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Above All, It’s About Joy
Webster
has defined baroque music as a style "characterized by strict form and
elaborate ornamentation." While this may be true, there is a deeper element
in baroque music that has fostered its resurgence among music lovers the world
over. One only has to listen to, for example, the Brandenburg Concerti of J. S.
Bach or the wistful excitement in Vivaldi's "Spring" from The Four
Seasons to realize that pure JOY permeates music of the baroque era. Even in the
somberness of a Bach Passion, there is true commitment to great delight.
The baroque period (c.1600-1750) produced some of the most profound
expressions of joy found in the artistic history of humanity. One of the primary
philosophical concepts behind the music of the period is the representation of
the full range of human emotions in a direct and musically expressive way.
Exuberance, joy, happiness, love, bliss, and also the contrasting experiences of
sorrow, despair, and mourning are all abundantly present in the music. Within
this, there exists a paradox. How true it is that much joy is found in the
deepest and darkest ranges of human emotion. In music, the human spirit finds a
vast connection to these "affections". Today, for this reason, more
and more people are drawn to baroque music.
Händel's
"Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah
may well be the most frequently performed piece of music ever written. It speaks
to people across some 250 years of human experience. The celebration of that
music is paralleled in the "Sanctus" of Bach's B
Minor Mass where we find music of
breath-taking proportions. The majesty of Mouret's Symphony
#1 (known as the theme to Masterpiece
Theatre) and the poignancy of "Dido's Lament" in Purcell's opera Dido
and Aeneas are also prime examples within this great era of music called
"baroque."
If
the chief purpose of the arts is the ennobling of the human spirit, music of the
baroque period is the ideal manifestation of that goal. The Miami Bach Society encourages your participation in this spirit
through your Membership and attendance
of 2007-2008 MBS concerts in South Florida
and/or throughout the world (live and/or air and stream broadcast).
We
believe music is the food of life. Click and feast on more
information about baroque music. Visit The Miami Bach Society web-site baroque
links
page.