Compare And Contrast Classical And Classical Era

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The Baroque era spanned the times of about 1600 to 1750 and was characterized by ornate melodies and characterized by the many religious musical forms such as the oratorio and cantina. The Classical era spanned from about 1743 to about 1820 and more or less built upon the previous period, the Baroque period. Instrumentally the Baroque era introduced the sonata, symphony and concerto in which there was a small group of instruments accompanying several soloists. On the other hand within the classical period the configuration of the concert was that of a single soloist with and orchestra consisting of strings and brass would accompany this soloist. The musical styles and use of it within operas also differed between these two eras. For example within the Baroque era there would be two or more singers …show more content…

In the Classical Period there was less and less oratorios and cantinas being composed but the biggest difference was the operas subject. The Baroque’s operas was based on classic mythology but within the Classical era it turned to a more realistic contemporary subject reflecting the ideas of enlightenment present in the Classical era. Some major differences between these two eras operas though was the subject matter and form. Within the Baroque era the opera seria, or serious opera, was very common. Opera seria was characterized by the rigid form and appeal to authority or those in power. The later Baroque opera emphasized the strophic variation over the da capo aria was established as a vocal form. Along with these forms was the bipartite aria, which consisted of only A and B variations. In contrast with the late Baroque opera and its rigid alternation of recitative and aria, the middle Baroque opera retained great formal flexibility.The change from this rigid serious opera form came about the years of 1762 to 1783 when the introduction of a simpler more human like opera was introduced. This change can be somewhat contributed to Cristoph

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