Baroque Era saw the eruption of the opera, concerto and oratorio genre. Opera begun to spread throughout Europe becoming the ultimate multimedia experience of the day. Concerto became the most important orchestral genre during the period. While oratorio remained glued to its beginning of sacred religious vocal music. Each genre adding great composers to the already hefty list. Composer George Handel is most famous for the oratorio Messiah as well his opera Julius Caesar, while Vivaldi championed the Concerto in E, Spring. Baroque Era had many important and influential people that have influenced the great minds of today, music being one of the common themes that tied the Era together. The concerto is one of the most important genres of the …show more content…
George Frideric Handel composed Julius Caesar and Messiah during the Baroque Era. Julius Caesar being an opera he wrote in the latter half of his life. His opera draws on Roman history like most operas during this period. Julius Caesar tells the story of Cleopatra charms on Julius Caesar, then Mark Anthony after Caesars assassination. Opera became the secular vocal music of the Baroque Era by featuring theatrical quality. Julius Caesar was a perfect example of poetry, drama, music and dance. Opera featured amazing scenes that could rapidly change to set the tone and sell the mood. This was made more intense by the music, emotions could be depicted great vocal performances called coloratura singing. Handel also composed Messiah, his most famous work. A traditional oratorio is a sacred religious vocal music written directly for the church. “Unlike most oratorios Messiah does not have actual characters depicting a biblical story”. (Kerman and Tomlinson 2015 pg. 142) Messiah works a group of narrators relating the life of Jesus in in recitative, with interruptions of commentators who react to each episode by singing recitative and arias. Like other oratorios sacred vocal music is borrowed from opera and Messiah is without the acting but all the vocal fluctuation to depict a scene. There are two traditional factors for all Baroque Era music, oratorio and passion, Mass, cantata and motet. One factor being traditional in origin and the other unique to the Baroque Era. In Messiah the traditional factor stands true with the participation of the choir, the other factor is borrowed from opera as mentioned earlier. Handel’s compositions of Messiah and Julius Caesar span the gauntlet of what typical Baroque Era style music was each holding on to their part in history and remaining relevant in modern