Introduction to Ba

Art and Music

historians agree, with unusual unanimity, that Baroque music first
appeared in northern Italy in the early seventeenth century. To be sure, around
1600, certain qualities of the Italian madrigal-virtuosic solo singing, for example-came to be emphasized in a way that created an entirely new sound.
The older equal-voiced choral polyphony of the Renaissance receded in importance as a new, more flamboyant style gained in popularity Eventually, the new

M,rrt.

style was given a new name: Baroque.

Baroque is the term used to describe the arts generally during the period
1600-1750.k is taken from the Portuguese wordbarroco, meaning a pearl of
irregular shape then used in jewelry and fine decorations. Critics applied the
term "Baroque" to indicate excessive ornamentation in the visual arts and a
rough, bold instrumental sound in music. Thus, origin ally,Baroque had a negative connotation: it signified distortion, excess, and extravagance. Only during
the twentieth century, with a new-found appreciation of the painting of Peter
Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and the music of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) and
J S Bach (1685-1750), among others, has the termBaroQue come to assume a
positive meaning in Western cultural history

FIGURES

1O-1

AND

1O-2

(left) The high altar at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome, with baldachin by Gian Lorenzo

Bernini. Standing more than ninety feet

high, this canopy is marked by twisted
columns and curving shapes, color, and
movement, all typical of Baroque art.
(right) Saint Peter's Square, designed
by Bernini in the mid-seventeenth century,
The expanse is so colossal it seems [o

BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE AND MUSIC

Whar strikes us most- when standing before a monument o[ Baroque design,
such as the basilica of Saint Peter in Rome or the palace of Versailles outside
of Paris, is that everything is constructed on the grandest scale. The plazas,
buildings, colonnades, gardens, and fountains are all massive Look at the
ninety-foot-high altar canopy inside Saint Peter's, designed by Cian Lorenzo
Bernini (1598-1680), and imagine how it dwarfs the priest below (Fig. 10-1).

swallow people, cars, and buses.

.E

t
e

Introduction to BaroQue Art and M'"tsic

outside the basilica,

circle of colonnades forms

HAp

r E R 10

1O3

courtyard large enough to

encompass several football fields (Fig. 10-2). Or consider the French king's
palace of Versailles, constructed during the reign of Louis XIV (1 643-17 l5),

palaces and chr,rcbes

oJ

greal size

so monumental in scope that it formed a small independent city, home to several thousand court Functionaries (see Fig tZ-Z)

The music composed for performance in such vast expanses could also be
grandiose. While at ftrst the Baroque orchestra was small, under King Louis
XIV it sometimes swelled to more than eighty players. Similarly, choral works
for Baroque churches sometimes required twenty-four, forty-eight, or even
fifty-three separate lines or parts These compositions for massive choral
forces epitomize the grand or "colossal" Baroque
Once the exteriors of the large Baroque palaces and churches were built,
the artists of the time rushed in to fill these expanses with abundant, perhaps
even excessive, decoration It was as if the architect had created a large vacuum, and into it energetically raced the painter, sculptor, and carver to fill the
void. Examine again the interior of Saint Peter's (Fig. t0-1), and notice the

ornamentation on the ceiling, as well as the elaborate twists and turns of

Bernini's canopy. Or consider the Austrian monastery of Saint Florian (Fig
10-3)i there are massive columns, yet the frieze connecting them is richly
decorated, as is the ceiling above. Here elaborate scrolls and floral capitals
add warmth and humanity to what would otherwise be a vast, cold space
Similarly, when expressed in the music of the Baroque era, this love of energetic detail within large-scale compositions took the form of a highly ornamental melody set upon a solid chordal foundation Sometimes the decoration almost seems to overrun the fundamental harmonic structure of the piece
Notice in Figure 10-4 the abundance oF melodic flourishes in just a few measures of music for violin by Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713). Such ornaments
were equally popular with the singers of the early Baroque period, when the
cult of the vocal virtuoso first emerged

FIGURE

flkd witb

decoration

musical decoration abooe

a sohd support

1O-3

FIGURE

Church of the monastery of Saint Florian, Austria

(1686-1708) The powerful pillars and arches set a
strong structural framework, while the painted ceiling

1O-4

Arcangelo Corelli's sonata for violin and basso confinuo, Opus 5, No 1, The bass
provides the structural support, while the violin adds elaborate decoration above,

and heavily foliated capitals provide decoration and

warmth,

5,rn,,,^{

'lO4 pARr III '

TbeBaroQuePeriod,'1600 47so

tl
il

lt

FIGURE

,IO-5
E

Rubens's The Horrors of War (1638)

is a reaction to the Thirty Years' War
(1618-1648) that ravaged Europe at this

I
.q

time Here Mars, the god of war (center,

wearing a military helmet), is pulled to the
right by Fury and to the left by a mostly

naked Venus, goddess of love. Beneath

these flgures, the populace suffers

BAROQUE PAINTING AND MUSIC

FIGURE

10-6

Judith Beheading Holofernes (c'1 61 5) by

Artemisia Gentileschi The grisly scene
of Judith slaying the tyrant general was
painted several times by Gentileschi,
perhaps as a vivid way of demonstrating

her abhorrence of aggressive male

domination.

Many of the principles at work in Baroque architecture are also found in

Baroque painting and music. Baroque canvases are usually large and colorful.
Most important, they are overtly dramatic Drama in painting is created by
means of contrast, bold colors are pitted against one another, bright hght ls
set against darkness; andlines are placed atright angles to one another, whlch
suggests tension and energetic movement Figure 10-5 shows Peter Paul
Rubens's TbeHorrors oJ War The large canvas swirls with a chaotic scene that is
extravagant yet sensual, typical qualities of Baroque art. Barely visible in the right lower foreground is a woman with a broken lute,
which symbolizes that harmony (music) cannot exist beside the discord of war Figure 10-6 paints an even more horriftC sce fl: Judith
visiting retribution upon the Assyrian general Holofernes, as depicted by Artemisia Centileschi (1593-1652). Here the play of hght
and dark cre ates a dramatic effect, the stark blue and red colors add
intensity, while the head of the victim, set at a right angle to his body,
suggests an unnatural motion Baroque art sometimes delights in the
pure shock value of presenting grLlesome events from history or myth

in a dramatic way.
Music of the Baroque is also highly dramatic We observed in the
music of the Renaissa nce (1475 1600) a growing awareness of the capacity oI this art to sway, or affect, the emotions. This led in the early
seventeenth century to an aesthetic theory called the Doctrine oI
Affections The Doctrine of Affections held that different musical
moods could and shor-rld be used to influence the emotions, or affections, of the listener A musical setting should reinforce the intended
"affection" of the text Yet each work of Baroque art in general confines itself to one speci fic emotion, keeping each unit of space and
of
expression separate and distinct from the next. There is a unity
mood in each work of art So, too, writers about music spoke ol the
need to dramatize the text yet maintain a single affection-be it rage'
revenge, sorrow Joy, o( lsvs-f1em beginning to end of a piece Not

