Listening Assignment 6
The Mid-Baroque & Late Baroque Masters
Notes on the Final Exam
Final Exam Listening/Score Excerpts—Parts 1a & 1b
In these sections you will see score pages from works on the Exam List in the Study Guide on Blackboard. This list includes both mid- and late Baroque works from Encounter 6. It breaks down into two sections—Part 1a includes opera and other vocal genres; Part 1b focuses on instrumental genres. (For further information on vocal genres, please see the Baroque Vocal Genres Listening Guide.) I will test you on each list separately. For each work you hear, you will identify:
- Composer & title (and section or movement, where necessary)
- Genre
- Part 1a: Vocal Genres—church cantata, intermezzo, opera, oratorio, or tragédie lyrique
- Part 1b: Instrumental Genres—chorale prelude, concerto grosso, fugue, solo concerto, prelude, solo sonata (da chiesa or da camera), toccata, trio sonata (da chiesa or da camera), or solo concerto
- Appropriate vocal or instrumental category
- Part 1a: Vocal types—accompanied recitative, chorale, chorus, da capo aria, French overture, ground bass aria, simple recitative, or verse-refrain aria
- Part 1b: Instrumental forms—allemande, canzona-like, courante, French overture, fugue, gigue, passacaglia, ritornello form, sarabande
- Country of origin—England, France, Germany, or Italy
- Two additional features—possible things to describe include:
- Performing forces (solo voice(s)? chorus? solo instrument? continuo or orchestral accompaniment? etc.)
- Examples of text depiction and text expression
- Recurring rhythmic or metric patterns (describe them, please)
- Texture (melody & accompaniment? homorhythmic? imitative? for which phrases?)
- Use of ritornello, ground bass, or other distinctive formal features
- Melodic style and use of ornamentation
- etc.
For the complete Exam List, both Parts 1a and 1b, see the Final Exam Study Guide in the Blackboard Assignment Resources module.
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Final Exam Listening/Score Excerpts—Part 2
For the second Listening/Score Excerpts section of the Final Exam you will see NAWM score pages from three musical works, one each from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Baroque eras. You can prepare for this section by looking at scores and listening to representative works from NAWM, reflecting on the differences between these eras, and making lists of the most important style features for each era. Consider the following musical elements as you prepare.
- Texture types favored in each era—monophonic? melody & accompaniment? homorhythmic? imitative? fugal? etc.
- Nature of musical expression in each era—what did composers try to express? was text depiction/expression used or not?
- Important genres in each era—plainchant? organum? motet? Mass? madrigal? chanson? opera? oratorio? cantata? recitative? aria? chorus? etc.
- Other important style features—how does each era use – rhythm and meter? chromaticism? melodic shape & length? text setting (melismatic or syllabic? good declamation?) performing forces? dramatic features? etc.
- Important composers and dates for each era?
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Study Questions
The best way to do well on quizzes, exams, and other assignments in this course is to know the assigned listening well. Listen to each work below as often as you can, study the scores, and learn what the NAWM notes say about each one. For each work you want to be able to answer the following Study Questions:
- What is the genre?
- What is its form?
- What is the name of the style in which it is written?
- How does this work use the elements of music? What features of the work are typical of the style? What features are not?
- To answer this, look at the ways these works use melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, texture, color (timbre), form, text setting, and so on
- How does the work compare with other works in the listening assignment (especially those in the same genre)?
- What features of the work are unique or unusual?
- For this encounter, pay special attention to:
- In vocal works, what are the important differences between recitative, arioso, aria, and chorus? Consider especially the use of rhythm, performing forces, and melody.
- What are the important similarities and differences between vocal genres such as opera, oratorio, cantata, and so on? Which vocal types and features are used in each genre? Which are unique to a particular genre?
- What are the important features of a da capo aria? What are the main section in da capo form? How is the final A section different from the first A section?
- What are the essential differences between performance practice in France and in Italy?
- What are the important features of popular Baroque dance types (allemande, courante (or corrente), sarabande, gigue, gavotte, and so on)? Consider tempo, meter, rhythmic features, texture, etc. In what genres and works (on the Listening List below) can we find examples of these dances and dance rhythms?
- Several multi-movement instrumental genres emerged in the Baroque era. What are the standard movement formats for mid- and late Baroque sonatas and concertos? What are the important differences between sonatas and concertos written for church and for chamber.
