Sunday mornings I go for Baroque. What exactly is Baroque?

“The term Baroque is also used to designate the style of music composed during a period that overlaps with that of Baroque art, but usually encompasses a slightly later period.

It is a still-debated question as to what extent Baroque music shares aesthetic principles with the visual and literary arts of the Baroque period. A fairly clear, shared element is a love of ornamentation, and it is perhaps significant that the role of ornament was greatly diminished in both music and architecture as the Baroque gave way to the Classical period.

It should be noted that the application of the term “Baroque” to music is a relatively recent development. The first use of the word “Baroque” in music was only in 1919, by Curt Sachs,[11] and it was not until 1940 that it was first used in English (in an article published by Manfred Bukofzer).[12]

Many musical forms were born in that era, like the concerto and sinfonia. Forms such as the sonata, cantata and oratorio flourished. Also, opera was born out of the experimentation of the Florentine Camerata, the creators of monody, who attempted to recreate the theatrical arts of the Ancient Greeks. An important technique used in baroque music was the use of ground bass, a repeated bass line. Dido’s Lament by Henry Purcell is a famous example of this technique.” via Baroque – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Baroque music has been demonstrated to do great things for your mind and body as I posted here:

“Responses to music are easy to be detected in the human body. Classical music from the baroque period causes the heart beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of the music. As the body becomes relaxed and alert, the mind is able to concentrate more easily. Furthermore, baroque music decreases blood pressure and enhances the ability to learn. Music affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves, which can be measured by an electro-encephalogram. Music also affects breathing rate and electrical resistance of the skin. It has been observed to cause the pupils to dilate, increase blood pressure, and increase the heart rate.” via Music and the Brain.” via Go for Baroque! « Todd’s Perspective.

Lately, I have been using Classify on Spotify to find and play great Baroque. Here’s a fine example to get you started:

Related articles

• Baroque.me (thequantumfantastic.wordpress.com)
• Freiburg Baroque Consort: Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (nytimes.com)
• Most suitable string library for Baroque music (gearslutz.com)
• Music for Babies to Sleep: Classical, Baroque, Gregorian (untrainedhousewife.com)
• music of the week – Jean-Baptiste Barrière: Trio Sonata for alto recorder, cello and basso continuo in D minor, Livre II No. 2 (worldofmelancholly.wordpress.com)