# Favorite Baroque/Classical Era Composers



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I'd like to expand my knowledge of these two eras.

Favorites:

Vivaldi
Bach
Handel
Mozart
Haydn


----------



## mossyembankment (Jul 28, 2020)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'd like to expand my knowledge of these two eras.
> 
> Favorites:
> 
> ...


If you haven't listened to this, it's one of my favorite Baroque works


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

mossyembankment said:


> If you haven't listened to this, it's one of my favorite Baroque works


Beautiful, thanks for sharing.


----------



## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Don't forget early Beethoven. 



For Baroque, here is Samuel Scheidt (1587–1654):


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

I'll copy and paste some things I've recently posted on the forum.

"Every time I listen, I discover things about his harmony that I had overlooked. The bit at 1:20, for instance,




symphony in C, P. 19: II"

"Try this. The harmonies-




Qual mi sovrasta"


----------



## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

One not yet mentioned - Domenico Scarlatti.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

I wonder if anyone would agree with my contention that CPE Bach did more than anyone else from the 18th century to really explore what could be made of the keyboard sonata. He was, I claim, the 18th century counterpart of Beethoven.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I'd like to expand my knowledge of these two eras.
> 
> Favorites:
> 
> ...


One you may enjoy, I certainly do, though you have to be a bit selective, is Boccherini. Another, earlier and baroque, is Georg Muffat. Part of the problem with these 18th century types is that they left behind so much stuff, very uneven. So it's always a bit of a roller coaster ride exploring them.


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I really like Boccherini. Thanks!


----------



## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Mandryka said:


> I wonder if anyone would agree with my contention that CPE Bach did more than anyone else from the 18th century to really explore what could be made of the keyboard sonata. He was, I claim, the 18th century counterpart of Beethoven.


Beethoven is usually thought to be the forerunner of Romanticism in music, but the ideas and characteristics of Romanticism can be traced back to Emanuel Bach and his empfindsamer Stil, which emphasized individuality, emotion, and a break from traditional rules. There are at least three pre-Romantic characteristics that are commonly taught to be innovations of Beethoven that were actually anticipated by Emanuel Bach: first, the incorporation of fantasia into sonatas; second, the lack of breaks between movements; and third, the use of interrupted phrases and subito pianos. There is one additional way in which Emanuel Bach foreshadows Beethoven: namely, the high intensity of the retransitions in their keyboard concertos. It's pretty clear, I think, that Emanuel Bach’s empfindsamer Stil anticipates Beethoven’s style in several of its pre-Romantic qualities. Taking into consideration the fact that Beethoven studied and revered Emanuel Bach’s works, one could conjecture that Emanuel Bach’s empfindsamer Stil may have even directly inspired Beethoven’s style.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

RICK RIEKERT said:


> There is one additional way in which Emanuel Bach foreshadows Beethoven: namely, the high intensity of the retransitions in their keyboard concertos.


(as a regular listener of his concertos), I think the individuality, ingenuity, or whatever, is a bit exaggerated, in comparison to that of his colleagues serving under Frederick the Great.






I think there are ones with good melodies such as Nos. 7 , 15, 17, 22, 23, 34, etc, but also music with not much rhythmic interest (such as the 8~9 minute-long slow movements), and I think there's a bit too much uninspired "sequential" music, like generic concertos by late Baroque composers, who preceded him. In some respects, I think Richter's inventions are more remarkable.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Yes that’s the sort of reason, @hammeredklavier , why I wanted to confine the thinking about CPEB’s stature to the keyboard sonata. Who else, in the 18th century, went further to explore the possibilities of the genre?

I’ll mention in passing that I’ve been favourably impressed by his violin sonatas. But I don’t know enough about 18th century violin music to get this into any sort of perspective.

(Part of the problem I have is that it’s so difficult to access the great body of his solo keyboard music in performance, apart from the Kenner und Liebhaber, Prussian and Wurttemberg sonatas. Spanyi is certainly worthy, but somehow I find the sound of his keyboards a bit dull and dowdy. His notes for the CDs are outstanding. Spanyi himself thinks the Probestücke sonatas are the high point - volume 22 if you’re curious about them.)


----------



## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Mandryka said:


> I wonder if anyone would agree with my contention that CPE Bach did more than anyone else from the 18th century to really explore what could be made of the keyboard sonata. He was, I claim, the 18th century counterpart of Beethoven.


I haven't listened to the minor Classical Period composers extensively (so I don't know what CPE Bach's North German contemporaries were writing, but I have listened to some of CPE's sonatas, especially the Wurttemberg set.


----------



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

ORigel said:


> I haven't listened to the minor Classical Period composers extensively (so I don't know what CPE Bach's North German contemporaries were writing, but I have listened to some of CPE's sonatas, especially the Wurttemberg set.


