The development of instrumental music in the Baroque era Automatic translate

The Baroque period, spanning roughly 1600–1750, was a time of radical transformation in European music. For the first time in European art history, instrumental music acquired an independent status, freeing itself from its subordinate position to vocal genres. Until then, composers and musicians had viewed instrumental works merely as a complement to vocal performances or as accompaniment to dances.

The transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque style was marked by several significant changes. Composers began to develop a new system of tonality, replacing the modality of the previous era. Works began to be written in a specific key, which allowed for more complex harmonic structures. The technique of basso continuo developed — a special type of accompaniment in which the bass line was accompanied by numbers indicating the chords the performer should improvise.

The development of instrument making became a powerful stimulus for the flourishing of instrumental music. Workshops emerged that created instruments of the highest quality: Stradivarius lutes, Silbermann organs, Blanchet harpsichords, and Norman viols. Each of these masters contributed to the improvement of the instruments’ sound and technical capabilities. Antonio Stradivari experimented with the shape and curvature of violins, developing the so-called "long pattern" in 1690 — an elongated, narrow body. Although he abandoned this model by 1700, returning to a wider form, these experiments served as the basis for further improvements.

Early forms of instrumental music

The emergence of new genres

At the beginning of the 17th century, instrumental music was experiencing a period of identity formation. The Florentine Camerata — a group of humanists, musicians, and intellectuals gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de’ Bardi — rejected Renaissance polyphony, considering it an obstacle to emotional expression. Their ideas, based on notions of ancient Greek musical drama, led to the creation of opera. This discovery became a catalyst for the development of all Baroque music, including instrumental genres.

Claudio Monteverdi, active in the early 17th century, developed two distinct compositional styles: prima pratica (a legacy of Renaissance polyphony) and seconda pratica (a new technique of thorough bass). His operas "Orfeo" and "The Coronation of Poppea" drew attention to the new genre and demonstrated the possibilities of instrumental accompaniment. The Venetian style developed by Monteverdi was brought to Germany by Heinrich Schütz, whose varied style evolved in the subsequent period.

Idiomatic instrumental textures became increasingly important. Particularly prominent was the style luthé — an irregular and unpredictable division of chord progressions, which since the early 20th century has been called style brisé. This style was established as a characteristic texture of French music by Robert Ballard in his lute books of 1611 and 1614, and by Enmond Gautier. This idiomatic lute figuration was later transferred to the harpsichord, for example in the keyboard music of Louis Couperin and Jean-Henri d’Anglebert.

Toccata and prelude

The toccata was a free, improvisatory piece, divided into sections and often displaying rhythmic complexity. Like a prelude, the toccata allowed the performer to demonstrate their "touch" at the keys and often served as an introductory piece. Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Toccata No. 3, dated 1615, is one such example.

This form evolved from simple improvisational sections to complex multi-movement compositions. The free section cadenced on the dominant and led to a fugal section. In contrast to the first fugue, the theme of this fugue was much shorter, the texture was reduced from four voices to three, and it featured more imitation on a short four-note motif. The transition section utilized free material and cadenced on the dominant, where the final fugue began.

Dietrich Buxtehude, who worked in Lübeck, developed the toccata to new heights. His works combined free improvisational sections with fugal movements, creating large-scale organ compositions. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, although its authorship is disputed, has become one of the most famous examples of this genre. The work opens with a toccata, followed by a fugue, and concludes with a coda, and is generally typical of the northern German Baroque organ school.

Concerto and Concerto Grosso

Italian origins of the genre

The concerto became one of the most significant musical forms to emerge during the Baroque period. Essentially, it is a multi-movement work in which one or more soloists engage in a dialogue with the orchestra. The concerto form became a manifestation of the emerging awareness of timbre and the primary expression of the concerto style, which, in turn, was a consequence of the fundamental aesthetic principle of the Baroque — the law of contrast.

