The end of the renaissance period brought several artists and intellects together to discuss the revival of the Greek drama. Although several forms from the renaissance were still used, the development of new styles evolved, especially In the area of vocal music. Opera, oratorio and the cantata came directly from the theatrical desire to Invoke the emotional awareness of their listeners through singing, while the concerto, sonata and suite gave the listener the ability to feel the conflict and harmony through instruments.
Opera was made possible by the singing of poetic texts with a plot like function, achieving a distinctive advancement in the baroque musical scene. Its development was a step forward to the expanding music scene and gave a new view on the dramatic texts with musical enhancement. Opera is a drama that is sung with the accompaniment of instruments. Operas often have a long type speech that moves the plot along and expresses the characters’ feelings and emotions at specific points in the action.
The first operas were often taken from Greek myth, recreating the drama and music of the ancient culture. Two sub-genres of opera were developed In the early 18th century: opera serial and opera buffo. Opera seen focused more on the object matter while opera buffo used duets, trios and larger ensembles and were notably lighter and often comedic tones. The word oratorio originally meant prayer hall, a building adjacent to the church. The musical genre of the oratorio emerged in the late 16th century and focused on the subject of religious texts.
Oratorios, unlike operas, perform without costumes, scenery or action and are often divided into two distinctive parts. Popular composers of the oratorio are J. S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frederic Handel. The cantata, in early history confused with oratorio, consists of recitatives and set ices which Include arias, duets and choruses often In religious context. The cantata, Like the opera, contains scenery and movement but also has dialogue. By the end of the 17th century cantatas were often accompanied by orchestras.
Popular composers of the cantata are J. S. Bach, Lug Rossi, and George Frederic Handel. The sonata, often used as chamber music, can consist of one, two or three instruments, usually violins, a treble instrument and a bass instrument. They usually contain four movements which alternate between fast and slow tempos. In the 18th century instruments such as the organ and harpsichord were rising in the solo mantas. Popular composers of the sonata are J. S. Bach, Alexandra Scarlatti, and George Frederic Handel. During the baroque era the concerto took on several forms.
They could consist of a simple composition that Included voices, instruments or a combination of both, sacred works for voices and instruments, and Instrumental soloists or groups with an orchestra. Popular composers of the concerto are J. S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frederic Handel. Antonio Vivaldi, the most notable composer of the solo concerto, wrote approximately 350 concertos and standardized the three movement form, which consists of two fast and one slow movement. Nor for instruments. The suite is basically a two part series of dances in the same key and can consist of three to twelve movements.