Introduction to BaroQue Art and

Music

r c H A p T E R 10

1O5

surprisingly, the single most important new genre to emerge in the Baroque
periodwas opera Here the drama of the stage joinedwith music to form a
powerful new affective medium

CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE MUSIC

Perhaps more than any period in the history of music, the Baroque ( I 600- I 750)
gave rise to a variely of musical styles, beginning with the expressive monody
of Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) and ending with the complex polyphony
ofJ S Bach (1685-1750). It also saw the introduction of many new musical
genres-opera, cantata, orator'io, sonata, concerto, znd 5u;1q-gach of which
is discussed in the following chapters. Yet despite the quick stylistic changes
and all the new rypes of music created, two elements remain constant throughout the Baroque period, an expressive melody and a strong supporting bass

Expressive Melody
Renaissance music, as we saw in Chapter 9, was dominated by polyphonic

texture in which the voices spin out a web of imitative counterpoint The nature and importance of each of the lines is about equal, as the following graphic
suggests:
Renaissance had equal uoice rmttalion

-,/--\//-\_,/-\_,/--\

-/-\-,/--\-./-\

In early Baroque music, however, the voices are no longer equal Rathel a polarity develops in which the musical emphasis gravitates toward the top and
bottom lines'
S

Baroque empbasizes top and bottom

T
R

Renaissance vocal music was mostly ensemble music-motels, Masses, and

madrigals for groups of vocalists, even if there was only one singer on a part.
In the early Baroque, however, the musical focus shifts from vocal ensemble to

accompanied solo song A choir might be a usefr-Ll medium to convey the abstract religious thoughts of the multitudes, but to communicate raw human
emotions, direct appeal by an individual soloist now seemed more appropriate The new kind of solo singing was at first called monody (from Greek
terms meaning "to sing alone"). A single singer stepped forward, accompanied by a very few supporting instruments, to project a highly charged text.
Vithin the medium of monody, the vocal virtuoso would soon emerge, the
star of the court theater and the operatic stage.

The

Basso Contiuuo

Monody emphasizes a solo melody, but one supported by chords springing up

vertically from the bass. ]n simple terms, the soprano carries the melody while
the bass provides a strong harmonic support Jn between, the middle voices
do llttle more than fi11 out the texture lf Renaissance music was conceived

importance of accompanied solo sotrg

1l

106

pAR

T III '

Tbe BaroQue Period, l'600-17 so

to---

polyphonically and horizontally, line by line, that of the early

Baroque period is organized homophonically and vertically,

FIGURE

1O-7

A Lady with Theorbo (c'1670) by John

Michael Wright. The bass strings are at

the top of the instrument and off the flngerboard. The theorbo was often used to play

the basso continuo in the seventeenth

century,

chord by chord
The bass-driven, chordal support in Baroque music is
called the basso continuo, and it is played by one or more
instruments. Figure 10-7 shows a \Moman singing to the
accompaniment of a large plucked string instrument
called the theorbo. This instrument has more low
strings than its close cousin the lute, which allows it
to not only strum chords but also play low bass notes.
In the early seventeenth century, a theorbo or some
other kind of bass lute often played the basso contrnuo.
Figure 10-8 shows a solo violinist accompanied by two
instruments, a cello-like instrument called the oiola
da gamba,which plays the bass line, and a harpsichord,
which improvises chords built above that bass line The
violin performs an expressive melody while the other two
instruments provide thebasso continuo Harpsichord and low
string instrument formed the most common basso contlnuo tn the
Baroque period Indeed, it is the continual tinkling of the harpsichord, in step with low sounds of a cello or uiola da gamba, that signals the
listener that the music being played comes from the Baroque Coincidentally,
the top-bottom structure of monodic singing in Baroque music is not conceptually different from the straight-ahead rock'n' roll music of today with electric
bass; in both styles, an expressive soloist sings above a rock-solid bass, while
a keyboardist, buildlng upon the bass 1ine, improvises chords in the middle of
the texture.

Vhat chords did the Baroque harpsichordist play? These were suggested
to the performer by means of figured Sass-3 numerical shorthand placed
below the bass line A player familiar with chord formations would look at
the bass line such as that given in Example I 0- 1a and improvise chords along
the lines of those given in Example 10-1b. These improvised chords, generated from the bass according to the numerical code, support a melody above
Here, too, there is a modern paraliel. Figured bass is similar in intent to the
numerical code found in "fake books" used by jazz pianists today that suggest
which chords to play beneath the written melody

FIGURE

1O_8

Basso continuo and violin, This continuo

consists of a harpsrchord and a large

string instrument, the vioia da gamba, or

bass viol. The viol has slx strings and frets
(as on a guitar), and produces a slightly
darker, less brilliant sound than members
of the violin family The gambist playing
here is Eva Linfleld

Introductrou to BaroQue Art and

Music

l-l A p

r E R 10 lO7

Exnupu to-t

.
(a)

1) 6 i bod
)