Alessandro Stradella laid the foundations for the concerto grosso style in his "Sonate di viole." Arcangelo Corelli further developed this form and became one of the first composers whose works were widely published and performed throughout Europe. Corelli’s concertino section consisted of two violins and a cello, while the ripieno section consisted of a string orchestra. Both ensembles were accompanied by basso continuo with various combinations of harpsichord, organ, lute, or theorbo.

Corelli’s Concerti Grosso, Op. 6, became a defining statement of the Italian Baroque concerto. They are characterized by exquisite interplay between contrasting groups of instruments, combining architectural clarity with lyrical intensity. The slow movements unfold with noble expressiveness, while the faster sections bring rhythmic vitality and a sense of forward movement without ever sacrificing balance. The uniqueness of these concertos lies in Corelli’s restraint and precision: instead of virtuosic display for its own sake, the music emphasizes proportion, harmonic richness, and melodic grace.

Giuseppe Torelli made a significant contribution to the development of the concerto genre. He was a key figure in the development of trumpet music during the Baroque period in Italy. As one of the founders of the solo violin concerto, Torelli significantly contributed to the development of the trumpet concerto genre. His concerti grossi for two violins demonstrate a masterful grasp of form and a balance between solo and orchestral parts.

Antonio Vivaldi and the Rise of the Concerto

Antonio Vivaldi, who studied with Corelli’s followers, wrote over 500 concertos during his career. His most famous work, The Four Seasons (Op. 8, Nos. 1–4) for violin and orchestra, was composed in 1720 and published in 1725. Each of the four concertos consists of three movements: the first is fast, the second is slow, and the third is fast.

The twelve concertos, Op. 3, "Harmonic Inspiration" ("L’Estro Armonico"), demonstrate the versatility of Vivaldi’s ensemble concerto compositions. The composer systematized various combinations in the juxtaposition of individual instruments, in the combinations of concertino and ripieno groups. A comparison of Vivaldi’s concerto technique with that of other composers, particularly Corelli, reveals the innovative significance of the collection "Harmonic Inspiration" for the mature Baroque period.

Vivaldi’s concertos influenced the development of modern concert forms, fusing elements of Italian opera and French music and demonstrating innovations in orchestration. His works laid the foundation for future composers such as Bach and Handel. The concertos represented a turning point in the evolution of the concerto, combining traditional structures with innovative approaches.

The trumpet concerto reached its peak in Italy with the works of Francesco Onofrio Manfredini and Vivaldi. Manfredini’s Concerto for Two Trumpets is one of the most striking examples of Baroque clarino music, no less significant than Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets in C major. Almost all the important Italian composers of the late period (Tomaso Albinoni, Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, Stradella) used trumpets in many instrumental concertos and orchestral works.

Sonata

Development of sonata form

A sonata was an instrumental composition for a small group of instruments and basso continuo, consisting of several contrasting sections, often four (slow-fast-slow-fast). It could be written for a solo instrument. A trio sonata included two melodic parts and accompaniment.

During the Baroque period, the terms "sonata" and "suite" were often used interchangeably, and both typically referred to works for a small number of instrumentalists, consisting of a prelude and a sequence of dance-inspired movements. Baroque sonatas, suites, and concertos typically included a continuo section within the ensemble, regardless of the other instrumental composition. The continuo was almost always performed on the harpsichord and sometimes included the cello (gamba), as its purpose was to provide block harmony and a bass line.

There were two main types of sonatas: the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) and the sonata da camera (chamber sonata). The church sonata typically consisted of four movements, alternating between slow and fast tempos and a serious tone. The chamber sonata consisted of a sequence of stylized dances and was closer to a suite.

Corelli made a significant contribution to the development of the sonata. His trio sonatas and solo sonatas for violin set standards for violin technique and pedagogy for decades to come. Corelli’s violin style represented a distinctive "instrumental image" that entered the professional and academic spheres during the Baroque era.

