Baroque

History and character

The musical Baroque runs from about 1600 (the first operas and the Florentine accompanied monody: Peri's Euridice, 1600; Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, 1607) to 1750 (the death of Johann Sebastian Bach). The initial revolution is the second practice: the text and the “affects” dominate the music, dissonance can be used freely to express emotion, and the basso continuo is born, that is, a bass line accompanied by improvised chords. From it derive opera, cantata, oratorio, sonata, concerto.

The great schools: in Italy Monteverdi, Cavalli, Carissimi, then Arcangelo Corelli (sonatas and concerti grossi Op. 6, published in 1714, a model for all of Europe), Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi (over 500 concertos; The Four Seasons, 1725), Albinoni, Marcello, Tartini, Pergolesi; in France Jean-Baptiste Lully (tragédie lyrique, French overture), François Couperin (harpsichord pieces), Marin Marais, Jean-Philippe Rameau (Traité de l'harmonie, 1722, the foundation of chord theory); in England Henry Purcell (Dido and Aeneas) and George Frideric Handel (Italian operas, oratorios such as Messiah 1742, Water Music); in Germany Heinrich Schütz, Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Telemann and Bach (Passions, Mass in B minor, cantatas, Brandenburg Concertos 1721, The Well-Tempered Clavier 1722 and 1742, The Art of Fugue).

The Baroque aesthetic is made of contrast (solo/tutti, terraced forte/piano, split choirs), constant motoric pulse, Fortspinnung (continuous development of a motive), abundant ornamentation, unity of affect in each movement and the definitive establishment of major/minor tonality with the circle of fifths. Since the 1960s–70s, the Baroque repertoire has been performed on original instruments and according to historical criteria (Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien, Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, William Christie, and in Italy Il Giardino Armonico, Europa Galante, Concerto Italiano, Accademia Bizantina).

Scales and keys

In the Baroque the modes become major and minor keys; modal traces remain (“Dorian” key signatures with one accidental fewer, Phrygian cadences). Roman numerals in minor are relative to natural minor.

Major

• Formula 1 2 3 4 5 6 7; T T S T T T S. D major: D E F# G A B C#.
• Characteristic note: the leading tone (C#) and the fourth (G), which form the tritone of the dominant A7: the basis of the cadence.
• Chords: I (D) ii (Em) iii (F#m) IV (G) V (A) vi (Bm) vii° (C#°).
• Use: D and C major are the “festive” keys with natural trumpets and timpani (Bach, Magnificat in D, BWV 243; Handel, the Hallelujah of Messiah in D).
• Common mistake: using vii° in root position with the bass on the doubled leading tone: in the Baroque it is almost always used in first inversion (vii°6) or as part of V7.

Minor (three forms together)

• Natural 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — D minor: D E F G A Bb C. Harmonic 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 — D E F G A Bb C#. Ascending melodic 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7 — D E F G A B C#.
• Typical chords: i (Dm) ii° (E°) III (F) iv (Gm) V (A) VI (Bb) VII (C, used in sequences) vii° (C#°).
• Characteristic note: the b6 (Bb) of the lament and the leading tone (C#) of the cadence; the augmented second Bb–C# is used as an expressive interval (“passus duriusculus”).
• Use: melodies rise with 6 and 7 raised and fall with 6 and 7 natural; the bass uses harmonic minor in cadences.
• Example: J. S. Bach — Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (attribution disputed).

“Dorian” key signatures

Many pieces in minor are written with one flat fewer in the key signature (D minor without Bb, G minor with only one flat): a legacy of the transposed Dorian mode. The Bb appears as an accidental in the text (e.g. Bach, “Dorian” Toccata and Fugue BWV 538).

Phrygian cadence

In minor, the half cadence iv6–V (in D minor: Gm/Bb – A) with the bass falling by semitone (Bb–A) is a remnant of the Phrygian mode: it closes slow movements before an Allegro (Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the two chords between the movements).

Chromaticism

• Passus duriusculus: descending chromatic bass spanning a fourth (D–C#–C–B–Bb–A) for the lament (Bach, Crucifixus; Purcell, Dido's Lament).
• Saltus duriusculus: dissonant leaps (diminished seventh, tritone) for affects of sorrow.

