The Baroque period of music brought many changes from the previous era. It was in the Baroque era that the minor and major scales were established, and transposing became popular, as well as modulation. This period brought about the basis of the orchestra, the violin family. Following this were instruments such as flutes, trumpets, trombones, horns, recorders, oboes, and tympani. The piano was invented around the year 1700, but composers didn’t seem to care much for it during this era. You will see that the music of the piano really shines in the classical and romantic eras. Some other unique aspects that the previous years lacked included more ornate melodic lines, displaying a change of pace within a song.

     One man who demonstrated this well was Jean Baptiste Lully. In the mid-sixteen hundreds, while England was still mourning the loss of their beloved queen, and had even begun to think badly of joyful music, Lully brought fame to the music of France. He specialized in ballet and opera, and introduced an overture that consisted of three parts. The first slow, the second fast, and the third slow. In England a few attempts were being made to bring music to life again, but they failed. It seemed that the only inspired musicians were from other countries. Eventually however, a new hope came to England, by the name of Henry Purcell. He wrote instrumental and vocal music, and very much liked the sound of violins, which were still gaining popularity at this time. He was one of the first English musicians to mark the tempo of his music by the terms “allegro, largo, adagio,” etc. He was one of the first English composers to have very strong dramatic elements to his music. He died at only 36, and England would never forget the change he brought to their music.

     In Italy, as mentioned before, changes were being made with performing music, such as the new development of the opera. This not only brought about vocal changes, such as the recitative style used for opera, but it brought about a revolution in orchestra. This first opera had a harpsichord, a viola, a double lute, three flutes, and three large guitars, called “chitarrones”. This score was written in “figured bass”, and Bach and Handel would use this same style in the eighteenth century. A man by the name of Claudio Monteverdi found that particular instruments created a certain mood to the music. He would use drums and trumpets for battle scenes, viols for love, and harps and lutes for the feel of heaven. He was the one who made a big change in opera. Operas were only performed for royalty to begin with, for they were a very pricey form of entertainment. However, by 1637, the first public opera house was built and opened in Venice and now everyone could go to the glamorous shows. Austria, Germany, and France were soon producing operas as well. It was Monteverdi who brought this entertainment to the world.

     In 1640, New Englanders in America had printed the Bay Psalm Book. They sang from the psalms to any tune or beat they pleased. They also took delight in singing songs of love, though these were not necessarily acceptable to church leaders. By the early 1700’s, men were having instruments sent from England to America. The Boston News Letter read, “Flageolets, Flutes, Hautboys, Bass viols, Violins, bows, strings, reeds for hautboys, books of instruction for all these instruments, books of Ruled Paper, to be sold at the dancing school of Mr. Eustone in Sudbury Street near the Orange Tree, Boston.”

     The first church organ in America was introduced in Pennsylvania in about 1700. At this time there were still many churches that thought it wrong to have organ music played in service. The Americans had hopes that their country would eventually be the leader in music throughout the world.

     The baroque era also brings about some of the most famous of composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frederick Handel. They gained their popularity in the early 1700’s and have remained so ever since. Handel was born in Germany, but after visiting London on a few occasions, decided to make it his permanent residence. He wrote the famous opera Rinaldo, along with 42 other operas. He was said to have composed operas at a tremendous speed, and was very particular about who he employed. Even though he worked in England, he insisted upon having Italians performing his operas. In his opinion, they were the best of the best, and he would only have the best! Handel composed The Messiah, which is still being performed today, and contains his well-known piece, the “Hallelujah” chorus. This was first performed in Dublin, Ireland and then in London in 1743. This second performance was for the king, and when they began to sing this song, the king stood. Everyone with the king was then required to stand when he stood, so the entire audience stood during this piece, and to this day, you will always see an audience rise when the “Hallelujah” chorus is sung.

     Around the beginning of Handel’s career, another composer was blossoming, whose fame was to spread throughout the world. Johann Sebastian Bach grew up in Germany with a family of devout musicians and started his career at the young age of 18. However, no one in his family would ever reach the degree of success that Bach did. At 18 he began composing cantatas and preludes and fugues for the organ, which was his instrument of choice, although he also played the violin and clavier. Bach was very poor at this time and for a few years afterwards, until Duke William of Saxe-Weimar offered him a job. He became the director of the court orchestra. There he wrote the well-known Toccata in D minor. In 1717 he resigned for he was offered a better job for the Prince of Anhlt-Cothen. However, this upset the Duke greatly, so he threw Bach into prison for a month. After his release, Bach still insisted that he wanted to leave, so he got his way and moved to Cothen. Here he composed pieces for the orchestra. Bach had the amazing talent of combining inspiration from composers of many different countries to create his own unique style. However, for some reason people did not appreciate his work. He was criticized for years, but this did not discourage him.

     The Prince of Anhlt-Cothen eventually married, and to a woman with little interest in music. So the prince also lost interest and Bach left his job there, and went on to teach young boys as a choirmaster in Leipzig. Although this was not a luxurious job, and he made little money at it, it was during this time that he wrote the best of his work. He composed over 250 cantatas, although only 200 of the manuscripts are still in existence. As Bach grew old, his eyesight failed. However, he continued to compose, and his work was still magnificent. Bach died in 1750, his music was soon neglected, and it wasn’t until a century later that the world would grow to cherish his work.