Amelia, Courtney, and Kayla Baroque Music Blog

           Baroque Music

The word Baroque comes from the word "barraco" which means "oddly shaped pearl," the term baroque has been used widely since the early 19th century to describe the period in Western European art music from 1600-1750. Comparing some of music history’s greatest masterpieces to a misshapen pearl might seem strange to us today, but to the nineteenth century critics who applied the term, the music of Bach and Handel’s era sounded overly ornamented and exaggerated. Having long since shed its derogatory connotations, “baroque” is now simply a convenient catch-all for one of the richest and most diverse periods in music history.
In the Baroque period the musicians and composers created a musical language to fit moods and affections. Some rhythms and melodic patterns are used to define certain moods and expressions. The unity of mood is conveyed by the rhythm. The rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning of the piece are heard variously throughout the rest or the piece. The beat is far from distinct in baroque music. Beats are rarely broken up. Baroque music creates a sequence feeling with the melody. It will be heard over and over again through the course of the entire piece. Many melodies are complex making them hard to sing or play. The musicians and composers had to be highly skilled and trained to write baroque music. When you listen to Baroque music you get the feel as if it is all over the place. But it is actually strategically put together. Many interesting things happened in the Baroque period. Click this link to find out some interesting facts.
Terraced Dynamics are sudden in a piece of music like physically stepping off of a step. It is a distinctive quality in baroque music.
There were many talented composers in the baroque period. Studies show that the top ten composers however, were: Johan Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, George Phillip Telemann, Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Purcell, Domenico Scarletti, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johan Pachelbel, and Giovanni Batista Sammartini. This link contains information on these top ten composers of the baroque period. Click to find out some interesting information on them.
While the baroque music period was going on many other things were occurring. Such as: the English Civil War, the Bank of England was founded, and the beginning of a religious 30 years war in Central Europe.

Instruments used:

Amelia, Courtney, and Kaylas' Christopher Columbus Post

Christopher Columbus



Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been variously described as one of the greatest mariners in history, an Italian explorer who was hoping to find a route to India, a visionary genious, a mystic, a national hero, a failed adminstrator, a naive entrepeneur, and a ruthless and greedy imperialist. In 1492 Columbus made his voyage throughout Europe and secured the title of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea and further royal patronage. He led more then 3 expeditions to the Carribean.

The first trip: Columbus sailed for Kind Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. He had about 90 crew members. They set sail on August 3, 1492 from Palos, Spain, and October 11, 1492 they spotted the Carribean Islands off of south eastern North America. They landed on an island called Guanahani he later renamed it San Salvador. They were met by the local Taino Indians, many of whom were captured by Columbus' men and later sold into slavery. Columbus had thought he made it Asia, and he called the area the Indies, and called the inhabitant Indians. While exploring the islands in the area looking for gold to loot, Columbus' men traveled to the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, and many other small islands. On the return trip , the Santa Maria was wrecked and the captain of the Pinta sailed off on his own to try to beat Columbus back. Columbus then returned to Spain in the Nina on March 15, 1493.

The second trip: The second trip was a larger expedition that began on September 25, 1493. They sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and to capture Indians and sell them as slaves. Columbus established a base in Hispaniola and sailed around it and along the length of Southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island of Dominica on November 3, 1493. The voyage ended June 11, 1496.

The third trip: The third expedition began on May 30, 1498. Columbus sailed farther south to Trinidad and Venezuela. Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of America. This expedition ended on October 1500.

The fourth trip: This trip began on May 9, 1502. This was Columbus' last expedition. He sailed to Mexico, Honduras, Panama, and Santiago. This expedition ended November 7, 1504.
Music: Christopher Columbus' time era had a set music. It was called secular music. Secular is a non-religious music and it was becoming more popular during this time. There was also a rise in dance music and instrumental music during this time.

This is the Christopher Columbus Timeline. After Queen Isabella died on November 26, 1504 Columbus tried to regain his governorship of Hispaniola. In 1505, the king allowed him to petition but did nothing. One year later, Columbus became ill and passed away on May 20, 1506. He is now buried in Hispaniola.

