Brief biographies of English, French and German Baroque composers;
Henry PurcellHenry Purcell was one of the most short-lived yet brilliant composers of the sixteenth century. Born in sixteenth century England, he produced many famous sonatas and operas such as ‘Dido and Aeneas’. Unfortunately dying prematurely in 1695 at the rare age of 36 due to believed hyperthermia, however the exact cause of death remains uncertain.
Purcell was professionally trained by numerous musical geniuses including Dr John Blow, who subsequently was replaced by Purcell himself as organist of Westminster Abbey. Although considered a very high profile character by this point, Purcell still composed pieces for an annual music festival on the 22nd of November. Similar to Vivaldi, the majority of Purcell’s work starred the violin, although he was also fluent in many other instruments such as keyboard and harpsichord. Purcell often paired the violin and the harpsichord with one another. Although emotional, I found Purcell’s work to be less passionate and intense as Vivaldi’s. This may be due to the thinner texture or generally slower tempos. A lot of Purcell’s work had hints of the characteristics, which would soon become regularly implemented in the music of the classical period in the next hundred or so years such as call and response. |
Jean philippe Rameau
Jean Philippe Rameau, born in France 1683, was considered one of the most famous and skilled harpsichord composers of the baroque era. Known to be a very secretive man, not much was known of Rameau’s life before moving to Paris in his forties. It was only in his fifties that he produced the works which are well known to us today such as the opera ‘Castor et Pollux’ (1737) as well as a ballet; ‘Les Indes Galantes’ in 1735.
Rameau’s goal above all else was to become a master of theoretical music, which was frequently reflected in many of his works. Unfortunately however, this meant that he wasn’t always pragmatic. Although, on paper, his scores were brilliant, many opera singers would refuse to perform them or be physically prevented from doing so due to the music’s idealistic and impractical range and rhythmic flow. Rameau’s need for perfection distinguished from Vivaldi’s style quite heavily as, although Rameau’s music was very technically impressive, it didn’t carry quite the same emotional expression that many of Vivaldi’s works did. |
George Frideric Handel
From the moment he was born, George Frideric Handel was strongly discouraged from practicing any kind of music by his father, who considered it an utter waste of time. Instead he was pressured to pursue a more ‘professional’ career (like his father, the ‘barber-surgeon’), in law. Despite this however, he somehow managed to acquire and learn the organ and clavichord in secret. Handel’s father begrudgingly agreed to let Handel practice music after a famous organist overheard Handel play and begged to teach him. Soon after Handel’s eleventh birthday his father passed away and Handel himself felt an obligation to keep up his studies in law to honor his fathers wishes.
Handel gave up on his law career and decided to pursue his passion of music at the age of eighteen, travelling across Europe and letting numerous famous composers from England, Italy and Germany influence his work. Handel had a breakthrough with his Italian opera ‘Rinaldo’ which, after opening night, continued on for fifteen incredibly successful shows. After this work, Handel became incredibly attached to England and its community. He made frequent visits back to Germany however in 1713 the queen at the time (Queen Anne) finally provided him with a commission, which helped Handel to make England his official home. Although Vivaldi produced a number of operas, unlike Handel, he is most well known for his solo concertos. Although both shared the harpsichord and violin, their other instruments were hugely varied. While Vivaldi wrote for lutes, trumpets, bassoons and flutes, Handel wrote mainly for organ, horns and harp (none of which Vivaldi wrote for). In 1737 Handel suffered a serious stroke which was noticeably detrimental to not only his physical health (paralyzing one arm) but to his mental wellbeing. He continued to compose however he didn’t get nearly a fraction of the appreciation or respect. Unfortunately Handel continued in a downwards spiral, going blind in one eye, and eventually, the other. Handel went through very demoralizing years in the lead up to his death. After becoming detached from friends to focus solely on composition, he was left completely alone. Living out the remainder of his days trying desperately to conjure up his concertos from memory. |