The Renaissance has been one of the brightest periods in history which brought many talented artists such as Michelangelo and Palladio. The main aspects of Mannerism developed between1510 and 1520 in Italy are the approach of reacting to the harmonious ideals and naturalism. Michelangelo is one of the greatest artists of this period as well as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Palladio and Michelangelo, the two greatest representatives of the Renaissance, were the founders of a new wave in architecture that influences many artists after them.
The most important principle of the Renaissance was the symmetry used to achieve geometric balance and harmony. The main architectural buildings of the Renaissance are the great churches, monuments, and modest residences. Palladios villas are the perfect examples of this style. Besides, the mannerist works represent an abstraction form opposite to the style of classicism. Palladio started to promote Mannerism; however, later he went to the opposite. Palladio used the ancient themes of architecture while Michelangelo preferred Mannerism supervising the reconstruction of St. Peters Cathedral and Capitoline Hill in Rome. Palladios works are characterized by the use of numerous ratios for every room as well as the 1:2 ratio represented in music. Palladio believed that some numbers of a ratio of the rectangles are pleased to the human eyes. As for me, I prefer the style of Michelangelo for his individualism and specific forms.
Saint Peters Basilica situated in the Vatican is one of the most famous churches in the world. It is the typical early basilica-plan church that contains a nave and two aisles and has a T plan. The basilica may be considered as Baroque architecture. In 1506, Saint Peters Basilica was razed and started transforming from a small shrine to the largest church in the world. It was been worked on by many artists. From the beginning, the architectural supervisor of the building was Michelangelo. The entire of the Basilica is decorated with marble, sculptures, and reliefs. Michelangelo formed numerous niches and chapels including his Pieta. In the followed years, after his deaths, the structure changed hands several times. Gian Lorenzo Bernini being a supervisor designed a central baldachin over the Papal Altar and the sculptural ensemble contained the symbolic Chair of St. Peter. In 1602, Carlo Maderno started to create a front of the Basilica. 114.69 meters wide and 45.55 meters high front is built of travertine stone. Maderno created thirteen statues of Christ and the Apostles, except Peter, and John the Baptist. In 1455, another famous artist, Antonio Averulio created a bronze door to the central portal and enlarged some space. Using the different approaches and styles, the artists created a unique architectural ensemble.
Renaissance architecture is based on the use of the forms of Roman architecture such as domes, arches, numerous columns, and vaults. The main characteristics of Renaissance architecture are the regular structure and impressiveness. Using the forms of Renaissance such as columns and classical elements, Baroque architecture is based on the importance of vitality and attraction. Striking lighting effects, different forms of the walls, theatrical features and create the unique style of Baroque. Despite Michelangelo, Bernini used smaller windows with circular or oval forms. Baroque churches look more attractive due to its rich decoration. The baroque architecture shows more freedom of the forms. However, I prefer the Renaissance period because of its harmony and massiveness. The works of Michelangelo, Raphael, and Palladio influenced many artists after them.
The epoch of Baroque, which took over one and a half centuries from the early 1600s to the 1750s, was a majestic period for all branches of art. Its bizarre pompous luxury found reflection not only in architecture but also in other arts, such as music. The main genres that characterize musical Baroque are concerto and suite, which demanded new composing and performing techniques. In this paper, two examples of major Baroque genres are reviewed: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (1721) by Johann Sebastian Bach and The Four Seasons (1723) by Antonio Vivaldi. The first concerto is played by Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and the solo violin part in the second piece is performed by Nigel Kennedy.
Bachs Brandenburg Concerto #5
The inspirational source for Baroque composers who worked with the concerto genre was the example provided by Italian composers. From this country, concerto traveled on to the north where it became one of the defining forms of Baroque music attracting composers and audiences of all nationalities (Buelow 524). Among composers intrigued by Italian experiments in the genre of the concert was Johan Sebastian Bach who created a most renowned cycle of Baroque concertos called Brandenburg Concertos. Among the six pieces of the collection, the one especially notable for its mature writing style is the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto. Scored for quite a traditional ensemble of instruments including violin, flute, harpsichord, and strings, the solo harpsichord material of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto suggests that Bach wrote it for advancing the especial virtuosity of the soloist (Ferguson 14). The harpsichordists technical perfection becomes especially obvious in the cadenza of the first Allegro movement that is teeming with baffling passages and figurations. This movement also reflects the main idea of a traditional concert: a competition between the soloists and the orchestra. The instruments seem to struggle for melodies among each other, and the outcome of this thrilling struggle is that the soloists quite win the main thematic material.
Since along with concerto, the suite was a leading Baroque genre, its influence is also traced in the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto since the last two parts remind of traditional suite dances. The second movement, Affettuoso, proceeds in a stately tread that cannot but bring recollections of the sarabande train. The intimate character of the movement is emphasized by the performing instruments: the accompanying strings are silent and the music is developed only by the group of three soloists. Contrasting to this solemn meditation, the final Allegro bursts through in a stream of vivid triplets that associate with the genre of a gigue. The flute, violin, and harpsichord take turn developing the piece in a series of polyphonic imitations, and in their lively motion create a festive mood unmarred by the technical challenges for the performers.
Vivaldis The Four Seasons
Provided that Bach drew inspiration in Italian concerto samples, it is not surprising that works of Antonio Vivaldi served as models for the German genius. Vivaldi excelled in the genre of the instrumental concerto, with one of the most prominent examples being his series of violin concertos The Four Seasons. To make the performance more entertaining, Vivaldi based his piece on a cycle of sonnets that described times of the year. Each of the three-movement concerts is dedicated to one season and has a description of it, supposedly written by Vivaldi (Everett 70).
As the year starts with spring, so does the cycle of The Four Seasons. Vivaldi employs a whole set of musical means to deliver the joyful mood of Spring: the energetic first movement features trills, staccatos, and glissandos in the solo part, that reminds of birds singing. The second movement of Spring is an expressive and peaceful melody that illustrates a pastoral scene. Finally, the first season ends with a scene of a peasant holiday celebrating the start of the year in a stirring rhythm of Italian tarantella.
The heat of the Summer occurs through the disconnected as if lazy phrases of the violin. They interleave with sudden loud passages of the whole orchestra that are designed to depict the rush of wind that is bringing a future thunderstorm. The latter is also foreseen in the second movement, by thunderous interruptions of the violins lyrical melody. The storm finally breaks through in the Presto that astonishes with its endless streams of passages symbolizing the summer thunderstorm.
Autumn starts with another holiday in the country. But to render the fading autumn nature, Vivaldi as if re-colors the thematic material of Spring in minor keys. The peasants fall asleep after their noisy party, and their sleep is interrupted only by several intrusions of the idlers, repeating the festive theme of the preceding movement. The last movement depicts a scene of the hunt using horn imitations.
The cold chills of Winter occur through the orchestras rhythmic repetitions and the violins passages as if imitating the howling of flurries. Contrasted to this is the second movement: a peaceful scene of a warm and cozy living room is rendered by the violins graceful and conciliating melody. However, winter blizzards return in the final parts implacable ostinato which reminds of natures objectivity and irreversibility.
Conclusion
All in all, the two pieces discussed presently a bright image of Baroque music. The Fifth Brandenburg Concerto by Bach renders the principles of performance virtuosity and the idea of competitiveness between the soloists and the orchestra group. The Four Seasons by Vivaldi implement the Baroque trend to program music that is based on a certain story.
Works Cited
Buelow, George J. A History of Baroque Music. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004. Print.
Everett, Paul. Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, and Other Concertos, Op. 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.
Ferguson, Donald Nivison. Masterpieces of the Orchestral Repertoire: A Guide for Listeners. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1968. Print.
