Baroque Music

The Baroque period of music is an era that existed from 1600 to 1750. A Baroque style is a set of styles from European classical music. The music of the Baroque period ranges from a style similar to that of the previous Romantic period, to the style found in the following Classical musical period.

“Misshapen pearl” is the phrase that the original meaning of “baroque” was derived from. This fits into the characterisations on the architecture of this period.

Many famous composers have risen to fame during the Baroque period of music. Well known composers such as the likes of Claudio Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, and Johann Sebastian Bach can attribute some or all of their musical style to the Baroque period.

During the Baroque period, the style of music changed. Composers and performers started to used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes to the way music was written and created new ways to play the existing musical instruments. All these changes allowed for the rise of opera as a musical genre, and many of the concepts from this period are still in use today.

The term “Baroque” was not conceived until after the Baroque period was over. There is still some disagreement to this day about what the Baroque period encompasses. A few rogue musicologists have argued that the Baroque period should be split into a Baroque period and a Mannerist period so that the periods come in to align with those assigned to the visual arts.