The Baroque Era

The era of music history known as the Baroque Period was extended throughout the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century, in which instrumental music was being consolidated. Until the Baroque, instrumental music was a minor genre, with vocal music being preferred by composers. This acceptance of instrumental music was based, among other reasons, on the success obtained by the bowed string instruments such as violin, viola, cello and contrabass. The genre of opera also appeared in the early seventeenth century. Both opera and instrumental music flourished during the Baroque Period, where the accompanied melodies, a new style in which a single melody, stands out clearly above any other instrumental accompaniment. The

Thus, echoing the trends of the time, a music developed that was based on reason. The music of classicism took as its objectives melodic simplicity, clarity, proportion, elegance and symmetry. The classical composers adopt mainly as a favorite for instrumental music the classic sonata, a form composed in three or four movements that allowed the composer to write a music full of strength and logic. The sonata could be applied to a single instrument or a soloist with accompaniment. A symphony is a sonata applied to the orchestra, a quartet is a sonata written for four instruments, and a classical concert is a sonata for a solo instrument and orchestra. Mozart and Beethoven are outstanding representatives of this genre. Beethoven with his nine symphonies, and his masterful quartets and sonatas for piano, was the last classicist and the first romantic, serving as a bridge between the two styles. The characteristic of classism was characterized by an energetic impetus that permeated the music, aiming to exult not the heavily God as the baroque did, but the earthly King through sophisticated composition which were thought to appeal to reason rather than to mere