In previous articles, the words baroque, classicism applicable to the architecture of buildings in the city of Tver .

The baroque style is characterized by new complex species architectural forms, the splendor of details, the complexity of curvilinear forms, now they use new effects, elements of pretentiousness and luxury.

This art style originated in Italy, Rome and spread throughout Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. Baroque (quaint, wrong, corrupted) with pomp, was the style of the monarchies, which reached its highest development at the beginning of the 17th century. This first European style Russia borrowed from the West and it took root well on Russian soil.

First Representative baroque in architecture and sculpture, it is customary to consider the great classic of this style, the Italian architect Lorenzo Bernini.

"The Eternal City" Rome owes him the design appearance, its design of streets and squares and sculptural compositions still captivate the viewer. The Baroque architect completely abandoned the strict rules and forms of Renaissance architecture.

Now, simple regular shapes, a square, a circle, a cross are being replaced by an oval, other curvilinear shapes, their combination with trapezoid rectangles, etc. In general, many architectural details of the exterior and interior are changing.

Baroque architects widely use the play of light, its contrasts and shadows are used in decorative painting interiors. The ceiling and walls were decorated with frescoes; instead of icons, portraits and landscapes are used in interiors.

Light becomes important component when designing interiors. On the canvases of paintings, the light seems to highlight important details especially bright, the play of light and shadow gives the picture a special look. The great masters Rubens and Rembrandt achieved perfection in the application of these effects.

In Russia, baroque becomes widespread in the 17th century. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, baroque very quickly reaches its peak. One of the masters baroque in Russia, by right, is Bartholomew Varfolomeevich Rastrelli.

His great creation - this building of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo is a cult representative of the Baroque. He is Italian by origin and has been working in Russia since 1716. For almost half a century, stunning palaces, mansions and various religious buildings have been created in Russia. All Rastrelli's buildings are distinguished by their spatial scope, clarity of volume, and rich sculptural decorations.

All his creations are works of art, as if made from a block of stone by a sculptor. Baroque architectural examples are best preserved to our time. The common features of the Baroque are the desire for movement, the architects use all sorts of tricks - painting the walls under the landscape, mirrors, gilding, the contrast of light and shadow. It is not for nothing that the name of the baroque, from the Portuguese - a pearl of irregular shape.

Classicism in architecture

A new style that originated in the bowels of the baroque - classicism. Classicism (exemplary) - a new artistic style in art, literature of the 17th-18th centuries and architecture.

In the architecture of classicism there is monumentality, geometric forms, clarity of planning, logic, clarity, restraint of color. Classical architecture, this is architecture Ancient Greece and Rome. The greatest work of ancient Greek classical architecture - athenian acropolis.

Many rules of classicism originate from the ancient arts. These are calls to forms. ancient architecture as a standard of harmony, simplicity and rigor of forms. The heyday of classicist architecture in Russia falls on the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. architectural masterpiece of Russian classicism is the building of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.

architectural image Petersburg and Moscow was created by a galaxy of great masters I.V. Starov, V.V. Bazhenov, . M.F. Kozakov. The architecture of classicism reached an unprecedented rise during the reign of Catherine II.

In 1763, a government decree was issued on the regular planning of provincial and county cities; as a result, 400 cities were rebuilt. Magnificent buildings in Tver in the style of classicism and baroque adorn the modern streets of our city.

I will be glad to your comments.

in art and architecture XVIII centuries, two fundamental styles prevailed - baroque and classicism. It is no coincidence that they coexisted side by side for a long time, in the same era. It is impossible not to note their close relationship, although there are also a lot of characteristic features inherent only in a particular direction. What is the difference between baroque and classicism, and how, when looking at a painting or a building, to determine what style they belong to?

Definition

Baroque- an artistic style that originated in Italy and was common in European art until mid-eighteenth century.

Baroque

Classicism- an artistic style characteristic of the art of Europe and especially pronounced in the second half of the 18th century.

Comparison

Baroque and classicism are antagonistic trends, although they also have a lot of common features because they were formed in the same era.

Findings site

1. Baroque is characterized by riot and dynamism of forms. Classicism is characterized by harmony and balance of all details.
2. Baroque focuses on luxury, splendor, brilliance, pomposity, richness of decoration. Classicism appreciates restraint and simplicity of lines, the decor is used very carefully.
3. Baroque uses spatial illusions that distort proportions and give scale. Classicism is based on the harmony of proportions, originating in the ancient tradition.