(b)55 lb 6

166

il

ELEMENTS OF BAROQUE MUSIC

Baroque music, as we have seen, is marked by grandeur, by passionate expression, and by drama. It is held together by a chordal framework and a strong
bass line , both supplied by the basso continuo These qualities can be heard in all
three chronological subdivisions of Baroque music: early Baroque (1600-1660),
middle Baroque (1660-1710), and late Baroque (1710-1750). In the music of

the early Baroque in particular, the artistic expression of the voice and the
richness of the harmony were especially intense. ]n the late Baroque, some o{
the excessively exuberant qualities ol early Baroque music would be smoothed
out and regularized by Bach and Handel (see Chapters 13 and 1 ) The following elements, however, are common to all periods of Baroque music

exuberant

qualiy

oJ

early

BaroQue musrc

Melody
In the Renaissance, melody was more or less all of one type It was a direct,
uncomplicated line that could be performed by either a voice or an instrument But in early Baroque music, beginning about 1600, two different
melodic styles begin to develop, a dramatic, virtuosic style in singing and a
more mechanical style, fulI of figural repetitions, in instrumental music Vocal
melody in the Baroque is marked by quick shifts from long notes to very short
ones, which creates an excited, exuberant sound From time to time, the voice
will luxuriate in a long flourish as it projects a single syllable in long melisma*
(Ex 10-2) Below are two melodies, one from Monteverdi's opera OrJeo atthe
beginning oI the Baroque, and the other from Handel's oratorio Messiab from
the end of the period.

lon4, luxuriant oocal lines

ExavpLr i o-2

Tan

- ta

6el -

lezza il

pa-radi

(Wherever so much beauty resides contains paradise.)

Exlvple t o-3

fEvery valleyl

shall

be

Cenerally, Baroque melody does not unfold in short, symmetrical units, but
expands luxuriantly, and often unpredictably, over long musical phrases.

so ha

se

108

pAR

r III'

Tbelsaro4uePeriod,l'600-4750

l
I
1

Harmony

.i

Baroque harmonies are chordally conceived and tightly bound to the basso
continuo Composers in the early seventeenth century sometimes placed their
chords in an order that sounds arbitrary to our modern ears But as the century progressed, harmonies unfold more and more in familiar patterns, and
standard harmonic progressions emergei in other words, chord progressions*
as we know them come into being. The shortest and most frequent of these is
the V-l (dominant-tonic) cadence (see page 34) The advent ol standard harmonic progressions like the V-l cadence gives added direction and cohesion

rl

cbord progressrons

to the music
Attending this development is the growing importance-and eventual total
domination-of the major and minor keys These two scale patterns, major
and minor, replaced the dozen or so scales (or "modes," as they were called)
employed during the Renaissance and before. Moreover, as music was reduced to just two qualities of sound, the composer could play the dark minor
off against the bright major, just as a painter might contrast light and dark
(see Fig 10-6), for particular effect.

Rhythm
Rhythm in Baroque music is characterize d by uniformity Just as a single mood,
or affect, is carried from the beginning to the end of a piece of Baroque music,
so the rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning will surface again and again,
right to the end. Moreover, in Baroque music-esPecially instrumsnl3l mu5iqu ,,.ong recurring beat is usually clearly audible, which pushes the music forward This tendency toward rhythmic uniformify, clarity, and drive becomes
more and more pronounced as lhe Baroque period proceeds It culminates in

unform rhytbns

the rhythmically propulsive music of Vivaldi and Bach

Texture

pre

dominan tly homo

ph o nic Iex ture

ished, however. In the late Baroque, composers such as Bach and Handel returned to contrapuntal writing, in part to add richness to the middle range of
the standard top-bottom (soprano-bass) dominated texture

Dynamics

sudden contrasts oJ dynamics

the one thing prized above all others in Baroque art, drama'

5 The

Elements

of Opera 141

The Elements of Opera

The baroqr-ie era witnessed the development of a major innovation in mustcopera, or drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment. This unique fusion
of music, acting, poetry, dance, scenery, and costumes is a theatrical experience
offering overwhelming excitement and emotion. Since its beginnings in italy
around 1600, opera has spread to many countries, and even today it remains a
powerful form of musical theater. In Section 6, we'll look closely at opera in the
baroque period; but first, a general discussion of opera is in order.
In an opera, characters and plot are revealed through song, rather than the
speech used in ordinary drama. Once we accept this convention, opera provides great pleasure; its music both delights the ear and herghtens the emo-

tionai effect of the words and story. Music makes even an unlikely plot
believable by depicting mood, character, and dramatic action. The flow of the
music carries the plot forward. In opera, the music ls the drama.
Opera demands performers who can sing and act simuitaneously. On stage
are star solo singers, secondary soioists, a chorus, and sometimes dancers-ail
in costume. Besides the chorus of professional singers, there may be "supers"
(supernumeraries, or "extras"), who don't sing but who carry spears, fill out
_l__
l

7_
T-

a.lor chord

scene

from a productron of Aida

(l8lI),

by Giuseppe Verdi, at the Th6itre Antique in Orange, France

142 lV The Baroque Period

crowds, drink wine, or do other things that add to the effect. Scenery, lighting,
and stage machinery are intricate and are used to create the illusion of fires,
floods, storms, and supernatural effects. In the orchestra pit are the instrumentalists and the conductor, whose awesome responsibility it is to hold everything
together. The persorrrel for a large opera-from conductor to stage director and
assorted vocal coaches, rehearsal accompanists, technicians, and stagehandsmay reach a startling total of several hundred people.
The capacity of this combined force to create spectacle and pageantry accounts for much of opera's appeal. Historically, opera has been associated with
high social status. It originated in the courts of kings and princes (who could afford it) and long continued as a form of aristocratic entertainment. But as opera
became more concerned with "teal" people and less with royal figures, it attracted popular audiences. Today, radio and television broadcasts, videos, and
recordings have changed opera's image as an exotic and expensive diversion
for the very rich. Millions of people from every economic background know
opera for what it is: a powerful and pieasurable emotional experience.
The creation of an opera involves the joint efforts of a composer and a dramatist. The libretto, or text, of the opera is usually written by the librcttist, or
dramatist, and set to music by the composer. But composers often collaborate
with dramatists to ensure that the texts meet their musical needs. W H. Auden
once said that a good libretto "offers as many opportunities as possible for the
characters to be swept off their feet by placing them in situations which are too
tragic or too fantastic for words. No good opera plot can be sensible, for people
do not sing when they are feeling sensible." And that is true-opera characters
are people overwhelmed by love, Iust, hatred, and revenge. They wear fantastic
disguises and commit extraordinary acts of violence. Yet the music makes them
human and real. It evokes the haughtiness of a countess or the simplicity of a
peasant girl. It creates a dramatic entrance for an outraged father, depicts the
tension behind sword thrusts in a duel, and portrays the bleakness of a winter
dawn. A great opera composer is a master of musical timing and characterization and has a keen sense of theater, knowing just when to have a character sing
a simple phrase or a soaring melody, when to provide a stirring chorus or a
graceful dance. Through the music, the composer paces the drama, controlling
the speed of gestures, entrances, exits, and stage movements.
Some operas are serious, some comic, some both. Operas may contain spoken dialogue, but most are entirely sung. (Spoken dialogue is used mainly in
comic opera, where stage action must be performed quickly for the most humorous effect.) Since singing normally takes longer than speaking words, the
text of a 3-hour opera is shorter than that of a 3-hour play. The librettist allows
time for the composer's musical elaboration.
The range of characters found in opera is broad and varied; gods, empresses,
dukes, servants, priests, prostitutes, peasants, clowns, and cowboys all make
appearances. Opera soloists must create all these characters and so need acting
skill as well as vocal artistry. During rehearsals, the stage director coaches the
singers to move well, gesture meaningfully, and identify with their characters.
The basic voice ranges (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) are divided more finely in
opera. Some of the aoice categoiles of opera are as follows:

soprano
soprano

ColoraturcL

Lyric

Very high range; can execute rapid scales and trills

Rather light voice; sings roles calling for grace and
charm

5 The
ting,

Dramatic soprano

[ires,

nen-

Lyric tenor

hing
'and

Dramntic tenor

ds-

Basso buffo
Basso profundo

Elements of

Opera 143

Full, powerful voice; is capable of passionate

intensity
Relatively light, bright voice
Powerful voice; is capable of heroic expresslon
Takes comic roles; can smg very rapidly
Very low range, powerful voice; takes roles calling
for great dignity

{ ac-

with
d af-

'Pera

it atand
:s10n

now
lma:t, ol
rrate
-rden

r the
e

too

rople
cters
:astic

,hem

ofa
s the

inter
rtzasmg

ora
lling
SPO-

ly in
t hui, the

lows
tsses/

nake
cting
s the
:ters.

ty it
ills
nd

Like a play, an opera has from one to five acts subdivided into scenes. A single act presents a variety of vocal and orchestral contrasts. For example, a tenor
solo might be foliowed by a duet for soprano and bass, and then by a chorus or
an orchestral interlude. A section may end definitely-and provide an opportunity for applause-or it may be linked with the next section to form a continuous flow of music within the act.
The main attraction for many opera fans is tl:.e aria, a song for solo voice with
orchestral accompaniment. It's an outpouring of melody that expresses an emotional state. In an aria, I looe you might be sung ten times to accommodate the expansion of the idea. Often the action stops while the character's feelings are
revealed through music. An aria usually lasts several minutes. It is a complete
piece with a definite beginning, high point, and end. If the performance of an
aria is brilliant, the audience responds with an ovation at its conclusion. This
breaks the dramatic flow but allows the audience to release its feelings through
appiause and shouts ofbraao! or braaa!
Opera composers often lead into an aria with a recitatioe, a vocal line that
imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech. In a recitative (from the
Italian word for recite), words are sung quickly and clearly, often on repeated
tones. There is usually only one note to each syllable-as opposed to an aria,
where one syllable may be stretched over many notes. Recitative is used for
monologues and dialogues that connect the more melodic sections of the opera.
It carries the action forward and presents routine inJormation quickly.
Besides arias, the soloists in an opera will sing compositions for two or more
singers: duets (for two singers), trios (for three), quartets (for four), quintets (for
five), and sextets (for six). When three or more singers are involved, the composition is called an ensemble. In a duet or ensemble, the performers either face the
audience or move through action that develops the plot. Each character expresses his or her own feelings. ConJlicting emotions like grief, happiness, and
anger can be projected simultaneously when different melodies are combined.
This special blend of feelings is the glory of opera and is possible only through
music; it cannot be duplicated in spoken drama.
An opera chorus generates atmosphere and makes comments on the action.
Its members might be courtiers, sailors, peasants, prisoners, ballroom guests,
and so on. Their sound creates a kind of tonal backgrould for the soloists.
Rising just over the edge of center stage, near the footlights, is the prompter's
box. In this cramped space, invisible to the audience, is llne ptompter, who gives
cues and reminds the singers of words or pitches if they momentarily forget.
Occasional memory lapses are inevitable with so much actilrity on stage.
Dance in opera is generally incidental. It provides an ornamental interlude
that contrasts with and relaxes the thrust of the plot. By and large, dance is used
as part of the setting-in a ballroom, at a country fair, in a pagan court-while
the soloists, downstage, advance the action of the plot and work out their
destinies.

/l

144 lV The Baroque Period

The nerve center of an opera in performance is the orchestra

pit-a

sunken

area directly in front of the stage. An opera orchestra has the same instruments
as a full symphony orchestra, but usually it has a smaller string section. Covered lights attached to the players' music stands leave the orchestra in a deep

shadow that doesn't interfere wiih the audience's view of the stage. The orchestra not only supports the singers but depicts mood and atmosphere and
comments on the stage action. During the performance, the conductor shapes
the entire work. He or she sets tempos, cues in singers, and indicates subtle
dynamic gradations.
Most operas open with a purely orchestral composition called art or:erture or
a prelude. Since the eighteenth century, the music for an overture has been
drawn from material heard later in the opera. The overture is thus a short
musical statement that involves the audience in the overall dramatic mood.
Orchestral introductions to acts in the opera other than the first are always
called preludes. We've already discussed one of these, the Prelude to Act III
of Lohengrin where Wagner anticipates the wedding of the hero and heroine.
Because overtures and preludes, like arias, are complete compositions, they frequently appear on symphony orchestra programs.
Should opera be translated? This question has long aroused controversy, and
the battle contjnues. Most of the best-loved operas are in Italian, German, or
French. Champions of translations into English argue that an audience should
be able to understand the plot as it develops. Why tell jokes in a comic opera if
they can't be understood? On the other hand, a composer takes pains to make a
special fusion of pitch and the original words. This results in tonal color that
seems absolutely right. But no matter how well a singer articulates, some words
are bound to be lost, whatever the language. For example, a sung melody can
stretch one vowel over many notesi it takes a while to get to the end of a word.
If the melody is placed in a soprano's highest range, the listener is really aware
only of the silvery vowel and not of the word as a whole. Some operas seem to
work well in translation; others don't. Much depends on the style of the opera
and on the sensitivity of the translator,
In many recent opera productions, a translation of the libretto is projected
above the stage. This device-called supertitles-has also been a source of controversy. Its advocates say that it provides the best of both worlds, since it allows an opera to be sr.mg in the original language while the audience is enabled
to understand the words. But its opponents feel that it detracts from the music
and the action on stage.
Before you attend a live opera performance, in any language and with or
without supertitles, it's a good idea to read the libretto or a slmopsis of the plot.
Even better, watih a video or listen to a recording while following the libretto.
This way, you will be freer at the performance to appreciate the quality of production and interpretation.

