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Period: 1550 to
Cavalieri
Roman nobleman; one of the founders of opera, was the first to publish a figured bass; also an organist, singing teacher, dancer, choreographer. -
Period: 1557 to
Gabrieli
Italian composer and organist; noted for his use of instruments in his sacred music. -
Period: 1560 to
Viadana
Wrote the earliest known example of liturgical monody; was the first to compose and publish a continuo part for a collection of sacred vocal concerti. -
Period: 1561 to
Peri
One of the founders of opera; claimed to be the first in 1597 with his Dafne; significant contribution to monody and the recitative style. -
Period: 1561 to
Corsi
Patron and composer; member of the Florentine Camerata; contributed to Peri's first opera; in 1600 he sponsored the premiere of Euridice and played harpsichord in the performance. -
Period: 1562 to
Bull
English composer and organist; virtuoso virginalist; organ builder. -
Period: 1564 to
Hassler
North German Lutheran composer and organist; studied with Gabrieli; polychoral style. -
Period: 1567 to
Monteverdi
Trained in Renaissance style, also adept at composing "modern" music. Used dissonances in his music for text expression. -
Period: 1570 to
Florentine Camerata
Beginning in the 1570s, a group of intellectuals that met to discuss the arts - members included Caccini, Peri, Girolama Mei, Vincenzo Galilei. -
Period: 1580 to
Agazzari
Italian composer and organist; wrote an important treatise on throughbass which served as the foundation for Praetorius' treatise 7 years later. -
Period: to
Frescobaldi
First modern keyboard virtuoso and composer; he was the most influential keyboard composer of the early Baroque; he was the first European composer to focus on instrumental music. -
Period: to
Schultz
Most important German composer of the Middle Baroque; studied in Venice; reportedly composed the first German opera which was lost. -
Period: to
Caccini
Soprano and daughter of Giulio Caccini. The first woman to compose operas. Highly praised for her soprano voice and her ability to play any string instrument well - also harpsichord. -
Period: to
Scheidt
German composer and organist; he combined counterpoint with the newer Italian concerto style. -
Opera
The opera was invented by Peri and Caccini in Florence, Italy around 1600. The opera was an elitist genre invented by rich intellectuals; wealthy and high-born citizens got to see opera. -
Monody
The new Baroque style of singing with just a solo voice and basso continuo. The texture is homophonic and a new style as opposed to the older Renaissance choral style of polyphony. -
Period: to
The Early Baroque
Baroque replaced polyphony in the song of homophony to let the text dominate, creating operas, oratories, cantatas, and monodies, vocal music developed sharply. Early in the baroque, the modal scales were mostly associated with church music exchanged with tonal music. -
Period: to
Chambonnieres
French composer, harpsichordist, and dancer; one of the greatest composers of early Baroque French harpsichord music. -
Period: to
Marazzoli
Italian composer, singer, and harpist; he was a leading composer of his day; one of the first to compose comic operas. -
Period: to
Du Mont
French composer and keyboardist; experimented with a new genre, the dialogue motet. -
Period: to
Froberger
German composer and keyboard virtuoso; developed the keyboard suite genre; assimilated French, Italian, and German styles in his works. -
Period: to
Strozzi
Studied under Francesco Cavalli at the Accademia degli Unisoni - founded by Giulio for Barbara. Published eight sets of songs, each dedicated to a different wealthy patron. -
Period: to
Leonarda
A nun at age 73 published several new Baroque instrumental genres (solo and trio sonatas). -
Period: to
Schmelzer
The leading Austrian violinist and composer of instrumental music before Biber. -
Period: to
Locke
English composer of chamber and dramatic music; organist; he was prolific and influential in his day. -
Period: to
Bontempi
Italian composer, singer, author, historian, and architect; he wrote the first history of music in Italian -
Period: to
Legrenzi
Italian composer and organist; influential in the middle Baroque; used many short arias in his operas. -
Period: to
D'Anglebert
Important French composer of keyboard music; associated wit hChambonnieres and Lully -
Period: to
Lully
Establisher of French opera and ballet; dancer and violinist; Italian by birth, but claimed by France -
