George Frederic Handel's resume

Dates: 1685-1759

Nationality: German , born in Halle

Best known for his oratorios.

Handel's father, George, was a respectable barber-surgeon who was not interested in Handel pursuing music.

Handel later spent one year at the University of Halle stufying law.

At the age of 12, Handel became the assistant organist at the cathedral of Halle.

Handel spent three years in Italy and it was here that he absorbed many Italian traditions that would influence his operatic style. He also met the famous harpsichordist,Domenico Scarlatti. In 1710, Handel was appointed conductor for the Elector of Hanover.

The Academy was launched to promote Italian opera, a genre which Handel enjoyed composing and to which he contributed over 40 operas.

The Academy lasted eight years before going bankrup due to mismanagement, fighting and extravagance, plus the English public did not enjoy operas in the Italian style.

Like Bach, he went blind near the end of his life and dictated his music.Handel also continued to appear in public, conducting and playing the organ.

He collapsed just after his 74th birthday. Handel was given the honour of being buried in Wetminster Abbey in London, with a funeral attended by thousands.

Unlike opera, oratorios are performed in concert without costumes, scenery, or staging and are consequently less expensive to produce.

recitatives do not repeat text but move the story forward.Arias are emotional high points with orchestral accompaniment.

Handel's most important contribution to music history undoubtedly lies in his oratorios. He was considered one of the greatest organists of his time, along with J.S. Bach.

The Messiah, 1742

genre: Oratorio

Librettist: Charles Jennens

Origins of text Mainly Biblical

Messiah was so popular at its premiere that the ladies were asked to wear skirts without hoops and the gentlement to leave their sword behind to ensure the maximum number of people could attend each performance.

Messiah premiered in the city of Dublin, Ireland, having been written to raise funds for charity.

Handel continued to direct Messiah to raise money for some years to come.

He apparently wrote this masterpiece in only 24 days, using chorus, soloists, and simple orchestration.

the work is written in English prose, (non-rhyming) unusual for a Handel oratorio.

Unlike Bach, Handel was not born into a musical family, but his talents were quickly realized by his father.

Bach had no interest in opera but wrote instead many religious works such as Cantatas, Passions, and Masses.

Both men would be afflicted with cataracts in their old age and undergo surgery at the hand of the same oculist, John Taylor.

Oratorio is a large-scale work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra

serious subject, generally based on biblical texts

developed in the baroque era.

French overture is a baroque orchestral genre, generally in two parts

recitative is a speech-like style of singing used in operas, oratorios, cantatasusually used to advance the plot or storyline, moves through text quickly.

recitativo secco is italian for dry recitative

supported only by continuo

recitativo accompagnato is italian for accompanied recitative.

supported by instrumental ensemble or orchestra

da capo aria is the big deal.

