Baroque Instrumental Music
Concerto and Concerto Grosso
contrast between an orchestra and a soloist (in the concerto) or a small group of soloist (in the concerto grosso).
Movements
a self-contained section of music that is part of a larger work.
Ritornello Form
focuses contrast on two musical ideas.
whole rit (tonic key) - (other keys) solo 1 - rit - solo 2 - rit - … - whole rit (tonic key)
Baroque Variation Form: The Ground Bass
For variation form entails the successive, uninterrupted repetition of one clearly defined melodic unit, with changes (dynamics, tone color, harmonies) that enlist the listener’s interest without ever losing touch with the original unit, or theme.
Fugue
A fugue is a polyphonic composition for a fixed number of voices built on a single principal theme – fugue subject.
Exposition (subject and counter-subject) - episode - later subject entries - episode
The Dance Suite
Baroque Dance Form
Minuet (A: aabb) - Trio (B: ccdd) - Minuet (ab)
The French OVerture
consists of two sharply contrasted sections, a slow A and a faster B. They are arranged AAB or AABB or AABA’BA’