Temperaments

• First half of the seventeenth century: meantone (pure thirds, but some keys unusable). Then “good” temperaments (Werckmeister 1691, Kirnberger, Vallotti) that allow all 24 keys with different colors: this is the meaning of the Well-Tempered Clavier (not necessarily the modern equal temperament).
• Affects of the keys: theorists (Mattheson 1713, Charpentier) attributed a character to each key; it is tied to temperaments and instruments (natural trumpets played in D or C).

How to choose

Major for joy, triumph, celebration (D, C with trumpets); minor for lament and pathos (G minor, C minor, B minor, F minor for extreme sorrow). The key is also chosen for the instrument (violin: D, A, E, G resonant on the open strings; flute: D, G, E minor).

Harmony

Basso continuo and figured bass

Baroque music is conceived from the bass: the figured bass indicates the intervals above the bass (no figure = 5/3; 6 = first inversion; 6/4 = second inversion; 7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2 = sevenths and their inversions; 4–3 = suspension; # or b = altered third). The continuo player (harpsichord, organ, theorbo, lute, harp) realizes the chords, improvising the voice leading. References: Heinichen, Der General-Bass in der Composition (1728); the Neapolitan partimenti.

Functions and cadences

• Perfect cadence V(7)–I preceded by IV or ii6; cadence with 4–3 suspension on V; Picardy third (major ending of a piece in minor); Phrygian cadence iv6–V as a half cadence; deceptive cadence V–vi.
• Rule of the octave: standard harmonization of each scale degree in the bass (1: 5/3; 2: 6/4/3; 3: 6; 4: 6/5 ascending, 4/2 descending; 5: 5/3; 6: 6 or 6/4/3; 7: 6/5; 8: 5/3).

Sequences (the engine of the Baroque)

• Descending circle of fifths (I–IV–vii°–iii–vi–ii–V–I), also with chained sevenths (Imaj7 IVmaj7 vii°7 iii7…).
• Ascending 5–6 sequences, sequences of sixths (fauxbourdon: chains of first-inversion chords), chains of 7–6 suspensions and 2–3.
• Sequences make it possible to modulate and to “spin out” the music (Vivaldi, Corelli, Handel).

Modulations

To closely related keys: in major V, vi, IV, ii, iii; in minor III, v, iv, VI, VII. A Vivaldi concerto takes the ritornello to V (or to III in minor), then to another closely related key, and returns to the tonic.

Harmonic rhythm and density

Regular harmonic rhythm (one chord per quarter note or per half bar in fast movements), tonic and dominant pedals in codas and fugues, diminished seventh chords for moments of maximum tension (accompanied recitatives, toccatas).

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Pulse and dance

• Perpetual motion: constant pulse in eighth or sixteenth notes in the bass or the strings; the tempo does not fluctuate within a movement (except for final slowing and recitatives).
• Suite dances (meter and character): allemande moderate 4/4, pickup of a sixteenth note; corrente Italian fast 3/4, French (courante) 3/2 with hemiolas; sarabande slow 3/4 with emphasis on beat 2; gigue 6/8, 12/8 or 6/4, often fugal; minuet moderate 3/4; gavotte 2/2 with a half-bar upbeat; bourrée 2/2 with a quarter-note upbeat; passepied fast 3/8; siciliana pastoral 6/8 or 12/8 with dotted rhythm; chaconne and passacaglia 3/4 over an ostinato bass.
• French overture (Lully): slow section with double-dotted rhythms, followed by a fast fugal section.
• Notes inégales: in French music, eighth notes written equal are played slightly unequal (long–short, an idea similar to a light swing, about 55–65%) in stepwise movement.
• Hemiola before cadences in triple-meter movements (two bars of 3/4 felt as one of 3/2).
• Terraced dynamics: block contrasts of forte/piano (echo), not long crescendos.

Drums

Percussion in the Baroque

• Timpani: almost always in pairs, tuned to tonic and dominant (D–A, C–G), tied to the natural trumpets that play in the same keys. They are used in festive movements, glory choruses, music for celebrations (Bach, Magnificat BWV 243 and Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, which opens with a timpani solo; Handel, Music for the Royal Fireworks, 1749; Lully in court music).
• Wooden sticks or sticks covered in leather/thin felt: a dry, articulate sound, closer to a drum than to the modern timpani.
• Role: they double the trumpets' bass on strong beats and in repeated-note figures, mark cadences, rolls on final chords.
• Side drums, tambourine, castanets: in stage and dance music, marches and battles (Biber, Battalia, 1673, with war effects); modern ensembles sometimes add percussion ad libitum.