The first work of art to be analyzed in this paper is called Judith Beheading Holofernes . It is an oil painting on canvas, which belongs to Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian artist, who created this painting in 1620. It depicts a scene from the Old Testament when an Israel woman Judith and her maid kill Holofernes, an enemy of their nation (Kleiner, 300). The scene was most possibly preferred by the female painter because it involved the woman as the main positive character.
The date of the paintings creation, as well as its thematic background, point to the fact that the work belongs to the baroque style. The aim of the painter was not only to present the scene of the murder but to make it as dramatic as possible; all the possible tools were involved to make the viewer feel what is happening on the canvas.
The fact that proves the intention of the author to make her work more dramatic is that the analyzed work is the second version of the same painting. The first Judith Beheading Holofernes was painted about 6-8 years earlier, and was almost identical to the particular one (Parker, 1). Then a question occurs: why did the painter need to redo the previous work? Obviously, her aim was to improve the painting and make it more impressive.
The most noticeable details add to the Judith Beheading Holofernes of 1620 are the jets of blood that can be seen in the compositional center of the painting. These details seem to make the whole painting appalling and rude. Interestingly, this cold brutality contrasts with the smooth and light manner of painting, typical of the period.
The contrast can also be seen on the level of lighting for different parts of the image. The well-lightened bodies of all the three characters are shown on an almost black background. Such contrast creates an effect of mystery. In addition, it was necessary for expressing the night time, when the events were happening.
It should also be noted that the painter used a warm palette for the painting, with the yellow and red hues dominating. The color intensity is high in the clothes of the main characters; in the rest of the painting, it is lower. This helps the viewers to identify the center of the composition quickly. The painting in general can be referred to as compositionally intense (Salva, 1). This is due to the interlaced arms of the characters, which create a number of parallel diagonal lines in the picture and make the whole composition dynamic. The jet of Holofernes blood is another dynamic line, which is much thinner and therefore easy to notice.
One more point about the painting is the solution for the background. The painter made it very dark; however, the detailed analysis shows that it is painted in warm deep brown tones, which supports the general palette of the work. In addition, the space of the room is shown by some purely lightened drapery in the background.
All in all, it can be stated that Artemisia Gentileschi had put a lot of time and effort into the painting. Harmonic in general and perfect in every detail, it serves its main purpose: impressing the viewers. This was the final and the most successful version of the Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi.
Glorification of Saint Ignatius.
The next painting to be analyzed in the paper is the fresco on a ceiling of the nave of Saint Ignatius in Rome. Its author was Fra Andrea Pozzo, and the fresco is called Glorification of Saint Ignatius . The date of its creation is 1691-1694, the years of the bloom of the Italian Baroque style. Obviously, the work belongs to the Baroque style, as far as it is not only beautiful but also represents a number of ideas.
The painting was created for the order of Jesuits, where its author belonged (Kleiner, 301). The central event in this complex work of many levels of composition is the meeting of Christ and Saint Ignatius. However, despite their importance, the characters do not form the compositional center of the fresco.
The idea of the composition was to make an impression that the ceiling has one more dimension and is connected straightly with the heavens. With this purpose, Fra Andrea Pozzo paid a lot of attention to painting the elements of architecture, typical to those present in the nave. The painter uses the same shapes and colors for depicting arches and columns as in real life, which creates an optical illusion. Another trick used here is the knowledge of perspective. The painter made all the figures in the fresco gradually changing their size from big to small, which created an illusion that the smallest figures are the most distanced. One more element that helped Pozzo to deceive the viewers eyesight is the precise depiction of lights and shadows. Indeed, the sky on the painting seems to be glowing, and it is used as a source of light for all the depicted figures. Correspondingly, the lower parts of the composition are less and less lightened. This is also an effective tool for creating the desired effect. The historical facts say that Glorification of Saint Ignatius was a very accurately planned project, studied by Pozzo for several years (Gagliardi, 1). Thus, the result of his hard work is astonishing.
On one hand, it is obvious that analyzing every figure of Pozzos fresco is useless, as far as all the depicted characters serve the purpose of forming the composition. Only the central figures belonging to Jesus and Saint Ignatius are logically significant. Jesus seems to pour the light into Ignatiuss heart. This light spreads in four different directions. As Pozzo explained himself, the directions are the four corners of the world, and people standing there symbolize all the nations of the planet (Reid, 1). At the same time, on the other hand, there is no doubt that the sense of the painting is being completed by every figure present in it. The main instrument Pozzo used here is symbolism, which makes it possible to stare for hours at the ceiling and trying to read the signs.
Concerning the artistic value of the fresco, great attention should be paid to the movement. The painter placed all the figures in a way that moves the viewers eyes to the center of the painting, or up in the sky. It should also be noted that the light warm hues are mostly used for the fresco. However, the deep cold blue appears at every level of the composition in some small details. However, it does not spoil the general view but makes the composition more rhythmical. The rhythm is also supported by the repeated forms of the elements of architecture and forms and postures of the figures.
It can be said that the fresco is being analyzed for four centuries now, and even though all its secrets are studied, it still remains mysterious and attracts the attention of artists and casual viewers. The work of Fra Andrea Pozzo can be called one of the most impressive of the works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The Entombment.
One more painting that represents Baroque style is The Entombment by Peter Paul Rubens. Created in 1612, this oil painting was designed for an altarpiece for one of the Catholic chapels (J. Paul Getty Museum, 1).
The painting depicts the traditional scene from the Bible when the body of Jesus is mourned over in his tomb. Besides Jesus, the present characters in the painting are John The Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, Mary, and Jesus mother (J. Paul Getty Museum, 1). The aim of the painter was to show grief and pain and to make the viewers feel these feelings too. The proof for this is an unusual approach to composition: Rubens only depicts the figures and leaves very little space for the background and surrounding.
Therefore, the characters look a bit clustered in such a small space. However, this also serves another purpose: due to the absence of the surrounding, the viewer automatically focuses on the depicted figures, and on the body of Christ in particular. This creates an effect of striking truth, which is rather impressive and evokes certain emotions.
A peculiar thing to be discussed about the painting is the choice of colors by the artist. Rubens has an original approach to the combination of hues, and it is hard to say whether the general palette is warm or cool. The reason for this is that even the cool objects have some warm zones. For instance, the dead, blue, and grey body of the Christ has some warm tones of ochre in the lightened areas. The same phenomenon is observed with his mother, Mary, who is wearing a cool black cloak with a white hood expressed with warm colors.
The only totally warm figure in the painting is John The Evangelist, who is wearing a red cloak and has it supported by blushes and a warm blond-brown head of hair. The colors in John The Evangelists clothes are the most intense. Such choice of colors for this character serves a double purpose: first, the blushing face of John The Evangelist creates a contrast with the dead body of Jesus, and second, the red cloak serves as a background for the body of Jesus and therefore makes the blood on his body more vivid.
It should also be noted that the posture of every character is even more expressive than their faces. In addition, the chosen posture of Jesus suggests that he fills in the painting, which makes him an obvious center of the composition. Another interesting detail of the composition organization is that Rubens managed to find a different direction for the glance of each of the characters. Their heads do not repeat each others angles of bending, which points to the fact that the painter avoided the parallel lines in his work. This was made with the purpose to make the composition more dynamic, even though there is no obvious movement in it.
The depiction of the Entombment as a classic scene from the Bible was often represented by painters and sculptors of all the times. The painting of Rubens is special because of its simplicity in performance, and at the same time with the complexity of the design. Rubens involved all the possible tools to make his painting dramatic, and he definitely was successful at it.