Arias
Arias became the most desired and appreciated piece. -
Period: to
Franz von Biber
Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist, one of the most important composers for the violin, especially in the instrument's early years. -
The Solo Italian Cantata
Mid-Baroque cantatas were usually secular, in Italian, and composed for one or two singers with basso continuo and possibly a small string ensemble. Texts were often about love, sometimes pretty suggestive and meant as entertainment. -
Period: to
The Middle Baroque
Italian music dominated strongly at the beginning of the baroque, but soon German, French, and British composers developed on their own. The opera was also more accessible to a larger audience, with the development in Venice and later Naples. The focus was increasingly on the songs and partly the scenography, usually at the expense of history. -
Period: to
Corelli
Made clear distinctions between the different types of sonatas; he was the master of the trio sonata -
Period: to
Pachelbel
German composer and organist; a leading composer of his time -
Period: to
Lalande
French composer and keyboardist; Louis XIV's favorite composer; the leading composer of the French grand motet at the French court. -
Period: to
Purcell
Singer, organist, composer of instrumental and vocal music. Worked in the court of Charles II when stage plays were again allowed in England. -
Period: to
Alessandro Scarlatti
Father of Domenico Scarlatti. A teacher in Naples; many of his students helped create the new classical style. His death marks a better indicator of the end of the Baroque than does Bach's in 1750. -
Period: to
Kuhnau
German composer, keyboardist, theorist, scholar, writer, and lawyer; left some early examples of interesting program music -
Great Plague
The great plague in London kills 75,000 people -
Period: to
Jacquet de la Guerre
She was called the "marvel of our century," educated in Lois XIV's court; lived in Paris, renowned harpsichordist -
Period: to
Caldara
Italian composer; he was one of the most prolific composers in his day; he paid particular attention to his orchestration -
Period: to
Vivaldi
Music director at the Pieta, an orphanage for girls in Venice. Composed many operas, much sacred music, and many instrumental works. Popular during the height of his career (1720s). -
Period: to
Telemann
German composer, extraordinarily prolific. Composed more than 125 orchestral suites. Helped establish the French-style orchestral suite in Germany. Published a collection called "Tafelmusik." -
Period: to
Scarlatti
Keyboard virtuoso served Portuguese and Spanish royal families. he had a progressive style, aware of his modern flare. Wrote over 500 sonatas for harpsichord, operas, cantatas, and keyboard exercises. -
Period: to
Gay
An English playwright and poet who innovated a new genre, the Ballad opera, when he wrote the Beggar's Opera in 1728 as a satire on politics and partly on Handel's opera seria. -
Period: to
Bach
Considered the Baroque master; wrote no operas; master of counterpoint; he became an icon for future generations and is still one of the most revered composers today -
Period: to
Handel
German musician; lived in England; inventor of the English oratorio; Beethoven respected him above all others -
First Public Opera Theater
The first public opera theater opened in Venice (Teatro de San Cassiano) -
Period: to
Geminiani
Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and theorist; one of the greatest violinist virtuosos of his day -
Period: to
Tartini
Galant Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and theorist; extremely important as a violin teacher and as an assimilator of the galant and empfindsam styles -
Period: to
Vallotti
Italian composer and theorist; he was important in the field of church music -
Period: to
The Late Baroque
Instrumental music, which had developed throughout the sixteenth century, was so sophisticated around the turn of the century that it had a major influence on the future of music. The opera went more towards serious, often tragic themes, and with less dancing. The action came in the center of the opera. -
Period: to
Martini
Italian teacher, composer, and writer; he was the leading teacher in the 18th century; his surviving letters are important to music history -
Piano
The piano is invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori -
Tuning fork
The tuning fork is invented by Englishmen Jorn Shore