I don't want to limit the discussion to his N. German contemporaries. I want to compare CPEB's exploration of the keyboard sonata with Haydn's and Mozart's.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't know much music from either era but I'm intrigued by the madrigals of Monteverdi. I've been listening to excerpts by some different ensembles and eventually I'd like to buy a CD set. Just this past week I picked up a set of Biber's Rosary Sonatas by violinist, Gunar Letzbor, and the Bach Motets by Jacobs. But for pre Bach I have more of an interest in vocal music. Same for the classical era. I have CDs of Haydn, and Mozart masses I enjoy. And I watch stuff on YouTube.


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Arcangelo Corelli


----------



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

starthrower said:


> I don't know much music from either era but I'm intrigued by the madrigals of Monteverdi. I've been listening to excerpts by some different ensembles and eventually I'd like to buy a CD set. Just this past week I picked up a set of Biber's Rosary Sonatas by violinist, Gunar Letzbor, and the Bach Motets by Jacobs. But for pre Bach I have more of an interest in vocal music. Same for the classical era. I have CDs of Haydn, and Mozart masses I enjoy. And I watch stuff on YouTube.


I enjoy the madrigals.


----------



## Anooj (Dec 5, 2021)

How familiar are you with Telemann? The complete Tafelmusik and his trumpet concerti might be good places to start.


----------



## hiroica (Aug 31, 2015)

Been listening to Art of Fugue a lot recently and decided to look into some of Bach’s favorite composers and found this beautiful piece by Buxtehude


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

hiroica said:


> Been listening to Art of Fugue a lot recently and decided to look into some of Bach’s favorite composers and found this beautiful piece by Buxtehude


I just got the CD. I've only listened to it once so I need to spin it many more times. It's 85 minutes long. I also bought a used copy of Art of Fugue by Charles Rosen.


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

I'd like to add Albinoni to the list (the real Albinoni, especially the oboe concertos, not Giazotto's sickly-sweet confection for strings). His polished, melodic music draws me in more strongly than that of any other Italian Baroque composer, Vivaldi included.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Paisiello - "Questo vago giovinetto"





Benda - "In unserm ganzen Dorf"


----------



## hiroica (Aug 31, 2015)

starthrower said:


> I just got the CD. I've only listened to it once so I need to spin it many more times. It's 85 minutes long. I also bought a used copy of Art of Fugue by Charles Rosen.


I haven’t listened to the entire piece but that intro is fantastic. Good luck with the art of fugue. I’ve been listening on repeat for months and it’s still revealing itself on each listen. It’s incredible. Fyi I’ve been enjoying the Macgregor, the Trifonov (newish release on a disc called Art of Life), and Zhu Xiao-Mei as far as AofF recording go)


----------



## hiroica (Aug 31, 2015)

starthrower said:


> I just got the CD. I've only listened to it once so I need to spin it many more times. It's 85 minutes long. I also bought a used copy of Art of Fugue by Charles Rosen.


I haven’t listened to the entire piece but that intro is fantastic. Good luck with the art of fugue. I’ve been listening on repeat for months and it’s still revealing itself on each listen. It’s quite incredible. Fyi I’ve been enjoying the Macgregor, the Trifonov (recent release on a disc called Art of Life), and Zhu Xiao-Mei


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Du stirbst, o Held
_"... was finished by the composer on February 20, 1769. The date tells us a lot, since theaters were traditionally closed during the Lenten period, and this was the time when oratorios (as kind of “opera substitutes”) were performed, as they required no stage, yet they could be played dramatically. ..."_ (Országos Széchényi Könyvtár)

The mood changes remind me of 




Ach lieder, ich bin eizig schuld


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

My top (favorite) 10 today:

1. Ludwig van Beethoven
2. Johann Sebastian Bach
3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. Franz Schubert
5. Antonio Vivaldi
6. Joseph Haydn
7. George Frideric Handel
8. François Couperin
9. Christoph Willibald Gluck
10. Jean-Baptiste Lully





_Te Deum of Lully, my favorite piece by him. This rendition with Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel is superb in my opinion._


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

It's unfortunate this is the only recording there is, of the work. The tempo is supposed to be _Adagio_, but it's *butchered* in it.


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Reichardt - Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär


----------



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Der Kampf Der Buße Und Bekehrung (1768)


What I've found especially memorable about the work are the fluid juxtaposition of solos and choruses in the "Uns erhalte, uns regiere" (15:48), the harmonies of the extended arias such as the "Es ist nicht g'nug" (25:52), and the drama of the "Gedenk an Sinai" (32:59): "Der Kampf der Buße und...




www.talkclassical.com




I noticed this has become available on youtube again. I believe it was blocked there due to copyright.














The harmonies (@2:52 )-


----------

