Western Instrumental Music has many forms, but the most popular and long lasting is the Baroque and Classic Period. The word “Baroque” comes from the Italian for “broadside.” Baroque is sometimes called Classical Italian. It is a term used to describe any style of Western music that employs a wide range of instruments that often have a central role in the musical cycle or composition. Examples of this type of music include instrumental suites, choral pieces, marching bands, fiddles, and other ensemble works.
It was not until the eighteenth century that the first major Western piece for an orchestra was written, and it was for the composer Luigi Galle that the first major Western piece for instrumental was completed. This was the Mass of the Three Sons (or Sonatas for short). It was written for a Viennese orchestra but was later adopted by Italian violinist Lorenzo De Michelis. It was later revived as the first movement of the so-called “symphonies of the day,” which were popular for both children and adults alike.
The development of Western Instrumental Music has been intimately connected with that of the broader musical movement known as classical music, especially the Classical Period. The term “classical” by itself can mean any number of things, but for purposes of this discussion we will use the more common term of “progressive.” In the Classical Period, all genres of Western Music were primarily of a progressive type. This progressive type had a distinct first mode, a dominant key, and several levels of complexity in its rhythmic structure and tonality.
For simplicity’s sake, all types of Western Music will be presented in their most simple forms. For the baroque and classical period, this means a sharp, distinct pitch. Not all progressions are bended at the third level, however. The harmonic potential of the progressive type is most commonly found in the forms of minor and dominant thirds.
The most complex rhythmic structures belong to the so-called “strophonic” type of Western Instrumental Music. Unlike the earlier types of Western Music, stereophonic music tends to have a sense of meter, or stasis, instead of a sense of beat. This stasis may be broken only by the introduction of repeated chords, or the introduction of a new melody. This style of Western Instrumental Music is often found in the works of such musicians as John Renbourn, Edgars Smoky, or Arpad Nagy.
Another highly influential group of Western Instrumental Music composers was the band of Viennese violinists, who began to develop a style related to the Romanticist musicians of the late seventeenth century. The rhythmic textures and complex rhythmic patterns of the Viennese violin music quickly drew in a number of other similar musical groups, including the Baroque School of piano playing, and the Kindred School of chamber music. Although Viennese violinists achieved considerable success in their own right, they were unable to shake off the influences of their forebears. In the late eighteen hundreds the “Baroque” school of piano playing made major contributions to the development of Mozart’s “Dante’s Inferno”.
Early Viennese instrumentalists also included the play of the baroque as part of their compositions. In addition to the aforementioned troubadours, baroque music was also played by ballets. One of the most famous ballets of the time was the “Dante’s Inferno” of Lorenzo Ghiberti. Other early baroque performers include Jan Garaventa, or “Gavina”, and Bartolome Gino da Sangallo, or “Santangelo”.
Other early musical forms, such as the so-called “sonata form” and the “piano sonsata form” were a result of the mixing of two styles. The so-called sonata form utilizes an expansive interpretation of the piano, while the piano sonata form is closer in sound to the Italian Renaissance style of music, using a smaller orchestra. Baroque and modern day Italian symphonies often feature the sonata form. Modern-day interpretations have become more expansive, incorporating textures, and harmonies similar to those found in the early works of baroque composers.