Dance suite

Structure and content

A characteristic Baroque form was the dance suite. Some of Bach’s dance suites are called partitas, although this term was also used for other collections of pieces. While the pieces in the dance suites were inspired by actual dance music, the suites were intended to be heard, not to accompany dancers. Composers used a variety of movements in their dance suites.

The suite usually had the following parts:

Overture — A Baroque suite often began with a French overture, a slow movement followed by a sequence of four basic dance types. The Allemande, a very popular dance of German origin during the Renaissance, was often the first dance of an instrumental suite. The Allemande was performed at a moderate tempo and could begin on any beat.

The courante was the second dance in triple meter. It could be fast and lively or slow and stately. The Italian version was called the corrente. The sarabande, a Spanish dance, was the third of the four basic dances and one of the slowest of the Baroque dances. It was also in triple meter and could begin on any beat, although the emphasis on the second beat created the sarabande’s characteristic "choppy" or iambic rhythm.

The gigue was a lively and lively Baroque dance in compound meter, usually the final movement of an instrumental suite and the fourth of its basic dance types. The gigue could begin on any beat and was easily recognized by its rhythmic feel. The gigue originated in the British Isles.

Later suites interpolated one or more additional dances between the sarabande and the gigue: the gavotte in duple meter with phrases beginning on the weak beat; the bourrée, similar to the gavotte but beginning on the second half of the last beat of the bar; the minuet in triple meter at a moderate tempo; the passepied, a fast dance in binary form and triple meter; and the rigaudon, a lively French dance in duple meter.

French School

Jean-Baptiste Lully obtained patents from the monarchy to be the sole composer of operas for the French king and to prevent others from staging operas. He completed 15 lyric tragedies. Lully was an early example of a conductor: he beat the time with a large baton to keep his ensembles in sync.

Musically, Lully did not establish the string-dominated orchestral norm inherited from Italian opera. The characteristic French five-part arrangement (violins, violas in hautes-contre, tailles and quintes, and bass viols) had been used in ballet since the time of Louis XIII. However, he introduced this ensemble to lyric theatre, where the upper parts were often doubled by recorders, flutes, and oboes, and the bass by bassoons.

François Couperin composed harpsichord suites that refined the French style, incorporating elements of the Italian sonata to create a synthesis of national styles. He developed the genre of "pièces de clavecin" (harpsichord pieces), which included character pieces and programmatic music that expanded the instrument’s expressive range. French harpsichord suites were sometimes called ordres (as in the works of Couperin, who included many non-dance sections, including evocative character sketches of court personnel).

The French approach contrasted with Italian virtuosity, emphasizing grace over drama. Composers created exquisite suites, balancing traditional dance forms with innovative harmonies and ornamentation. This music reflected the refinement of French court culture.

Keyboard music

Instruments of the era

The main keyboard instruments of the Baroque period were the organ and the harpsichord. The harpsichord became the predominant keyboard instrument for domestic music-making by the late Baroque. Changes in musical style in the mid-18th century, including the need for dynamic control, led to its gradual obsolescence. The harpsichord was replaced by the pianoforte, perfected by Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 and widely used after 1750.

The clavichord used a completely different principle. Pressing a key struck the string directly, allowing for varying touch and creating a form of vibrato. German harpsichords were relatively robust instruments with a rich tone. Even this didn’t satisfy Bach, who sought the even richer timbres of the lute and its bass relative, the theorbo. Several makers made "lute-harpsichords," and Bach eventually owned two such instruments.

The harpsichord had a fixed "pinch," and no variation of touch was possible, only dynamic variation through the use of different "registers" or combinations of keyboards. The harpsichord, with its standard two manuals, was a useful practice tool for organists, and they were usually equipped with separate organ-style pedal keyboards.

Church organs grew in complexity and size, particularly in France, Spain, and northern Germany, expanding the available range of pitches and timbres. The organ suite, which emerged in France during the reign of Louis XIV, evolved from the tradition of publishing organ books. Such books typically consisted of liturgical verses grouped according to specific church tones.