The next painting to be discussed in this paper belongs to the already discussed artist, Peter Paul Rubens. It is the portrait of his first wife, Isabella Brant, which was drawn at about 1620. The period of the works creation points to the Baroque style; however, the materials used and the content of the work do not correspond to this style. Rubens made a portrait using colorful chalks, and it depicted a face of a woman with no particular expression. Thus, the work is not dramatic, which is typical of Baroque paintings.
However, while the portrait reminds of a sketch, at first sight, the face of the woman is drawn to perfection. While some elements of clothes and decoration in the hair are just outlined with thick lines of grey chalk, the face is complete both in sense of shapes and colors. In addition, the hair and clothes reveal the strokes of the chalk, while there is no sign of sharp strokes in the face. Thus, the texture of the face is smooth.
The two basic tools used to create the portrait are color and line. The lines are thin and accurate, wavy in the hair section. The colors are warm. To be more precise, the yellow paper and the tones of red chalk make the impression of warm colors used. Rubens mostly plays with light, highlighting some areas with white and making shadows with dark grey. Only some accents are set with the help of red chalk. It makes the smile more lively, eyes more expressive, and ears darker. The only black areas in the portrait are the pupils and nostrils. They were probably additionally painted with ink (Van Camp, 1).
It should be said that the painter paid much attention to the muscles of the face. With the shadowing he represents even the smallest details of the womans mimics, making her look alive and appealing. In addition, while there is no background for the figure, the artist added some shadows on the collar and behind the womans head. These shadows make the head look three-dimensional and real.
The head of the woman is placed not in the very center of the page, but a little higher. Rubens left more space in the lower part of the painting and less space in the upper part, which means that he wanted the face to catch the viewers eyes. In addition, the painter made the eyes of the model very vivid; they are looking straight into the viewers eyes. However, despite this fact, eyes are not the main detail of the painting. The face is perceived as a sole figure, which proves the unity of the image.
The analyzed painting is interesting because of the personal investment of the painter in it. While the characters painted by Rubens are not much expressive, this face has a lot of subtle emotions hidden behind the well-presented mimics. In addition, the depicted face expresses the attitude of the artist to its owner, which is obviously warm and caring (Finch, 1). Rubens managed to show the details he was watching for years in one portrait, revealing the character of the woman.
The author of the next painting is a famous Italian painter, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. The discussed work of the artist is a sketch for his Allegory of the Planets and Continents . The year of its design is 1752. In the same year, the artist presented the sketch to a German bishop, Carl Philipp von Greiffenklau. The sketch was a previous version of a ceiling.
Talking about the stylistic orientation, it should be mentioned that the painting belongs to the Rococo style. The scene showed in the work depicts a famous mythological character, Apollo, who is about to travel the sky. There are also numerous other mythological characters and other creatures, such as horses and birds. The composition of the sketch is built on the perspective. It is aimed at creating the visual effect of depth. That is why, the painter used several levels of composition, each corresponding to a certain distance.
Interestingly, with the growth of the distance, the number of characters depicted decreases. Therefore, the last level only contains a clear sky. This creates an impression of an airy composition, despite dozens of figures contained in it. The same is with the colors and lighting: the closer an object is to the viewer, the most intense is its color and vice versa. The more distanced the objects are, the more lightened they are. The most distanced figures seem to dissolve in the sky. This also creates the impression of a frame; all the dark figures in the front seem to be just a frame for the central part of the painting and Apollo in the center of it. The additional frame of the composition is constituted by the pairs of figures in every corner of the painting.
The placing of the numerous figures in a certain order is not chaotic in this painting. Tiepolo used a lot of symbols and allegorical images to create a meaningful picture. For instance, the painter drew planets in the form of deities next to the main character, and the figures in the corners of the image serve to show the sides of the world (Magister, 1).
It should be noted, that the form of the sketch suggests leaving the details unfinished. In addition, the shapes are shown figuratively, which means that only light and shadows are shown, but the semi shadows are omitted. For the same reason, the expressiveness of the faces in the painting is also hard to notice: only some of the figures have sketched eyes or noses.
Concerning the colors used, Tiepolo uses a warm palette based on light ochre. Even the bluish tone of the sky, which is supposed to be cool, is in fact warm. Interestingly, the painter does not use pure hues; all the colors are complex and well designed.
The work of Tiepolo made after this sketch is a precious heritage for the artistic world. The sketch gives us an opportunity to analyze the development of the great project, and predict the results. It should be said that the form of the sketch did not prove an impediment to the works complexity and finitude.
The next, and the last painting analyzed in the paper belongs to a recognized Dutch painter, Jan Vermeer. It is one of the most famous oil paintings of the author, called The Milkmaid . The approximate date of its creation is 1658-1661.
The style of the painting is Rococo, although some elements of style could be perceived as Classical or Romantic. The painting depicts a woman pouring milk into a pot in the casual setting of a servants room. The depicted subjects, as well as the significance of the work, are strikingly simple. There are theories about the Christian symbolism in the picture, but they are not confirmed so far. There are no imaginary creatures or allegorical figures in the painting, only a girl and milk and bread, meaning nothing more than what they are. However, the techniques used to represent these subjects are complex and rather impressive. The painting is told to witness the technical evolution of the painter (Gowing, 1).
The first thing that catches the viewers eyes is the competent depiction of lightning. The source of light is situated outside the window, and all the depicted objects are subordinated to this light. The painter paid much attention to the semi shadows and transitions from light to dark. This makes the painting mild. The corner situated behind the milkmaid is dark, and the shadows of the objects hanging there are extremely accurate.
The second striking detail about the painting is the choice of colors. Vermeer chose a warm palette for this painting. Even though some colors seem to be neutral, as for example the white wall, they still have some warm tones. It seems that the bred in the front dictates the colors of the whole painting. The tones of ochre, beige, and light brown look very harmonic together. The painter used a limited number of colors for this work (Vergara), which contributed to the unity of colors. The elements of cool blue are also added to the front. They attract the viewers attention and divide the composition into the front ground and background.
One more tool used by the artist is involving many types of textures in his painting. He masterly shows the rough surface of the bred next to the glossy jug, matt clothes of the milkmaid next to her oily skin, and a wicker basket next to the hardware. This points to the skillfulness of the painter and his knowledge of the subject of painting.
It is worth pointing out that the analyzed work is elaborated to the smallest details. The best proof for this is the wall behind the milkmaid. As a rule, homogeneous surfaces in the background are showed figuratively. However, Vermeer did not make the wall simple; in contrast, he showed every possible distinctive detail of the wall. Stains of plaster, unevenness of the shape, rust in the bottom, and even a nail sticking out of the wall all the details are realistic and lively.
The painting all in all is very unified. This is achieved by a number of mentioned techniques, and by a successful organization of objects in the format. The merit of the work for the world art is hard to overestimate. It does not only show the great mastery of performance but also depicts the mode of life of the period.
Works Cited
Bagliardi, David. Glorification of Saint Ignatius. How to tour Italy. 2004. Web.
Finch, George. Isabella Brant, a portrait drawing. British Museum. 2009.
Gowing, Lawrence. The Milkmaid.Essential Vermeer. 2009.
Precisely the Baroque era is the period of the introduction of instrumental music characterized by extravagant and bizarre textures and harmonies and depicting an extra-musical place, character, or idea. Music of the Baroque era has evident contrast between soft and loud and long flowing melodies. It is more unpredictable and freer than the music of the Renaissance, and many musicians prove this point. For instance, the composition Winter from The Four Seasons violin concertos series by Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most famous music pieces of that epoch.