Basic Terrns
opera (page 141)

recitative (143)

libretto (142)

librettist (142)

ensemble (143)
chorus (143)

voice categories of opera(142)

aria (143)

prompter (143)
overture (prelude) (144)

110 pARr III

'TbeBaroQuePeriod, 1'600-47so
^'lv<-aauricla-.s& i,-k(io,C,-,b i^ /brun,,lr(a^h.,a"ulVcnit
Kfi'j-b.. of visionary thinkers continued to pursue a goal of late Renaissance
1'r,,*uni511*-fecapture the expressive power of ancient Creek music F1orence, in particular, was home to several outstanding musical intellectuals, in. cluding Vincenzo Galilei (1533-1591), the father of the famous astronomer
fl Grlil.o Galtlei (1564 1642). The elder Galilei and his followers believed that
! the power of Creek drama owed much to the fact that every line was sung,
7 not spoken. In an attempt to imitate the ancient Greeks, the fathers ol opera
! strove to create a theatrical medium in which the drama might be projected
t through vocal recitations sung to the plainest of accompaniments. While varE lour composers tried their hand at this new genre in the years around 1600, it
5 was not until 1607, with Claudio Monteverdi's Ofeo, that the first great opera

$cc;i,-9J4yrb f-1,'-

emerged

f;

Claudlo MonteverCi 0saz-t643)

i
FIGURE

11-2

Portrait of Claudio Monteverdi by Bernardo

Strozzi (1581-1644). Strozzi also painted
the singer and composer Barbara Strozzi

(see page

11

FIGURE

5).

11-3

Piazza San Marco painted by Gentile

Bellini, c1500. Saint Mark's was the focal
point of all religious and civic activities
Venice, ln the 1630s, Venice became
home to the flrst public opera houses

in

Claudio Monteverdi was a musical genius who could manifest his enormous
talents equally well in a madrigal, a motet, or an opera (Fig l1-2). He was
born in the northern Italian town of Cremona in 1567 and moved to the larger
city of Mantua (see Fig 11-1) about 1590 to serve Duke Vincenzo Conzaga
as a singer and as a performer on string instruments. In 160 1 , Monteverdi was
appointed director of music, and in this capacity he composed two operas for
the court, Odeo (1607) and Ariana (1608) But the duke failed to pav Monteverdi what he had promised. "l have never in my life suffered greater humiliation of the spirit than when I had to go and beg the treasurer for what was
mine," said the composer some years later. Thus disenchanted with Mantua,
Monteverdi accepted the much-coveted positi on of maestro di cappella at Saint
Mark's in Venice (Fig t 1-3) Although called to Venice ostensibly to write
church music for Saint Mark's, Monteverdi continued to comPose opera as
well. Among his important later works in this genre are Tbe Return oJ Ulysses
( 1640) andTbe Coronarion oJ Poppea (1642). He died in Venice in 1643 after
thirty years of faithful service.

t
g

.9-

EarlyBaroque Vocal Music

HAp

Monteverdi's first opera-and the first important opera in the history of

Vestern music-ris his orJeo Because the aim of early opera was to reproduce
elements of ancient Greek drama, it was only natural that the libretto for OrJeo
drew from a tale found in classical Greek mythology The leadlng character is
Orfeo (Orpheus), the son of Apollo, the Greek god of the sun and of music.
(lndeed, the very wordmusic comes from the artistic muses who attended
Apollo ) Orfeo, himself a demigod, finds love in the form of the beautiful Euridice, a mortal No sooner are they married than she is killed by a poisonous
snake and carried off to Hades (the ancient world's version of Hell) orfeo
vows to descend into the Underworld to rescue his beloved This he nearly
accomplishes by means of his divine musical powers, for Orfeo can make

r ER

1il

11

aimed to reoioe Greek drama

trees sway, calm savage beasts, and overcome demonic forces with the beauty
of his song alone The theme of Odeo then, is the divine power of music
Monteverdi advances the drama in OrJeo mainly through monody (expressive solo singing to simple accompaniment), a medium thought to have ap-

proximated the singing of the ancient Creek theater The simplest type of
monody was recitative Recitative, from the [tal ian wordrecitatiuo ("something recited"), is musically heightened speech, through which the plot of
the opera is communicated to the audience Because recitative attempts to
mirror the natural stresses of everyday speech, it is often made up of rapidly
repeating notes followed by one or two long notes at the ends of phrases, as
in the following recitative lrom ActII of Orfeo

empb as ize

exp res sio e

olo sin!

in!

