Imagine you are at a classical music concert. You hear the beautiful music flowing from the bows of the violins, the skillful fingers of the musicians. As the song changes you check the program and discover that the next song is from the Baroque period. As the song begins you wonder, “What defines one period from another? What inspires the composer?” and, “Why does the preferred style of music change?” The answers to these questions are discovered as you delve in to the diverse worlds of classical music.
The first medieval music was composed in the form known as Gregorian chant. This style was purely vocal music with one melody and was done in modal tones, as modern scales had not yet been invented. It was sung with no natural rhythm and was fitted to the words being sung. At first, the advancement of music was directly related to the growth of the church, however, eventually artists started breaking away from the mold and creating secular music (Tipton 667).
As time progressed, experiments using polyphony were conducted to create a form of music known as the Organum. An Organum is when a second chant melody is sung above the tenor line. As Organum grew, third an fourth voices were added until it “evolved” into the Motet, which was sung in both the high and the low with each voice using quicker notes that the others. Another characteristic of the motet was that some were bi-lingual (Tipton 667-668).
There are three main contributions to the change from Medieval to Renaissance music. The first of these is the growing interest in Humanism, making the arts an important characteristic of the cultured person. Also, because of the spread of printing, more people were able to gain access to music and books about music. The second factor of change in this era is the growing support of music, as the clergy and the rich supported it to levels never seen before. Thirdly as exploration continued music was exchanged between cultures (Eras).
Although the ability to print music had become available, the instruments were not able to maintain modern scales and so the Renaissance was also an era of modal music. Even so the renaissance still prevailed with advancing the forms of the medieval era. Throughout this era, there were two important changes in music. The first of these was a dominance of three-part polyphony, with rhythmical interest in the top part. Secondly, solo songs with an accompanying instrumental part began entering into musical activity (Miller 43-47).
As Major and Minor scales entered the scene, the baroque era was brought into existence (Fay). Another key factor to the start of Baroque was the invention of the harpsichord, pipe organ, and other modern instruments. Opera also had its beginning upon the entry into the Baroque along with the modern orchestra (Periods). The imitative polyphony style in which a line is played in the top and then repeated in the bass, continued on from the Renaissance as a very important style in composition. Also, works that included feeling were leaking into musical scores (Music).
The Baroque era is generally dated from 1600 - 1750, the year of Bach's death, and during this time a growing interest in instrumental music was developed. Music was now closely related to the art and architecture of the time, in other words created on a grand scale. However, music still was related to the church as seen in the new form called the oratorio which is “a work written for solo voices, a chorus, and an orchestra. This had a religious subject and was presented without theatrical action” (Tipton 668).
During the Baroque era, stringed instruments became increasingly popular with the invention of the violin. To bring this popularity to even greater heights was the concerto grosso, in which a smaller group of instruments would alternate playing with the main orchestra (Tipton 668). The start of true harmony was another advance or the Baroque era. New cadences replaced the old modal ones and chromatics came into the picture because of this development. Even so chords and their inversions were not fully acknowledged until later in the era (Miller 81-83)
The most obvious change from Baroque to Classical music is the general style. Baroque had been focused on polyphony and grandiose, while classical preferred music with form, dignity, and clarity (Tipton 669). A reason for this change can be found in the art. Baroque art and architecture had been full and built to be grand, yet the neo-classical style came to focus on shapes and forms. So in similarity to the Baroque the art of the time is reflected in the music (Eras).
Homophony, which is a single melodic line supported by accompanying chords, came to dominate this era. The forms of music were built around this principle. The most important and best example of these is the sonata, which “usually consists of four independent pieces called movements, each of which follows certain conventions of character and structure” (Music). With certain modifications, practically every piece of classical music could be considered to be in the form of the Sonata. The tempo of the movements of the sonata tended to be in a strict pattern with the first being fast, the second slower, the third moderately fast, and the fourth lively (Miller 120-122).