Fugue and polyphonic forms

Principles of fugue writing

The fugue developed in a single movement. Essentially, the technique was based on imitation. A fugue is a work for multiple voices (3–4) with a complex structure, which is essentially a constant repetition of a theme or main melody, accompanied by other secondary elements.

Fugue as an art form balanced between form and metamorphosis. The dichotomous method helped reveal the dialectic of the general and the individual, revealing new approaches and meanings. The concepts of "typical," "traditional," and "stable" were understood as generally accepted, recognizable at the level of compositional design, essential and fundamental properties of form, while the concept of "metamorphosis" was understood as something unique, changeable, and unconventional.

The fugue effectively demonstrated the interplay of the technical and aesthetic aspects of the archetype and its numerous stylistic modifications. Examples of fugues in various compositional practices — from the heyday of the Baroque to the present — have demonstrated metamorphosis as an organic process, naturally permeating the entire history of the form.

Bach’s two-part inventions, the focus of this analysis, were true gems of formal perfection, fundamental works for piano. They lacked any superficial virtuosity, but their music, rich in content and depth, and their varied thematic hypostases, emphasized their emotional substance.

Chorale Preludes and Fantasies

Heinrich Scheidemann wrote almost exclusively organ music, unlike other early German Baroque composers such as Praetorius, Schütz, Scheidt, and Schein, all of whom wrote in most contemporary genres and styles. More organ music by Scheidemann has survived than by any other composer of the period. A few songs survive, as do some harpsichord pieces, but these are dwarfed by dozens of organ works, many in multiple movements.

Scheidemann’s lasting contribution to organ literature, and to Baroque music in general, was his arrangements of Lutheran chorales, which were of three general types: cantus firmus arrangements, which were an early type of chorale prelude; "monodic" chorale arrangements, which imitated the contemporary style of monody (vocal solo over basso continuo) but for solo organ; and extended chorale fantasias, which were a new invention, based on Sweelinck’s keyboard style but utilizing the full resources of the developing German Baroque organ.

Baroque innovations, particularly in the works of Frescobaldi, Buxtehude, and Bach, codified improvisational techniques into formalized structures such as toccatas, fugues, and passacaglias. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations demonstrate the systematic integration of improvisational principles into compositional practice.

German school

Early Masters

Johann Hermann Schein was a German composer of sacred and secular music, one of the earliest (along with Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz) to introduce the Italian Baroque style into German music. Schein took the valuable position of cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, a post that Johann Sebastian Bach would occupy over a century later. Schein was responsible for directing choral music at two churches and teaching Latin and music for approximately 14 hours a week.

Italian influence is also evident in the "Opella nova, geistliche Concerten" (1618) and the secular "Diletti pastorali" (1624), which contain early examples of chromaticism in German secular music. Schein’s "Banchetto musicale" (1617), one of his few instrumental compositions, is an outstanding collection of variation suites (interrelated sets of dances).

Dietrich Buxtehude was not a court musician, but a church musician, holding the positions of organist and master of ceremonies at the Marienkirche in Lübeck. His duties as master of ceremonies included serving as secretary, treasurer, and business manager of the church, while his position as organist included playing at all major services, sometimes in collaboration with other instrumentalists or vocalists. Completely outside his official church duties, he organized and directed a concert series known as Abendmusiken, which included performances of sacred dramatic works.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach brought together the disparate styles of his time, creating a perfect version of the Baroque sound. This is most evident in the third of his Brandenburg Concertos. George Frideric Handel invented the English oratorio and perfected it with his most famous work, Messiah.

Musically, Messiah embodies a synthesis of Handel’s many influences, incorporating German and English choral styles, French orchestral styles, and Italian solo singing. Since its debut, Messiah has become the most performed oratorio of all time, and its "Hallelujah" chorus has become one of the most iconic musical pieces of any genre.