Exlvple t 1-t

Ala-ma
ra nGvel-la Ras-sem-bra l'in-fe,li - ceun
(At the bitter news the unhappy one resembled a mute stone)

Recitative in Baroque opera is accompanied only by the basso coutinuo, whlch

consists, as we have seen, of a bass line and accompanying chords (Fig 1 1-a)
Such sparsely accompanied recitative is called simple recitative (recitatioo sem,
plice in Italian). (ln the nineteenth century, recitative accompanied by the full
orchestra, called recitatioo accompaluato, would become the norm ) A good example of simple recitative can be heard at the beginning of the vocal excerpt
from Act Il of Ort'eo discussed later in the Listening Cuide
In addition to recitative, Monteverdi made use
48
of a more lyrical type of monody called aria An
aria, Italian for "song" or"ayre," is more passionate, more expansive, and more tuneful than a recitative. It also tends to have a clear meter and
rd3!+*
more regular rhythms If a recitative tells what
is happening on stage, an aria conveys what the

FIGURE

11-4

The beginning of the third act of Monteverdl's Orfeo (1607) from the original print
oftheopera Thevocal part of Orfeoison
the staff above; the slower-moving bass
line of the basso continuo is below

ATTO T"ERZO

character

Jeels

ORFEO.

about those events Similarly,

whereas a recitative advances the plot, an aria

usually brings the action to a halt so as to focus
a spotlight on the emotional state of the singer
Finally, whereas a recitative olten involves a rapidfire delivery of text, an aria will work through text
at a more leisurely pace; words are repeated to
heighten their dramatic effect, and importanl

Corto da tc nio

bbbb

d\l*-__-.-__--

-,-.r-

Numc SpcraEea
- i

Spcrr6zr vniqo bcnc De gJ'rfficti

l-4<i----4--^-a---.F--4i-\-^-+-

-t _-*_ --__t_J.---_*_-+--l-*+----

---

mor

::::=::t::i:::t::::::pltkQ:O--:0:::rl:0::::-:t:f
{+-.**------.-+-----S-t-0----5---d--+-'-d-- O' --

L*

-in

-J

L-J

L---)

\ /

,---\112

=
PAR

T III '

The BaroQue Period, 4600-47 so

as can be seen, for example,

vowels are extended by means of vocal melismas*,
in Orfeo's aria "Powerlul sPirit'"

Ex.qvplg t t-z

(Powe{ul spirit and tormidable god)

textually and musically

An aria is an important, self-contained unit' both
written in blank verse, an aria is usually comE Vhereas recitative is normally
orfeo's
r,.es organized in stanzas (strophes). The text of
? ;:;;d ;;.iu*r*
'{ aria "Powerful spirit" .on'i"' of three three-line stanzas' each with a rhyme
in the
* ;.h.-. "a-b-a." Moreover, the music for each stanza begins and ends
Finally, operatic arias are nea
$ ,.-. key (G minor).
by all or part
fi not merely by the basso contrnuo but also
cornet
violins'
the
verdi gives special prominence to
a
ful spirit" to give added weight to the aria, as well
charm even the guards of Heli (Fig' t t-s)'
in Baroque opera,
Recitative and aria are the two main styles of singing
andinoperaingenerallnaddition,thereisathirdstylecalledariosoArioso
and recitative It is more declamis a manner of singing halFway between aria

FIGURE

11-5

Orfeo charms the guardlans of Hades with

his voice and lyre. A detail from a painting
by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665).

than a recitative' The lament

utory thun an aria L.r,i., a less-rapid-fire delivery
"Thou art dead" (see
that orfeo sings on learning of ih. death of Euridice,
arioso style
Listening Guide below), is a classic example of

Likealloperas/orfeobeginswithapurelyinstrumentalworkthatservesaS
overtures'
Suciinstrumental introductions are usually called
preludes,orsinfonias,butMonteverdicalledhismusicalpreambleatoccata.
,,a
to an instrumental piece,
The term toccata (literally, touched thing,,) refers
dexterity of the
technical
great
for keyboard or other instruments, requiring
performers.Itis,inotherwords,aninstrumentalshowpiece.Herethetrumpet
the lower parts rapidly articulate
races up and down the scale while many of
the toccata be sounded three
that
repeating pitches. Monteverdi instructs
long to suggest the
times. Brief though it may be, this toccata is suffrciently
to a composer in the early
richness and varief of inrt*,,'.ntal sounds available
is to call the audience to atBaroque period. lts theatrical function, of course,
tention, to signal that the action is about to begin'

a curtain raiser.
au instrumental curlain raiser

audio Monteverdi
( 1 607)

0,00 ffi Tilmpet highlights highest part

e*{ O: 31 RePeat of toccata
W I ;o2-Repeat o[ toccata
Listenlng Guide' available
Use a downloadable, cross-platform animated Active
wright'
at www.thomsonedu.com/music/

1111

Eaily BaroqueVocal Music

CHAp

Although Monteverdi divlded his Odeo into five short acts, this ninetyminute opera was originally performed at Mantua without intermission. The
first dramatic high point occurs midway through Act Il, when the hero learns
that his new bride, Euridice, has been claimed by the Underworld In a heartlelt arioso, "Thou art dead," Orfeo laments his loss andvows to enter Hades
to reclaim his beloved. Listen especially to the poignant conclusion in which
Orfeo, by means of an ascending chromatic vocal line, bids farewell to earth,
sky, and sun, and thus begins his lourney to the land of the dead

i,,.

Claudio Monteverdi

'illr,t'orJeo

(1607)

" Ta

un Fiorilo pr<6

Act Tl, Recitative, "At the bitter news," and Arioso,

"Thou art dead"

"

Ts rq A

1t't2

rt^"

Characters, Orfeo and two shepherds

Situation' The shepherds relate that, on the news of the death of Euridice, Orfeo fell into a stunned silence He soon
regains his powers of expression, laments her loss, and vows to reclaim her

RECITATIVE " Ir\ Ui4 tri.-i{o Prc.lo "

bd ffi Simple recitative (accompanied A l'amara novella

L:qb

by

basso contittuo

of

bass

lute)

one resembles a mute stone who

Che per troppo dolor no pud dolersi

is

basso continuo

bass

(accompanied Ahi, ben avrebbe

of

un cor di tigre
o d'orsa
Chi non sentisse del tuo mal pietade,
Privo d'ogni tuo ben, misero amante

harpsichord,

viol, and bass lute)

ARIOSO " T,e .fc ll4or+a "

D<
OiOO

bass lute

l>4

Mention oi descent into helI

t.'oD

D4
l;

lr

qo

r:

too sad to express sadness

Shepherd il

Simple recitative

6y

At the bitter news the unhappy

Rassembra l'infelice un muto sasso

RECITATIVE

F{
fg
"'.

