Baroque Era: Influential Events, Institutions, and People

Church and state were the primary influences of the Baroque era. Each territory had its own court and, of course, court musicians. The court-hired musicians and composers were considered servants to the monarch. They were expected to perform and compose for any occasion the monarch chose. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these servants.

Royal families inter-married, which united their prospective territories, at least temporarily. A composer’s fortunes were very dependent upon the status of music in the court where he was working. In other words, if the king or prince wasn’t a fan of music, there wasn’t much work to be had. The type of music that was composed was heavily influenced by the court or church that the music was written for.

New instruments were also developed or improved upon in the Baroque era. Organs were very heavily utilized and many of the organs from the Baroque style period are still used today. There are other stringed instruments from the Baroque era that are heavily sought after even now.

The Baroque era favored the harpsichord. The harpsichord was created before the piano that we are familiar with today. The harpsichord plucked the strings, which also meant that the performer could not control the tone or volume. The piano revolutionized the keyboard performance with its hammer action and control over the tone and volume. The piano came into play around 1750—right at the very end of the Baroque era. It is considered to be more of a Classical era instrument.