Baroque


 * Baroque 1600-1750**
 * Extravagant****, ornamented, fancy, irregular... These are all adjectives that describe the music of the Baroque period- a period in which the art and architecture in the world was also very ornate and fancy. During the Baroque period, royalty and church leaders were focused on being the best and brightest and showing off their finest things- including music written for them. They hired composers to write pieces that they insisted be flashier than pieces of the past. With every composition, music grew more and more showy and complicated. Composers were treated like servants- they were only allowed to compose what their religious bosses or noble employers asked them to compose, and oftentimes, it was on VERY short notice!**
 * The Baroque period saw the beginnings of instrumental concertos (pieces featuring one instrument). Keyboard music for the harpsichord was also a focus of compositions- there were many composers of the time that were amazing keyboardists. Dance music also saw a rise in popularity. However, music written for the human voice was the most common composition style of the time. Operas and oratorios (musical settings of a sacred text) were unbelievably popular with Baroque audiences.**