Shepherd I

Basso continuo

of organ and

accompanied by fall in vocal line

Vsion ol Eurjdice climbing to

heaven causes flourish in high

Crowi ng conviction portrayed

by chromatic ascent in vocal line

Ah, he must surely have a heart

of a tiger or a bear, who did not
pily thy misfortune, having lost
all, unfortunate lover

Orfeo
Tu se' morta, mia vita, ed io respiro?
Tu se' da me partita
Per mai piir non tornare, ed io rimango2
No, che se i versi alcuna cosa ponno,
N'andrd sicuro a'piir, profundi abissi
E, intenerito il cor del re de l'ombre,

Meco trarrotti a reveder le stelle;

O, se cib negherammi empio destino,
Rimarrd teco in compagnia di morte

Addio terra, addio cielo

e sole, addio

Use a downloadable, cross-platform animated Active Listening Guide, available

al www.thomsonedu.com/music/wright.

Having descended to the shores of Hades, Orfeo now invokes all his musical powers to gain entry In the aria "Powerful spirit," he addresses Charon,
the spirit that controls access to the kingdom of the dead, Orfeo's elaborate,
florid vocal style, aided by an exotic instrumental accompaniment, soon disarms the frightful guard.

Thou art dead, my li[e, but I

still breathe? Thou hast le[t me,
never to return and yet I remain2
No, it my verses possess rny
power, I will go undaunted into
the deep abyss And, having
softened the heart of the king
of Hades, I will transport thee
to see again the stars And, lf
cruel destiny works against me,
I will remain with thee in the
company of death
Farewell earth, farewell heaven
and sun, farewellt

ll4

pARr III .

TheBaroQuePeriod,t6oo-4750

Claudio Monteverdi
OrJeo

(.1607)

Act Ill, Aria, "Powerful spirit" (strophes

and 2 only)

1t13

Characters, Orfeo and Cbarc,n

Situation: Orfeo pleads through his music that Charon grant passage into Hades

ARIA (Strophe

ftrct

",r"."iTh... "b<

ffi

Orfeo

1)

by
above

Florid singing, joined

violin flourishes,
basso coutinuo

T:*J-:. r,^ 1)l{

e'?(iffii".;)

r,r:l

#c

nume,
riva

Powerful spirit and formidable god,

Possente spirto e formidabil
without whom no soul, deprived of body,
Senza cui far passaggio a l'altra
Alma da corpo sciolta in van presume may presume to pass to Hades'shore

lnstrumental postlude played by

AR'A (srrophe zr

.t"

bnsso

'TrucV

Orfeo
I live no longer, since now my dear
;
spouse is deprived of li[e, I have no
heart within me, and without a heart
E senza cor com'esser pud ch'io viva2
how can I still be alive:

continuo

TnstrrLmental postlude played

(6r,,o1t')

and two solo violins

ff;:1::lt'"'.T:H:: il,?:Jj;':il: :i:J.?i ;lJ;:J:

a6ove

t2-iwr"rzlto

basso coutinuo

by

basso cautinuo

and two solo cornettos

Use a downloadable, cross-platform animated Actlve Listening Guide, available

at www.thomsonedu.com/music/wright.

In the original Creek myth, Pluto, the lord of Hades, releases Euridice to
Orfeo with one condition: He is to have faith that she is following behlnd
him, and he must not look back before reaching earth's surface Vhen Orfeo
yields to the temptation to look back and embrace Euridice, she is reclaimed
by Pluto forevermore ln his opera OrJeo, Monteverdi altered this tragic conclusion, Apollo intervenes, transforming his son Orfeo into a constellation
that radiates eternal spiritual harmony with the beloved Euridice. In so doing,
Monteverdi established what was to become a convention for seventeenthand eighte enth-century operd: the lieto fne, or "happy ending."

CHAMBER CANTAIA

Ventce, a

worldly city

musrc Jor a priuate audtence

to become diIn 16\Claudio MonteverdileFt his unrewarding job in M

rector oflnusic at the basilica oI Saint Mark in Yenicerl6ly Not only was his
new position-pqrhaps the most presLigious post atn6sician could then obtain,
but Venice, a cehr{al port for trade with rhep6st, was a remarkably cosmoat(c1577-161 7) in 1605, ''Here
politan city Said En
traveler Thomas
you see Poles, Slavs, PeXrns, Greeks, Wks,Jews, Christians of al1 the famous
religions of Christendom,\d eac\Aation distinguished from another by its
proper and peculiar habits." A
h Monteverdi composed religious music
en
ent he also wrote opera, as well as a
in Venice, in this very worl
emerged i
arly seventeenth-century Venice, the
new musical genre that
chamber cantata
I music during the Baroque
Vhereas operaw/ the dominant torm of t
chamber music imusic
period, the cantay'became the primary genre of
d in ihe home or a small auditorilm) The word cantata
for soloists p
thing sounded"
literally meTts "something sung," as opposed to sonata,
(played 96 amusical instrument) Because it was usually
ed before a
select/roup of listeners in a private residence, this genre is called t\chamber
.unfrtu Like opera, the seventeenth-century chamber cantata emp\ized
ompanied solo singing, and the subject matter usually concerned unreq

')
r recitaritative).
L

for the
Poppea,

human
master_

of the Commonwealth at midcentury (16a9-60)' stage plays were

the Puritans regarded the theater as an invention of the
forbidden
"
as" that
, could be passed off as a "concert." The
to musrc'

Int

plaY set
fl

ourlshed were essentiallY

fs, ensembles, and

ith a liberal mixture of

with i
choral numbers interspersed
much
stronger th
was
England
in
dition

Ithough the dramatic tra-

ntal ni

tic, John BIow

with his Venus a

way
for the first great
the
wo!9av6d
throughout; this
took an important step towarpoPe(d

(1649-1708) fohn

Blow

which was sung

English

Dido and

AerLeas, bY

larity in
)re com-

aditions
ch com-

'courtly
que was
French
ecitative
famous

ls grand

Henry Purcell: His Life and Music

Poetry is the harmony of Words, so Musick is that
anclasPoetry is a Rise aboveProse andOratory, so is
'As

Mttsicl< tl'te exaltation oJ

ol Notes;