- What role does continuo play in mid- and late Baroque music?
- What is the “Doctrine of the Affections”? What specific techniques did Baroque composers use to express specific emotions?
In some cases, additional Study Questions below will draw attention to particularly interesting, unique features of specific works. These Study Questions, NAWM scores, and recordings together will help you prepare for the Final Exam. They require no written report.
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Encounter 6 Listening List
Before you listen, do the Burkholder readings above to familiarize yourself with the composers, their works, mid- and late-Baroque genres, and significant style features. Further readings listed below under Dances and Dance Suites and The Sonata for Church and Chamber will help you prepare for both the Encounter 5 Group Presentations and the Final Exam. Challenge yourself to identify musical features described in these sources as you listen and study these scores. The listening materials below will give you practice recognizing these works, genres, and their style features. As always with any NAWM work, you really want to read the NAWM notes, listen to the recording, and follow the score.
Cantata & Oratorio
A1) NAWM 80—Giacomo Carissimi, Historia di Jephte (Italian Oratorio)
- a) Plorate colles (Recitative with arioso passages)
- b) Plorate filii Israel (Chorus)
A2) NAWM 87—Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Le reniement de Saint Pierre, conclusion (French Oratorio)
- a) Ministri ergo Judeorum (Narration and dialogue in recitative)
- b) Et introductus est Petrus in domum (Chorus)
- c) Et tu cum Jesu Nazareno eras? (Recitative and quartet)
- d) Tunc respixit Jesus (Chorus)
A3) NAWM 94—Alessandro Scarlatti, Clori vezzosa, e bella, conclusion (Italian secular Cantata)
- a) Vivo penando (Recitative)
- b) Sì, sì ben mio (Da capo aria)
Study Question on Group A:
- Based on the excerpts above, what are the most obvious similarities and differences between mid-Baroque Italian cantatas and oratorios?
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Mid Baroque Opera
B1) NAWM 85—Jean-Baptiste Lully, Armide (Tragédie lyrique—Mid Baroque French opera)
- a) Overture (French overture)
- b) Act II, scene 4
- Laissons au tendre amour (Divertissement)
- c) Act II, scene 5
- Enfin il est en ma puissance (Recitative)
B2) NAWM 90—Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Act III, scene 2 (Mid Baroque English opera)
- a) Thy hand, Belinda (Recitative)
- b) When I am laid in earth (Ground bass aria)
B3) NAWM 93—Antonio Sartorio, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Act II, Scenes 3-4 (Mid Baroque Italian opera)
- a) Scene 3. Mostra Cleopatra (Recitative)
- b) Se qualcuna mi bramasse (Da capo aria)
- c) Scene 4. Son prigioniero (Written out Da capo aria)
- d) Vaga Lidia, ove sei? (Trio)
- e) Alla carcere d’un crine (Aria)
B4) NAWM 95—Alessandro Scarlatti, La Griselda, excerpt from Act I, Scene 2 (Mid Baroque Italian opera)
- a) In voler ciò che tu brami (Da capo aria)
B5) NAWM 100—Jean-Philippe Rameau, Hippolyte et Aricie, Act IV conclusion (Tragédie lyrique—Late Baroque French opera)
Study Questions on Group B:
- What typical features of a French overture do you find in the Ouverture from Lully’s Armide? Consider its form as well as contrasts in texture, tempo, meter, etc.
- How do these French, Italian, and English examples of recitatives and arias differ from each other? What qualities seem particularly French, Italian, or English? Why?
- How is the final A section different from the first A section in the da capo arias from the Sartorio and Scarlatti operas?
- What is unusual about Rameau’s use of recitative, aria, chorus, and orchestra in this scene from Hippolyte et Aricie? How does the impact of this scene compare with that of the other opera examples here?
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Dances and Dance Suites
Before listening to these works, read the following passages in your textbook:
- The material on performance practice, especially notes inégales and overdotting, pp. 348-350
- The section on Lute and Keyboard Music, especially the paragraphs on “Agréments” and “Style luthé,” pp. 352-353
- The section on Dance Music, especially the paragraphs on “Binary form,” “Suites” (particularly its descriptions of individual dances), and “German versus French suites,” pp. 353-358
For each dance mentioned on pp. 355-358 (in boldface), make a short list (for your own use) of typical features (tempo, rhythm, upbeat, form, etc.)
Also browse through the following readings from the RESERVE list.