The concerto was a particularly popular Baroque genre since it featured a rather dramatic contrast between the sound of the solo instrument and the combination of all other instruments. Winter is composed in ritornello form and combines one violin soloist and a small string orchestra. Hence, the contrasting timbres clash in opposition and create unique tension, and the art of virtuoso violin playing is taken to a new level ( Vivaldi: Winter (the Four Seasons ). This composition has a long flowing melody, and its melodic lines are exceptionally ornamental, which is one of the primary characteristics of Baroque music ( The Four Seasons ). Further, the contrast between loud and soft, low and high sounds are evident, and terraced dynamics of the Winter build up tension and make the composition dramatic.
The expression of strong feelings and emotions and adding them to various art pieces characterizes the Baroque era. The idea of this epoch was to produce grandeur, drama, emotional exuberance, and dynamism. These ideas are represented in Winter, and Vivaldi managed to express passion through this and many other compositions ( The Four Seasons ). Therefore, Winter is a great example in which the overall ideas of the style and the particular music elements are shown.
The course of human history and the process of the development of human society may be schematically represented as the stairs, where each stair is a definite historical epoch. Such stairs or stages of the development are the Renaissance and Baroque. If the reasons for choice of these particular epochs are necessary, then it should be mentioned that these periods were marked by outstanding cultural and social achievements. This is why the periods may be analyzed best of all from the perspectives of art and literature. The description of the concrete features of art are necessary and useful for the comparison of the historical epochs, because it is commonly known that art is multidimensional expression of human soul, inner world, and, at the same time, the reflection of true world-view that is typical of the definite period of time. Art is the least corrupted form of expression, for it has its roots in inspiration that is embodied in visual form. However, literature of the period may also be considered as rich material for analysis of the definite epoch, because it is the expression of experience and real world with the help of words that has the same basis as art but is even more precise. In order to make comparative analysis effective, the study of art and literature should be performed in the light of philosophic ideas of the epoch.
First of all, it is necessary to dwell on the concepts and definitions of the epochs under analysis, because their names carry important information. The term Renaissance means rebirth , this is the rebirth of several objects. The new concept of man was created due to the new philosophy that is called humanism . The word humanism openly suggests its meaning: concentration and orientation at a human being. Thus, the philosophy is focused on the importance, value and true nature of the man in the Universe. A. Hauser (1999) stresses the naturalism of the period and the turn to empirical reality , the discovery of the world and of man (p.2). This discovery of a man as unique, intelligent, and beautiful creature of God aroused the necessity of new basis for life and development, as the previous historical epoch of the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages can be characterized by overall oppression of a man, his complete ignorance and fear of formidable and omnipotent God. This philosophy could not be applied in the new world, thus, society appealed to the past, to Greek culture and mythology that could be a suitable basis for the development of art, music, and literature of the Renaissance. As for the term Baroque , its etymology is ascribed to the Portuguese barroco, a word that refers to pearls that are irregular in shape and inferior in quality (Wainwright and Holman, 2005, p. 2). The term stresses the importance of form that was typical of Baroque period.
If we speak about the art of the Renaissance, it should be mentioned, that art is something like a business card of the epoch, because the artistic heritage of the renaissance is priceless and impressive. When we say The Renaissance , our imagination creates the association with Leonardo Da Vinci and his Vitruve Luc Viatour . The historical epoch could boast of the magnitude and impressiveness of the art of the period. Paoletti and Radke (2005) state that art mattered in Renaissance. Viewers expected works of art to be meaningful, purposeful, and functional, not just beautiful (p.12). Thus, the function of art was not simplified and reduced to mere moral pleasure from observation of works of art; the pictures were aimed at the delivery of new information about the nature of a man and world around him. Hence the importance given to the physical beauty and attractiveness of a human being, that was provoked by humanism. The philosophy stated that a person should be equally beautiful physically and spiritually, that was the main law of humanism. This rule was applied by artist who resorted to the detailed portrayal of physical beauty of the characters of their paintings in order to create harmony of their inner and outer beauty. It should also be taken into account that the previous historical epoch, the Dark Ages, could be characterized by suppression of human sexuality and carnal desires. In the Renaissance these boundaries were destroyed, and it was natural that the artist appealed to the topic of love and physical relationship in their works. Besides, as it was mentioned above, the antique plots and heroes were widely used by the artists, and it is known that physical relationship was one of the main themes of the antique art. Classical sources were the main sources of the plots of paintings. Humanism also caused the increased demand for and great interest in portraits. One more reason for the demand for the artistic genre of portrait was the wide spread of patrons of artists at that time (Paoletti and Radke, 2005, p. 12).
The art of the following historical epoch, Baroque, has a lot of principal differences from the art of the Renaissance. The root of all differences lies in the functions of art of the concrete period. In comparison with the previous epoch, the art of Baroque was used to convey concepts primarily faith in the Church and its doctrines (Simonis, Garwood and Hardy, 2006, p. 76). Thus, Baroque was propagandistic, and its main aim was the appeal to the faithful that was both sensory and emotional (Simonis, Garwood and Hardy, 2006, p. 76). The main themes of paintings were religious events and personages but they were represented from the point of view of the reality of that time. The changes were mainly caused by the Reformation. If Madonna of Da Vinci or Michelangelo was a secular character, Madonna of the Baroque was a religious symbol.
The essential feature of the art of Baroque period was its fundamental ambiguity (Simonis, Garwood and Hardy, 2006, p. 77). This was a new feature that could not be observed in the Renaissance. It was caused by the change of world-view: a man was not the core of the Universe any more; he was something between everything and nothing. People start to understand the limits of human knowledge and human ignorance. This gave way to the bold fusion of all forms of art , grotesque forms, movement. Though Baroque artists proclaimed that they were the descendants of the Renaissance, it is evident that they violated the norms of equilibrium, moderation, reason, logic of the Renaissance (Simonis, Garwood and Hardy, 2006, p. 77). One more feature that is characteristic of baroque is the pomposity and bizarrerie of art that can be easily explained by the fact that economic state of Italy was rather problematic at that time, if Rome was the center of Catholic world, it had to save its reputation, and prove its wealth. This is why the artists resorted to pretentiousness; they wanted to create the illusion of richness. This may be clearly observed in the works of many artists, for instance, Caravaggio and Carracci.
Speaking about the literature of the periods under consideration, it should be mentioned that the same rules and regularities that could be observed in art may be seen in literature. The interpretation of classical antique themes may be observed in the literary works of the period. The Renaissance was the Golden Age of poetry, this may be proved by the example of Francesco Petrarch, one of the most outstanding representatives of the epoch. The main themes of his poetry were love and beauty. Besides, comic genres developed during the period, the picturesque example may be Don Kichotas by M. Cervantes. The work presents optimistic criticism of the past and present.
However, the literature of Baroque is fundamentally different from that of the Renaissance. Pomposity could be observed again in the poetry of Baroque. Mild criticism makes way for satire that expresses bitterness of the limits of human knowledge. The obscurity and awkwardness of the form was sometimes caused by the burning desire of the writers to sum up and synthesize the whole amount of knowledge about the world, which was impossible for them. The fact that the world-view of the Renaissance failed, caused frequent resorting of the Baroque authors to the theme of dream, darkness, and uncertainty. This may be illustrated by the example of Pedro Calderons play Life is a Dream .
In conclusion, it should be stated that the historical epochs of the Renaissance and Baroque appeared to be the reflections of the social, philosophic, and economical situation in society of the periods. Comparative study of the epochs makes our understanding of each epoch deeper, because they were connected like the links of one chain. The epoch of Baroque made use of cultural heritage of the Renaissance that was a perfect basis for the further development of art and literature. However, the epochs have a lot of principal differences, which create the food for refection and prove the usefulness of the usage of historical perspective in the analysis of art and literature.