Poetry'"

posiIt was the composer Henry Purcell (1659-1 695) who won England a leading
II
of
Charles
the
court
at
began
career
tion in the world of music. Purcell's brief
(r.
1585-88)
(r. 1650-85) and extended through the turbuient reign of James II
and into the period of Mlliam and Mary (r. 1689-1 702). At these courts, he held
various posts as singer, organist, and composer'
purcell was truly an international figure: he assimilated the achievements of the
Continent-the dynamic instrumental style, the movement toward major-minor
tonality, the recitative and aria of Italian opera, and the accentuated rhythms of the

French-and acclimated these to his native land.

ainment
'r.e

popu-

romes of

Purcell's court odes and religious anthems are solemn and ceremonial, with
great breadth ancl power. His instrumental music ranks among the finest achievements of the middle Baroque. His songs display the charm of his Iyricism as well as
his gift for setting the English language. And in the domain of the theater, Purcell
produced much incidental music for plays, including Abdelazar (The Moor's Revenge,
169 5), from which Britten borrowed a dance as the basis lorlnisYoungPerson's Guide.
He also composed Dido and Aeneas, one of the gems of English opera'

"".r.,

Purcell

D iMusic
Purcell: Rondeou

Dido and Aeneas

in 1689 "at NIr. Josias Priest's boarding school at Chelsy by young
Gentlewomen . . . to a select audience of their parents and friends," Dido and Aeneas
achieved a then unprecedented level of musical expression in English vocal works. Purcell's genius adapted to the obvious limitations in size and scope of a school production.

First presented

character in the opera is projected in a few telling strokes. Likewise, the mood of
each scene is established with the utmost economy (the opera takes only an hour to
perform), with only a few main characters but ample choral singing and dancing.
Dido and Aenees is based on an episode in Virgil's Aeneid, the ancient Roman epic
that traces the adventures of the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy. Since Baroque
audiences knew this Virgil classic, Iibrettist Nahum Tate could compress the plot
and suggest rather than fill in the details. Aeneas and his men are shipwrecked at
Carthage on the northern shore of Africa. Dido, the Carthaginian queen, falls in
Iove with him, and he returns her affection. But Aeneas cannot forget that the gods
have commanded him to continue his journey until he reaches ltaly, as he is

Each

\/)
o
e.

Poetry andpainting have

yet but in its nonage

o
a
I

arrived to their Perlection in

our owncountry; mttsic is

[immatur ity], a [o rw ar d
Child, which gives hoPe oJ
what

it may

be hereafter

in

Englan d, when the mas t er s

of it shdlfindmore
Encouragement.

]---"!.

.c;'_:

/,

VOCAL MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE

destined to be the founder of Rome. Much as he hates to hurt the queen, he knows
that he must depart.
In her grief, Dido decides her fate-death in the moving recitative "Thy

Ground bass

hand, Belinda," and the heartrending lament that is the culminating point of the
opera, "whenIamlaidinearth." (Forthetext, seeListeningGuide 11.)InVirgil's
poem, Dido mounts the funeral pyre, whose flames light the way for Aeneas's
ships as they sail out of the harbor. Dido's Lament unfolds over a five-measure
grorrnrl bass, or ostinato (a repeated idea), that descends along the chromatic
scale, always symboiic of grief in Baroque music. The opera closes with an emotional chorus mourning Dido's fate.

del and Late Baroque Opera

Opera in t

who worked in

Opera seria

(1685-1759),
Baroque was dominated by George Frideric HN
qdon during the first decades of the eig\ffith century. A German

igure. His music united the

by birth, Handel was\every sense an interna
stately gestures of French music
lian style wj
beautilul vocal melody of
elements he added the maies.
To
these
genius
of
t
and the contrapuntal
perfectly
suited to the London scene.
was
tic choral tradition of the Englis
opera seria, or serious Italian opera,
in the
Handel's dramatic wor
which projected herg{tor tragic subjects. His-bpqas about the First Crusade

ITII gf{about

Julius Caesar (Giulio Cesare,ld{4) are among his finest

ia declined in popularity, Handel turned his ta)htqloward the orntoWhen
asterwork
rio, affsic drama based on a religious subject, producing his lam
in 1742. (Handel's life and works are discussed in Chapter 24.)
(Rinalrto,

I (34-36)

Listening Guide Il

r (s2-ss)

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Act III, Dido's Lament

::,1

\'..:

:r r:l:'.-

DATE OF

WORK:

1689

GENRE:

Opera, English

BASIS:

(4:00)

Roman epicThe Aeneid, byVirgil

CHARACTERS: Dido, queen of Carthage (soprano)

Aeneas, adventuring hero (baritone)
Belinda, Dido's serving maid (soprano)
Sorceress, Spirit, Witches

WHAT TO LISTEN

FOR:
,/

("Thy hand, Belinda"), with much chromaticism

ment (sighmotive).
c line as a repeated ground bass in triple meter'
heard before aria begins and throughout aria (11 statements)'
Emotional, slow-moving aria il 2 sections, each repeated (A-A-B-B);
e

B section begins "Remember me."

Silvery, transparent sounds of Baroque-period string instruments'

zt

Barogtte Opera

0ws

Recitative: "Thy hand, Belinda," sung by Dido

Thy

the

(0:5 7)

Introduces lament aria; accompanied by continuo only

3il's

TEXT

3s's

Fil

ure

Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me

o,oo

atic

On thy bosom let me rest;

TIO-

More I would, but Death invades me;

Death is now

welcome guest.

Thyhand,Be

lin-

dai

;9),

tan
the

Aria: "When I am laid in earth," Dido's

Lsic

es-

(3:03)

Lament

11 times
Basis; Ground bass, 5-measure pattern in slow triple meter, descending chromatic scale, repeated

ne.

ra,

opening oI aria, with 2 statements of the ground bass (first statement shaded):

rde
rst.

to-

rrk

I
{

\9

1\.
I

TEXT

0:00
0;14

GROUND tsASS
STATEMENT NO.

1:}{

Instrumentalintroduction
When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create

I
2

no trouble in thY breast.

WhenIamlaid...

notrouble...

llRemember me, remember me, but ah, forget

my fate, remember me, but ah, forget my fate'

Rememberme...

forget my fate . .

Instrumental closing
Instrumental closing

10
11

t29