Baroque Period

BAROQUE PERIOD Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: (23 April 2011) Baroque Period Why the Baroque Period is referred to As the Gigantic Excelsior The term Baroque Period refers to a style of European music the years between 1600 and 1750. Baroque is a Portuguese term meaning ‘’a pearl of irregular shape’’. The term baroque is used to describe something that is strange, abnormal or extravagance. It was commonly in the 20th century when referring to a performance of music. The term also portrays a period marked with dramatic expressions such as vigorous and highly ornamented art (Fitzpatrick, p.67). It relates musical vocabulary to emotions. For illustration, composers in this era would use musical techniques to describe meaning of certain words. Musical historians use the term while referring to a range of styles originating from a wide geographical region. Homophobic music was also popular in this era. Other forms of music that were developed in this era are polyphonic music. Defining characteristics of music in this era are similar to those of gigantic Excelsior. That is the reason why Baroque Period is some times referred to as gigantic Excelsior. The common characteristics include expression of emotions, emphasis on instrumental color, place of music and feelings. The homophonic method was also an important factor in writing and playing music. This method could display a distinct separation between melody line and accompaniment (Andersen, p.89). It gained wide acceptance and using it as a Baroque music grew quite rapidly. The accompaniment could be instruments like harpsichord, a cello or a bassoon. Homophonic music became quite popular in the Baroque Era. The development of polyphonic music grew simultaneously to the homophobic music. Artist in this time in music history believed that art was the counterpoint was necessary requirement in composing music. They could improvise complex figures within a moments notice while composing music. Orchestra and Opera both developed in the Baroque era. The Italian intellectuals created Opera so that they could summon up the spirit of ancient Greek drama. Baroque Period is also used to describe an era of scientific discovery and reasoning. Scientific discoveries proved to be important to knowledge about the continent during this period. Settlement in the ‘’New World’’ began in the Baroque Period. Work Cited: Andersen, Liselotte. "Baroque and Rococo Art", New York: H. N. Abrams, (1969) Fitzpatrick, A. The Baroque Period: Movements in Art, London: Creative Education, (2005) How the invention of photography affected painting in the 19th Century In the 19th century, new inventions such as photography caused many changes to take place with the most notable one being in the area of painting. Photography was invented at a time when painting was so romanticized because of its commercial success. Celebrated painters in this duration such as Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) did not foresee the threat that photography would pose to their line of work. Gustave like all other painters thought that photography was just a means of referencing details of facial expressions, light effects and motion. One painter Mr. Delacroix quoted in his journal tha...