An introduction to Baroque music covering the composers, features, instruments, forms and vocal music of the Baroque period.

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I am very grateful to the Bach Netherlands Society for permission to use their videos in this lesson. Please check out their Youtube channel for more fabulous performances of Bach:

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This video includes examples of Baroque music from the 3 most famous baroque period composers - Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel and Antonio Vivaldi. The opening example is taken from Bach's Easter Oratorio and is performed by the Netherlands Bach Society.

The key features of Baroque music are discussed. The tonality of the era is explained as music moved from being modal to the establishment of major and minor keys.
Baroque melodies are also explained. Composers in the period wrote melodies using motifs which were imitated, developed and decorated with ornaments such as trills.
Counterpoint was a crucial technique used by many Baroque composers and this music theory video lesson explains how counterpoint works and gives an example from a Bach Cantata.
Contrast was also a key feature of Baroque music. This contrast was expressed through terraced dynamics (abrupt changes in volume), differences between solo and ensemble instrumentation and through the increasingly wide variety of instruments.

Typical Baroque instruments are covered in this lesson - recorders, flutes, violins, violas, cellos, double basses, timpani, harpsichord and organ are all introduced. Various examples are played, including a Handel Flute sonata, Vivaldi's Violin Concerto No. 4 ("Winter") and the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ.

The lesson also covers the typical forms of Baroque music, including the concerto grosso and its characteristic antiphonal sound, the sonata (including continuo accompaniment) and the suite. The usual components of a Baroque suite - Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue are discussed and an example is played of Bach's Prelude from his Cello Suite No. 1.

The final part of this lesson on the Baroque period covers vocal music, in particular the big sacred works of oratorio, passion, cantata, mass and anthem. The rise of solo vocal works, notably the da capo aria is discussed.

The recordings from the Moderna Chamber Orchestra and the Telemann Trio are public domain recordings used through the Creative Commons.

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