If I thought the atheists were right, this would be my life. While I dearly love all "classical" music, it is music of the Baroque which touches me the most. This music has a wonderfully irregular regularity that never ceases to delight the ear.
What is generally thought of as "Baroque" music encompasses a wide range of styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed during a period of approximately 150 years. Though it is impossible to give precise dates as to when this period occurred, most people generally agree it began in 1600 and ended about 1750. The term "Baroque", as applied to this period in music is a relatively recent development, first being used by Curt Sachs in 1919, and only acquiring currency in English in the 1940s. Indeed, as late as 1960 there was still considerable dispute in academic circles whether it was meaningful to lump together music as diverse as that of Jacopo Peri, Domenico Scarlatti and J.S. Bach with a single term; yet the term has become widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. A few of my favorite composers from this period are (in no particular order):
|
|
 |
|
| I am a staunch supporter of the use of period instruments and performance practices in music of all eras, including the Baroque. While I certainly don't think it's a sin to use modern instruments in this repertoire, I believe we owe it to the composers to at least try to approach their music on its own terms. An excess of modern rhetoric and sentimentality only serves to reinforce the preconceived notions of the musicians and audience. This music must be heard on its own terms, only then can its simple beauty be truly appreciated. | |
 |
||
|
Home | Bio | Music | Sights | Sounds | Links | Contact | Terms of Use Copyright © 2006 by Benjamin Mullins |
||
 |
|
|