If the ideal of the Renaissance was a harmoniously perfect person, a person for whom there are no contradictions between the personal and the public, then man XVII the century is characterized by an endless clash of these principles; if the hero of works of art of the Renaissance was characterized by unity with the outside world, nature, then the hero of the New Age is aware of his dependence on the environment and external circumstances. The drama of reality, the collapse of the ideal of the Renaissance led to new forms of perception of the world. The optimistic realism of the Renaissance is replaced by a sense of the precarious position of a person, which is characterized by one or another internal conflict: clash of individual rights and public duty, rebellion against blind obedience to the authorities of secular or church authorities, awareness of the inconsistency of being. It is more and more difficult for a person to find his place in the new relations of society, which needs less and less the all-round man of the Renaissance and more and more - a person-function. This tragic collision finds expression in two directions of thought, in two ways of relating to the world, and, finally, in two artistic styles. - baroque and classicism.

The origin of the term "baroque" is unclear, only the translation from Italian is known: strange, pretentious. It can be assumed, that baroque represents not only an artistic style (baroque is often considered only an art direction), but also special image relationship with the world and with the world. It is associated with the crisis of the ideals of humanism, the socio-political upheavals characteristic of the 17th century. The mentality of a baroque person is characterized by a feeling of confusion and confusion, a sense of the contradictory nature of the world, the impermanence of happiness, the omnipotence of fate and chance. The optimistic ideal of the Renaissance “is replaced by a pessimistic assessment of reality, and an enthusiastic admiration for a person and his capabilities - by emphasizing his duality, inconsistency, and depravity”; “the discrepancy between the appearance of things and their essence is constantly comprehended, the fragmentation of being is felt, the clash between the bodily and spiritual principles, between attachment to the sensual beauty of the world and awareness of the frailty of earthly existence” .

The emergence of the Baroque is most often associated with the Counter-Reformation. The fact is that after the turbulent events of the past, fierce religious wars, Europe was devastated and destroyed. In the midst of war-torn Europe, only Rome escaped religious storms and upheavals. It remained a stronghold catholic church, although pressed in its influence, but still very strong, especially after the Council of Trent, therefore it is here that the desire to affirm the triumph of the official church arises. According to the modern French theorist E. Mal, the main ideas of the church of that time were: martyrdom, vision, ecstasy, death. These religious themes in the minds of people were connected with the meaning and good purpose of a righteous existence. They could not exist only on a rational basis, they certainly had to be mixed strong emotion, which impresses the believer and has a strong impact on any other person. In this powerful emotional charge, not only the mystical state of communion with the religious sacrament was to be imprinted, but also the triumphant feeling of the church's victory over its reformers. Therefore, the baroque appears initially in religious art especially in architecture. AND Roman style, and Gothic had quite definite and elevated to the level of regularity rules for the creation of structures. The lines of these buildings were clear and defined. Baroque is “a riot of curved, intersecting, iridescent stone masses that have lost their “stoneness” and seem to have acquired the properties of a viscous plastic material” . Gradually, the baroque moved from architecture to sculpture, painting and other forms of spiritual life.

The question may arise: how was such a rapid and dynamic (initially only artistic) style connected with the crisis of the spirit, like baroque, as it is within the framework of church art was able to compensate for the spiritual turmoil and feeling of confusion that we just talked about? It should be noted that the Counter-Reformation could not overcome religious differences - the reformers just demanded high morality in religious feelings. The Church in this case fought for power - earthly and spiritual. She needed apologists, spokesmen and just parishioners. She was to reign over inner world a person who has already tasted the dangers of rationalism, to determine the scope of sin and piety, as well as the fate of all categories of the population - from the townsfolk to the kings. It was possible to attract into one's bosom by opposing the harsh life of a Protestant with the bright entertainment of Catholicism. Therefore, in “baroque art, even when it directly served the church, there is not very much of what is called piety, despite the fact that miracles, visions, mystical ecstasies are constantly depicted. In these ecstasies, sensuality, “carnality” and even outright erotica come through too clearly” [ibid., p. 97].

