- Understand Baroque "doctrine of affects"
- Learn to identify and express different affects (emotions)
- Apply Baroque performance practices
- Develop stylistically informed interpretation
Introduction
Baroque music (1600-1750) is governed by the "doctrine of affects"—the idea that each piece expresses a single, unified emotion or character. Understanding these affects is key to authentic Baroque performance!
The Doctrine of Affects
Baroque composers believed music should move the "affections" or emotions of listeners. Each movement or piece typically expresses one primary affect:
- Joy: Fast tempo, major key, bright articulation, leaping melodies
- Sadness: Slow tempo, minor key, descending lines, sighing figures
- Anger: Fast, agitated rhythms, dissonances, dramatic accents
- Serenity: Moderate tempo, smooth lines, consonant harmonies
- Heroism: Dotted rhythms, fanfare-like patterns, strong accents
Musical Characteristics of Common Affects
Joyful/Cheerful
Musical features: Major key, fast tempo, dance-like rhythms, upward melodic motion
Play with lightness, energy, and brightness!
Character: Bright, buoyant, optimistic. Think of spring morning, birdsong.
Melancholic/Sad
Musical features: Minor key, slow tempo, descending lines, chromatic notes, "sighing" figures
Play with depth, weight, and expressive phrasing.
Character: Sorrowful, introspective, heavy. Think of loss, longing.
Heroic/Noble
Musical features: Dotted rhythms (French overture style), fanfare patterns, strong beats
Play with grandeur, strength, and clear articulation of dotted rhythms.
Character: Majestic, powerful, ceremonial. Think of royalty, triumph.
Baroque Performance Practices
1. Terraced Dynamics
Baroque music typically uses sudden changes between loud and soft, rather than gradual crescendos. Think of steps, not ramps!
- Echo effects: forte phrase repeated piano
- Clear contrast between sections
- Dynamics change at phrase boundaries, not within phrases
2. Inequality (Notes Inégales)
In French Baroque style, pairs of equal-written notes are often played unequally (long-short pattern), similar to swing rhythm.
3. Minimal Vibrato
Use straight tone as default. Add very subtle vibrato only occasionally, perhaps at cadences or on very long notes.
4. Articulation
- Use varied tonguing: "tu-ru-tu-ru" patterns for pairs of notes
- Detached style: Notes are distinct, not slurred together (except where marked)
- Strong-weak patterns: Emphasize strong beats naturally
Recognizing Affect from Musical Clues
Example 1:
Clues: Major key, ascending motion, eighth notes, moderate-fast tempo → Cheerful/Lively
Example 2:
Clues: Minor key, descending motion, slow tempo, sighing figures → Melancholic/Sorrowful
Applying Affect to Performance
Once you identify the affect, use these tools to express it:
- Tempo: Joy = faster, Sadness = slower
- Articulation: Joy = lighter, Sadness = heavier
- Dynamics: Use terraced dynamics to enhance affect
- Tone quality: Bright vs. dark, focused vs. warm
- Phrasing: Shape phrases to support the emotional arc
Baroque Composers and Their Styles
- J.S. Bach: Complex, intellectual, deeply expressive
- G.F. Handel: Grand, operatic, dramatic
- A. Vivaldi: Virtuosic, energetic, pictorial
- G.P. Telemann: Tuneful, accessible, French-influenced
- J. Hotteterre: Elegant French style, ornamented
Practice Routine (25 minutes daily)
- Play each affect example with exaggerated character - 8 minutes
- Practice terraced dynamics (echo effects) - 5 minutes
- Apply Baroque articulation to scales - 5 minutes
- Learn a simple Baroque piece, identifying its affect - 7 minutes