501 words

 

Amelia, Ryan, and Summer's Blog Post

Music from Ancient Olympic Games





The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece were much like they are today. They are a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece held in honor of Zeus. The exact origins of the Games are shrouded in myth and in legend but records indicate that they began in 776 B.C. in Olympia in Greece. The Olympic Games were huge until 393 A.D. when they were suppressed by Theodesius I as part of the campaign to make Christianity a state religion. The games, still much like today, were held every four years. The time became known as olympiad. Because there were wars at the time there was a Olympic Truce so that the contendors could travel safely. The winners recieved wreaths of laurel leaves and today they win medals. Laurel wreaths has interlocking branches and leaves of bay laurel. In the ancient greek mythology Apolo is represented wearing a Laurel Wreath on his head. The games became a political tool for city-states to show dominance

over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the Games, and in time of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the Gods for victory. The Games were also used to spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. A differenece between the Olympics then and now is that in Ancient times the Olympics featured religious celebrations and artistic competitions. There was a temple on the site of Olympia, which was dedicated to Zeus, held a gold and ivory statue of the king of the Gods. It was created by the greatest Greek sculptor, Pheidias, it stood 42 feet high, and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Olympic Games then had fewer events, and only free men who spoke Greek could compete (although a woman named, Bilistiche, is also mentioned as a winner). As long as they met the criteria, athletes from any country or city-state could compete. The Olympics were always held in Olympia as opposed to moving to different locations like the present day Olympics. Their is one major common ground between ancient and present day Olympics, the victorious athletes are honored, feted, and praised. Their deeds are heralded and chronicled for future generations to appreciate their accomplishments. A very different part of the Olympic Games in ancient times from now is that they had artistic competitions as well as sports. Art Competitions formed part of the modern olympic games during its early years, from 1912 to 1952. This is the kind of music played during the Ancient Olympic Games. The Olympic Games were a big deal then and they still are today.

My first post!

Hi, my name is Amelia Cole. This will be my first blog post for my class Music Appreciation. So far we have listened to the time periods Late 20th Century more popular music (1950's-present day), Early 20th Century like Jazz,  Romantic/Impressionistic/Nationalistic (1825-1900), Classical Period (1750-1825), Baroque Period (1600-1750), Renaissance (1450-1600), Medieval (900-1450), and Ancient Greek Roman music. My class has also gone into specific details of the elements of music. We have spoken about rhythm, melody, harmony, and texture. Texture also includes discussing the Monophonic or one sound, Polyphonic or multiple melodies at once, and homophonic which is the primary melody with a supporting background.

My favorite thing we listened to this year was the Jazz from the Early 20th century. I liked the Jazz portion the best because Jazz can be sad or happy. It always gives you a certain impression. I think that Jazz players have to have a lot of skill to make you feel that way by the way they play their instruments or sing. When I looked up the exact definition of jazz it said, "jazz is not the result of choosing a tune, but an ideal that is created first in the mind, inspired by ones passion and willed next in playing music." I feel like Jazz music is more of a language, sometimes it is intimate, and other times loud and wild, but it is always layered with experience and life. Did you know that Jazz is not written down in books and websites or even written down on sheet music?

Jazz was born out of African American communities in southern United States. There are also many variations of jazz including, dixieland, big-band swing, bebop, free jazz, Latin jazz fusions, Afro-cuban, acid jazz, hip-hop, and nu jazz. 

Jazz can be any kind of texture, it could have only a sax playing, or many playing at once. The instruments flowing together create a beautiful harmony and melody that you and I would love to either listen to when you are feeling tired, or happy, or anything between. The rhythm can vary throughout jazz music depending on what is being played.                                                                       

So far I have really enjoyed this class. I like learning all about music. Now when I hear a song on the radio I find myself actually looking for things like the rhythm, texture, melody, and harmony. I enjoy listening to many different variations of music now.