Baroque Music Quiz Answers

   What are the years of the Baroque era?   1600 - 1750

   What are the most important developments in music during the first century of the era (the 1600s)?

           The development of major and minor keys, scales, and chords 

            The development of chord progressions with a tonal center (a home chord the music concludes 

           on to give it a sense of finality)

    What are genres?  Name some Baroque genres.

            Vocal genres:  opera, oratorios, mass

             Instrumental genres:  Suite, concerto, sonata

   What are major characteristics of (late) Baroque music?  Answer

           Often  extremely complex (especially in counterpoint works and chord progressions) 

           It is often highly ornamental (e.g. coloratura, trills)

           It is often extremely passionate.

           It is often dark (sad, scary, tragic, etc.)

           The timing is very precise, like a clock ticking

   What is polyphony (or counterpoint)? 

          Multiple simultaneous melody lines that create harmonies where they intersect (or criss-cross)

   What is the basso continuo (or just 'continuo')?

           A combination of a chord instrument (usually a harpsichord) and a bass note instrument (usually 

           a cello).  This combination plays the underlying structure of a work while other instruments play 

           the melodies above them).

   What is a canon?   

          A  canon has a melody line that is repeated after the first melody line starts.  It forms a 'round' 

          (like Row, Row, Row Your Boat).  The successive melody lines are in the same key as the first.

   What is a fugue? 

          A  fugue is like a cannon but the second melody line is in another key than the first.  The melody 

          lines are also in different registers (soprano, alto, tenor, bass).  Fugues usually have other sections 

          known as episodes that break the pattern.  The episodes are created from fragments of the original 

          melody line.

   What are the two major differences in the design of a Corelli concerto grosso and a 

   Vivaldi Venetian concerto?

          A concerto grosso has multiple soloists and four or more movements. 

          A Venetian concerto has one soloist and three movements.

   What is the basis of movements in a Baroque (orchestra or keyboard) suite? 

          Dances (either folk or aristocratic)