the most common song type in Baroque opera and oratorio

melisma is a group of notes sung on a single syllable/vowel

libretto is the text of an opera, oratorio, or cantata

homorhythmic texture is all voices sing the same rhythm

results in a blocked chordal texture

Bach and The Well-Tempered Clavier

the Bach family provided generations of musicians to Northern Germany, but the best-known and most-respected family member was Johann Sebastian. The life and music of Johann Sebastian bach (1685-1750) born in Eisenach, Germany music was the family profession for five generations orphaned at age ten, musical training continued by oldest brother, Johann Christoph academic studies included Latin, Greek, theology sang in choirs, became accomplished violinist and virtuoso organist trained in instrument building and repair Early Career: Arnstadt, Mulhausen married Maria Barbara Bach (distant cousin) shortly after arriving in Mulhausen. Two of their children, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm friedemann, became successful musicians Weimar: court organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Weimar. accepted a salary advance for a new position at Cothen; this angered the Duke of Weimar, which resulted in a month in jail. Cothen: sudden death of Maria Barbara married Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a court singer; their sons, Johann Christian and Johann Christoph, became successful musicians. Leipzig important large scale works written in this period: Goldberg Variations, Art of Fugue frequently traveled to test new keyboard instruments died july 28, likely cause was a stroke Musical Style and contributions": composed works in virtually every genre of his day, except opera as a devout Lutheran, Bach dedicated all his works "to the glory of god" Stretto: from the Italian stringere, meaning 'to tighten' tierce de Picardie: a work in a minor key ends in the tonic major (raised 3rd) 'Well-tempered" refers to the newly invented tuning system for keyboard instruments that allows for pieces to be written in any key. "Clavier" is the German word for any keyboard instrument other than organ. two books. Each book contains twenty-four preludes and fugues, Both books begin with preludes and fugues in c major and c minor then move up chromatically be semitone, ending with b major and b minor. toccata: a very fast keybaord work demonstrating a virtuosic, improvisatory character. This dazzling, virtuosic organ toccata is among Bach's best-known works: How here's tid bits of info from another book: Johann Sebastian Bach's Resume: best known for embracing the equal temperament s ystem and writing fugues. he married his cousing when he was 22.Bach became known as an organ virtuoso However, Bach could not leave the employ of the Duke unless he was dismissed. Bach did eventually quit, and was put in jail for a month due to his disrespectful behaviour. In Anhalt-cothen, Bach's career prospered under the patronage of Prince Leopold of Cothen. The prince favoured chamber music which Bach wrote, along with keyboard music. Bach's first wife died so he eventually remarried to the singer Anna Magdalena. In total, Bach had 20 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. Bach stayed for the longest time in the city of Leipzig, from 1724 until his death in 1750. He also became known as the greatest organist in Germany. Bach also wrote poetry. His eyesight failed him in the last year of his life, and then Bach had a stroke, but continued dictating right until the end. Bach wrote for every genre of his era except for opera. Bach's works were not published until after his death and were therefore not heard except for the original audiences, and Bach did not travel like Handel, spreading his music throughout Europe. Frederic Chopin admired Bach above all others and knew the 48 preludes and fugues by heart. Almost all of Bach's vocal music deals with the Christian tradition and were written for lutheran church services. Bach wrote 48 preludes and fugues in the two well-tempered clavier books. Bach wrote two books: Art of the fugue and The musical offering homophony is a single melody with chords He enjoyed writing complex polyphonic, contrapuntal works such as fugues. He did not develop any new genres and he wrote no operas The books were not published during his lifetime, that took another 51 years and the efforts of his sons. Each book consists of 24 preludes and fugues, one prelude and one fugue for each of the twelve major and minor keys. It was a common Baroque trait to end a minor key work in the tonic major. fugues generally have three to five independent melodic lines. Bach was particularly gifted at the art of counterpoint, that is, the musical ability to say two things at once and still be understood. Did you know? J.S.Bach often entered into contests where he would be given a subject with which to spontaneously improvise a fugue on the organ or harpsichord. The fugues in Bach's two volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier each begin with a subject, which is a short melodic idea played in only one voice. Some subjects are a few notes, others are four or five bars long. The second statement of the opening subject is known as the answer- it is generally in the dominant key and is played by another voice. If the theme is altered slightly in the answer, then it is said to be a tonal answer. if it is entirely unaltered, it is a real answer. there may also be countersubject playing ( a secondary theme which accompnies various entries of the subject and /or answer. the form of a fugue can vary, but a typical fugue has an exposition, development, and coda. The exposition is the beginning of the fugue. The subject (or answer) must appear in all voices An episode is a connective passage or area of relaxation between subject entrances Diminution is when the subject may appear in shorter time values (usually by half), and augmentation is the opposite.

Vivaldi and The Four Seasons

Vivaldi was an ordained Catholic priest. Because of his red hair, he was nicknamed the red priest.

ritornello form:

the opening passage is re-stated throughout the movement.

ripieno:

Italian for full or complete.

a term used to denote the use of the full orchestra in the Baroque concerto.

ostinato:

Italian for obstinate or persistent.

A rhythmic or melodic pattern repeated for an extended period.

drone:

a sustained bass note that provides a rudimentary harmonic foundation

common in folk music.

solo concerto:

for soloist and orchestra

frequently employed ritornello form

intended to showcase the virtuosity of the soloist.

La Primavera

It is considered a programmatic work because poetic images are depicted graphically in the music.

genre: solo violin concerto

date of composition: 1725

In his lifetime, Vivaldi was best known as a composer of operas.

Think of sequential numbering for vivaldi's birth: 6-7-8 or 1678

dates: 1678-1741

His first love was to music, not to the church.

Vivaldi spent many years as maestro de concerti )director of instrumental music) at the Conservatorio del'Ospedale della Pieta, a famous music school for girls in Venice.

