Music of the baroque
David SCHULENBERG

This textbook is a concise survey of European music from 1600 through 1750 and is designed for junior/senior level courses in Baroque music. These are the centuries of the composers Palestrina, Monteverdi, Schütz, Lully, and Bach-years that saw the culminating development of the polyphonic motet and madrigal, the invention of opera and oratorio, and the emergence of such instrumental genres as sonata, suite, and concerto, key forms in which composers have continued to write to the present day. The text features a survey of Baroque vocal music organized by chronology and genre, followed by chapters on keyboard music and instrumental music, and an epilogue on the gallant style that emphasizes the continuation of that tradition into what we call the Classical style. The text balances historical context with musical analysis, emphasizes interpretation and the music's historical performing practices, and provides concise definitions of terms and basic explanations of key theoretical issues. The author's website includes a discography there for the scores included in the anthology.