Baroque Art and Music, and Mozart

This week in class we are focusing on the Baroque Period and its effect on modern technology and the art associated with it. I am pretty familiar with the Baroque from having studied it when I took French in high school and again when I took a music class my Sophomore year here. In high school we focused mostly on King Louis XIV and the Palace of Versailles since it pertained to French history. The palaces constructed during the Baroque were of remarkable size and architecture. They were true shrines to the King's wealth and power and are even more impressive when considering the primitive means with which they were built.

The music during this time was also quite impressive. Beginning with Bach and ending with Mozart the music from the Baroque Period was incredibly advanced and beautiful to listen to. The combined genius of Bach and Mozart among others led to the creation of some of the most popular classical music in existence today. In fact one scene that was not shown in class of the movie Amadeus, which I also viewed in my music class, conveyed very well Mozart's unmatched musical talent. Salieri is attempting to compose something on the harpsichord and is clearly putting much thought into it. After hearing it only once Mozart asks to try playing it. Without using the sheet music Mozart repeats it perfectly without missing a note. When he gets to the end he decides he doesn't like it so he changes it on the fly and his version made up in his head in mere seconds is much better than Salieri's. The ease at which Mozart learned the song and improved it demonstrated his natural talent and ear for music.

The video clip may be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ciFTP_KRy4

On Wednesday we will be watching an Opera and learning about the different aspects of Opera so that we can watch one and write about it. Because I have already expressed my interest in Mozart's work I plan on watching and writing about one of Mozart's Operas such as Figaro or Don Giovanni.