Learning Objectives

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List the characteristics of the Baroque era (1600-1750) in context of social change including religious wars (Protestants vs. Catholics), the exploration and colonization of the New World, and the rise of middle-class culture.
Identify a new style—monody—that featured solo song with instrumental accompaniment in the Baroque period through listening examples.
Define figured bass, a shorthand that allowed the performer to supply chords through improvisation.
Compare and contrast the major-minor tonality system and the equal temperament tuning system.
Explain the significance of the union of text and music as expressed in the Baroque Doctrine of the Affections and reflected in genres such as opera, oratorio, and cantata.
Define and compare the genres of opera, oratorio, and cantata.
Compare and contrast the development of two types of concertos: the solo concerto and the concerto grosso.
Correctly identify visually and aurally the main keyboard instruments of the Baroque era: organ, harpsichord, and clavichord.
Describe the main characteristics of J. S. Bach's keyboard music, in particular his Well-Tempered Clavier.

Baroque Period (1600–1750)

Opera in England

England resisted opera even longer than France did. During the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell, from 1649 to 1660, any kind of drama on the stage was actually prohibited. Plays with music could be passed off as concerts, however, and during that time our next composer, Henry Purcell, wrote a number of stage works with enough music to almost be considered operas. But even before and after the puritanical Cromwell, critics and intellectuals in England believed that the spoken word was more appropriate for the English stage. It was the land of Shakespeare, after all. Music could be interspersed with dramatic action, but a drama sung from beginning to end was generally considered too foreign.

With Dido and Aeneas (1689), Purcell produced a true English opera, a work sung all the way through. It remained something of an anomaly until the German George Frideric Handel brought his operas to England in the early 18th century—and at that point, England was conquered for opera at last. Dido and Aeneas, written for a school for girls in the London suburb of Chelsea, is the story of a doomed love affair between Aeneas, the hero of Virgil's Aeneid, and Dido, the queen of Carthage. Naturally, it does not end well. Aeneas must leave Dido so he can go on to found the city of Rome.

Before dying of grief, Dido sings the recitative “Thy hand, Belinda” and aria “When I am laid in earth,” two of the best-known moments in all of opera. “Thy hand, Belinda” is also a fine example of ground bass, a Baroque technique whereby the composer repeats a melodic pattern in the bass continuously through the piece.

Composer: Henry Purcell

"Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me (Dido)"

Composer: Henry Purcell

"Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626: When I Am Laid in Earth"

Henry Purcell

(1659-1695)

Purcell represents the culmination of the English Baroque style. He was the last great English-born composer until Sir Edward Elgar in the late 19th century. English composers of the time ignored the styles of continental Europe in favor of an English national style. Purcell, however, strongly resisted this trend. Instead, he adopted Italian forms. In doing so, he established a foothold for opera in England, while simultaneously composing in all of the major genres. His semi-operatic works include Dioclesian (1690), King Arthur (1691), The Fairy Queen (1692), and The Tempest (1695), and he wrote a great deal of incidental music for other stage works. Dido and Aeneas was his only opera.

In 1679 Purcell succeeded his teacher and fellow composer John Blow as organist at Westminster Abbey, and in 1682 he took on the position of organist of the Chapel Royal as well. In these positions, he wrote numerous sacred works for the Anglican service.

He was very prolific in his short life. He wrote more than 100 solo songs, more than 50 songs for two or more voices plus basso continuo, keyboard works, and works for small instrumental ensembles. When he died, at age 35 or 36—the cause of death is unclear—England greatly mourned the loss. He was buried beside the organ in Westminster Abbey.