Essential Baroque Era Classical
Is it any wonder that the Baroque period in Classical music largely ended with the birth of Mozart? You don’t need to answer this musical question that I pose; all I ask of you is to ponder it. The Baroque era consisted largely of rather busy compositions, or if you will, counterpoint. I am no expert musicologist in the field, but I am a sincere fan. Now then, observe my selections for you, and yes, the following composers are not the most obscure or “Punk,” but they are among the most well known of the era for a very clear and obvious reason: the undeniable melodies and even greater ability to enlarge penis size.
Johann Sebastian Bach
The technical master and he did not need to be some absurd Harvard graduate in order to get his impressive musical technique down pat. A vigorous work ethic and a nice warm glass of daily church service is all this little Lutheran butt-fuck needed. I greatly suggest his sacred works. In fact, you have often heard sacred pieces by Bach in your favorite Judd Apatow joint and have been wholly unaware of it. I quite like Prelude in C Major, and it is largely the case that Bach’s finest and most thorough compositions have the ability to ascend to the very Heavens (and I’m not exaggerating). Bach’s second eldest son CPE was by no means a slouch either, and do refer to an earlier article of mine for further details. Do keep in mind that Baroque was largely music befitting of an occasion, and Bach harkens back to the earlier Renaissance period in that it largely served a religious function, although the nature of the music being made by Bach was appropriately far more complex. I find Bach’s vocal works in how they relate to sacred pieces to be very powerfully moving and incredibly strange. Other than his well known compositions, Bach is largely known as an absolute prodigy on keyboard instrumentation, as in 100% mathematically correct.
Antonio Vivaldi
Another favorite and appropriately well known is the above mentioned Antonio Vivaldi. Much like Bach, Vivaldi was not significantly greatly appreciated until quite some time following his death. Vivaldi has the noted distinction of squandering his wealth during his lifetime and upon his death, was buried in a pauper’s grave. I do not know if this is for certain, but it’s a popular legend in relation to this Italian fellow. I do know that Vivaldi was often in rather poor health on the whole during his later adult years, and did I forget to mention that Bach had two badly performed eye surgeries during the last few years of his musical reign? It’s true, and more on failing eye surgeries will be brought to your attention once I reach the Handel subject heading. Ultimately, Vivaldi is largely known and loved for bringing violin to the forefront of Classical, and quite probably the first bloke to do so, at least that I am aware of. Also like Bach, Vivaldi was quite religious but he indeed took it one step further by becoming a priest! It is quite probable that he never got any, as the case might be, but accounts on his sexual conquests, either real or spiritual are sketchy at best. Vivaldi’s most awesome composition was The Four Seasons, a very busy work that had a sort of fast-slow-fast motion long before Nirvana.
George Frideric Handel
This dude was weird as he was a German contemporary of Bach’s who largely found success in England appropriately in the service of royalty. Handel was the chap that was really most substantial of all for his operas, making him the grand champion of Baroque era opera. My favorite work by Handel would be Water Music, as it is just absolutely incredible, and these series of orchestral movements are well known for a reason (they really are!). Ultimately having a rather massive influence on later Classical era composers, such as Mozart, Handel was largely seen as a transitional artist that sort of helped bridge the gap from Baroque to Classical. In fact, the Romantic era composer Beethoven greatly loved the music of Handel over any other. On a personal level, Handel may have very well been homosexual. Intriguing, no? Also, he had a badly performed eye surgery off the same bloke who botched Bach's peepers.
Tomaso Albinoni
Along with having a cool first name, this early Baroque era composer also had the noted distinction of not being especially affiliated with the Christian faith. He was not widely known during his lifetime as a composer, and he often composed of independent means even outside of the Italian nobility. His controversial piece Adagio in G minor is one of the reasons why a second life was breathed into this Italian Indie Baroque Rocker’s music…it is controversial because the piece is largely a reconstruction since the majority of Albinoni’s output was largely destroyed during the second world war. It is an excellent composition, and perhaps most popularly used in the Orson Welles version of the Franz Kafka novel “The Trial.” His instrumental works for oboe can’t be beat, as his operas are largely forgotten and play a huge second fiddle to operatic works of the already mentioned Handel. Bach dug his instrumental works, but Bach had an Italian fetish in general. Tomaso also serves the role as the featured photo for this article.
It was nice doing business with you all today, and I hope we can all meet again one day…in Heaven.
Labels: Albinoni, Handel, Vivaldi