Where they fall

In a festive 4/4: a stroke on 1 and 3, repeated in eighth notes in cadences (tonic–dominant–tonic), a roll on the last chord. In a 3/8 gigue: a stroke on the first beat of each bar or every two bars.

Typical mistakes

Timpani in keys impossible for natural trumpets (e.g. Eb minor), modern timpani with a long, soft sound in a Baroque context, percussion in sacred “chamber” pieces, timpani without trumpets.

Bass

The basso continuo

• Melodic bass instruments: cello (or viola da gamba), violone/double bass (sounding an octave lower), bassoon (often doubles the bass even without an indication).
• Harmonic instruments: harpsichord (secular music and opera), organ (church), theorbo, archlute, lute, Baroque guitar, harp.
• Continuo groups: in an opera aria cello + double bass + harpsichord + theorbo; in a church cantata cello + violone + organ + bassoon; in a chamber sonata cello or viola da gamba + harpsichord.

What the bass plays

• Lines walking in eighth notes (walking bass avant la lettre, Corelli, Handel), pedals, ostinatos (ground, chaconne), repeated octave leaps in fast movements (“drum” bass).
• The bass is often a true counterpoint to the melody: in Bach, bass and soprano form a complete duet.
• Recitativo secco: briefly held chords, stereotyped cadences (the “truncated cadence” at the end).

Useful frequencies

Baroque cello (gut strings) C2 ≈ 65 Hz, violone in G or in D (16'), Baroque bassoon Bb1. A=415 lowers everything by about a semitone compared to modern pitch.

Harmonic instruments

• Harpsichord: realization of the continuo (chords, arpeggios, imitations), solo instrument (Couperin, Rameau, Domenico Scarlatti, Bach). One register or two (8' and 4'), two manuals in the large French and German instruments. Almost no dynamics: you “play” with arpeggiation and density.
• Organ: continuo in church, solo instrument (preludes, toccatas, fugues, chorales by Buxtehude and Bach), registers (principals, flutes, reeds, mixtures).
• Lute, theorbo, Baroque guitar: soft continuo, especially in the early seventeenth century and in opera.
• Strings: violins I and II, violas, cellos; in the concerto grosso the concertino (2 solo violins and cello) dialogues with the ripieno (string orchestra).
• Voicing: strings in 4 parts (violins I and II often in unison in the tutti), continuo chords in the middle register (C3–C5), avoid doubling the melody in the continuo (in theory the realizer does not play the soloist's part).
• Gut strings and Baroque bows: a lighter, more articulate sound, little vibrato (vibrato is an ornament, not constant).

Melody and vocals

• Fortspinnung: an initial motive (Vordersatz) that develops through sequences and closes in a cadence (Epilog). Typical of the concertos of Vivaldi and Bach.
• Ornamentation: trills (from the upper note, on the beat), mordents, appoggiaturas, turns; in slow arias and in da capo returns the soloist improvises diminutions.
• Solo voices: soprano, alto, countertenor (today in place of the castrati), tenor, bass; virtuosic agility (coloratura) in opera seria, expression of the text in oratorios and cantatas.
• Da capo aria: A (with ritornellos) – B (contrast) – A repeated with improvised ornaments.
• Recitative: secco (continuo only) or accompanied (with orchestra) for action and dialogue.
• Choruses: in 4 voices (SATB), also in 5–8 voices and double chorus (Bach, St Matthew Passion, 1727); choral fugues, Lutheran chorales harmonized in 4 voices (Bach's 371 chorales, a model of 4-part harmony).
• Rhetorical figures (Affektenlehre): catabasis (descent: death, humiliation), anabasis (ascent: resurrection), suspiratio (rests: sigh), passus duriusculus (chromaticism: sorrow).
• Melodic instruments: solo violin (Vivaldi, Corelli, Tartini), oboe (pastoral and amorous), transverse flute, natural trumpet (high clarino register), recorder.

