History of Baroque Music

by Hugh Binnie

In the middle of the 18th Century, Président Charles de Brosses complained that the latest façade of the Pamphili Palace had been done with an extravagant fashion “more suitable to tableware than to architecture”. He unwittingly paves the way for a whole new artistic style, calling it baroque. In 1733 an unnamed critic used “baroque” to describe a piece that he considered “noisy, unmelodious and extravagant”. 

And so it is perhaps ironic then that this term — first intended to be derogatory and insulting — has gone on to be a word synonymous with a great period of art, and more specifically music. This was due to a change in perception in what was musical and what wasn’t. In the 19th Century its current meaning was derived: with the help of Jacob Burckhardt and Karl Baedeker (two renowned critics of the age) baroque was soon seen as fresh and exciting; a novel approach to art. Recently the baroque has been described as “flamboyant, decorative and expressionistic”: and that sums up baroque very well indeed. However, it wasn’t until the 1920’s — nearly 200 hundred years after the introduction of the idea of baroque! — that the term was used to describe music.

The great Baroque Period is now widely agreed to have lasted from the late 1600’s until around 1750. Of course, there are some who argue that it began later, finished sooner, etc., but they are largely ignored. “Baroque” as a term has also been loosely applied to any piece of music that has the characteristics of a “typical” baroque piece. However, many argue that this usage is inappropriate due to the huge numbers and wide-ranging nature of baroque work.

Leading baroque composers included JS Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. Maybe it’s just coincidence, but all three of them were composing during the evening of baroque; the late baroque period, 1700-1750. When these three were reaching the ends of their composing careers (1750, 1759 and 1741 respectively), they found themselves in a short span of time that goes by more names1 than there were years comprising it. It was a time during which the great baroque composers left this mortal plane, and while they continued to be successful, another style of music was coming to the forefront. This music was classical music, and it was the next big thing.

& back to baroque

& back to main