Geneviève Soly

Baroque is a period and style of Western art music spanning roughly 1600–1750. It is characterized by the birth of functional tonality, the widespread use of basso continuo (figured bass), and a love of contrast—between soloist and ensemble, loud and soft, and different timbres. Hallmark genres and forms of the era include opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto (especially the concerto grosso), dance suite, sonata, and fugue. Textures range from expressive monody to intricate counterpoint, and melodies are richly ornamented with trills, mordents, and appoggiaturas. Baroque music flourished in churches, courts, and theaters across Europe, with regional styles (Italian, French, German, English) shaping distinctive approaches to rhythm, dance, harmony, and ornamentation.

Harpsichord music is the body of solo and ensemble repertoire written for the plucked‑keyboard instrument that dominated European art music from the Renaissance through the Baroque. Its sound—produced by quills plucking strings—lacks sustain, which shaped a highly articulated style built on counterpoint, dance rhythms, figuration, and ornamental nuance. National idioms emerged: the Italian toccata and variation tradition, the English Virginalists’ song- and dance-derived pieces, the French clavecinistes’ agréments-rich character pieces and dance suites, and the German synthesis of contrapuntal rigor and stylus fantasticus. In the 20th century the instrument was revived for historically informed performance and new works, and its timbre migrated into popular styles such as baroque pop.