The Eras of Classical Music
All eras of music are transitioned into and overlap with the era that immediately follows it.
1400 - 1600 - Renaissance
1600 - 1750 - Baroque
1750 - 1820 - Classical (in music - Neoclassical in visual arts, architecture, and literature)
1820 - 1910? - Romantic
Baroque art and music was romantic in nature (i.e. highly emotional, dramatic, and complex).
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The Baroque era (1600 - 1750) defined many of our modern concepts of music as it defined
many of our modern concepts of science and politics. Many ways in which we write, play,
understand, experience, and appreciate music today came about in the Baroque era.
Modern concepts of tonality were created in the Baroque era. Major and minor scales and
keys replaced older forms of musical modes. The idea of chord progressions was developed
(perhaps to an extreme. As the Late Baroque era waned starting c. 1730, the next generation
of composers simplified the progressions).
Vocal music, first religious and then secular, dominated the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
While vocal music was still very important in the Baroque era (especially in the new genre of
opera), instrumental music gained popularity with the rise of the violin and the first orchestral
music (the modern violin came into being only about 70 years before the Baroque era began).
Although the symphony was not created until the Classical era (c. 1730 - 1820), Baroque era
developments in orchestra music set the stage for them. Also, organ and keyboard
(meaning harpsichord and clavichord in this era) composition advanced rapidly throughout
the Baroque era. The rise of the instrumental virtuoso began in the Baroque era.
For the first time in history, commoners had public access to artistic music (before that, the
only place commoners heard serious music was in church); only royalty and the nobility had
access to high level musicianship in their courts). The first public access to music on a large
scale was in the newly built European opera houses (the first one opened in Venice in 1637).
The new rising middle class of merchants and bankers took to opera, although their tastes
in opera were usually much different from the nobility. But general public access to
instrumental music would not happen until the Classical era.
Of course, there was no musical recording before the 20th century. All 16th through 19th
century music had to be heard live. It was rare for a person to hear their favorite musical
composition more than three times in their entire life! Since there was no recorded music, it
was difficult for a composer to stay popular with the general public who constantly demanded
new styles. George Frideric Handel's popularity remained fairly high past his death
(primarily because of his Messiah). Johann Sebastian Bach's popularity waned a couple
decades before his death, Antonio Vivaldi died in obscurity and poverty.
Instruments:
In the Baroque era, large numbers of Renaissance instruments fell out of use and several
were transformed into our modern day instruments. The Renaissance violin was first
developed c. 1530 and was increasingly improved up to Antonio Stradivari's perfecting
violin making between 1700 - 1720.
The Renaissance harpsichord and the organ still dominated Baroque keyboard music. The
piano was invented c. 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, but its original sound quality limited
its use until the Classical Era (c. 1770). Yet, some Baroque composers like Domenico
Scarlatti wrote some early piano music. Today, Baroque harpsichord music is usually
played on the piano.
Brass instruments like trumpets and horns did not have keys or valves until the Classical
era and therefore could only play large intervals of notes in the lower registers (like a bugle)
during the Baroque era. Therefore trumpets usually played in the higher registers where they
could play more notes.
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