Allyssa+Salvador+-+Ornamentation,+Melismas,+Dynamics,+Articulation+and+Melodic+and+Rhythmic+Styles+in+the+Baroque+Era

Ornamentation, Melismas, Dynamics, Articulation and Melodic and Rhythmic Styles in the Baroque Era The baroque period lasted between 1600 and 1750 and is said to occur between the Renaissance and Classical era. Its name, which means //extravagant and ornate//, directly resembles the music that was popular during that era. The baroque era differentiates itself from other areas because of its excessively elaborate and embellished music. With the help of the use of ornamentation, melismas, dynamics, articulation and melodic and rhythmic styles, the baroque era earned its name.

Ornamentation Ornamentation is the use of musical ornaments (added notes) to “decorate” a piece of music. Ornaments are not necessary to the main line of melody however are used to make the piece more interesting. They are performed by adding notes around a central or main note. Ornamentation was encouraged because of the inabilities that keyboards (such as the harpsichord) present during that time had. Such inabilities included the inability to sustain a note. Therefore in order to sustain a note, performers would expand the note by adding ornaments around that central note. Thus giving listeners the impression that the note had been carried through.

Ornamentation was also encouraged because of the demand for improvisation. During this era, improvisation was an important and necessary factor in order for a composer or performer to be considered talented. Thus, performers were not expected to perform a piece exactly as written as we are expected to do now a days. As a result, performers were encouraged to add ornaments in order to improvise and further elaborate on a melodic line. Examples of ornaments include trills and mordents.

A trill is a repetition of a pair of notes. In baroque music, a central note would be indicated in the sheet with a symbol on top if it signifying that it is a trill. The performer was expected to play this trill starting from a note a tone higher than the central note and alternating between that note and the central note.



A mordent was another form of ornamentation. It is indicated by a central or main note with a symbol on top of it signifying that it was a mordent. The mordent is to be played by beginning on the central note, alternating to a note a diatonic tone below and back up to the central note. * The following website displays how trills and mordents sound like:

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Trills: 1:16 – 1:19 or 3:14 – 3:19 Mordent: 10:18 – 10:20

* The following website is the rendition of Twinkle Twinkle with the use of ornamentation. []

Here is how the music would look like:



Melismas A melisma is a syllable, within a vocal phrase, that is sung on several notes. The portion of the following picture (from Johann Franck’s "Du, o sch ones Weltgebäude" (1653)) surrounded by a blue box is an example of a melisma.

 Melismas were very popular in baroque singing because it was one way to ornament a melodic line vocally. They were commonly used in operas during the baroque period. However, only certain types of operas contained melismas and coincidentally all contained a soloist. Operas, which contained melismas, were Recitative opera, Aria opera and Arioso opera. Its popularity was also encouraged because it allowed vocalists to improvise on a melody, to which we know was a trend at the time. However, melismas are not only found in baroque music, but they were also popular in R&B music, Torah chants and significantly in Gregorian chants.

* The following link is an example of a Gregorian chant, which uses melismas. A specific melisma is found on 0:07 – 0:11 and is sung on the syllable “gi” in the word “regina”.

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 Dynamics Dynamics refers to sound or volume that a note(s) is being played. As we know, the harpsichord was an instrument frequently used in the baroque time period. As previously mentioned it had many inabilities compared to a modern piano. An inability which has not already been mentioned was its inability to gradually increase (//crecendo//) or decrease (//decrecendo//) volume. The harpsichord was only able to create a //forte// (loud) or //piano// (soft) sound and nothing else in between. Because of this, the baroque time period is famously known for its use of terraced dynamics. Terraced dynamics is the sudden switch between //forte// and //piano// during a piece of music. Also, as a result of the presence of only two dynamics, dynamics were not marked in music

*Terraced dynamics is displayed in //Vivaldi’s “Spring”// Note the sudden change of dynamics from the beginning of the piece to 0:20.

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Dynamics used in baroque music are somewhat continuous until a point where the dynamics suddenly and drastically change. Despite the lack of dynamic variations, they still made the best of what they had. Thus, they used this inability to their advantage and created the echo effect. The echo effect consists of a musical phrase played first in //forte// and then repeating that phrase in //piano//. Thus creating an echo effect.

Articulation In music articulation refers to the technique which affects the way a note or groups of notes are played. Whether the technique have an effect on the note’s transition or continuity. In music, articulation is expressed with symbols. These symbols direct performers on how to perform a note or groups of notes. Examples of symbols indicating articulation are:

· **Staccato:** a note that is to be performed short and detached.

· **Legato:** Italian translation “tied together” which directs a performer to perform notes smoothly and connected

However, articulation was not possible in baroque music because of the harpsichord’s inabilities. These inabilities were due to how the strings within the keyboard were creating sound. In modern pianos strings are striked with a hammer, while keyboards from the baroque period were plucked in order to create sounds. As a result harpsichords cannot sustain notes and create dynamics between //forte// and //piano//. Thus, baroque music did not contain articulation which had to do with emphasizing, or lengthening notes because it was physically impossible and thus unnecessary to include. Articulation relating to tempo, such as //allegro// which tells a performer to play fast, were not noted either because customs regarding music composition were so strong that they did not have to be noted – in other words tempo was noted because it was thought of as common sense. Melodic and Rhythmic Styles In baroque music the “mood” or “emotion” of a piece would remain constant throughout. Therefore, since the melody and rhythm generated the “mood” of a piece, it too would remain constant. As a result, baroque music would generally contain a constant rhythm. Since baroque music’s rhythm is constant the beat of the baroque music is very distinct. This in turn emphasized the mood of the song. However, if rhythm were to vary it would result in a change in mood and thus making the piece “emotionally confusing”.

Melody in baroque music was very repetitive and generated a constant “mood”. A common melodic style used in the baroque time period was polyphony. Polyphony is the combining of two or more melodic lines as opposed to homophony (the use of only one melodic line) which is commonly used today. As a result, baroque music appeared and sounded very dense and complex.

* The following audio clip of //Johann Sebastian Bach:// //Four-Harpsichord Concerto// displays the baroque era’s melodic density and rhythmic consistency. []

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