Instruments

Violin, viola, cello, double bass/violone, viola da gamba, viola d'amore, violino piccolo; recorder, transverse flute, oboe, oboe d'amore, oboe da caccia, bassoon; natural trumpet, horn (corno da caccia), trombone (in sacred music); timpani in pairs; harpsichord, organ, clavichord; lute, archlute, theorbo, Baroque guitar, double/triple harp; voices (soprano, alto, castrato/countertenor, tenor, bass), choir.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• B-3 V — Continuo organ (approximation): Drawbars 8' and 4' (00 8800 000), Leslie off, percussion off and chorus/vibrato disabled: a “study” positive organ for realizing the continuo in the DAW. For the real Baroque organ use a pipe organ library.
• Clavinet V — Fantasy harpsichord: With bright pickups, high damping and a little room reverb it recalls the plucking of the harpsichord for crossover arrangements; it is not a historically accurate harpsichord.
• Augmented Strings — Study chamber strings: For trying out the concerto grosso in the DAW: set a short attack (staccato/spiccato), little vibrato and a small-hall reverb (1.2–1.6 s).
• Augmented Voices — Choir for chorales: For hearing a harmonized 4-voice chorale: one track per voice and reduced vibrato.
• Piano V — Counterpoint study: For playing fugues and inventions with a clear timbre; use an upright or grand model with little pedal to keep the Baroque articulation.
• Synclavier V — Electronic Bach: “Glassy” FM/additive timbres for electronic reinterpretations in the style of Switched-On Bach (Wendy Carlos, 1968, realized on a Moog synthesizer).

Song structure

Main forms

• Fugue: exposition (subject in the tonic, answer at the dominant — real or tonal —, countersubject, entries of all the voices), episodes (sequential passages on fragments), entries in closely related keys, stretti, dominant pedal, final entry in the tonic; often preceded by a prelude or a toccata.
• Solo concerto (ritornello form): orchestral ritornello (tutti) in the tonic – modulating solo episode – shortened ritornello at V (or III) – episode – ritornello in a closely related key – episode – final ritornello in the tonic. Three movements: Allegro – Adagio/Largo – Allegro (Vivaldi).
• Concerto grosso: alternation of concertino/ripieno in 4–6 movements (Corelli Op. 6) or in ritornello form (Handel Op. 6, Bach Brandenburgs).
• Suite: allemande – courante – sarabande – (galanteries: minuets, gavottes, bourrées, aria) – gigue, all in binary form (|:A, from tonic to dominant:|:B, from dominant to tonic:|).
• Church sonata (slow–fast–slow–fast) and chamber sonata (dances); trio sonata (two melodic instruments and continuo).
• Variations on an ostinato bass: chaconne, passacaglia, ground (Bach, Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 for solo violin, BWV 1004).
• Opera seria: opening sinfonia, alternation of recitative and da capo aria, few choruses and duets. Oratorio and Passion: recitatives, arias, choruses, chorales. Cantata: recitatives and arias, with a final chorale in Lutheran cantatas.

Proportions

A movement of a Vivaldi concerto: 80–200 bars in 3–5 minutes; a fugue of the Well-Tempered Clavier: 30–120 bars; a binary dance: 8–32 bars per section, repeated.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Contrapuntal clarity, crisp articulation and rhythm, a continuo that is audible but not intrusive, a natural space of a medium-sized hall or church. “Historically informed” recordings are closer and livelier than Romantic ones: you hear the bow attacks, the repeated notes, the harpsichord.

Miking and layout

• Small ensemble (6–25 players): main pair A–B or ORTF at 2–3 m height and 2–4 m distance, outriggers or ambience pair, spot mics on soloists, harpsichord and theorbo.
• Typical layout: violins I on the left, violins II on the right (or both on the left), violas and cellos in the center, continuo (harpsichord, cello, double bass, theorbo) in the center behind the soloists; winds behind the strings; trumpets and timpani at the back.