One of the most famous baroque theorists Emmanuele Tesauro(1592-1675) named as the main principle of "baroque thinking" - "the principle of quick reason". The quick mind lives by laws that are different from the laws of thinking, it is full of fantasies, metaphors, combining the important and the casual, the serious and the funny, the funny and the sad. It intertwines nature and man, the divine and created by human genius. Geniuses with a quick mind, “out of the non-existent give rise to the existing. Wit out of the immaterial creates the existent, and now the lion becomes a man, the eagle a city. It merges a woman with the appearance of a fish and creates a siren as a symbol of caress, connects the body of a goat with a snake and forms a chimera - a hieroglyph denoting madness. In such a system of thinking, the boundaries of the most diverse phenomena gradually disappear, and a certain disregard for expediency, for what is called "common sense" appears in art.

These features of the Baroque were reflected in their entirety in the work of Caravaggio, Bernini in Italy, Velazquez in Spain, Van Dyck and Rubens in Flanders.

Creation Paul Rubens(1577-1640) especially clearly demonstrates the penetration of baroque into secular life, its liberation from religious themes and its existence as special mentality in the context of 17th century culture. Perpetual motion, tension, the struggle of people with animals, often fantastic, excitement and the triumph of life reign in his paintings. He “made me admire natural health and natural strength. And all this he successfully fused with the requirements of magnificent decor, pomp, praising the monarchs ... ". In the works of artists of this time, “the religious spirit imperceptibly slipped away” from art. “Those were the times of opera, cantata and oratorio, but also of theatrical ceremonies, grandiloquent odes, ornate speeches, long titles, long wigs, allegories and hyperbole in poetry, ponderous intricate wit, emblems and metaphors” [ibid, p. 97].

In literature, this is expressed in the desire to liberate the imagination, to amaze and stun the reader, in a predilection for unexpected images bringing together concepts, comparing objects that are far from each other. Here the most intertwined various forms life, the principle is realized - from the great to the ridiculous one step, because in the baroque they exist together, like other opposites: beautiful and ugly (for example, in sonnets dedicated to beautiful ladies, their lovely hair and insects crawling on them can be described with equal admiration), enthusiasm and rudeness, and so on. At one pole of baroque art is the image of a rebel, free and unrestrained, not fitting into the usual boundaries of behavior, such as, for example, Don Giovanni, trampling fidelity in love, loving every time like the first time, mercilessly killing rivals, or lyrical hero works Cyrano de Bergerac(1619-1655). On the other - a puritan rebel, ascetic and strict, like the hero of the poem “ Lost heaven” the great English poet John Milton(1608-1674). For the baroque and its theorists, wit is obligatory as the ability to bring concepts together (which was considered one of the manifestations of the mind), and the main qualities of such an ability are Versatility and Foresight. Tesauro believes that clairvoyance penetrates “... into substance, matter, form, chance, quality, cause, effect, purpose, sympathy, like, opposite, same, higher, lower, and also into emblems, proper names and pseudonyms. Versatility, however, quickly embraces all these beings and their relationships, it “connects and separates them, increases or reduces them, removes one from the other, and with amazing dexterity puts one in the place of the other.”

Baroque as a lifestyle was more typical for court, aristocratic circles, but the common people were also characterized by some manifestations of this style, expressed in comic, parodic or ascetic close to Protestant ethics. correct forms behavior.

Classicism developed and most clearly expressed in the conditions of absolute monarchy in France. This does not mean that it did not take place in other countries. Classicism, like baroque, was immanent in all culture XVII century. If the baroque, with its richness and variety of sensations, gravitates toward sensationalism as a way sensory knowledge world, then classicism requires rationalistic clarity, an orderly method of dividing the whole into parts and sequential consideration of each of them. This requires inner harmony, a sense of proportion and peace of mind. The mentality of a person expressing a classicist orientation is characterized by the desire for unification around the monarch, orderliness. The memory of the religious wars of the previous century and the desire for stability forced him to accept the strict hierarchy of absolutism, the rigid regulation of royal power.

Classicists in art are characterized by the creation monumental works, the image of active heroes, full of vital energy and capable - thanks to the ability to subdue the passions that overwhelm them - to rise to the resolution of complex ones, tragic conflicts. Therefore, the theater gravitates towards tragedies based on historical plots, in which the clash of duty and feeling always ends in the victory of duty. The great French playwrights worked in this direction - Corneille(1606-1684) and Racine(1639-1699). But there was also a comedy of classicism, exposing the contradictions of the surrounding world, as evidenced by the work that has not lost its relevance until now. Molière(1622-1673).

