lecture notes

MUSIC HISTORY & LIT I: CHAPTER 19 Late Baroque German Composers

Music in Baroque Germany

■ Germany rose as a musical power at the end of the Baroque era

■ Germany embraced the musical traditions of Italy and France, and combined them with their own national style

– German musicians were trained in many styles

■ Musicians were employed by patrons or city governments – Many aristocrats began to pursue music

■ Musician pay was low – To earn a living musicians had to earn a patronage, perform public concerts,

write and publish music, teach lessons

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

■ Prolific composer of the era – created over 3000 works

■ His style was a mixture of Polish, French, Italian, and German

– He was well known for how he combined all of these traits

■ Wrote in all styles – Wanted to please all tastes and provide music for all

ability levels

■ Self-published – Established the principal of music being intellectual

property

■ Issued the first music periodical in Germany (The True Music-Master) 1728-29

■ More popular than Bach during his time

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

■ Considered one of the most important composers of the Western tradition

■ He was not famous in his own time (revival in the 19th century!)

■ Known as an organist, keyboard composer – None of his chamber works were well

recognized or published as he focused on writing for professional musicians

■ Wrote all genres except opera

Bach – Biographical Info ■ Came from a large family of musicians based in central Germany

■ Learned violin from his father

■ Married Maria Barbara in 1707, had 7 children – Maria passed away in 1720

■ Married court singer, Anna Magdalena, in 1721 – Had 13 children, 7 died in infancy

■ Worked very hard, lifetime music career

■ He was not well his last 2 years of life (diabetes?) - suffered from blindness and eye pain

– Died of a stroke, his estate was left to his wife and 9 surviving children

Bach – Life of a Musician ■ Bach's output corellated to his employment position

– Ex: as a court organist he wrote mostly for organ, as a chapel concertmaster he wrote cantatas, etc.

■ Musicians of the time were subject to their employer's rules and wants – Duke of Weimer did not allow Bach to leave for months at a time – When working for the St. Thomas school, he was under contract to lead an

exemplary life

■ Musicians of the time had to take on multiple positions to earn a living – In Leipzig (1717) Bach taught at a school, played/sang for 4 different churches,

composed for the city ■ This earned a middle-class income, Bach's family lived in a one-bedroom apartment

connected to the school he worked for.

Bach - Employment ■ 1695: began formal musical training after being orphaned

■ 1700: became a chorister at St. Michael's School in Luneberg, Germany

■ 1703: joined the private orchestra of Duke Johann Ernest III, also organ assistant?

■ 1707: organist at St. Blasius's in Muhlhausen – 1714: promoted to concertmaster (new music required every month) – 1708: also a court musician in Weimar

■ 1717: started position as kapelmesiter for the court of Prince Leopold – Forgot to tell his current employer, oops.

■ 1723: Leipzig

■ 1729: took over the Collegium Musicum

Bach – Organ Music ■ Lutheran genres

(Germany)

■ Prelude and fugues

■ Vivaldi influence

■ Chorales – wrote over 200

Bach – Harpsichord Music

■ Wrote many suites consisting of preludes, fantasias, toccata and fugues, and variations

– English Suites, French Suites

■ The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722, 1740)

■ Goldberg Variations (1741)

■ The Art of Fugue (1740s)

Bach – Chamber and Orchestral Music

■ Chamber music – Primarily wrote sonatas for a solo instrument and harpsichord ■ 4 movements: slow, fast, slow, fast

– Works for unaccompanied instruments

■ Orchestral music – 1721: Brandenburg concertos – 1730s: while overseeing the Collegium Musicum

Bach – Vocal Works

■ Cantatas – were important to the Lutheran liturgy – Leipzig churches required 5 cantatas a year

■ Passions – 2 survive

■ Masses

Georg Frederic Handel (1685-1759) ■ His style incorporated German, Italian,

French, and English styles

■ Born/educated in Hamburg, Germany, he composed mainly in England

■ His fame surpassed that of Vivaldi and Bach

■ He worked for the public and had a keen business sense

Handel – Biographical Info

■ Born in Halle, Germany

■ He studied music secretly, his father wanted him to study law

■ Handel never married, he was very independent and often rented rooms from his patrons

■ Had a rough personality that was often overlooked by a good sense of humor and generosity

■ Suffered a stroke that paralyzed him in 1737 (recovered), and then dealt with cataracts in his final years

■ About 3000 people attended his funeral at Westminster Abbey

Handel - Employment

■ Handel was most famous for composing music for the public, but he also had very wealthy patrons.

■ Early 1700s: worked for Marquis Francesco Ruspoli in Italy, keyboard player and church musician

■ 1710: court music director in Hanover (Handel's patron had royal connections to England)

■ By 1711, Handel had made it to England and composed for royalty (Queen Anne)

■ 1723: composer of the Royal Chapel (King George II)

Handel - Operas

■ Handel dedicated about 36 years to writing operas

■ In Germany, Handel wrote in an international style with lyrics in German

■ Once in England, he continued with international style, lyrics in English

■ The Royal Academy of Music

■ Was known for using different aria types in his operas

■ Used large orchestras and choruses, also became known for his instrumental breaks during action scenes

■ Became the impressario of the Royal Academy in 1729

Handel - Oratorios

■ 1730s: Handel invented a new genre – the English oratorio – Unlike the Italian oratorios, Handel combined Italian, French, German, ancient

Greek, and English masque to create the English oratorio

■ Use of the chorus

■ Simple style, yet full of drama and effects

■ Messiah

■ Handel's oratorios were not necessarily church music, they were intended for a large concert hall

Handel – Instrumental Works

■ Handel's instrumental works were popular products for the public

■ 2 important suites: – Water Music (1717) – Royal Fireworks (1749) ■ A rehearsal of Royal Fireworks attracted 12,000 people, and stopped traffic for 3

hours

■ His concertos were also very popular