He wrote much of his music for the concerts at the Conservatorio, and these concerts became famous with visitors from around Europe.

Vivaldi became maestro di cappella to the Governor of Mantua. he was also a composer for the St. Anglo opera house in Venice and also performed his works in italy, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

The pope apparently asked Vivaldi to come and play the violin for him at a private audience. Apparently King Louis xv so enjoyed Spring from the four seasons that he asked Vivaldi to come to Versailles to perform the piece.

Little is known about the end of his life and despite having earned good money during his lifetime, he was buried in a pauper's grave in Vienna, Austria ( much like Mozart)I.

One of the most recent organizations of all of Vivaldi's works was done by Peter Ryom, who used the abbreviation RV.

Vivaldi was influenced by the earlier works of the Italian composers such as Arcangelo Corelli.

He was one of the first composers to introduce the cadenza (technically demanding solo passages).

He wrote works for the ancestor of the clarinet, the clarino.

Vivaldi began the practice of writing concertos in three movements: fast-slow-fast, which became the standard form for composers to follow. Vivaldi also made ritornello form popular and used the idea of a recurring theme in many of his works.

The four seasons is a wonderful collection of pieces based upon four Italian sonnets that Vivaldi presumably wrote.

Word painting refers to a musical technique where the music imitates the emotion, action, or descriptions of the text.

Ritornello, Italian for little return, is a passage for full instrumentation that is often repeated between instrumental solos.

tremolos is the same note played repeatedly and very quickly on a string instrument.

Ostinato is the Italian word for unceasing which refers to a short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a composition, or portion of a composition.

a drone is a note performed throughout a composition as a sustained bass note.

Musical overview of the Baroque era (1600-1750)

The French term Baroque likely originated from the Portuguese word barroco, which means 'rough pearl".
the year 1600 is usually given as the beginning of the era and the death of J.S.Bach in 1750 is considered the approximate end of the Baroquoe period.

Patronage of the arts refers to a person or group that supports artists, such as painters or composers, through financial or other means.
Rather than fluctuations of volume, Baroque music relied on a passage being forte, for example, followed by one that was uniformly soft, creating the effect of light and shade. this shift from one level to another has come to be known as terraced dynamics and is a characteristic of Baroque style.

Improvisational skills were highly prized in the Baroque era. The figured bass, also known as thorough-bass, was a common type of Baroque improvisation.
Figured bass is a system of musical shorthand.

Two of the greatest improvisers were J.S.Bach and Handel. Singers and players were expected to add their own embellishments, so that Baroque music sounded altogether different in performance from what it looked like on paper.
Kayboard instruments such as the harpsichord and clavichord could not sustain a note for very long, so a trill would lengthen the value of a note.

Doctrine of Affections was a philosophy that related to projecting one clear emotion for an entire movement or composition.
One of the most significant changes in all music history was the transition from medieval church modes to a system of major and minor keys.
This change to major and minor keys was possible due to equal temperament, which is a system of tuning keyboard instruments in which all semitones are spaced equally apart.

A cantata is Italian for "song", and is it based on a lyric or dramatic poem.
A cantata is generally shorter in length than an oratorio and is similar to a very short, unstaged opera.

An opera is a staged work, with costumes and sets, soloists and often a chorus, with a libretto to which the music is added. Soloists were featured in arias and were often the musical highlights in an opera.

An oratorio is a large-scale music drama that is not staged. The word oratory comes from Latin and means 'a
place to pray".

Finally, a Passion is similar to the oratorio, but the subject matter is based on the gospel account of the last days of Jesus (at Easter). the word Passion originates from the Latin passio, meaning 'suffereing'.

recitative is a type of speech-like singing which serves for dialogue or narrative and is clearly different from the arias. Arias are elaborate accompanied songs for solo voice.

All four genres- oratorios, cantatas, operas and Passions- may contain recitatives, arias, and ensemble numbers, and all have orchestral accompaniment.

In the beginning, opera was an art for the court, intended for a relatively limited public.
The work 'opera' is the plural of opus, or 'work'.

Monody is a form of speech-song taken from the Greeks, which featured a single voice supported by only simple accompaniment. the florentine camerata united these two ideas in an attempt to return to the aesthetic ideals of the Greeks. The florentine Camerata was a group of Italian artist, writers, and musicians who sought to revive the Greek drama- this led to the birth of opera.
The Florentine Camerata helped to create monody, recitative and opera.