Reference
Hauser, A. (1999). The Social History of Art: Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque. NY: Routledge.
Paoletti, J.T., and Radke G.M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. London: Laurence King Publishing.
Simonis, D., Garwood, D., and Hardy P. (2006). Italy. Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet.
Wainwright, J., and Holman P. (2005). From Renaissance to Baroque: Change in Instruments and Instrumental Music in the Seventeenth Century. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Baroque period is distinguished by the depiction of space and movement where expression was of great importance. Exaggeration and luxury are the major distinctions of that period that were revealed in painting as well. However, the Italian Painting of the early period illustrated the religious theme where an emotional atmosphere but not luxury takes place. Caravaggio with his The Calling of Saint Matthew, Carracci with The Flight into Egypt, Rembrandt with The Resurrection of Christ is the most prominent painting that reveals the religious topics of the Baroque stream.
Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1599-1600
The work is painted by an outstanding Italian painter Caravaggio and is hung in the Contarelli Chapel, the French Church in Rome. The painting portrays Saint Mathew inside the building with the Christ outside calling for him through the window. In the picture, the artist depicted gamblers and moneylenders sitting around the table. Levi, who is later called Apostle Matthew, sits at a table together with his assistants counting the days revenues. The group is lighted from the window, on the upper right side of the painting. Caravaggio depicted Christ with his upraised hand in the beam of light as if summoning Mathew. The gesture made by Christ is rather laconic but it is enough to foresee the future development in the picture. In its turn, the gesture made by Matthew is also rather narrative and expressive and means that he is the one who is being called by Christ. The expression on his face discloses reconciliation and obedience. Other figures on the canvas are so reluctant to notice Christ so their ignorance symbolizes their refusal to follow God and to enter the path of eternal life. They are too obsessed with the daily routine so they do not have much time for a confession. The scene reveals the climax of the story marked by the reaction of Christs summoning.
The structure of the picture points out the gap between the mortal and divine creatures. The division also stipulates the difference between earth life and eternal life. The artists The Calling of Matthew is a diligent work of art of the Baroque period since the painting reflects the emotional charge of the picture. In addition, asymmetric structure and the absence of order are also typical of this time thus reflecting the fight between the divine forces and human indifference.
The Flight into Egypt by Annibale Carracci, 1603
Annibale Carracci is an Italian artist that studied at an academy of art established by his family members. Carracci learned that art should be taught from the point of philosophy of art. Hence, his works embodied the traditions of the Renaissance along with life drawing.
Like Caravaggios work, The Flight into Egypt is also the narration based on the biblical topic where the artist created the classic landscape as the background for the actions of the figures. The story is about the advent of Joseph and his wife with Gods child to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). In the picture, nature is subjected the divine laws and human rational thinking. Thus, calm hills and fields, as well as regular trees and light sky, emphasize the spirit of Renaissance, on the one hand, the presence of the Baroque motives. The contrast between the light and the shadow suggests the expressive and emotionally charged atmosphere in the picture. The ideal life is also uncovered through the rightness of the buildings that are opposed to the irregular and asymmetric landscape. The pastoral nature that contrasts the ideal antique architecture can be assessed as the artists protest against the balance between the nature and human world. Here, tombs and temples are captured in the chaos and the disorder of natural elements (Kleiner, 2008).
In conclusion, the work by Carracci is the embodiment of seventeenth-century painting. The plot of the work is revealed through the skillful depiction of the landscape that is alive and inserts a deep sense in the picture. Additionally, the picture shows a constant contradiction between the emotion presented by nature and the reason presented by the artificial building of the ideal forms.
Resurrection of Christ, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1635-1639
The resurrection of Christ is a painting that is also devoted to religious themes. Rembrandt tried to reveal the resurrection as an important biblical event by contrasting light and shadow that prevails in the picture. Like in the previous pictures, the light symbolizes the divine powers, the powers of good.
While depicting Christ, Rembrandt is concerned with rendering the expression and the gestures of the figure thus revealing the scene of action and constant movement. The artist planned to convey the movement so that the viewer could perceive the previous events and foresee the future development. Rembrandt managed to dramatize the event by playing with the colors where there are no smoothing transfers from the shadow to the light. Though the painting has some Renaissance motives as well, the expression and motion are the bright evidence of the Baroque spirit. Additionally, there is always the culmination of the events that could be kept in mind. The character is directly connected with other objects in the picture. At the same time, the gap between the human and Christ is obvious. In this respect, people depicted in the lower-left symbolize inferiority and mortality, and Christ captured by the divine light is the embodiment of eternal life. Again, the rise of light could be identified with the confrontation of life and death, good and evil (Bockenmuhl 2000).
The resurrection of Christ is the resurrection of life out from death and chaos. The fact the painting is structured asymmetrically is quite typical of the Baroque stream especially in the depiction of the religious motive since it is always a confrontation. The analyzed painting of the Baroque period presents both the emotional filling and the meaningful usage of the colors.
Reference
Bockenmuhl, M. (2000). Rembrandt, 1606-1669: the mystery of the revealed form. Germany: Taschen.
Carracci, A. The Flight into Egypt. Web Gallery of Art. 2009. Web.
Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew. Web Gallery of Art. 2009. Web.
Kleiner, F. (2008). Gardner Art Through the Ages: A Global History. US: Cengage Learning EMEA.
The transition from baroque music to the classical period is marked by key cultural trends including the Romantic movement, revolutions in America and France, increasing scientific progress and the prevalence of logical ideas over religious dogma. The manifestation of Man, as the pride and joy of the Universes creation, influenced the popular taste in music.
Over some time, it became appropriate to jettison the ornamented improvisation techniques of baroque music, usually played before the reigning monarchs of Europe, to the simplicity and harmony of classical music which was technically more sophisticated, aiming for perfection rather than improvisation.
To understand the roots of the classical style, one must listen to Bachs sonata for flute and continuo, a musical composition which spells out the difference from his own earlier piece of work, the Brandenburg Concerto No.5, which was played in a baroque style. Some of the fundamental differences that can be picked include a lack of rich instrumentation such as the harpsichord and polyphonic texture.
In its place, clarity and simplicity are evident at all layers, with a homo-rhythmic texture where a solo instrument, the flute stands out in melody from other background voices which tend to agree with it. The sonata form consists of an allegro, several slow movements, and finally, a faster tempo. Instead of fatigue due to recurring themes played, there is greater harmony and an eventual climax.
The pitch in the Sonata-allegro form is more perfect and tries to convey a greater range of emotions that would have been possible with the baroque era composition. To further illustrate the soft dynamics of classical music evolution from the baroque to the classical era, one must listen to Mannheim, Symphony in a Major, by Johann Stamitz.
It consists of a four-movement composition which was later perfected by leading composers of the classical period including Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn. Essential characteristics of Stamitzs symphony texture include the creative accumulation of stringed instruments such as the cello and violins. The four movements of the symphony vary in tempo from slow to fast.
The composition manages to juxtapose rich melodies played using cellos with chords conveying rhythmic phases. The overall balance tilts in favor of harmony while giving ample room for different orchestral voices. Another key development in the classical era is the introduction of percussion instruments such as the piano which would lay the foundation of the modern-day orchestra.
To illustrate an example, one may consider Mozarts First Movement Piano Concerto #23. This is a good example for depicting the harmonious blend of two or more instruments to produce singular appeal and an imaginative sense of proportion unique to Mozart. If one examines the printed score of the Piano Concerto, the pairing of various concerti is evident.
