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Musical Concepts: Cultural-Historic Foundations |
National Styles emerge
The Baroque style arose in Italy; baroque
architecture in particular in Rome (St. Peters), art and
music especially in north Italy (Venice). As opposed to the
renaissance, national styles become very apparent in the
baroque era. Nevertheless, Italian musicians dominate the
whole of Europe (especially in Opera). In the 18th century,
the Baroque era comes to an end with the belief in progress
and the enlightenment and a new view on nature. Instead of
placing the emphasis on development, the baroque revels in
the pleasure of lively repetitions, variations and
ornamentation; everything is simultaneously moving, and at
rest, like a Roman fountain. Consciousness of the moment,
uniform representation of the 'affect' (mood), rest and
movement are just as present in church's architecture as in
a Bach Fugue.
A symbolic world-theatre
Fantasy and illusion separate art from
nature and reality, and bring the later to a higher plane:
a painting of heaven on a domed ceiling, fantastical
landscape scenes, stylized dances, operas and ballets that
last for hours. Man is striving for an all-encompassing
artwork. In churches and palaces architecture, art,
literature, (and garden-planning in palace grounds) work
together to impose this illusionary and at the same time
deeply meaningful and symbolic world theatre on the
people.
'Stylized' emotions are portrayed
In the same way that baroque art portrays
man, baroque music represents man's feelings and emotions.
People still see themselves as a small part of the greater
whole and not yet as individuals with personal freedom.
Baroque music does not represent actual personal feelings
but a stylized version of general human emotions. Above all
the question of ratio motivates many areas: in the
numerology, the functional harmony (figured bass), the
structure of the forms, the contrapuntal tradition but also
in the unnatural, scientific division of the octave in the
tempered tuning system developed by Stevin and
Werckmeister.
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