Baroque
The musical era between 1600 and 1750.
What it means
Baroque denotes the musical era roughly between 1600 and 1750. The dates are reference points, not boundaries: the transition out of the Renaissance took place over decades and differed by region, and the way into the following era ran just as fluidly. Characteristic is the thoroughbass, which shapes the music of this time so thoroughly that one also speaks of the age of thoroughbass: over a figured bass part the harmonies are supplied, and above them lie one or more upper voices.
Musical use
Much follows from this layout. The bipolarity of bass and upper voice determines the texture; the harmony is ordered functionally, and major and minor prevail over the church modes. New genres arise: opera, oratorio, cantata, sonata, concerto and suite. Characteristic further is the notion that a movement presents a single affect, as well as terraced dynamics, in which levels of loudness are set against one another rather than gradually joined. Much stayed unwritten in the sources — ornaments, scoring, realisation of the continuo — because it belonged to self-evident practice.
Performance practice
Before the work, clarify the scoring and the reference pitch, because neither is settled. Work out the continuo from the figuring and keep it thin and mobile. Take ornaments seriously as a component of the execution and work them out deliberately, especially in repeats. Shape dynamics rather in steps than in long transitions, and work with articulation as the main means of expression. Check the edition for editorial additions and separate them from the indications of the source.
Important for practice is also the question of the reference pitch: it lay differently by region and usually lower than today’s standard pitch, which directly affects scoring, choice of strings and vocal ranges. Clarify it before the first rehearsal. Tempo markings in this music are often character designations and not measures of speed; the character of the metre and the prevailing note values give more information. Take the notation seriously, finally, without taking it literally: dotting, upbeats and the unequal execution of evenly notated notes belong to the questions that every ensemble must decide expressly.