The first true opera composer was Monteverdi, whose first opera, L'Orfeo, was performed in 1607.

Dance tunes, which are usually short and catchy, had their origins in simple folk dances. The length of each melody and the number of phrases was fixed because the dance steps depended on regularity; eight bar phrases were the most common.

The two types of concertos used in the Baroque era were the solo concerto and concerto grosso. the small group of instruments is called concertino and the entire ensemble is called tutti or the ripieno.
In the Baroque era, the concerto grosso becamae very popular- Corelli, Handel, J.S.,Bach and Vivaldi wrote hundreds. The most important i nstrument for concertos in the Baroque era was the violin and the form usually consisted of three movements- fast, slow, fast. One of the most famous sets of concerto grossos in J.S.Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, a set of six concertos which feature different instruments including the trumpet.

Modern instruments and their organization

Saxophone is a woodwind because it has a reed (versus brass instruments with valves).
The highest pitches in the orchestra are played by the piccolo.
(All four instruments listed below have four strings each): violin, viola, cello (also known as the violoncello), and double bass which has the lowest notes in the string section.
the harp and guitar are also classified as strings. the harp has strings which are plucked and the feet control all seven pedals. It has the widest range of all the orchestral instruments.

woodwinds:
piccolo means small in italian.
oboe has a mouthpiece with a double reed.
english horn is actually an alto oboe with a double reed, it is neigher English nor a horn.
clarinet is a single reed instrument
Bassoon is a double reed instrument
Double bassoon is also called the contrabassoon.
Saxophone has a single reed, it is a woodwind instrument made of brass.

Brass:
trumpet, an instrument which uses valves.
French horn, is descended from the ancient hunting horn.
Trombone
Tube is the bass of the family with the lowest pitches.

Percussion
Glockenspiel is a pitched steel bars mounted on a frame and struck by hammers.
Gong is a non-pitched suspended disk of metal which is struck, also known as a tam-tam.
Kettledrums are also known as the timpani, they feature a copper bowl and a head which is struck with mallets. They can be tightened by means of a pedal or keys- this then changes the pitch.

Larger instrumental groups- orchestras
There are three main types of orchestras: chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra, and string orchestra.

The most common, and the largest, is the symphony orchestras

Circa- meaning "approximate" and often abbreviated to ca. It is used in instances where the exact date is not known, such as in pieces and composers from the Middle Ages.
Form- the structure in which music is created. common forms include binary, ternary, strophic, through-composed, sonata-allegro, etc..
Impresario- an entertainment promoter, manager or owner who books and staages public, usually music or theatre, Seigei Diaghilev of Les Ballets Russes is one of the best-known 'impresarios' of the 20th century.
Instrumentation - also called " orchestration", it is the art of arranging a composition for performance by an instrumental ensemble. this is often referred to as scoring the composition.
Kapellmeister _ German for 'music director', the term is often used when describing the musical post of composers such as Handel and Haydn.
Modulation - when music changes from one key to another.
Opus - the Latin word for 'work'
Sacred comes from the Latin word sacer, meaning 'holy'.
Secular - in music, it refers to non-religious works.
Synopsis - in music, it generally means a summary of a libretto or other text.

The first beat of a complete measure, known as a downbeat, generally has the strongest accent. The meter is the fixed patterns of strong and weak beats, which creates the rhythm in the music. Rhythm and metre are often described separately; metre is the basic pulse of the beats and rhythm is the actual time values of notes.
When the music begins with an incomplete measure, or upbeat, this is called an anacrusis. This weak note anticipates the downbeat that will occur on the first note of the first complete measure. A deliberate shift of the musical accent to a weak beat is known as syncopation. Its is used to create a rhythmic surprise in the music, or a certain kning of rhythmic pattern, such as in ragtime. An ostinato is a short rhythmic or melodic pattern repeated for an extended period, commonly used in boogie pieces. Finally, a hemiola is a temporary shift of the metric accent, created by using two notes in the time of three or three notes in the time of two. This was a common technique in Baroque music.