Bach’s organ music demonstrated a supreme mastery of polyphonic writing. His organ preludes and fugues set standards for centuries to come. The Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540, is characterized by the scale of the toccata, with its pedal solos and manual virtuosity, contrasting with the sober opening of the fugue. Both movements showcased two distinct aspects of Italian influence: the motor rhythms and sequenced passages of the toccata, and the traditional alla breve contrapuntal of the fugue, with its chromaticism, harmonic suspensions, and continuous sequences of theme and response.

Development of the orchestra and instrumentation

Formation of the orchestral composition

Baroque music expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance. Composers experimented with finding a fuller sound for each instrumental part, leading to the creation of the modern orchestra. They modernized musical notation, including the development of a digital bass, and developed new instrumental performance techniques.

Opera seria demanded large orchestral forces — especially in the string section, which often required two dozen or more performers — catalyzing the development of the modern orchestra. It became common for arias to be scored for full orchestra instead of just continuo, and they began to incorporate word painting, such as the use of French horns or trumpets for hunting scenes.

During the 17th century, composers began specifying individual instruments in their scores and writing idiomatically for them as instrument technology developed, often dictating articulation and ornamentation. By 1700, the oboe had replaced the shawm as the principal woodwind instrument in ensembles, driven by composers’ demand for a more elegant sound in opera and ballet. The natural horn became common in orchestras around this time, and advances in playing technique allowed for the performance of most of the chromatic scale.

The recorder and transverse flute date back to the early Renaissance; each could be easily played only in a limited number of keys, with the recorder being more suited to flat keys, while the flute excelled in sharp keys. Late Baroque composers exploited this fact when notating the instruments.

Concert style

Stile concertato — the contrast of sound between groups of instruments — became one of the defining principles of Baroque music. The concerto grosso was built on strong contrasts: sections alternated between those performed by the full orchestra and those performed by a smaller group. Fast and slow sections were contrasted.

The ritonello form — repeated short instrumental insertions of vocal passages — became characteristic of the Baroque concerto. In the first half of the 18th century, concertos originating in Italy and spreading northward began with some version of the ritonello form, which was also used in arias. In the second half of the century, the first movements increasingly took on characteristics of the sonata form found in symphonies and sonatas.

The three-part fast-slow-fast structure became the dominant concerto form. Vivaldi’s concertos demonstrated a clear articulation of this form. The solo part alternated with orchestral tutti, creating a dynamic interplay between the individual and the collective.

Ornamentation and performance practice

Improvisation and embellishments

During the Baroque era, professional musicians were expected to be skilled improvisers of both solo melodic lines and accompanying parts. Extensive ornamentation was typically improvised by singers and instrumentalists (trills, mordens, etc.). Composers and performers employed more extensive musical ornamentation and introduced modifications to musical notation.

The art of improvisation had its roots in the Hellenic modal system and Pythagorean numerical theories, which influenced liturgical music in both Eastern and Western traditions. Baroque innovations, particularly in the works of Frescobaldi, Buxtehude, and Bach, codified improvisational techniques into formalized structures.

Jacob van Eyck’s (c. 1590–1657) "Der Fluyten Lusthof" (The Flutes of the Lust) is the largest collection of works for solo instrument in the history of European music, documenting both the diversity of early Baroque ornamentation techniques and presenting a vast repertoire of popular and folk songs of the period. The blind recorder, also known as the Orpheus of Utrecht, used this type of composition as the basis for his famous improvised instrumental arrangements.

The ornamentation in recordings of Bach’s solo violin sonatas and partitas demonstrates the diverse approaches of performers. An analysis of ornamentation practices reveals how performers interpreted the Baroque style in their recordings.

