; solo instrumental works such as the cello suites and sonatas and partitas for solo violin; keyboard works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schübler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and choral works such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor.Wikipedia

He is known for his mastery of counterpoint, as heard in The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue. Felix Mendelssohn precipitated the Bach Revival with a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829.Wikipedia

Ever since, Bach has been known as one of the greatest composers of classical music. The Bach family had already produced several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician, Johann Ambrosius, in Eisenach. After being orphaned at age 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph, then continued his musical education in Lüneburg.Wikipedia

In 1703 he returned to Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. Around that time he also visited for longer periods the courts in Weimar, where he expanded his organ repertory, and…Wikipedia

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Study resources & scores

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Lecture 13. Fugue: Bach, Bizet and Bernstein

Yale (YouTube) · lecture · youtube, transcript

Open transcript Open source

Lecture 16. Baroque Music: The Vocal Music of Johann Sebastian Bach

Yale (YouTube) · lecture · youtube, transcript

Open transcript Open source

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