Monophonic is a single line of unaccompanied melody, such as a soloist singing alone or a group of instruments, all playing the same notes at the same time.
Homophonic is a single line of melody supported by a harmonic accompaniment such as a singer with a piano accompaniment playing chords.
Polyphonic is a combination of two or more melodic lines, such as a piano piece where the right hand melody is then imitates by the left hand. This combination is also called counterpoint, or note against note.

Another musical concept is known as text setting, which describes the relationship between text and music. when there is one syllable or word per note, this is known as syllabic. If there are two or three notes per work/syllable, this is neumatic, and when the word is stretched out over many notes, this is knosn as melismatic.

a symphonic movement in sonata-allegro form with an exposition, development, and recapitulation is actually ABA1

the purpose of harmony

The most memorable part of a song, the part which we hum along with and allows us to identify a piece, is the melody. A melody is made up of different component of a sound; high, medium or low, and notes are used to convey the different pitches. The distance between two notes is called an interval, and the range is the distance between the highest and lowest notes of a melody. Most melodies are sung using a comfortable range of ten notes or less.
The word conjunt is used to describe melodies that move mostly in steps, and a disjunct melody contains frequent leaps and changes in direction.

Melodies are often built upon a motive- a short melodic/rhythmic fragment used in within a melody. One of most famous examples of a motive is the first fout notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. the famous "three shorts and a long" that open the symphony are developed and appear throught the four movements of the work.
A longer musical 'sentence' is called a phrase and is a series of notes that is a more complete musical idea. the phrase was first developed in singing so that the singer could take a breath in an approprite place. A curved line under or over the notes indicates the lengthof the phrase. A cadence consists of two chords at the end of a phrase and serves as a resting place, or type of musical pumctuation.

Harmony is used to support the melody and is viewed vertically, whereas a melody is a horizontal line. Think of a cake, where the icing is the melody, but the actual cake that supports the icing is the harmony. The harmony provides the structure in music, changing when the melody does. A chord is a combination of two or more pitches which creates a unit of harmony. A common combination is the triad consisting of a root, third, and fifth. the term harmonic rhythm describes the rate of chord changes per measure.
Diatonic means the mucis is built from the notes of a major or minor scale, whereas chromatic music includes all 12 notes available withint the octave.
Furthermore, a combination of tones that provides a sense of relaxation ans stability is described as consonance, versus dissonance for tones that sound dicordant, creating restlessness and tension in the music.

Another dimension is added to music through harmony, which supports the melody and provides context. Melody and harmoney are interdependent. Just as melody creates the horizontal or linear aspect of a musical fabric, harmoney provides a vertical element, giving additional layers to the sound.

The terms below are all related to musical texture.

counterpoints: combination of two or more melodic lines

monophonic texture: single line of unaccompanied melody

homophonic texture: single line of melody supported by a harmonic accompaniment

polyphonic texture: combination of two or more melodic lines, also referred to as counterpoint.

And understanding of the terms listed below will also enhance your study of musical compositions:
dynamics: the level of volume in music
timber: the quality of sound specific to a voice or instrument for example, the silvery sound of a celesta, the nasal tone of an oboe
tempo: the speed at which music is performed
tenre: the classification of a composition type
opus: Latin for "work"


baritone: a male voice with a range that straddles the tenor and bass range.
mezzo-soprano: a female voice with a range that straddles the soprano and alto ranges
coloratura soprano: a high female voice trained to execute rapid passsagesademanding great agility.

Keyboard Instruments.

organ: A keyboard instrument dating back to the Midddle Ages often associated with church music. Sound is generated by air passing through pipes or reeds.

harpsichord: A keyboard instrumnent popular from the late 16th through 18th centuries. Sound is generated by small quills inside the instrument that pluck the strings.

clavichord: A small keyboard instrument popular from the late 16th through 18th centuries. Sound is generated by small metal tangents that strike the strings inside the instrument.

piano: A keyboard instrument invented in the early 18th century. Sound is generated by hammers inside the instrument that strike the strings.
synthesizer: A device (usually played with a keyboard) that generates and modifies sounds electronically. Robert Moog popularized the synthesizer in the 1960s.



The noted English composer Benjamin Britten was commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation to create a large-scale orchestral work that would introduce young audiences to the instruments of the orchestra.

my method of studying

As I type my music history studies, it helps me memorize the facts, so that's what I'm doing on this blog.
It's just a method of studying to me.
I hope you enjoy reading