post by arilliusbm at Jun 23,2010 11:46am edited Jun 23,2010 2:14pm
Nerd thread... but to me, this era was the best and most fundamental movement in the history of western music. Granted, given the fact that this era lies between the early 1600s to mid 1700s, mostly everything was sponsered by the church or pushed in that direction - something which never sits well with me. But moving beyond that, the music cemented the fundamentals for future classical music. Beethoven and Mozart nearly worshipped Bach before their prominent pieces. Composers like Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Purcell, Weiss and others ist krieg.
Other than Conservationist, I hope someone else appreciates this kind of elite music that one can drink tea to and talk with a faux accent whilst staring down delightful dames on the dance floor.
What the fuck is a Baroque thread doing here without a mention of Monteverdi? Bach isn't a good example of Baroque because he was also very Classical. Monteverdi's Orfeo is where it's at.
There's dozens of composers that could be mentioned. I somewhat disgree with Bach being "very classical" other than his music having a major influence on the classical era. Bach partially paved the way for the Classical era, much like how Beethoven paved the way for transitioning into the Romantic era.
Monteverdi was an earlier Baroque composer, much like Carissimi. I can see what you're saying but by classifying Bach as a hybrid classical/Baroque composer is simply false. Granted most of Bach's music was written in the early 1700s, almost 100 years after Monteverdi; but his style is and never was what music asshole/experts consider "Classical" . Bach is to the Classical Era as early Black Sabbath is to modern metal.
Well I guess at most, I would say that Bach is the culmination of the Baroque era. I'm a huge fan of the simplicity and freedom of earlier Baroque music. The way music was presented to an instrumentalist encouraged freestyling.
Plus, all that shit was catchy.
Again my favorite piece is Monteverdi's Orfeo. The Overture is one of the catchiest things I've ever heard.
Yes - Bach's Fugues are proof metal existed long, long ago. It is metal on violins and a harpsicord instead of guitars and bass or keyboards, and I'd recommend anybody who likes melodic metal but doubts their interest in Baroque music to listen to any Bach Fugue in a minor key - and prepare to enjoy it. It's quite literally the same thing. All the metal we listen to today ultimately stems from those first beginnings, and metal composition has far more in common with those pieces than with anything in blues or rock n' roll, which its lineage is far more commonly associated with in common parlance.
I also agree that Baroque was the best historical era of music by far, Classical and Romantic got too manically ambitious and just tried too damn hard sometimes, and it seeped through the composition; the feeling of geniuses in a panic trying madly to outdo themselves, a rigidity that went to new heights, and intended subtle changes that became quickly biting and formulaic in the least flattering sense. There was a lot of good stuff in the Classical era but it falls way short of Baroque for those reasons, and the limits set by their presence.
Baroque understood that melody and good chord progressions with familiarity and repetition used appropriately in a give and take of tension and resolution were the heart of great music, and that you didn't have to go nuts unsatisfied with the above equation to come up with a beautiful piece - by nuts I don't mean fast or technical, but rather provoking an odd combination of spastic and predictable in the composition style at times, as Classical and Romantic sometimes did. Predictable is not always a bad thing of course with music, it can either mean familiar in a positive way or predictable in a roll your eyes too obvious feeling way; Baroque always seemed more the former, and Classical/Romantic more prone to the latter.
Imagine all the annoying guitar players you've jammed with who like throwing in clean parts, solos, and melodies all the time, except they're now playing violins, cellos, and a harpsicord, and you're not invited to band practice.
I go to the symphony probably 4-5 times a year. I love classical music, but i really prefer the darker, strangeness of the Romantic era. I've seen some Bach performed, some Antonio Vivaldi, and have seen two different Heinrich Shultz pieces.... and i loved it. BUT like i said, i'd take Bela Bartok/Dimitri Shostakovitz any day. (and yes i know Shostakovitz was at the end of the Romantic era, but that's why he's so great. He really bridges the gap between the whimsicle/lilting, and the driving/hypnotic.)