The theory of classicism is characterized by the cult of reason, which connects this style with philosophical rationalism. Reason in classicism is the source and measure of beauty; for a consistent classicist, the value artwork is largely determined by the degree of its logical harmony and clarity, the orderliness of its composition. This explains the tendency of the classicists to depict as heroes people who are capable of thinking soberly, reasoning and subordinating their actions to the dictates of reason even in moments of the most difficult and stormy experiences. The same desire for order dictated different types art depending on their specificity and certain rules by which these works should be created. These rules concerned not only the theme or plot of the work, but also streamlined it. internal structure. For example, in dramaturgy there were the famous “three unities”: the unity of place, the unity of time, and the unity of action. The unity of the place meant that all events took place in only one place, one scenery on the stage; the unity of time demanded that the action begin and end within one day; unity of action required that the central conflict be clearly defined and unique. He most fully outlined the normative side of the art of classicism Nicolas Boileau(1636-1711) in the poetic treatise "Poetic Art", where he demanded that artistic inspiration be subordinated to reason:

You need to think about the idea and only then write.

While it is not clear to you what you want to say,

Do not look in vain for simple and precise words ...

The 17th century presented mankind with high cultural achievements in almost all areas of activity. But we note once again that it was a time of contrasts: the splendor of the court of the “Sun King” Louis XIV was opposed by a poor people who did not have not only tomorrow, but also today; to the most magnificent minds of this century - a nobleman who does not know how to read and write and boasts of it. These contrasts give rise to a special drama of time, which prepared both the ideas of the Enlightenment and the subsequent multiplicity in the development of the culture of modern times.

The building in the style of classicism: Nationalrat (Nationalrat), the National Council - the lower house of the Austrian Parliament. Vein. 1874 -1884 The building was designed by the architect Theophil Hansen. The structure was supposed to be ancient Greece- Cradle of Democracy.

It is often customary to compare styles in architecture that are closely intertwined in architecture. European countries: Empire, Baroque, Rococo, Classicism.

Each of these styles arose on the crest of a particular era, they were preceded by certain events that are key in the development of civilization. The styles differed in their approach to the design of buildings, based on special philosophies characteristic of a certain historical period.

Empire and Baroque

Empire and baroque seem completely different styles, however, they have something in common - emphasized theatricality, decorativeness. Baroque arose in the 16th century under the influence of the reformist movement, the weakening of the influence of the Catholic Church, and the strengthening of secular power.

Baroque reflects the desire for wealth and luxury and their outward expression. The birthplace of the style was Italy, where the baroque appeared as a result of the development of the Renaissance. From Italy, the style spread throughout Europe, where it dominated until the 18th century. In some baroque countries, in force different reasons developed at a slow pace: for example, in Germany and Austria, due to the Thirty Years' War, large-scale construction was practically not carried out, and the style began to appear in architecture only in the second half of the 17th century.

Differences between baroque and classicism.

In the era of classicism, which followed the Baroque era, the role of polyphonic polyphony decreased and came to the fore homophonic polyphony
( from the Greek "homos" - "one", and "fone" - "sound", "voice")

Unlike polyphony, where all votes are equal, homophonic polyphony stands out one, performing main topic , and the rest play a role accompaniment(accompaniment). The accompaniment is usually a system of chords (harmonies). Hence the name of the new way of composing music - homophonic harmonic.

There is less ornamentation and ornamentation in music. The works have become more harmonious, clear in structure, especially those written in sonata form.

In the era baroque in a piece of music, each of the parts concentrated on the expression and disclosure one brightly drawn feelings, what was solved with the help of the presentation one topic that changed (varied) throughout the part, and in the era classicism in one part of the work revealed many emotions, which were expressed with the help of presentation and development two or more topics of various figurative content.

Early baroque music (1600-1654)

The development of Italian opera by an Italian composer can be considered a conditional transition point between the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643).

The composer was born in the Italian city of Cremona in the family of a doctor. As a musician, Monteverdi developed in his youth. He wrote and performed madrigals; played the organ, viola and other instruments. Monteverdi studied music composition with well-known composers of that time. In 1590, as a singer and musician, he was invited to Mantua, to the court of Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga; later he led the court chapel. In 1612, Monteverdi left the service in Mantua and from 1613 settled in Venice. Largely thanks to Monteverdi in 1637, the world's first public opera house was opened in Venice. There, the composer led the chapel of the Cathedral of San Marco. Before his death, Claudio Monteverdi took holy orders.

