Baroque music is generally understood to mean music written between 1600 and 1750. The word baroque is derived from the Italian barocco, meaning “irregular pearl” and is also used in reference to the highly decorated and ornate architectural style of the 17th and 18th centuries. This era is said to begin in music after the Renaissance and to be followed by the era of Classical music in Europe.
Photo: Emily Lockhart
Baroque music is set apart from other time periods by its aesthetic of emotional expression; composers from this time aimed to express one emotion in each short piece or movement. The way in which Baroque music is written down is also unique to the period: the manuscript is really more like an outline of the performance than an exact notation. Improvisation is very important in both the melody and bass lines: in the upper parts improvisation is used to decorate, embellish and personalize the melody lines; in the bass part, numbers written underneath the line of music indicate to the players which chords to play, and they improvise these chords as they go. This style of bass line is called figured bass, and is typically played by a combination of plucked instruments (harpsichord, lute) and sustaining instruments (cello, bass, bassoon).
