Baroque Structures

Baroque Structures

BINARY AND TERNARY FORM:

• In Baroque music, a common structure is the binary form (AB), where two sections are noticeably different but tied together. These two sections are commonly repeated.
• Another common structure is ternary form (ABA) where the first and third sections are similar or identical in terms of musical ideas, while B offers contrast.

GROUNDS AND VARIATIONS:

• Ground bass, a characteristic of Baroque music, involves a repeated bass line (the ‘ground’) that forms the structural basis for variations in melody and harmony on top of it.
• Baroque composers also enjoyed creating variations by changing the melody, rhythm or harmony of a theme, while maintaining its overall structure.

SUITE AND SONATA:

• Suites were a common Baroque form, featuring a set of dance movements typically in binary form, and often following the order: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue.
• The sonata also started to develop during the Baroque period, usually a piece for a solo instrument or a solo instrument with keyboard accompaniment, often organised into several movements with a variety of tempos and characters.

CONCERTO AND CONCERTO GROSSO:

• The solo concerto and the concerto grosso are key forms in Baroque music, where music is played by a small group of soloists (the ‘concertino’) and a larger group (the ‘ripieno’).
• Concertos often follow a three movement structure (fast-slow-fast), exhibiting contrast between groups of instruments, and between different tempos and musical ideas.

FUGUE AND CANTATA:

• One of the most intricate forms of Baroque music is the fugue, which involves a certain tune (the ‘subject’) repeated in different pitches and overlapped in complex ways.
• The cantata, commonly used in church services, is another Baroque form, combining recitatives, arias and choruses - often with a thematic unity based on a religious text.