Having studied opera Renaissance composers Peri and Caccini, Monteverdi created his own operatic works. Already in the first operas - "Orpheus" (1607) and "Ariadne" (1608) - the composer succeeded musical means convey deep and passionate feelings, create intense dramatic action. Monteverdi is the author of many operas, but only three have survived - "Orpheus", "Return of Ulysses to his homeland" (1640; based on the plot of the ancient Greek epic poem "Odyssey") and "Coronation of Poppea" (1642).

Monteverdi's operas harmoniously combine music and text. At the heart of the opera monologue - recitative (from it. recitare - "to recite"), in which recited every word, and the music flexibly and subtly conveys the shades of mood. Monologues, dialogues and choral episodes smoothly flow into each other, the action develops slowly (three or four acts in Monteverdi's operas), but dynamically. The composer assigned an important role to the orchestra. In "Orpheus", for example, he used almost all the instruments known at that time. Orchestral music not only accompanies the singing, but itself tells about the events taking place on the stage and the experiences of the characters. First appeared in Orpheus overture(French ouverture, or Latin apertura - "opening", "beginning")- an instrumental introduction to a major piece of music. The operas of Claudio Monteverdi had a significant influence on Venetian composers, laid the foundations of the Venetian opera school .

Monteverdi wrote not only operas, but also sacred music, religious And secular madrigals. He became the first composer who did not oppose polyphonic and homophonic methods - the choral episodes of his operas include polyphonic techniques.
In the work of Monteverdi, the new was combined with the old - the traditions of the Renaissance.

TO early XVIII V. formed opera school in Naples. Features of this school - increased attention to singing, the dominant role of music. It was in Naples that the bel canto vocal style(it. bel canto- "beautiful singing"). Bel canto is famous for its extraordinary beauty of sound, melody and technical perfection. A bel canto performer must be able to reproduce many shades of voice timbre, as well as masterfully convey numerous fast sequences of sounds superimposed on the main melody. - coloratura (it. coloratura - "decoration").

IN XVIII century opera became the main type of musical art in Italy, which was facilitated by the high professional level of singers trained in conservatories(It. conservatorio, err lat. conserve - "protect") - educational institutions who trained musicians. By that time, in the centers of the Italian operatic art- Venice and Naples - four conservatories were created. The popularity of the genre was also served by the opera houses that opened in different cities of the country, accessible to all segments of society. Italian operas were staged in the theaters of major European capitals, and composers from Austria, Germany and other countries wrote operas based on Italian texts.

A significant figure in the early baroque period, whose position was on the side of Catholicism, opposing the growing ideological, cultural and public influence Protestantism, was Giovanni Gabrieli (1555-1612). His works belong to the style high revival"(the heyday of the Renaissance). However, some of his innovations in the field of instrumentation (appointment certain instrument own, specific tasks) clearly indicate that he was one of the composers who influenced the emergence of a new style.

One of the church's requirements for composing sacred music was that texts in works with vocals were picky. This required a move away from polyphony to musical techniques where the words came to the fore. The vocals became more complex, ornate compared to the accompaniment.

The German composer also made a great contribution to the dissemination of new techniques. Heinrich Schutz (1585-1672), trained in Venice. This is the most famous German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most important composers of the early baroque period along with D. Gabrieli and C. Monteverdi. He used new techniques in his work while serving as a choirmaster in Dresden.

Music of the mature baroque (1654-1707)

The period of centralization of supreme power in Europe is often called Absolutism. Absolutism reached its zenith under the French king Louis XIV. For all of Europe, the court of Louis was a role model. Including the music performed at the court. Increased availability musical instruments(this was especially true for keyboards) gave impetus to the development chamber music (from it. camera - "room") performed in small rooms or at home.

mature baroque is different from the early ubiquity of the new polyphonic style ( free writing) and increased separation musical forms especially in opera. As in literature, the emerging possibility of large-circulation printing musical works led to an expansion of the audience; the exchange between the centers of musical culture intensified.

In music theory, the mature baroque is defined by composers' focus on harmony and attempts to create coherent systems. musical training.
In subsequent years, this led to the emergence of many theoretical works. A remarkable example of such activity is the work of the late Baroque period - "Gradus ad Parnassum" (Russian. Steps to Parnassus), published in 1725 by Johann Joseph Fuchs(German Johann Joseph Fux) (1660-1741), Austrian theorist and composer. This work, which systematized the theory of counterpoint, almost to late XIX century was the most important tool for the study of counterpoint.

