Learning Objectives

• 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)

Instrumental and Vocal Music Forms