The Baroque period saw the rise of instrumental music to prominence alongside vocal music. Instruments like the violin became increasingly popular, driving demand for composers to write instrumental works. Genres that developed included the solo sonata and trio sonata, which featured prominent solo lines. Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi were influential composers, with Vivaldi elevating the solo concerto and writing The Four Seasons concertos depicting nature in music.

1. Instrumental Music of
the Baroque

2. The Rise of Instrumental Music
Baroque is the first period in which
instrumental music is as important as vocal
Sales of instrumental music outpace vocal
music by the end of the 1600’s
Violin especially important in the rise of
instrumental music – growing popularity
Increasing number of amateur violinists
created market for composers

3. The Rise of Instrumental Music
Instrumental techniques and quality improve
Instrumental virtuosos
Bach & Handel: Organ
Corelli & Vivaldi: Violin
Scarlatti & Couperin: Harpsichord

4. Divergence of Styles
Vocal and instrumental styles diverge
Idiomatic writing for particular instruments
Composers exploit the characteristics of
individual instruments in their compositions
Growing use of expressive gestures for
instruments – program music

5. Baroque Instruments
Renaissance instruments replaced
Viol, sackbut, cornetto, shawm disappear
Violins, violas, cellos appear – dominate orch.
Orchestra grows in size and standardization
Orfeo calls for 14 different instruments
Later orchestras are built around a core of
strings, and feature 2-4 of each instrument
Usually no more than 20 instruments

6. Orchestral Overture
Instrumental piece that precedes larger work
Two common forms of overture:
French Overture
Italian Overture
Though there were pieces called sinfonia, it
is the Italian overture that evolves into the
symphony as we know it in the Classical era

7. Orchestral Overture
French overture
Single movement in two sections
Slow-Fast pattern
Meter: slow section is duple, fast is triple
Italian overture
Single movement in three sections
Fast-Slow-Fast pattern

8. Sonata
Sounded (sonata) rather than sung (cantata)
Very popular among amateur violinists
Very flexible number of players/mvmts.
Sonatas that used dance movements were
called chamber sonatas (sonata da camera)
Two most popular types of sonata
Solo Sonata
Trio Sonata

9. Trio Sonata
Most popular combination of instruments:
Two violins and continuo
Misleading name:
Three lines of music on the page, but…
Four instruments playing
Continuo is two instruments

10. Sonata for Solo Instrument
Shows off the virtuosity of a solo player
Demonstrates characteristics of instrument
Usually accompanied by continuo
Bach
Solo violin (no continuo)
Scarlatti
Solo harpsichord

11. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Born near Bologna, Italy – an important
center of violin study
Spent most of his career in Rome as a violin
teacher, performer, and composer
Small compositional output influences some
major composers
Couperin, Purcell, and J.S. Bach

12. Arcangelo Corelli
First composer to write in fully functional
tonal harmony
Not a virtuoso in the modern sense, but was
known for his beautiful violin tone
Died a very wealthy man (120,000 marks
by some accounts – serious bucks)
Buried in the Pantheon in Rome

13. Listening Example
Title: Sonata in B flat Major, Op. 5 No. 2: II Allegro
Composer: Arcangelo Corelli
Genre: Sonata

14. Notes on Sonata in B flat Major, Opus 5
No. 2: II Allegro
Intimate sound of chamber music
Violin soloist and continuo
5 movements (listed by tempo) in entire
piece – 2nd mvmt. is our listening example
• 1. Grave
• 2. Allegro
• 3. Vivace
• 4. Adagio
• 5. Vivace

15. Notes on Sonata in B flat Major, Opus 5
No. 2: II Allegro
Note fast tempo of the 2nd mvmt. (allegro)
Lively display of skill in this movement
Virtuosity on display in a solo sonata

16. Concerto
An instrumental genre contrasting sound of
a soloist or small ensemble with orchestra
Two Kinds of Baroque Concerto
Concerto grosso
Solo concerto

17. Concerto grosso
Contrasting instrumental groups:
Small group (from the orch.) – concertino
Large group (full orch.) – ripieno or tutti
Different instruments featured at different
times in the concertino
Brandenburg Concertos by Bach are the
culminating masterworks of the genre

18. Solo Concerto
Contrasting instrumental groups:
Solo instrument
Orchestra
Solo part features virtuoso playing
Violin is the most frequently-used solo instrument
Consisted of three movements:
Allegro – Adagio – Allegro (Fast – Slow – Fast)
Antonio Vivaldi: leading composer of solo
concertos, especially for the violin

19. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
A native Venetian, he took holy orders in
his mid-teens and became a priest at 25
His father taught him violin at an early age
and concertized with his son in Venice
Called “red priest" due to color of his hair
Was maestro de' concerti (music master)
for Conservatorio del' Ospedale della Pieta

20. Antonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi contributed to the evolution of violin style
and technique
He elevated the solo concerto genre through the
quantity and quality of his concerti
Popularly believed to have been buried in a
pauper's grave and given "only a small peal of
bells" at his funeral
Today Vivaldi is recognized both as the "Father of
the Concerto," and as a herald of musical
romanticism

21. The Four Seasons
Four individual solo violin concerti
Each concerto depicts an Italian sonnet
(poem) which describes a season
No. 1, Spring (La primavera)
No. 2, Summer (L’estate)
No. 3, Fall (L’autunno)
No. 4, Winter (L’inverno)

22. Listening Example
Title: Spring, 1st mvmt, The Four Seasons
Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Genre: Solo Concerto

23. Notes on Spring, 1st mvmt.
Depiction of birds, brooks, storm, etc.
Virtuosity of soloist
Recurring opening theme (ritornello)