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Baroque Music The Baroque era extended from late Renaissance and early Classical periods between 1600 and 1750. The origin of the term “baroque” comes from Portuguese and refers to an “irregular shaped pearl”. The era of Baroque music was an age of brilliant progress of knowledge. It was also known for the age of the scientific discoveries of Galileo and Newton, and advances in math of Descartes, Newton, and Leibnitz. Baroque time period included production of some of the greatest music of all time. There was three periods in Baroque music. In early Baroque style two ideas prevailed; one is the opposition to counterpoint and the most violent interpretation of the words, realized in the emotional recitative in free rhythm. The harmony was experimental and pre-tonal. Vocal music was in the leading position. In the formation of the Baroque style Italy represented only one limit, which influenced primarily in the development of vocal monody. The other pole was England, which influenced the development of abstract instrumental style that spread all over the Europe. The middle Baroque period brought all the bel-canto style in the cantata and opera, and with it the distinction between aria and recitative (Bukofzer 17). Musical forms began to grow and contrapuntal quality was reinstituted. Chord progression was governed by an undeveloped tonality along with modes that were reduced to major and minor. The last period, which is the late Baroque style, is different by a fully established tonality that helped to regulate chord progressions, dissonance treatment, and the formal structure.
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