- Mattheson, Johann, Der vollkommene Kapellmeister
- Part I, Chapter 3, Sections 49-83, pp. 103-110
- Part II, Chapter 13, Sections 79-142, pp. 451-468
Early Baroque sources used the terminlogy of rhetoric (the art and craft of persuasive speech, practiced by orators and actors) to explain how composers could express an emotion by imitating the speech patterns associated with that emotional state. Later in the Baroque period, notions of how to express and move the affections evolved into a deeper, more “scientific” system known as the Affektenlehre (Doctrine of the Affections). One of the principal sources of information about the Affektenlehre is Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Kapellmeister. Based on scientific writings on the nature of the affections, Mattheson’s book takes the six primary affections listed by Descartes and discusses the musical devices appropriate to express each one (see pp. 103-110). Mattheson goes even further, indicating that each musical genre, whether instrumental (see pp. 451-468) or vocal (see pp. 431-448), is naturally suited to the expression of some specific affection.
C1) NAWM 88—Denis Gaultier, La Coquette virtuose (French lute courante)
C2) NAWM 89—Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Suite No. 3 in A Minor, from Pièces de clavecin, Book I (French keyboard dance suite)
- a) Prelude
- b) Allemande
- c) Courante I
- d) Sarabande
- e) Gigue
C3) NAWM 99—François Couperin, Vingt-cinquième ordre (French keyboard dance suite)
- a) La visionaire (French overture)
- b) La muse victorieuse (Passepied)
Study Questions on Group C:
- What features of French Baroque performance practice and keyboard style can you hear in the works above (based on the readings from pp. 348-350)? Find a few good examples.
- Practice listening for typical features of each dance as described on textbook pp. 355-358. For each dance above, which features (from the list you made—see instructions above) can you hear?
- Does the “affect” (emotion) of each dance above correspond to Mattheson’s description in his Der vollkommene Kapellmeister (RESERVE)? Browse through pp. 451-468 to find Mattheson’s descriptions of the dance-types used in these three suites and figure out how each dance fits (or doesn’t fit) his description.
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The Sonata for Church and Chamber
Before you listen, use Burkholder Ch. 17 (pp. 377-383) and either the Corelli lecture notes or the Baroque Sonata Listening Guide to determine characteristic features of Corelli’s sonatas, including the number and order of movements (for both church and chamber sonatas) as well as the typical form, tempo, meter, rhythms, and character for each movement. Make sure you understand the differences between the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and the sonata da camera (chamber sonata) and between solo sonatas and trio sonatas. This will help you prepare for both the Encounter 5 Group Presentations and the final exam.
Trio Sonatas
D1) NAWM 96—Arcangelo Corelli, Trio Sonata in D, Op. 3, No. 2 (Church sonata)
- a) Mvmt. I. Grave (Allemande)
- b) Mvmt. II. Allegro (Fugue)
- c) Mvmt. III. Adagio (Sarabande)
- d) Mvmt. IV. Allegro (Gigue)
- Alternate Recording: Purcell Quartet (with ornamentation!) – Assignment Resources module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 6/Corelli Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2
Solo Sonatas
D2) Corelli, Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 5 CDs—RESERVE MCD C824/5m
- Arcangelo Corelli, Violin Sonata, Op. 5, No. 10 (Chamber sonata)—CD2, tracks 13-17
- Mvmt. I. Preludio. Adagio
- Mvmt. II. Allemanda. Allegro
- Mvmt. III. Sarabanda. Largo
- Mvmt. IV. Gavotta. Allegro
- Mvmt. V. Giga. Allegro
- Alternate Recording—See Assignment Resources module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 6/Corelli Violin Sonata, Op. 5, No. 10
Study Questions on Group D:
- Identify important style features in each sonata movement above. How would you describe each movement’s use of melody, rhythm (tempo? meter? anacrusis? dotted or continuos rhythms?), texture (imitative? homophonic? other?), form (binary? fugal?), dance type (use the lists you made for Dances & Dance Suites above), and instrumentation (how many violins? continuo instruments?).
- What are the most important differences between church sonatas and chamber sonatas?
- What are the most important differences between solo sonatas and trio sonatas (besides the number of violins used)?
- Does the “affect” (emotion) of each dance in the Corelli chamber sonata correspond to Mattheson’s description in his Der vollkommene Kapellmeister (RESERVE)? Browse through pp. 451-468 to find Mattheson’s descriptions of the dance-types used in these sonatas and figure out how each dance fits (or doesn’t fit) his description.