An outstanding representative of the court composers of the court of Louis XIV was Giovanni Battista Lulli (1632-1687). (Jean-Baptiste). Already at the age of 21, he received the title of "court composer of instrumental music." From the very beginning, Lully's creative work was closely connected with the theater. Following the organization of the court chamber music and by composing "airs de cour" (court arias), he began writing ballet music. Myself Louis XIV danced in ballets, which were then the favorite entertainment of the court nobility. Lully was an excellent dancer. He happened to participate in productions, dancing with the king. He is known for his joint working with Moliere, for whose plays he wrote music. But the main thing in the work of Lully was still writing operas. Surprisingly, Lully created a complete type French opera; so-called in France lyrical tragedy(fr. tragedie lyrique), and reached an undoubted creative maturity in the very first years of his work in opera house. Lully often used the contrast between the majestic sound of the orchestral section and the simple recitatives and arias. musical language Lully is not very complicated, but definitely new: the clarity of harmony, rhythmic energy, the clarity of articulation of form, the purity of texture speak of the victory of the principles of homophonic thinking. To a large extent, his success was also facilitated by his ability to select musicians for the orchestra, and his work with them (he himself conducted rehearsals). An integral element of his work was attention to harmony and the solo instrument.

Composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli(1653-1713) known for his work on the development of the concerto grosso genre (concerto grosso - "big concert"). Corelli was one of the first composers whose works were published and performed throughout Europe. Like the opera works by J.B. Lully, the concerto grosso genre is built on a contrasting juxtaposition of the sound of small solo orchestra groups and the sound of a full orchestra. The music is built on sharp transitions from loud to quiet parts, fast passages are opposed to slow ones. Among the followers of Arcangelo Corelli was Antonio Vivaldi, who later composed hundreds of works written in Corelli's favorite forms: trio sonatas and concertos.

IN England mature baroque marked by a brilliant genius Henry Purcell(1659-1695). He died young, at the age of 36, having written a large number of works and becoming widely known during his lifetime. Purcell was familiar with the work of Corelli and other Italian composers of the Baroque era. For his short life Purcell wrote many vocal, instrumental, musical and theatrical works, the most significant of which is opera. "Dido and Aeneas"(1689). This is the first English national opera . She was commissioned by a dance teacher from a boarding school for noble maidens. The private nature of the order influenced the appearance of the work: unlike the monumental operas of Monteverdi or Lully, Purcell's work small in size, action moves fast. The opera's libretto (written by Nicholas Tate) was based on heroic epic"Aeneid" by the Roman poet Virgil.

Virgil has one of the defenders of Troy - Aeneas, after the fall of the city, sets off to wander. A storm drives his ship to the shores of Africa; here he meets Dido, queen of Carthage. Dido fell in love with Aeneas and, when the hero left her at the behest of the gods, took her own life. In Purcell's opera, the herald who separated the heroes is sent not by the gods, but by the witches of the forest ( popular characters English folklore). Aeneas took deceit for a sacred duty to the gods and destroyed the most valuable thing - love.

Distinctive feature Purcell's work harmony. The composer had an amazing gift for creating perfect melodies - calm, majestic and impeccable in form. After Henry Purcell English music until the 20th century one can hardly name such brilliant masters.

Unlike the above composers Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) was not a court composer. Buxtehude worked organist, first in Helsingborg (1657-1658), then in Elsinore (1660-1668), and then, starting from 1668, in the church of St. Mary in Lübeck. He earned not by publishing his works, but by performing them, and preferred composing music to church texts and performing his own organ compositions to the patronage of the nobility. His compositions for organ were distinguished by a wealth of imagination, an abundance of unexpected and colorful comparisons, and deep drama. this composer. Buxtehude's music is largely built on the scale of ideas, richness and freedom of fantasy, a penchant for pathos, drama, and somewhat oratorical intonation. His work had a strong influence on such composers as J. S. Bach and G. F. Telemann.

Late Baroque Music (1707-1760)

The exact line between mature and late Baroque is a matter of debate; she lies somewhere between 1680 and 1720. Much of the complexity of its definition is the fact that in different countries styles changed out of sync; innovations already accepted as the rule in one place were fresh discoveries in another. Italy thanks to Arcangelo Corelli and his students Francesco Geminiani and Pietro Locatelli becomes the first country in which baroque transitions from mature to late period. An important milestone can be considered almost absolute dominance of tone as a structuring principle of composing music. This is especially noticeable in theoretical works Jean Philippe Rameau, who took Lully's place as chief French composer. At the same time, the appearance of the capital work of Johann Joseph Fuchs "Degree ad Parnassum" (1725), dedicated to polyphony strict style, testified to the presence in music two writing styles - homophonic-harmonic and polyphonic.

