So far, music appreciation has really helped me take a piece of music and define the little things in it, such as, rythm, melody, harmony, and texture. Out of all the periods of music we have dicussed, i believe my favorite is the
baroque period.
The Baroque period is a period of European music from the 1600s and 1700s. The term Baroque came from a Portuguese word meaning "a pearl of irregular shape". The music at this time was classified by a strong counterpoint and a highly addictive melody. The Baroque period really concentrated on contrast of texture, melody and volume. It broke away from the harshness of medieval period and early Renaissance with its happier melodies and vocal color. My favorite Baroque peroid artist would have to be
Vivaldi
Born in Venice, Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and violinist. His best known work was known as the Four Seasons.
Most of his work was written for a femal ensemble from a orphanage for poor children, where Vivaldi worked at the time.
Another very famous Baroque composer is
Johann Sebastain Bach. Bach was a German composer, organist harpsichordist, and violinist. Even though he did not introduce a new style, he enhanced the German style by usuing a rapid control of harmonic and motivic organization along with rythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. Some of Bach's most famous work is the Brandenburg concertos, Goldberg variations, Partitas, The Well Tempted Clavier, and The Mass in B minor.
As an organist, Bach was highly respeced throughout Europe, even though he was not a very well known artist until he started perfotrming again in the late 19th century. Now, he is known as one of the greatest composers of all time.
My second favorite period would have to be the
romantic period. The romantic period was an era of many changes. Unlike the classical era, which had many laws of balance and restraint, the romantic period allowed musical freedom and experimentation. The music in this period was very expressive with the melody as the dominant feature.
One of the most famous composers of the romantic period was
Beethoven. He was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most influencial and most famous composers of all time. His biggest downfall was when he started to become deaf. And even after he could no longer hear, he continued to compose, conduct, and perform.
Music apprecation has taught me a lot. It has given me a better outlook on what people listened to during all periods of time and I really look forward this new 9 weeks.