The texture comprises of solo segments, cadenzas, and continuo which are cleverly used to convey a rich set of different emotions. The form is sparse in its depiction of simplicity, and the cadenza is a major highlight of the overall musical score. The above examples from classical era music stand out in comparison to the more rigid, ornamental style of the baroque era.
Each composer tried to accommodate different methods of harmony to bring synchronization to his piece of work. These classical compositions are marked by greater fluidity, balance, grace and were usually prepared, keeping in mind large orchestras and huge audiences, the precursor of musical traditions including Opera and high drama.
This paper explores musical pieces of the Baroque era through the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. Two musical pieces produced by the two authors will be compared to analyze their similarities and differences. These pieces will be evaluated to ascertain how they contributed to the evolution of Baroque era music. A conclusion summarizing the findings of the study will later be provided.
Composers
The baroque era was characterized by several composers. However, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel stood out as the most influential composers of the time. Handel was known to compose concertos and oratorio while Bach was known to write Cantata and Fugue music. These two composers produced several types of music. Through examples, their differences and similarities are further analyzed below.
Comparison of Musical examples
This section of the study compares two musical pieces by Bach and Handel. For Bach, Little Fugue in G Minor (an instrumental part) will be analyzed. Handles Messiah will also be analyzed and compared to Bachs Little Fugue in G Minor. Bachs Little Fugue in G Minor is a Fugue musical piece, while Handels Messiah is an Oratorio. The Messiah is similar to Little Fugue in G Minor in the sense that, they both share a religious background.
Both musical pieces were famously played in the church, and they were similarly appreciated in the same contexts. The Messiah was composed initially of King James Bible and excerpts from the Book of Common Prayer which later propelled it to be one of the most celebrated Western music.
Little Fugue in G Minor has some polyphonic undertones to its composition which sets it apart from Messiah and indeed, most Baroque musical types. Since the musical piece is from the Fugue genre, it has an imitative element to its composition, where there are two melodies playing, and both of them almost have the same pattern.
Messiah is however different in the sense that, it is original to its authentic composition and its tones are not easily imitated. Messiahs musical structure closely resembles that of traditional opera music, but Little Fugue in G Minor is different in this regard because it follows its own unique pattern. Unlike Little Fugue in G Minor, which has a repetition of musical tones, Messiah bears no signs of personification of characters.
There is also very little evidence of direct speech which sets it apart from other Baroque musical pieces, although this is a similarity that the musical composition shares with Little Fugue in G Minor because the latter is an instrumental piece.
Representation of the Baroque Era
Messiah and Little Fugue in G Minor represent the Baroque era in many ways. First, Messiah is considered a pioneer of Western music and indeed, a significant contribution to the Baroque era music revolution. Its contribution is evident from the fact that it popularized the Oratorio type of music.
Little Fugue in G Minor on the other hand dramatically represents the importance of fugue to the composition of musical pieces in the Baroque period because it is during the Baroque period that Fugue became central to musical compositions.
Conclusion
This paper identifies Handel and Bach as influential Baroque musical composers. Their work greatly influenced the revolution of Baroque era music through their contribution to musical composition and the popularization of musical pieces of the Baroque era. However, this paper identifies that both authors composed their works from a religious, spiritual point of view. These factors define the revolution of musical pieces in the Baroque era.
Baroque is often used to describe the style of music which is composed during the era that coincides with the period of Baroque art. There are still a lot of arguments when it comes to the principles of baroque music especially its contribution to the Baroque period. One highlight seen on the style of music is its love of ornamentation. Originally Baroque is known for architecture and the term was just used for music in 1919. A lot of forms of music were discovered during the classical period such as the concerto and sinfonia. Talking about baroque, it is largely comprised of different forms like the cantata, sonata and oratorio (Panofsky, 1995).
The music of baroque is also known in the era of music after the renaissance which was followed by the era of classical music. Baroque literary means the misshapen pearl that is defined in the sense of architecture and later applied for music (Panofsky, 1995). It paved the way for some parts of music cannon and largely regarded as an important detail of the history as it was being studied, listened and performed. Composers like Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, and Johann Sebastian Bach have been regarded in the era of Baroque. Its period discovered the progress for the importance of tonality and applied its principles (Christensen and Dejans, 2007).
Basically, the word concerto means concert. It prevails to be in the era of 1580s until the 1750s and particularly emerged in Venice. Baroque period have revealed many different styles of music on which classical composers have created their masterpieces. The emergence of concerto had been dominant only until the 1700s was reached though many historians argued about it. The varying types of music were actually predisposed by a lot of factors. An important factor goes to the religious side and beliefs during the period with the perspectives of people toward politics. The factors are considered to be the main influencers of Baroque music and largely account for the concertos that happened during the period. In general, concertos use instrumental music only but then it evolved into the use of voices which accompanies the music and makes a good harmony (Christensen and Dejans, 2007). Also, instrumental playing techniques have been developed as the musical ornamentation has been widely used by the composers as well as the performers. Baroque music made the use of instruments to expound its size, range and be more complex. It has also made the foundation for the opera as a genre of music and still prevails in the contemporary music.
Discussion
Describing the music of baroque depicts a large area of music styles from its era. After the era of Baroque, which is the classical period, it covered the influences of baroque and somehow dismissed the ornamentation of music. The masterpieces have been focused into the internal structure of the music and specifically applied to the forms of sonata.
Going back to the features of baroque music, one highlight was put on the strength of the contrast and the disagreement of sonorities. Usually, it can be accomplished by the separation of the instrument used in the performance into two groups or more and this is termed as the stile concertato (Stauffer, 2006). It began in the late 16th century and emerged as it reached the ext century which attributes the progress of using new forms of instrumental ornaments that stroke the significant ideas in the composition of baroque composition.
Baroque music is composed of different styles. There are influences of Italian, French, German and English Baroque music. Also, there are categorized early, middle and late Baroque music. Differences between secular and sacred baroque should also be distinguished and the personal styles of a lot of composers during its periods of emergence. Consequently, these differences marked a difficulty in describing the Baroque music with regard to its elements. But there are characterizations which fall into its general description such as the use of musical instruments, the stylistic elements and the Baroque musical esthetic (Stauffer, 2006).
The baroque concerto is actually one of the genres in western music that lasted long. A group of composers has formed some dramatic masterpieces during the 16th and 17th centuries wherein the alternation of two or more performing forces has been catered to as the main element of the work. In Europe, concertato style can be reflected through the architectural design of the big cathedrals with the use of their extraordinary acoustical elements. As such, the Venetian schools initiated the use of the principles of concerto and symphony as its identification of the symbols that were used before and are still prevalent today. The terms widely describe the concert itself and the use of instruments.
The musicians during the period of Baroque are known to be servants of patrons or the state and sometimes the church. Working with Baroque influences have been independent just after eighteenth century and started to separate from them as independent composers and performers. All the composers have done well indeed. When you say Baroque music, it goes beyond time and place however, it still gets a many ideas from the social and cultural senses of the world where it started (Schulenberg, 2001). The development of financial, commercial and professional classes made them discover the art of music at home, church and in artistic schools where life can be the best way to convey the message of music. And hence, this is led by the Dutch masters like Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer.
When the 18th century came, concerto stands for the instrumental work of a solo concerto just for a soloist and an orchestra, a concerto for two or more soloists and an orchestra which is called grosso, or an orchestral concerto for the undivided orchestra. The first category has been greatly used though the grosso type was the ones which essays were patterned. The different types of concerto are basically made of three kinds of arrangements which are constrained to fast, slow and fast pattern of movement (Stauffer, 2006).
