characteristics of baroque music
TRANSCRIPT
Characteristics of
Baroque Music
• Dr. Henri Duyzend practiced
dentistry for more than 30
years before retiring in 2007.
An active patron of the
performing arts, Dr. Henri
Duyzend particularly enjoys
music from the Baroque
period.
• Baroque music, composed primarily
between 1600 and 1750 CE in
western Europe, is most notable for
its focus on artistic expression and
ornamentation. The style stems
from the increasing interest at the
time in the heritage of the classical
world, particularly that of Greece
and Rome. As the people of the
classical era believed in music as a
tool for emotional communication,
so their descendants in the
Baroque period began to
concentrate on meaning as the
purpose of composition.
• Whereas earlier music focused largely
on the effects of counterpoint and
harmony, Baroque music prioritized a
solitary musical voice supported by a
single harmonic structure. Baroque
composers believed that this structure
was most effective at communicating an
emotion, as a single orator is most
effective at communicating an idea. For
similar reasons, the style became
notable for its use of dramatic and
abrupt dynamic shifts, rhetorical
themes, and a rhythmic continuity
throughout the piece.