Strings

• EQ: high-pass violins 80–100 Hz, violas 60, cello 40, violone 30; −1/−2 dB at 250–350 Hz for definition; gut strings and Baroque bows have less “brilliance”: possibly +1 dB at 6–8 kHz.
• Compression: none.
• Space: hall of 1.5–2.2 s (a longer church for sacred music), pre-delay 15–25 ms.
• Panning: violins I L 50–70, violins II R 50–70 (antiphonal layout) or L 20; violas R 20; cellos/continuo center.

Continuo: harpsichord, organ, theorbo

• Harpsichord: spot mic at 50–100 cm (pair above the strings or near the case); high-pass 60–80 Hz; −1/−3 dB at 3–5 kHz if the plucking is biting; never compress the transients; level 3–6 dB below the strings in the tutti (it must “color”, not cover).
• Positive organ: pair at 1–1.5 m; high-pass 40 Hz; watch for mechanical noise.
• Theorbo/lute: spot mic at 50–80 cm; +1 dB at 100–150 Hz to add body to the theorbo's bass strings if it is too thin.

Winds, trumpets and timpani

• Oboe and flute: high-pass 120 Hz, no compression.
• Natural trumpets: distant mics (they are very powerful and bright), −1/−2 dB at 2–3 kHz if they screech.
• Baroque timpani: dry and articulate; high-pass 40 Hz, light spot mic, natural reverb.

Voices and choir

• Soloists: spot mic at 1–1.5 m, high-pass 80–100 Hz, very light de-esser; a touch more reverb than the orchestra to set them apart.
• Baroque choir (often 12–24 voices or one singer per part): main pair + very low section spot mics; reverb shared with the orchestra.

With virtual libraries

• Use chamber or Baroque string libraries if available (small sections, little vibrato); otherwise reduce the vibrato and use short articulations.
• Draw the terraced dynamics (sharp forte/piano changes) with CC1/CC11; avoid Romantic crescendos.
• Sampled harpsichord and organ: light quantization, arpeggiate the continuo chords (not perfect vertical blocks).
• Tuning: try A=415 and a historical temperament (Werckmeister III, Vallotti) if the library allows it.

Buses and groups

Strings, continuo, winds, voices/choir buses; common reverb. No limiter.

Sidechain

No.

Master

• Minimal chain: balancing EQ, no compression or 0.5–1 dB very slow, transparent limiter.
• Indicative target: −20/−16 LUFS integrated for Baroque orchestra (lively concertos recorded up close reach −16/−14), −22/−18 for sacred choral works, true peak −1 dBTP, LRA 6–14 LU.

Common mistakes

• “Romantic” reverb that is too long: the sixteenth notes smear.
• Harpsichord too loud (listening fatigue) or completely gone.
• Compression that kills the forte/piano contrasts.
• In the DAW: strings with Romantic vibrato and slow attacks, modern timpani, continuo in rigid blocks.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Vivaldi — The Four Seasons (Il Giardino Armonico, 1993).
• Bach — Brandenburg Concertos (The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock, Archiv).
• Bach — St Matthew Passion (John Eliot Gardiner, Archiv, 1989).
• Handel — Messiah (Les Arts Florissants or The English Concert).
• Corelli — Concerti grossi Op. 6 (Europa Galante or The English Concert).

Reference listening

• Claudio Monteverdi — L'Orfeo, Toccata e Prologo (1607)
• Henry Purcell — Dido's Lament «When I am laid in earth» (Dido and Aeneas, 1689)
• Arcangelo Corelli — Concerto grosso op. 6 n. 8 «Fatto per la notte di Natale» (pubbl. 1714)
• Johann Pachelbel — Canone in re (fine XVII secolo)
• Antonio Vivaldi — Le quattro stagioni, op. 8 nn. 1–4 (1725)
• Johann Sebastian Bach — Concerto brandeburghese n. 3, BWV 1048 (1721)
• Johann Sebastian Bach — Il clavicembalo ben temperato, Libro I, BWV 846–869 (1722)
• Johann Sebastian Bach — Ciaccona dalla Partita n. 2, BWV 1004 (c. 1720)
• Johann Sebastian Bach — Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244 (1727)
• Georg Friedrich Händel — Messiah, HWV 56: Hallelujah (1742)
• Jean-Philippe Rameau — Les Indes galantes (1735)
• Georg Friedrich Händel — Music for the Royal Fireworks, HWV 351 (1749)