One example of the solo category that has been known in the established era of Baroque is the concertos of Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi studied in Venice and a composer of many concertos. He had published his collections which has 84 of his concertos that gives a background of what the path of his career was and how it was developed. Accordingly, for the 500 works that he has, two thirds accounts for the solo instruments, 230 for the violin which is his native and favorite instrument and the bassoon which he used often. There are also concertos which are written for the cello, oboe, and flute. He had been influenced by Torelli who was known for the three-movement form and Albinoni who used operatic versions with a melody (Stauffer, 2006). Though Vivaldi was not really a good at creating a unique masterpiece such as being innovative, his works are still described with intricacy. The drastic conflict between the solo and tutti usually gives the idea of the composers for the completion of the concertos made by Vivaldi. His compositions reflect the way of driving the vitality of rhythm, different textures and the related continuous sounds of melodic principles.
Vivaldi indeed was known for his concertos that mostly used solo instruments. Also, these are in the three-movement from which is the fast-slow-fast pattern mentioned earlier. The links between the keys in the movement is moderately supple and one third of the slow movements served as the external movements. To some extent not as much of a repeatedly use is done in selection of the relative major or minor, and in also smaller chances of the instances in the dominant or subdominant is being used. E minor though is a one of the most commonly used for highly expressive slow movements (Schulenberg, 2001). Almost all of the start of the movements is in the form of ritornello of which Torelli had introduced. This form of Ritornello was used as a conference in opera arias as which is said to be the best way of focusing on the voice of the soloist and giving uniformity with the use of persistent thematic materials used in the orchestra.
In the concertos made by Vivaldi during the period of Baroque, the soloists are given the most important roles rather than its precursors. They are commonly given high ornamental passage, lightly accompanied and creating a contrast with the sections of thematic tutti. The contrasts put a highlight on the role of the soloist and reveal its dramatic effects more. It is not firm though but it is said that Vivaldi was one of the first composers to use terminal cadenza that kills the performer in the last part of the leading tone trill for an Allegro movement. There are nine moderate broad cadenzas by Vivaldi of which some are simple and with the series of broken chords on a leading pedal, while some of the more intricate cadenzas comprise thematic quotations from the three movements. This kind of cadenza was normally put before the last recurrence of the ritornello which serves as an ornamentation of the one that leads before the tonic cadence during that time, and specifically the goal of the cadenza was to show the intelligence of the performer and the instrument as well (Christensen and Dejans, 2007).
It is always discussed that Baroque music began in Italy and its period have seen renaissance of Rome being known as the center of Catholism in the world after it was turn down. Music is still associated in the forms of sonata and concerto. Another name that prevailed to be in the Baroque period is Arcangelo Corelli. Corelli was known for his famous Concerti Grossi in 1714 and upon building the form of concerto as a composition for many players. This is composed of a smaller group of instrumentalists or concertinos which is against the larger orchestra or ripieno (Stauffer, 2006). The larger orchestra is the one that takes the theme and its development is through the alternation. In particular, this idea is the extension of the older tradition of Italian churches like the antiphonal singing of the verses and responses which is echoing one other.
Conclusion
Baroque concerto is one of the most common forms of music during the period of Baroque and actually is the main point of the Baroque music. Baroque concerto largely attributes the whole concept of music and have revealed that Baroque period was an era of impressive development of knowledge. It was also the era where scientific discoveries have been prevalent such as the discoveries of Newton and Galileo, and the explorations of Locke, Descartes and Spinoza (Stauffer, 2006). The emergence of Europe was distinguished by this emergence of intellectual and artistic ambience in various ways. Composers of Baroque are regarded as a craftsman instead of recognizing them as an artist compared to the later art music in Europe which has a principle of writing Baroque music for particular occasions. Also, the musical scores are usually tagged with intricacy but somehow the posterity for some Baroque musicians is overlooked.
Generally, Baroque concerto can be classified as the influencer of the classical era though some of the principles are dismissed in the later century. The use of instruments has been the trademark for the Baroque era and the start of operatic music. The voice of the soloists is given importance as well as the accompaniment of instruments. Today, the influence of Baroque still prevails in some of the musical works especially in opera houses.
References
Panofsky, E. (1995), What is Baroque? Three Essays on Style, the MIT Press, pp. 19
Christensen, TS, and Dejans, P. Towards Tonality Aspects of Baroque Music Theory. Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2007.
Schulenberg, D. Music of the Baroque. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.
Stauffer, GB. The World of Baroque Music New Perspectives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006.
Over the centuries, the popular music changed, partly as cultures changed, as new instruments were invented and as the ability to manipulate musical patterns developed and became more and more sophisticated. Some of the earliest periods are sharply defined, because the changes which created them were major, The Baroque period was a time of excited experimentation in music as harmonies and counterpoint were developed and varying patterns of themes were tried. The music and the instruments were becoming quite capable of producing many different patterns and sounds. The Classical period was a time for the development of form and structure, and was characterized by attention to control, balance, symmetry, proportion and restraint. The Romantic period was the symbolic flowering if music as an artistic medium for emotional expression. It was then that the symphony and the opera were developed into the high arts they have become.
Comparison of the Works
All four works used full orchestra, but only Handle used choral voices, and only Puccini used a female soloist. As a song of praise the Messiah succeeded entirely and evokes strong emotions in the listener, even though baroque music was more about form explorations and deviating from the more somber character of previous music. It is as exciting a piece as this period produced. By comparison, Mozarts piano concerto was much quieter entertainment for mere entertainment, probably in a large drawing room, rather than in a hall. Puccinis opera, Madama Butterfly, is typical of the romantic period, though not typical of opera. The New World Symphony by Dvorak brings musical style up to its highest level with a full progression of themes which almost tell a story without words and magnificent exploration of sound and rhythms in a very carefully created framework designed to elicit a strong emotional reaction from the audience. This symphony is not listened to but rather, it is experienced .
Baroque: The Messiah by Georg Friederich Händel
This wonderful orchestral chorale was typical of the Anglican anthem tradition, created for performance inside the church. That is had religious content and purpose falls right in line with this period. Like much baroque music it is lively and joyful with a whole tapestry of interwoven melodies. It is performed by full orchestra with a large chorus.
The Messiah begins with only orchestra. Strong notes outline the themes which will be explored almost in a fugue and then lively string and horns complicate the melodies like a tapestry of dozens of different threads. Once the chorus begins to sing, the simple themes are sung and then refined and complicated with several variations each. The themes are sung sequentially in a canon form with male and female voices augmenting the complex hymnal form. It is almost as if Handel was trying to create the illusion of a heavenly chorus of angels backed by the strings commonly heard in the Royal courts for fancy balls. One very interesting aspect is that often the voices and the strings are playing in different time signatures, that is, the voices are slow with fast string melodies or vica-versa. Another thing to note is the relative absence of instrumental or vocal solos or even section solos.
The Messiah is really quite exciting, very much in the baroque tradition, which was first considered very bizarre for its liveliness and complexity. The progression of chorales tell the story of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ and sing praise to the Lord. The Pastorale sections give a quiet time for meditation, as the strings carry the various melodic themes in a slower, almost dreamy style. The piece explores a whole range of musical styles and forms until the Alleluljia chorus crowns it with all the voices and instruments in the final praise and message of joy. What follows this is almost like the conclusion to an essay, a gathering up of all the various tempos and styles with different themes that finally conclude with the resounding Amen.
Classical: Piano Concerto in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This piece of piano music heavily accompanies by full symphony orchestra is much calmer by contrast with Handels Messiah or Dovraks New World Symphony. It is quiet and dreamy with the very complex melodies that became almost synonymous with the names of Mozart and Bach. The music is much lighter in tone, almost a parlor piece of entertainment, while the Messiah was much more serious in its purpose, even with all the liveliness and joy expresses within the work.
