Baroque and the Classical Era

Brayden Williams

The Baroque and Classical Era

Music has many characteristics and aspects that people find enjoyable. These things can all be traced back to the “olden” days when music was but a young thing and those who created it were pioneers of their day. These periods, which took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, are called the Baroque era and classical periods. While they may seem identical to the untrained eye, they are in fact extremely different and the progress made during this time has given us what we know to be music today.

Beginning around the year 1600, there was influx of new art in what we call the Baroque era. This music was very extravagant and gave composers an opportunity to express ideas, emotions, and feelings in their work. A characteristic of the Baroque era was the extreme contrast of volume, texture, and pace in the music. Some composers of this time were, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi. Claudio Monteverdi contributed greatly to the beginning of the Baroque era. He composed many sacred and secular pieces but his most notable composition was called Orfeo, Orfeo was based on the greek myth of Orpheus. He also composed Arianna, which was extremely successful due to its extreme use of emotion. Some new instruments were introduced during this time period, one of which was the harpsichord. The harpsichord was an instrument that loosely resembled a piano. It could not however play notes in varying degrees of volume. Many instruments were used in this time period. The main instruments were that of the stringed group. This group consisted of Violins, violas, cellos, stringed basses, and the harpsichord. The Baroque period effectively ended with the death of Sebastian Bach in 1750.

The classical era began when the Baroque period ended. Although the Classical Era lasted for only 70 years, there was a drastic change in the music that was being made. It placed a more emphasis on melodic...