- These Corelli sonatas provide excellent examples of Italian Baroque style. Based on the Peter le Huray reading and your observations on the examples in Groups C and D, what do you hear as the chief differences between Italian Baroque and French Baroque styles?
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Late Baroque Opera and Oratorio in England
Italian Opera in England
E1) NAWM 107—George Frideric Handel, Giulio Cesare (Italian opera)
- Act II, scenes 1-2
- a) Scene 1. Eseguisti, oh Niren (Recitative)
- b) Scene 2. Da Cleopatra apprenda (Recitative with Sinfonia)
- c) V’adoro pupille (Da capo aria)
Handel & the English Oratorio
E2) NAWM 108—George Frideric Handel, Saul (English oratorio)
- a) No. 66. The Time at length is come (Accompanied recitative)
- b) No. 67. Where is the Son of Jesse? (Simple recitative)
- c) No. 68. O Fatal Consequence of Rage (Chorus)
E3) Messiah DVD—RESERVE VIDEO 781.7 H236m
- George Frideric Handel, Messiah (English oratorio)
- There were shepherds (Simple recitative & accompanied recitative)—DVD track 14
- Glory to God (Chorus)—DVD track 15
- Alternate Recording: Naxos Music Library 8.550667-68—Handel, The Messiah—tracks 14-15
Study Questions on Group E:
- How would you describe the differences between Handel’s operas and his oratorios?
- Based on these Handel examples, what are the primary differences between simple (continuo) recitative, accompanied recitative, and arias in the late Baroque? How does Handel combine these types effectively in his “scene complexes” (see textbook pp. 445-446)? What does Handel do to alter the “recit-aria-recit-aria-etc.” formula of previous Baroque operas?
- How effectively do these late Baroque arias and choruses express the text? What techniques does Handel use?
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Early Classic Opera before 1750
NOTE: These Group F examples are in NAWM Vol. 2! Go to Encounter Listening in Blackboard to find recordings of these works.
F1) NAWM 109—Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, La serva padrona (Intermezzo)—Blackboard RESERVE
- a) Ah, quanto mi sta male (Simple & accomponaied recitative)
- b) Son imbrogliato io (da capo aria)
F2) NAWM 110—Johann Adolf Hasse, Cleofide (Italian opera seria)—Blackboard RESERVE
- Act II, scene 9: Digli ch’io son fidele (Da capo aria)
F3) NAWM 111—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Le devin du village, Scene 1 (French opéra comique)—Blackboard RESERVE
F4) NAWM 112—John Gay, The Beggar’s Opera (English ballad opera)—Blackboard RESERVE
- Aria XV: My heart was so free (Aria)
- Aria XVI: Were I laid on Greenland’s coast (Aria)
Study Question on Group F:
- What are the important differences between Italian comic opera, Italian opera seria, French opéra comique, and English ballad opera? Consider form, melodic features, ornamentation, subject matter, language, instrumentation, rhythm, texture, and so on.
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The Mid Baroque Concerto
G1) Corelli Concerti Grossi Op. 6 Nos. 7-12 CD—Blackboard RESERVE
- Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6, No. 8, Fatto per la notte di natale (written for Christmas Eve) (Concerto grosso da chiesa)
- II. Allegro (allemande in binary form)
- Vb. Largo. Pastorale ad libitum (pastorale)
The Late Baroque Concerto
G2) NAWM 98—Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6 (Violin concerto)
- a) I. Allegro (Ritornello form)
- b) II. Largo
- c) III. Presto (Ritornello form)
- Alternate Recording: L’estro armonico CD set, Fabio Biondi & Europa Galante—Blackboard RESERVE
G3) Johann Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concertos DVD—RESERVE VIDEO 784.2 B817f
- Concerto No. 5 in D Major (Concerto grosso)—DVD Side B, chapter 4
- I. Allegro (Ritornello form)
- Alternate Recording: RESERVE MCD B118/1046n—Bach, Brandenburg Concertos—CD2, track 4
- Alternate Recording: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg CD set, European Brandenburg Ensemble, Trevor Pinnock, cond.—Blackboard RESERVE
Study Questions on Group G:
- Based on the examples above, what are the important differences between mid and late Baroque concertos?
- Which movements of these concertos generally use ritornello form: I, II, and/or III?
