The Baroque period was a time of musical innovation. The style was much richer and gave free rein to expression, emotion, and vocal virtuosity/coloratura. Compositions were rich in ornaments and contrasting elements, such as slow-fast movements, major and minor chords, and high and low sounds. New musical forms appeared: operas, oratorios, concertos, chamber music, as well as the birth of the orchestra. Polyphony, in which there are two or more lines or melodies being played at the same time, overtook monody. One of the best creations of this period was without a doubt the basso continuo, which involves a bass line played on one or several low-pitched instruments, such as the cello or double bass.
There are three composers who greatly influenced Baroque music: Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frideric Handel.
You can listen to Allegro (Spring) from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons below:
Would you like to play some of the most beautiful Baroque pieces on your instrument? Explore our collections of the most beautiful Baroque sheet music for your instrument:
