J. S. Bach was probably the most important person at this period. He was borne in Eisenach, German. Bach had chosen St. Michel's church in Luneburg for singing in the choir, where was the place that helped him to became an advanced musical career. Friedrich Emanuel Praetorius had added many important music manuscripts and prints to the school library, thus the school had dozens of collections of music pieces and became famous. The basis for Bach’s chorale piece was probably built in this school. Everybody should have heard of his preludes and fugues, inventions, partitas and suites. One of his most famous pieces should be "Air on the G String" from Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major, BWV 1068. It was written for Bach's patron Prince Leopold of Anhalt in between the years 1717 and 1723. Another famous piece should be the six cello suites, especially the prelude. It was written for unaccompanied cello, which the six suites are all in different keys. There were also written in between 1717 and 1723.
The major influence should be the instrumental music. Basso continuo, which is also known as figured bass, was introduced in this period. It was notations that gave bass part players to identify the chords they were playing. It was also a distinct feature in the Baroque period. Many instruments are also produced during this period, such as the violin family, flutes, bassoons, timpani and clavichords. Different forms are also developed, such as fugal forms, variation forms, chorale preludes, improvisatory forms and sonata form. Sonata form was the most important development, as classical period and romantic period also use sonata form as one the the major forms in the compositions. Orchestra was also formed in this period. There are two parts in the orchestra, which is solo part and tutti part. This is called concerto grosso, which is the main form of Baroque orchestra literature. The major component in the orchestra was strings, while there are usually less woodwind and percussion players. The bass players would be responsible for the basso continuo, and different instruments doubled on each part , thus there was not much color in the Baroque orchestras.
Ornamentation and basso continuo would be the main characteristic styles of music. As instrumental music started to get more popular in this period, the ornamentation was also getting more complicated and decorative. Although they are rarely written out in the music, performers frequently added lots of ornaments to the music. Shakes, turns, appoggiaturas and mordants are some of the most commonly used ornaments. Chromatic scales and chords are also used to decorate the piece. Basso continuo was the distinct feature on Baroque period, as stated before. Counterpoint is also used to harmonize the bass line and make the chord sounds more elegant. Terraced dynamics are always used in Baroque music, unlike the gradual change, which can be found in Romantic period and 20th century period. Some works used regular rhythms and strict tempo, while some works are allowed the performer to have rubato. Cantatas and oratorios were also originated in this period, which is the foundation for the vocal music in later periods. One of the most famous oratorio pieces would be "Messiah" form Handel.
Work Cited:
Baroque Music - Part One. Elaine Thornburgh. 13 Oct 2010 <http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/M151/Baroque_Music1.html>.
Baroque Music - Part Two. Elaine Thornburgh. 13 Oct 2010 <http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/M151/Baroque_Music2.html>.
Johann Sebastian Bach's life (1685-1750). Jan Koster. 2002. 13 Oct 2010 <http://www.let.rug.nl/Linguistics/diversen/bach/map.html>.
The Baroque Era. Ryan A., Lauren S., Jesse B.. 1998. 13 Oct 2010 <http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-bar-inst.htm>.
Music of the Early Baroque Period. W. W. Norton & Company. 2002. 13 Oct 2010 <http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/concise/ch9_outline.htm>.
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