The tempo varies throughout the concerto and the melody is passed among instruments and sections, especially highlighting the strings and woodwinds. Each section is introduced with the piano, and then it is embellished by the strings and finally fully explored by the other sections of the orchestra. When the themes are carried by other sections, the piano often accompanies with arpeggios.
The first movement is characterized by flowing melodies like something floating on the air or down a stream. It is almost dancing music in parts, but was meant as a parlor entertainment for afternoon or early evening. It was likely not played with the full orchestra we are used to hearing today, with a much smaller group. As in most concertos of this period, the melodies are played in sequence and they are elaborated and then played in several variations by different sections of the orchestra. The structure of the entire concerto moves like a story, from the beginning introduction to the definition of the characters and finally through the introduction of the problem to its effects, to the reaction of others and finally to the climax and the ending. The music itself is very clear, and the overall concerto follows a clearly defined structure.
Romantic: Madame Butterfly
Puccini created a wonderfully successful opera in Madame Butterfly, though the success was not immediate, as the premier at La Scala in 1904 was a disaster. (Smillie 2009) This opera is highly emotional and includes several recurring themes that have become familiar to many people who have never seen nor heard an opera. It is now one of the three most popular operas of all time, and is considered a required part of any good opera companys repertoire.
The music of this opera has much of the excitement of the Baroque, all of the fine attention to form and technical expertise of the classical, and yet, some of the highest emotional content of any music ever written. Even the odd portion which are written in the diatonic scale are fit perfectly into the whole structure, and they act as a stimulus for fear and suspense.
Aside from the story line, the music builds to an emotional peak along with the story. The character of Madame Butterfly is the main voice of the theme heard at the end of act two. She sings this as a duet later on with her lover/husband, Pinkerton. The themes of the story are very emotionally charged: inter-racial marriage, love, faithfulness, geishas and cultural divides. Madame Butterfly is a geisha at the beginning of the story, which was seen by westerners as a synonym for prostitute, though it was far from the truth. Madame Butterfly meets Lieutenant Pinkerton and they fall in love. They marry under the Japanese tradition and Butterfly has even converted to Pinkertons Christian religion. Pinkerton leaves her afer some months, and does not return for three years. Butterfly turns down an offer of marriage from a local prince, saying she is married to Pinkerton, the father of her son. When Pinkerton returns, he brings his American wife with him. Butterfly commits suicide, knowing that Pinkerton can take him back to America if she is dead.
The recurring lyrical theme Butterfly sings during the night of waiting is the aria, Un bel di vedremo. This is one of the themes which even popular audiences recognize, though they may not know its origin. It is musically very pleasing and beautiful, with flowing melody and faultless bridging of the various parts. However, it is one of the most power pieces of music ever written. One need not know the language or even the context to hear the emotion in the song. Done well it makes the hair rise on the neck and shivers run up the spine. It is used in several places throughout the opera, but is mostly remembered as Butterflys aria and the duet with Pinkerton.
Romantic: New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak
This marvelously complex, yet highly emotionally charged symphony shows the benefits of both the classical forms and the romantic emotionalism. It has all the excitement of Baroque canons and the beauty of carefully crafted themes of the classical period. It begins with a few quiet steps, punctuated by short musical phrases on solo instruments and develops into a heroic exploration of the first theme, consisting of three melodies and moves quickly into the second set of themes played on strings and echoed by horns and woodwinds.
There are four movements and each one catalyzes feeling in the listener in response to the beauty and power of the complex musical score. It is labeled adagio (slow) and allegro molto(medium quick). The first one ends in a powerful melody played by all of the instruments.
Then the second movement is the most familiar to listeners from its use in Walt Disneys Fantasia, as it begins on a set of two quiet notes on horns, continues with a marvelous solo on oboe echoed on strings and horns. Then the same themes is repeated on different groups of instruments, louder and stronger, followed by a quiet variation on strings that leads to a more harmonic repetition with woodwinds, horns and strings. The second part leads to an exploration of a blended theme and sets of chord progressions like steps along a wire. The third theme is more solemn on strings using bows short quiet staccato stroke on the strings and light pizzicato in the background. Then the fourth part begins like birdsong, mostly on brass and horns with string filling ion the body as all the themes are reprised. Then the oboe repeats the first theme quietly echoed on strings and fading away gently until the rest of the strings return in melodic fullness punctuated by the oboe once more. Finally the horns repeat the beginning notes of the movement falling on string arpeggios and culminating in a rising chord progression falling to low notes quietly stroked on the bass. This movement is labeled largo (very slow), but it is only very slow by comparison and though some parts are strong and filled with deep bass sound, it is not heavy.
The third movement is quick and uses short stroked notes and a powerful blend of all sections of the orchestra with lots of drums. It progresses into a set of three themes almost Arabian in character, using most of the groups of instruments and sections I unison throughout the movement. It is labeled sherzo
The final movement begins on a very strong theme played by brass and horns, with variations on the strings to give it fluidity. It then moves into a galloping theme on strings with horns punctuation and settles into a quiet solo on oboe once more with strings supporting with counterpoint and competing harmony, then taking over the melody and moving it into a stronger theme with horns setting the rhythm. It tails off into a quieter section with oboe and strings once more and quiet pizzicato until the piccolos and flutes pick it up and the horns compete with their own repartition of the their movement themes, echoes by string. Then the second movement themes are repeated on various instruments in groups, joined together by chord progressions, first very strong and loud, then more quietly bridging to a lyrical section on strings that builds to flowing section which anticipates another crash of power coming. The horns introduce this last part with repeated triple notes until the second movement themes take over once more. They build top full power and then lead into quieter section solos repeating the theme once more until the strings begin the last slow and powerful melodic theme variation with the full orchestra joining in with very strong horns until the last set of quick strokes ends the symphony on one long last note, almost like a sudden sunset in the ocean.
Conclusions from Comparison
These four works from three distinct musical periods are all very different, but they all have some similarities. All four works are highly emotionally charged, though the Mozart is less so than the others. All four works are carefully constructed with careful attention to form and each tells a story in music. By listening to these four works in sequence one can follow the development of music through the three periods, though it might be difficult to draw the lines, since each of these is an example of the highest form of its time, and therefore, encompasses elements of all the others.
My Reactions to New World Symphony
Walt Disney saw the power of this piece and used it to depict an idyllic population of mythical creatures as they experience a powerful storm. One thinks of the new world at the beginning of this planet, before man when watching this film segment. I can understand this, since I can picture the same sorts of things when I close my eyes and listen to this music. Its beauty makes me hold my breath at times and nearly cry at others. I especially love the sound of the oboe and the power of the full horn section in the third movement. I really cannot wait until I can hear this symphony performed live. I chose these three pieces of music because I like them, but this is my favorite of the three. The wonderful complexity keeps me following mentally the melodies, harmonies and the way Dvorak wove them skillfully together in a musical tapestry of the birth of the world.
References
Dvorak, Antonin, 1893, New World Symphony , DVORAK: New World Symphony / TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Naxos Music Library. Web.
Handel, Georg Freiderick , The Messiah, HANDEL: Messiah (Choruses), Bratislava City Chorus; Capella Istropolitana; Krecek, Jaroslav. Web.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1787, Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, Op. 9, K. 453, MOZART: Piano Concerto Nos. 9 and 17, Bern Bernardi, Mario; CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Cheng, Angela ardi, Mario; CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Cheng, Angela. Web.
Puccini, Giacomo, 1904, Un Bel Di Vedremo, Madame Butterfly
Smilie, 2009, Opera Explained: PUCCINI Madama Butterfly. Web.