Forms, opened by the previous period, reached maturity and great variability concerto, suite, sonata, concerto grosso, oratorio, opera and ballet no longer had sharply expressed national characteristics. Generally accepted schemes of works have been established everywhere: a repeating two-part form (AABB), a simple three-part form (ABC) and a rondo.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)- Italian composer, born in Venice.
In 1703 he received the rank of Catholic priest. On December 1st of the same year, he becomes maestro di violino at the Pio Ospedale della Pieta orphanage in Venice for girls. Vivaldi's fame was brought not concert performances or connections at court, but publications of his work, including his trio sonatas, violin sonatas and concertos. They were published in Amsterdam and widely distributed throughout Europe. It is in these instrumental genres, while still developing (Baroque Sonata and Baroque Concerto), Vivaldi made his most significant contribution. Certain techniques are characteristic of Vivaldi's music: a three-part cyclic form for concerto grosso and the use of a ritornello in fast parts. Vivaldi composed over 500 concertos. He also gave programmatic titles to some of his works, such as the famous The Four Seasons. Vivaldi's career shows an increased opportunity for the composer to exist independently: on income from concert activity and publishing their writings.

Domenico Scarlatti(1685-1757) was one of the leading keyboard composers and performers of his time. He began his career as a court composer; first in Portugal, and from 1733 in Madrid, where he spent the rest of his life. His father Alessandro Scarlatti is considered the founder of the Neapolitan opera school. Domenico also composed operas and church music, but fame (already after his death) provided him with works for keyboards. Some of these works he wrote for his own pleasure, some - for his noble customers.

The most famous court composer of the Baroque era was Georg Friedrich Handel(1685-1759). He was born in Germany, studied in Italy for three years, but left London in 1711, where he began his brilliant and commercial career. successful career an independent opera composer performing commissions for the nobility. Possessing tireless energy, Handel processed the material of other composers, and constantly remade their own compositions. For example, he is known for reworking the famous oratorio "Messiah" so many times that there is no version now that can be called the original. Despite the fact that his financial condition as he waxed and waned, his fame, based on published works for keyboards, ceremonial music, operas, concerto grossos and oratorios, rose steadily. After his death, he was recognized as a leading European composer, and was studied by musicians of the Classical era. During his lifetime, Handel wrote about 50 operas (Almira, Agrippina, Rinaldo, Julius Caesar, etc.), 23 oratorios (“Messiah”, “Samson”, “Judas Makovey”, “Hercules”), countless church chorales, organ concerts, as well as a number of entertainment works (“Music on the Water”, “Music for Royal Fireworks”).

One of the greatest composers of the Baroque era - Johann Sebastian Bach was born
March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. He composed over 1,000 works in his lifetime. various genres, except opera. But during his lifetime he did not achieve any significant success. Moving many times, Bach changed one not too high position after another: in Weimar he was a court musician at the Weimar Duke Johann Ernst, then became the caretaker of the organ in the church of St. Boniface in Arnstadt, a few years later accepted the position of organist in the church of St. Vlasia in Mühlhausen, where he worked for only about a year, after which he returned to Weimar, where he took the place of court organist and organizer of concerts. He held this position for nine years. In 1717, Leopold, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, hired Bach as Kapellmeister, and Bach began to live and work in Köthen. In 1723 Bach moved to Leipzig, where he remained until his death in 1750.

JS Bach was well known in Germany during his lifetime as a composer, performer, teacher and father of the younger Bachs, primarily Carl Philipp Emmanuel. But in last years life and after the death of Bach, his fame as a composer began to decline: his style was considered old-fashioned compared to the burgeoning classicism.

In 1802, Johann Nikolai Forkel published the first most full biography Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1829, 79 years after the death of J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn performed Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Berlin. The success of this concert revived interest in the work of J. S. Bach and became the reason for the emergence of a huge interest in Bach's music in Germany, and then throughout Europe.

Today, J.S. Bach is one of the most popular composers of all time: for example, in Cultureciosque.com's "Best Composer of the Millennium" vote, Bach took first place.