Baroque Music and the Social, Political and Economic Aspects of the Era

Bauer, Marion, and Ethel Peyser. Music through the Ages: A Narrative for Student and Layman. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1946.

Bukofzer, Manfred. “Allegory in Baroque Music.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol. 3, no. 1/2, Oct. 1939, pp. 1-21. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/750188. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Bukofzer, Manfred F. Music in the Baroque Era, from Monteverdi to Bach. New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1947.

Choral Music. “Spem in Alium (Thomas Tallis) – Tallis Scholars.” YouTube, 9 Mar. 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT-ZAAi4UQQ. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

Croatian Baroque Ensemble. “Händel – Concerto Grosso Op.3 No.3. G-major HWV 314 Croatian Baroque Ensemble.” YouTube, 19 Dec. 2017, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kfHsm9QGdA. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

Julimusis. “Monteverdi – Orfeo: Recitativo Secco.” YouTube, 27 Oct. 2015, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lYTFO7FxG4. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

Lang, Paul Henry. Music in Western Civilization. New York, W.W.Norton & Company, 1941.

Muzyka v Raju. “J. S. Bach: Trio Sonata No. 5 in C Major BWV 529 (Allegro) | Nevermind.” YouTube, 31 Dec. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b0dCjD-y5M. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

Ralph Joachim. “Georg Friedrich Händel: ‘Tochter Zion.'” YouTube, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9o2M7jHnlE. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.

Rossi, Nick, and Sadie Rafferty. Music through the Centuries. Boston, G. Humphries, 1963.

Shippen, Katherine B., and Anca Seidlova. The Heritage of Music. Illustrated by Otto Van Eersel, New York, Viking Press, 1963.

Stevenson, Robert Murrell. Music before the Classic Era, an Introductory Guide. New York, St Martin’s Press, 1955.

Ulrich, Homer, and Paul A. Pisk. A History of Music and Musical Style. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963.

Vaubel, Roland. “The Role of Competition in the Rise of Baroque and Renaissance Music.” Journal of Cultural Economics, vol. 29, no. 4, Nov. 2005, pp. 277-97. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41810897. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.Wold, Milo, et al. An Introduction to Music and Art in the Western World. 10th ed., Brown & Benchmark Publishers, 1996.

Music and religion. These two terms have always been interrelated throughout history. Religious texts were sung, and a sense of otherworldliness has always accompanied musical works. Starting from the Age of Enlightenment, this relationship gradually changed, and music started to be dominated by religious views. Music became a tool of propaganda for the church, helping to spread its message to every corner of the globe. Musical norms began to follow the dramatic changes in the structure and politics of the church. The term “Baroque” actually means “a pearl of irregular form” in Portuguese. This musical pearl does indeed carry many irregularities compared to the music of the Renaissance, the equally-radical set of ideas that preceded the Baroque period. It is interesting to see that Western music has experienced sudden changes in relatively short time intervals and that the Catholic Church has significantly influenced it during these times in the 17th and 18th centuries. But why exactly did the Catholic Church feel an urge to change the way music was performed? How did it manage to spread its message through this new style of music? If we can find answers to these questions, the post-Enlightenment relationship between music and religion will be more apparent for us and we will be able to appreciate Baroque music even more.

A tiny “orchestra,” or an ensemble to be precise, is performing one of the trio sonatas of Bach. The melody is a rather fast one, and the group has divided its pace into two: The recorder and the violin play the main melody while the harpsichord and viola da gamba accompany them on the background. The piece is rather homophonic since the primary two instruments are supported by the other two that create a rhythmic contrast. As we have already discussed, Baroque music has introduced a new understanding of music, but it should not be forgotten that it had also changed the place of music in the society. Note that the ensemble is performing not in a church, a chapel, nor at a plaza. The setting is a large room with detailed decorations, one that resembles the living rooms of wealthy citizens.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the expanding international trade routes were slowly changing the economic hierarchy that was present since the ancient times. Middle-class merchants were benefiting from the commercial and industrial environment that supported individual initiatives. Most probably as a way to express their new wealth, these merchants became eager to have a culture of their own (Lang 407). They started to commemorate important events in their family lives, like weddings and funerals, by appropriate works of art. Performing music to wealthy circles became a lucrative business, compelling young musicians to form small music groups and to tour around wealthy cities. The success of the merchants was closely related to the weakening power of the church. The clergy did not control the international trade routes, rather, it was the secular members of the society that had initiated these expeditions. Again, individualism was gaining momentum, and the rising power of the Protestants prevented the Catholic Church from monopolizing these routes. The result was a wealthier middle class and a different setting for the Baroque music.

