Baroque music uses and perfects the art of
counterpoint. In the Renaissance, harmony
happened as a side effect of polyphony. In early
Baroque music we start to hear chord progressions, a
bass line, and more of a sense of "roles and
responsibilities" for each voice.
Baroque style
Baroque music uses more sustained themes and stronger rhythms.
Baroque form
Instead of the ricercar, fantasia and canzona of the Renaissance it is the fugue that defines Baroque form.
Baroque music has more emotional intensity than Renaissance music, and a Baroque piece often depicts a single emotion or affect (such as joy, grief, or piety...).
This period also sees a growing amount of music written for virtuoso singers and instrumentalists, so is harder to perform than Renaissance music. There is more ornamentation, often improvised.
While
much music was produced for church and court, the leisured classes also
gathered to make music socially.
Try
to play a piece from one of these Baroque composers:
