The Aesthetics of the Baroque Period in Music

Historians can’t agree on the meaning of the word ‘Baroque’, but there are two convincing arguments.

1. One argument say that it comes from the Italian barocca, meaning bizzare or strange.
2. Another argument says that it comes from the Portuguese barrocca, meaning an irregularly shaped pearl.

1600-1750 (A year that’s easy to remember following the Renaissance, ending in the year of J.S. Bach’s death)

The ‘filling of space’- Painters, sculptors, and musicians were concerned with filling up the space on their scores and canvas and making their art like an elaborate stage setting
The Baroque Movement was also influenced by:
1. Louis the 16ths palace court in Versailles
(decadence, a symbol of wealth and power)
2. The needs of the churches
(theatrical and emotional qualities would make worship more attractive)

The Baroque Movement in Art-
Artists such as Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt exploited their materials to expand the potential of colours, detail, ornament and depth.

Sir Francis Bacon foreshadowed the entire Baroque phenomenon with the phrase, "There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. [Essays; of Beauty, 1597]"

Strangeness of proportion: aka CONTRAST and EXCESS
Composers chose to use any artificial method they could contrive to manipulate audiences into having a genuine emotional reaction
(Doctrine of the Affections states that animal spirits and vapors continually flow throughout the body that can easily be manipulated by emotional music. Plato, and the Greeks knew of the powerful force that music can have on the human mind.)
• The Birth of Opera- In an attempt to recreate the music of the Greeks, composers noticed that music consisted of a single vocal line with instrumental accompaniment. So they started writing music that way. They also observed that the Greek plays were actually sung. Hence, the birth of opera in 1600-07, with the story of Orpheus, the god who used the power of music to enter Hades.