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Period: 1550 to
Emilio de'Cavalieri
based in Rome, Italy, composed the first surviving play that was set to music in its entirety, Rappresentatione di'Anima, , thus becoming one of the founders of opera, he was the first to publish music with a figured bass -
Period: 1551 to
Giulio Caccini
one of the founders of opera, wrote "Le nuove musiche," his book was a book of songs as well as a description of this new singing style, wrote 4 stage works and more than 75 songs or arias -
Period: 1567 to
Claudio Moneverdi
known as the most important composer from the early baroque era, he composed 8 madrigal books, vespers, and 13 operas, one of the inventors of seconda pratica (second practice) -
Period: 1570 to
Salmone Rossi
Italian composer, one of the earliest to use trio sonata texture, composed 4 books of sonatas and dances for string ensemble, Jewish Psalms, dramatic music -
Period: to
Orlando Gibbons
English composer, composed Anglican Church anthems, one of the leading composer in the 17th century in England, he composed sacred choral music, anthems, and consort music -
Period: to
Girolamo Frescobaldi
European composer, the first European composer to have a focus in instrumental music, most influential keyboard composer in the Early Baroque era, he was the first modern keyboard virtuoso and composer, he composed instrumental, sacred, and secular music -
Period: to
Heinrich Schutz
most important German composer from the Middle Baroque era, composed the first German opera, composed madrigals and other choral works, -
Period: to
The Early Baroque
Beginnings of a functional tonality, basso continuo for harmonic foundations, opera invented in Florence, Italy, secular art music rose to popularity, music conveys a predominate emotion, performers meant to show these said emotions, courts and churches became primary places for musical production, textures became more complex -
Period: to
Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres
French composer, harpsichordist, and dancer, one of the greatest composers of French harpsichord music, composed 2 volumes of harpsichord pieces -
Period: to
Francesco Cavalli
Italian composer, singer, teacher, and organist, composed around 34 operas, cantatas, sacred vocal works, and arias, the leading composer in Venice after Monteverdi -
Period: to
Giacomo Carissimi
the leading composer of Roman oratorios and cantatas, composed a mass, motets, oratorios, and 150+ cantatas -
Period: to
The Thirty Years War
religious war between the Protestant and Roman Catholics, originated in Germany then went around Europe turning into a fight for power between the two groups -
Period: to
Barbara Strozzi
a virtuosic singer, known composer of cantatas, composed madrigals and arias as wells -
Period: to
Giovanni Legrenzi
Italian organist and composer, composed 19 operas, sacred and secular vocal works, and 7 oratorios, used short arias in his operas -
Period: to
Jean-Baptist Lully
Italian but culturally French, established French opera and Ballet, composed 16 operas, 30+ ballets, motets, and instrumental works, he was a violinist and dancer -
First public opera house opens in Venice, Italy
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Period: to
Dieterich Buxtehude
German organist and composer, composed 100+ sacred vocal works, 100+ organ works, and other instrumental works, known for being important for organ music, was the most important composer before J. S. Bach -
Period: to
Marc-Antonie Charpentier
Composed French opera, 11 masses, magnificants, motets, antiphons, psalms, oratorios, aris, cantatas, operas, incidental musical, and instrumental works -
Period: to
John Blow
English composer, composed instrumental anthems, sacred works, over 100 songs, duets and trios, he was an organist -
Period: to
The Middle Baroque
counterpoint used in fugues, chaconnes, and passacaglias, instrumental music was growing (concerto, sonata, trios), Italian spread throughout europe, ballets popular in France, secular and sacred music both equally popular, first public opera house opens in Venice -
Period: to
Arcangelo Corelli
Italian composer, important for his sonatas and concertos, influential violinist during the Baroque era -
Period: to
Johann Pachelbel
German organist and composer, leading composer during this era, composed litugical organ music, Protestant church music, 2 masses, and other keyboard works -
Period: to
Giuseppe Torelli
composed 5 collections of chamber works, influenced the development of concertos, composed for trumpet and strings being a virtuosic violinist himself -
Period: to
Henry Purcell
Important English composer, composed anthems, songs, sacred music, incidental music, keyboard works, and 6 stage works -
Period: to
Alessandro Scarlatti
Italian composer and teacher, composed many operas, cantatas, serenatas, oratorios, arias, motets, keyboard works, concertos, theoretical and pedagogical works, and 10 masses. when he died, the Baroque opera did too -
Period: to
Francois Couperin
French composer and keyboardist, known as a very important French composer, composed chamber music, 27 sets of keyboard works, and sacred/secular vocal works -
Period: to
Antonio Caldara
Prolific Italian composer, composed oratorios, vocal works, a few sonatas, and 90 stage works, his main focus was in his orchestration -
Period: to
Antonio Vivaldi
Italian composer important to orchrestral music. He composed 425 concerti grossi, 60 ripieni concerti, sonatas, psalms, masses, motets, cantatas, oratorios, 45 operas, 350 solo concerti, and serenatas -
Period: to
Johann Sebastian Bach
German composer, known as the most iconic baroque composer, master at counterpoint, composed masses, magnificat, suites, Passions, concertos, keyboard works, chorales, sonatas, fugues, motets, and 205+ cantatas that were mostly Lutheran -
Period: to
Georg Friedrich Handel
German musician residing in England, invented the English oratorio, composed 46 dramatic works, odes, Italian cantatas, songs, suites, sonatas, keyboard works, concertos, overtures, duets/trios with basso continuo, Latin/English church music, and oratorios -
Period: to
Domenico Scarlatti
Composed for keyboard as well as a keyboard virtuoso, composed 5550+ harpsichord sonatas, vocal works, keyboard exercises, operas, and cantatas, had a progressive style, served for Portuguese and Spanish royal families -
Period: to
The Late Baroque
instrumental music continues to rise in popularity, serious opera, opera seria, is new primary form of public entertainment, other public concerts became popular, castrati and other vitruosic performer became successful, composers started to live off their earnings, court was the main patron to the arts, opera was a big money maker, seventh chords became a functional harmony, -
Period: to
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Galant Neapolitan composer, composed 10+ dramatic works, instrumental works, sacred vocal works, chamber cantatas, and arias, composed La seva padrona, an intermezzo