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The Baroque Period of Music

The second style period of music, the "Baroque Period" of music took place between the years 1600- 1750. The word "baroque" means "deformed pearl". Historians use the word "baroque" to describe this period because musicians and artists of this time experimented with new sounds and instruments that many people thought sounded ugly at the time. Complicated things were seen as beautiful. Here are some examples of buildings built during the Baroque Period:




During this style period, music was dominated by ideas from the musicians and artists in the country of Italy. These Italian ideas led composers to write music to now express a wide range of ideas and feelings. The country of Italy was considered the center of the Baroque Period during this time.


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The composers and musicans of this time experimented with different sounds and ideas in ther music to help them express all of the emotions they were feeling. Music of the Baroque period started to have long complicated phrases written into it.



The two most popular instuments of this time period were the organ and the clavier. Many musicians used the organ to compose and perform music for church. Below is a picture of an organ and a clavier. Remember these were the grandparent instruments of the piano, which was not invented yet!





It was during this time that the genre,or type, of music called "opera" became popular. An opera is most easily described as a kind of play in which all of the actors sing their words instead of speak them. Most of the operas of this time were sung in Italian and in German. Here is a picture of what an opera house, a type of theatre, looks like and a picture of some opera singers performing:



Check out the Baroque art and architecture I saw when I studied in the city of Rome, Italy and in the city Prague, Czech Republic! To see it all look at this slide show:

Important Composers of the Baroque Period:

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Click here to hear some music from the Baroque Period!