The term ‘Baroque’ is defined as the style of the famous European countries which includes music, architecture and arts from late 17th century to early 18th century. Music from baroque era were composed of well-known personalities. Some of the major contributors to this time period are: Antonio Vivaldi, henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Handel. Music with different instrumental sounds were observed and played during this era. The two famous style of instrumental music were the concerto and the sonata. I have chosen the music titled Messiah composed by renowned persona named George Handel. Handel’s messiah was the first English language based oratorio. Oratorio is a huge musical composition that includes orchestra, soloist and …show more content…
It is also considered as a transition where a new concept of music was evolved in comparison to medieval and renaissance era. One of the revolutionary compositions also includes Messiah by Handel in late 17Th century. Handel was more interested to compose operas but at that time pope from the England did not allow anyone to compose operas. In the mean-time musical society of Dublin, Ireland has heard about the Handel’s previous operas and other beautiful musical pieces. He was called to perform in the charitable musical society of Dublin. It took almost 4 weeks for him to compose this beautiful and catchy piece. (Hoyler,2014). Although Messiah was more focused and intended to perform in the season of Easter, it tied the people in such a way that it is often played in Christmas, the greatest festival of the Christian religion. Today, people from all over the Europe and the USA who celebrates Christmas plays this musical piece. The main theme of Messiah is to offer God’s people peace, happy and comfortable. He tries his best to make everyone’s heart delight by teaching and inspiring with his beautiful composition so that everyone could cherish magnificent gift which God has offered.
This book by John Rupert Martin is a good introductory book in the understanding of Baroque artists and their tremendous variety. Martin defines the Baroque characteristics, but only very broadly leaving a significant amount of room for the reader to make his own deductions. In general, Martin believes that the typical definitions of the Baroque are "too restrictive and hence likely to create more problems of classification and interpretation than it solves." Even the time of the Baroque is left open to the reader when Martin says the Baroque is roughly comprehended by the seventeenth century. It is important to note at the outset that this is only a convenient approximation; for epoch as a whole can certainly not be fitted into such a strait-jacket." This helps to define the Baroque much more generally as a gradual change which can much easily be noticed from the present than the past.
Handel’s Messiah is a Baroque-era, awe-inspiring composition; rich with history, profound in meaning, and intensely intimidating when asked to dig deep into its inner workings. When first receiving this assignment, I was overwhelmed by what I was being asked to do. But after analyzing and critiquing the melody, adding figured bass symbols, macro-analyzing the chords, adding roman numerals, and commenting on the voice leading in chords moving in root position, I feel as if I have only scratched the surface of all Handel put into the Messiah. In this paper I will be discussing and critiquing the melody, addressing the effect of consonant and dissonant sounds, commenting on the uncommon motion between root position chords, and observing the aesthetic effect of what Handel did with this part of the Messiah.
Langlois, Jeffrey B Langlois, Geej. “Bach and Handel: Their Influence on future generations.” Music Anthology. N. p. 21, January, 2008. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
One of my favorite pieces from Bach is Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. This piece brings a lot of memories to my head. When I was in Mexico, before entering the 1st grade we had to have ball dance, the girls had to wear a big puffy dress and dance to a melody. This piece reminds me when I had my ball dance and makes me have so many emotions. One of the great things about Bach is that he wrote music for individual
George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 to George Handel and Dorothea Taust in Halle, Germany. Handel’s father prohibited him to use any musical instruments because he wanted him to study law. However, Handel secretly learned to play the harpsichord and pipe organ and became a talented performer. During a trip to Weissenfels that Handel and his father took to see Handel’s nephew, who was Duke Johann Adolf I’s valet, Handel was given the opportunity to play the organ. Everyone was impressed by his performance, and Handel and the duke were able to persuade his father to let Handel receive music lessons from Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, who played the organ for Halle’s Marienkirche. Handel received lessons on the harpsichord, oboe, organ, and violin. Handle complied with his father’s desire by attending the University of Halle and studying Civil Law in1702. He played the organ at the evangelical reformed church for one year before leaving to play the harpsichord and violin in the orchestra of the Hamburg Oper am Gansemarkt. In 1705, he produced Almira and Nero, which were his first two operas. Three years later, he produced two additional operas entitled Daphne and Florindo. He met Gian Gastone de’ Medici while in Hamburg, and he invited him to Italy. In 1706, Handel accepted his offer and journeyed to Italy and worked together with Antonio Salvi. His first opera that he composed for Italian performance was entitled Rodrigo, and it was performed in 1707 in the Florence’s Cocomero theatre. He wrote his first oratorio entitled Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno in 1707. He produced music for the clergy of Rome, including his popular work Dixit Dominus. Handel composed La resurrezione for Francesco Ruspoli in 1709, as well...
In summary, Handel was one of the greatest composers to ever live. Although George Frederic Handel was mostly known for his oratorio The Messiah, he is also one of the paramount composers of the baroque era. Even though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Handel never gave up his dream of becoming a world class musician. His creativeness and speed is unmatched even today. The operas and oratorios Handel created are still some of the greatest ever made. His contrasting textures and beautiful melodies make his music some of the most technical and beautiful music ever created.
