Chapter 10Baroque Vocal Music.ppt

Chapter 10Baroque Vocal Music Oratorio Key Terms Oratorio Chorus Secco recitative Accompanied recitative Baroque Sacred Music Baroque sacred music placed special emphasis on the choir Rooted in Renaissance Mass motet Strong tendency to borrow from secular vocal music, especially opera Used recitative aria Featured virtuoso solo singing Oratorio the most theatrical Baroque religious genre Oratorio Basically an opera on a religious subject Often on an Old Testament story Narrative plot presented in several acts Real characters implied action Used recitatives arias Differed from opera in some respects Presented in concert form no scenery, costumes, staging, or gestures Incorporated many more choruses Chorus Similar to Renaissance choral music Alternation between polyphony homophony Some text painting Incorporates Baroque theatrical features Chorus used to narrate story, comment on the action, or even participate in the action Dramatic contrasts rests used to build tension excitement Voices orchestra provide maximum fullness Handel, Messiah Handel’s most famous work Composed in only 23 days Unlike other Handel oratorios Not a real “story” with characters taking roles Text taken entirely from the Bible Uses anonymous narrators commentators Narrates episodes from Jesus’s life recitative Comments on episodes recitative, aria, chorus Recitative “There were shepherds” 1 Angels announce Christ’s birth Short dramatic scene! Narrator tells the story in recitative style Recitative in four parts Alternates between secco recitative accompanied recitative Parts 1 3 secco conversational in style with free rhythm continuo accompaniment Parts 2 4 accompanied very melodic with clear meter orchestral accompaniment Recitative “There were shepherds” 2 Accompanied recitative reserved for special, dramatic moments Part 2 describes the appearance of an angel Strings provide a kind of musical halo Part 4 marks the sudden arrival of a multitude of angels Parts 3