- Outside of tempo, what differences do you hear between slow movements and fast movements in these concertos? Consider form, performing forces, and any other features that stand out.
- Based on the examples above, what are the important differences between Bach’s music and Vivaldi’s? Any style features are fair game in your comparison.
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The North German Organ School
Quasi-Improvisatory and Imitative Works
H1) NAWM 97—Dietrich Buxtehude, Praeludium in E Major (Mid Baroque organ prelude)
- Alternate Recording—See Assignment Resources module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 6/Buxtehude, Praeludium in E Major
H2) NAWM 102—Johann Sebastian Bach, Prelude and Fugue in A Minor (Organ prelude and fugue)
H3) Development of Western Music (DWMA)—RESERVE MCD D489 1998
- DWMA 116—Johann Sebastian Bach, Das wohltemperirte Klavier, Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 (Keyboard prelude and fugue)—CD6, tracks 18-19
- Alternate Recording: RESERVE VIDEO 786.2 B118j—Bach, 48 Preludes and Fugues: The Well-Tempered Clavier—DVD 1
- Alternate Recording—See Assignment Resources module/Encounter Listening/Encounter 6/Bach Prelude & Fugue
Chorale-Based Works
H4) NAWM 103—Johann Sebastian Bach, Durch Adams Fall, BWV 637 (Chorale prelude)
Study Questions on Group H:
- Why did Buxtehude write just a prelude and not a prelude and fugue? Are there any fugal sections in this work? How would you describe the use of imitative sections here?
- Late Baroque composers frequently paired improvisatory works (toccatas, preludes, fantasias, etc.) with fugues. What effect is created by pairing an improvisatory work and a fugue? How similar or different are the Bach organ toccata and the Bach WTC keyboard prelude above?
- Which term best describes the Bach chorale prelude, Durch Adams Fall—imitative, ornamental, or figural (see Burkholder, pp. 395-396)? What is the effect of the descending 7th motive in the pedals? What musical motives and techniques does Bach use to symbolize the central image of the title, Adam’s fall from grace (“original sin”)?
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Bach Vocal Music
I1) NAWM 105—Johann Sebastian Bach, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 (Church cantata)
- Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Chorus—in the form of a “gapped” chorale prelude)
- Bewundert, o Menschen (Full da capo aria)
- So geht aus Gottes Herrlichkeit und Thron (Recitative)
- Streite, siege, starker Held! (Full da capo aria)
- Wir ehren diese Herrlichkeit (Accompanied recitative)
- Lob sei Gott, dem Vater, ton (Chorale)
I2) NAWM 106—Johann Sebastian Bach, St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (Passion)
- No. 36, Und der Hohenpriester antwortete (Biblical narrative with dry recitative, accompanied recitative, and chorus)
- No. 37, Wer hat dich so geschlagen (Chorale)
- No. 38, Petrus aber saß draußen im Palast (Biblical narrative with dry recitative and chorus)
- No. 39, Erbarme dich (Aria)
- No. 40, Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen (Chorale)
Study Questions on Group I:
- What are the most important differences between this Bach church cantata & passion and the Handel opera & oratorio excerpts in Group E above? Pay special attention to the types of musical numbers used (aria, recitative, chorus, chorale) and the ways Bach uses them. Does the fact that Bach wrote these works for church explain any of the differences? What role does the chorale melody Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland play in the cantata? What role do chorales play in the St. Matthew Passion?
- Study Bach’s opening chorus in the cantata. Bach often combines features of contrasting genres in his choruses, and this one is no exception. Here he fuses the chorale motet with the ritornello form typical of a concerto. How is this an example of ritornello form? Where are the ritornello statements? Where are the episodes? How does Bach present phrases from the cantus firmus (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) in this chorus? In what ways does his use of the cantus firmus resemble the way Josquin used pre-existing melodies in his Masses and motets? Can you find examples of fore-imitation here? Where? What similarities and differences do you find between this chorus and our Handel chorus (Glory to God) from Messiah? How does this cantata chorus compare with Bach’s use of the chorus in the Biblical narratives from St. Matthew Passion?
- As you compare vocal music by Handel and Bach (Groups E and I), which composer is more obvious in using text depiction? Which one is more obvious in using musical symbolism? Which one relies more heavily on contrapuntal textures? Which one uses contrasting textures and dynamics more dramatically? Where can you find good examples of these features?
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