The Baroque Period thrived on the basis of composers coming together to create artwork of pure beauty, development, and a musical evolution cycle that would forever impact the grand future of music. The developments that occurred during this time laid a vivid path to the creation of the Classical Period. Key composers of the Baroque era include Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Phillip Telemann, Jean-Philippe Rameau, George Frideric Handel, Johann Pachelbel, Henry Purcell, Antonio Vivaldi, Domenico Scarlatti, Allesandro Scarlatti, Claudio Monteverdi, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Francois Couperin. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 symbolizes the significant freedom composers were fortunate enough to experience during the period as Bach’s piece flows with such elegance and grandeur, typical of the Baroque Period. Handel’s Messiah “He Shall Feed His Flock” embraces the beauty of musical artwork during this era as the piece hints at the cultural changes of the era and offers the musical experimentation that thrived. While these composers played pivotal roles in the creation of an era of music, the people, cultural needs, and desire to create something great fueled the prosperous Baroque
George Frideric Handel was born musically inclined. As a child he was deprived of musical instruments because his father wanted him to pursue the law profession. However, George was allowed to take music lessons from a local organist, by the name of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau, after Handel had impressed the Duke when he played the organ at the chapel. In his following years, Handel would travel to many places, accepting many different musical occupations. As Handel traveled, he was introduced to many of his musical influences. He wrote operas, oratorios, anthems, secular cantatas, and also wrote scarred music. Throughout his life, Handel would become famous for his compositions, particularly for his English Oratorios, however the most popular ones today include: “Messiah”, “The Water Music”, and “Royal Fireworks.”
Baroque era covers the period between 1600 and 1750 beginning with Monte Verdi (birth of opera) and ended with deaths of Bach and Handel. The term baroque music is borrowed from the art history. It follows the Renaissance era (1400-1600). It was initially considered to be a corrupt way of Renaissance by conservatives. The dominant trends in Baroque music correspond to those in Baroque art and literature. Some features of Baroque art included a sense of movement, energy, and tension (whether real or implied). Strong contrasts of light and shadow enhance the effects of paintings and sculptures. Opera is one of the types of music in the Baroque era. It represented melodic freedom. Baroque era was usually referred to as the thorough-bass period. In early Baroque era no tonal direction existed, but experiments in pre-tonal harmony led to the creation of tonality. [1] Baroque genre included instrumental suite, ritornello, Concerto grosso and chant. There were important composers of the Baroque period such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi William Byrd Henry Purcell and George Phillip Telemann. Starting in northern Italy, the hierarchical state -- led by either the urban bourgeoisie or despotic nobles -- replaced the fluid and chaotic feudal system of the middle Ages. [2] For this reason, some historians refer to the Renaissance as the Early Modern Era. Sculptors, building on the techniques of artists such as Giovanni Bernini (1598-1680), found ways to create the illusion of energetic and even violent movement in their works. Painters created larger and more crowded canvases. Virtuosity was used in all the arts. The arts became an important measure of learning and culture. Music moved from the science of number to an expressive art viewed as an equal to rhetoric.
German-English composer, George Frederick Handel, is one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period if not of all time. His work, Messiah, is one of the most famous and beloved works of music in the world. During his career in music, Handel composed Italian cantatas, oratorios (like Messiah), Latin Church Music, and several operas. Handel moved around from country to country writing, composing, and producing music for royalty such as Queen Anne and George of Hanover. In his life, Handel mastered several instruments including the violin and the harpsichord.
Jones and Warren combines the black R & B tradition, heavily saturated in gospel and making a joyful noise, gospel based religious overtones and impose them on a European musical masterpiece. In 1741, Handel was in Dublin Ireland, when he composed the masterpiece in twenty-four days. The Schirmer introduction to the oratorio cites that: “in his choruses (Handel) did not go beyond four-part writing, and kept his orchestra within the most modest limits, so that no instrument except violin and trumpet plays a solo part, and oboe and bassoon do not appear at all in the score.” Jones and Warren steered clear of the supposed limitations of Handel’s original work. They brought synthesized music, marimbas, tambourines, and the music...
One of the Baroque period’s greatest composers, George Frideric Handel, lived an eventful, passionate and successful but sometimes tragic life, following his dreams even when the odds seemed against him. The intricate music of George Handel’s shows his great attention to detail and his critical judgment. This can all be seen though his compositions of operas, oratorios and his other various musical pieces. “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshments of the soul,” (thinkexist.com). His belief that music was the glorification of God constituted the role of Handel’s compositions in the churches of his day.
George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany. Handel was known as the greatest composer during the Baroque era. Handel was most famous for the Messiah a English Ontario. This great composer also wrote the great opera seria known as “Julius Caesar” which was performed first in London, England in 1724. The opera seria quickly became popular and was toured in several other cities.
Johann Sebastian Bach was known as a musical master wrote many amazing masterpieces. One of the lesser known pieces is Bach’s BWV 543, entitled “Prelude and Fugue in A minor” and otherwise nicknamed “The Great.” This music is said not to be a famous piece for organ but does itself justice when compared to his similar and more famous works. The tight structure of the piece intertwined with its highly virtuosic nature is a great example of the influence the Baroque era had on Bach and his musical thought process.
The Baroque era was the age of magic. Flat surfaces became three-dimensional and paint on plaster became alive. It was the age of masterful illusion. Nothing exhibits this mastery better than Baroque ceiling paintings.