He is very passionate, right? His words are well intelligible, and the music, which is subordinate to the text, heightens the emotions of the speaking voice. The actor speaks high or low, fast or slow, “according to the concept he is expressing”. In contrast to the polyphonic voices of the Renaissance, his voice is not left alone by his body and expressions. His performance is a melting pot of acting and singing, and one cannot be thought independently of the other. Indeed, his performance is the ideal performance as envisioned by a small group of Florentine noblemen, poets and musicians who had regularly met during the last quarter of the 16th century.

The Florentine Camerata, as they were known, championed a change in the relationship between word and music. The desire to revive the ancient Greek practice of combining music and poetry had, as we have discussed in the previous installations, started during the Renaissance. Although the polymaths of the Renaissance had achieved a delicate balance and harmony using the counterpoint, the emphasis on passionate emotions and material splendor did not appear until after the Council of Trent. Extensive emotions had to be utilized to signify the church’s triumphant resurgence, as advocated by the council (Wold et al. 170). Combining words and music to study a Greek legend and adding emotions to the performance, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo shows us how the Baroque music was influenced by religion and the changing tastes of the contemporaries.

On this place, you can hear Tochter Zion, freue dich by the famous Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Handel. It is an advent song, so it was sung during the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. This version is sung by the choir of the Saxon State Opera of Dresden in the city chapel of Dresden. After enjoying the beauty of the interior of the chapel, we notice the monophonic texture of the piece. The choir sings the melody in unison in the exact same pitch, while the orchestra around the concertmaster softly accompanies the choir by playing the exact same melody. The soloists occasionally take over the choir, but the orchestra continues with its accompaniment. Either coming from the choir or the soloists, the words, as well as the melody, are clearly distinguishable. The voice of the choir reigns supreme over the instrumental accompaniment, focusing the audience’s attention to their words.

Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis, on the other hand, puzzles us with intertwined voices. A typical example of Renaissance choral music, Spem in Alium employs counterpoint, as evidenced by the polyphonic, as opposed to monophonic, texture of the piece. Each voice sings the same melody in different pitches and each melodic line is slightly offset from the others, creating a homogeneous, carefully-calculated unity, yet, the words are hard to distinguish, leading us to conclude that it is not the words, but the aesthetic quality of the sound that mattered for Thomas Tallis.

But what has initiated this change? Why was monophony start to be practiced? The introduction of monophony was actually the result of a Protestant-Catholic conflict at the time.

In fact, the unintelligibility of Spem in Alium and other Renaissance sacred songs was of utmost concern for the Council of Trent, held between 1545-1563. The Council of Trent had convened as a Catholic response to the accusation made by the leaders of the Protestant reformation. The Catholic Church was accused of isolating itself from the average congregation and being unable to prevent the disturbing differences between liturgical books found in various nations, provinces, and cathedrals. To survive, the Church decided to unite the Catholics by supporting more intelligible chants to reach the common people (Ulrich and Pisk 207). Words, and the emotions they carry, became more important than perfectly-arranged polyphony. The influence of polyphony continued into the Baroque era, but it was now sharing the stage with monophony. 

Note the central figure in this Baroque orchestra. It is not the violinists, nor the harpsichordist. The recorder player takes our attention at the first sight. This flute concerto from Vivaldi is centered on the recorder: it is the recorder that sets the speed, and the rest of the orchestra follows the melodies played by the recorder. We frequently witness passages where the recorder plays solo. It should be noted that these passages are where the recorder player can express his interpretation the most easily. There is only one recorder player in the entire ensemble, so the recorder player can attract attention and demonstrate his virtuosity by playing complex melodies. In short, the concerto, an iconic invention of the Baroque era, gives musicians a chance to fully express themselves.

It is no coincidence that the concerto is an invention by the Baroque musicians. The extensive support of humanist ideas by Protestants had accelerated a process that started in the Renaissance, and the effects of humanism on the musical thought of the era began to appear during the late Renaissance and Baroque. The new era advocated for an emphasis of individual achievements. The decreasing popularity of polyphonic music provided individual voices to stand out. The rise of the economic middle class increased the use of instruments outside religious contexts, and the desire to stand out among the amateur musicians increased. Inevitably, the concept of solo song with instrumental accompaniment was developed to a high level. To this concept came a desire for excitement and brilliance in performance. The concerto provided the necessary ground for this.