Regional schools

Ukrainian Baroque tradition

The development of Ukrainian musical culture had certain characteristics that can be explained by historical circumstances. Singing was typical of Ukrainian music; singing, particularly choral singing, was a popular pastime in Ukrainian homes (in Western Europe, such gatherings were primarily instrumental). Given this, the flourishing of instrumental music was more significant, as it created a certain connection between Ukraine and other European countries.

The instrumental music tradition, more prevalent in Western Europe, produced remarkable examples of brilliant compositional, theoretical, and performing skills in Ukraine. Johann Sebastian Bach’s elder brother, Johann Jakob, known for his keyboard composition "Capriccio on the Departure of His Beloved Brother," dedicated to him, was enlisted as an oboist in a military orchestra.

Elizaveta Bilogradskaya, harpsichordist and composer, author of the virtuoso Variations on a Theme by Starzer, is less well known to researchers. Ludwig van Beethoven, who wrote his Variations on the Ukrainian folk song "A Cossack Rode Beyond the Danube," heard it from a Ukrainian, Count Andrey Razumovsky, but called it a "Russian theme."

English school

Henry Purcell was an organist, like Bach. He was a pioneer of dramatic music in England and excelled in writing music that suited the natural rhythms of the English language. The full theatrical experience of Stuart’s masques was accompanied by the achievements in vocal music of the German-British Handel.

The English instrumental music tradition developed in close connection with the theater and court entertainment. Viol consorts gradually gave way to violin ensembles. The tradition of instrumental accompaniment in church music developed.

Padua School

The repertoire of Paduan composers was present in European anthologies of the first half of the 17th century. Some of their compositions were included, along with works by other Kapellmeisters working in similar Italian chapels, in several collections printed in various European cities: Heidelberg, Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Antwerp, and Strasbourg. Prominent figures included Costanzo Porta, Luigi Balbi, Lelio Bertani, Amadio Freddi, and Leandro Gallerano.

Theoretical foundations

Formation of tonality

The Baroque period witnessed the formalization of tonality as a common practice. This approach to music writing, in which a song or piece is written in a specific key, continued to be widely used in Western classical and popular music. Harmony emerged from counterpoint, and the numeral bass became a visual representation of the harmonies commonly used in musical performance.

Composers began to focus on harmonic progressions and also used the tritone, perceived as an unstable interval, to create dissonance. It was used in the dominant seventh chord and the diminished chord. The use of tonally focused harmony (focusing on the musical key, which becomes the "home note" of the piece), rather than modality, marks the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period.

Musical forms became more regularized in the late Baroque, both within movements and on a larger scale for multi-movement pieces. The simultaneous shift from modality to diatonic tonality led to the concept of modulation as a fundamental part of a piece’s structure. From the late 17th century, tonality was often included in the title of an instrumental piece, emphasizing its importance for composers of the period.

The factor of completeness of musical form

Even in the early eras (the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Baroque), the gradual emergence of a functional musical form took place, one of the first signs of which was composers’ awareness of the need to achieve structural integrity and completeness in a work. The role of the primary form-creating devices was played by those compositional factors that were most actively developing in a given era.

In the isorhythmic motets of the 14th century, this factor was rhythmic. In the textual and musical forms of the Renaissance, it was a large-scale structural factor. As for instrumental Baroque genres (preludes, toccatas, fantasias), this factor was the increased harmonic stability of the final section (the tonic organ point, the repetition of cadential turns).

A gradual simplification of harmony and musical texture, with a stronger emphasis on melody and a reduction in counterpoint, began in the early to mid-18th century, ultimately leading to the galant style popular in the Middle Ages. The distinction between French and Italian music became much less distinct.

The Baroque era laid the foundation for all subsequent European instrumental music. The genres of concertos, sonatas, suites, and fugues, developed during this period, continued to evolve throughout the Classical and Romantic eras. Technical innovations transformed the way music was composed and performed. It was during this era that instrumental music acquired autonomy and prestige comparable to vocal genres. Baroque composers created a vast repertoire that remains central to concert practice centuries after its creation.