The Baroque period took place from 1600-1750s. One thing about this period that excites me is that opera was invented during this time. The operas they had back then are very similar to musicals that we have today. The operas consisted of a combination between singing, as well as a storyline with a plot usually based on love stories from Greek mythology. Generally, included in the storyline were some sort of divine presence that came to save the day and helped all the issues work out. Early operas featured simple songs, however later on there were alterations between “speech like sections with melodious songs.” It was really fascinating to learn that even in the 16th century they had their own version of Broadway entertainment. 

Additionally, this was a time period when music started to become more adventurous. There were new instrumental genres that were being born such as “sonata” and “concerto.” Despite these broadening genres, all styles of music were still able to be unified. This is because all music from that century came from the same base line known as “basso continuo.” This bass line is what brought together all the different types of music and styles during this period. Furthermore, there were some modern advancements to music during this time, such as the development of major and minor chords, as well as ornaments being added to musical notes.

I chose the composer Gerorge Frideric Handel’s most famous piece,“Messiah.” This music does sound like what I expected from this era. This is because the structure resembled that of an opera, although there is no direct speech. In addition, during this time period musicians were into impressing their audiences. This piece includes fast paced violin as well as the voices reaching high melodic notes, such as the Hallelujah chorus, which are vocally impressive. This piece also has the angelic and divine feels to it, which was popular during the Baroque period.