favorite baroque composer?

[some guy]

Handel & Purcell (tied)

I'm going to make a prediction: the more you listen, the more Purcell's going to edge Handel out. I could be wrong...

It is hard to stop listening to Vivaldi, I must say. Terrifically addictive.

And I really think this thread should have been "Baroque excluding Bach."

That's like asking who's your favorite Elizabethan dramatist. Some people might say Marlowe--I know, I've gone to grad school with them--but who's seriously going to pick anyone but Shakespeare?

[somtow]

Okay. I think there is a LOT to be said for Zelenka. His music, though dismissed as rubbish in its time by many, really looks forward, harmonically in particular, centuries ahead. And then the French composer J.F. Rebel, who used chord clusters centuries before Penderecki (the opening of "Les Elements" opens with a chord not much different from that huge discord in Mahler 10). Closer to home turf, Purcell is an unbelievably brilliant composer and Rameau an original master from whom Mozart borrowed heavily in Idomeneo and Salieri in Tarare.

[Peter Bolton]

Presumably Domenico Scarlatti who was another transitional composer whose operas and church music I am not very familiar with. It is believed that most of his keyboard sonatas were written towards the end of his life, which explains their classical style.
I am another adherent of Purcell, one of the greats who died so young.

[SeriouslyRetro]

Originally Posted by Ballaw de Quincewold

To me, Scarlatti is definitely the most interesting Baroque composer. His compositions offer an INCREDIBLE amount of variety. After him probably Bach, Buxtehude, and Purcell. I dont know if anybody else feels this way, but I tend to see Handel's music as being a kind of joke in comparison to everybody else's.

I think you're being a bit harsh on Handel. His music is not nearly as complex as Bach and the variety is a bit limited (possibly his patrons requested that specific style, who knows?), but he does have some great pieces. I particularly like his Water Music (movements 1-3,9,11) and the Chaconne from "Il pastor fido" (as played by Tafelmusik). There are lots of great pieces in Handel's Opus 6. Most of his music has a smooth "stately" quality that reminds me of Bach's Orchestral Suite #1. (which is good)

Many people judge based on a composer's variety - usually dismissing Vivaldi because of his many similar pieces (although actually Vivaldi does have quite a variety). If I like a piece that has a certain style then I will usually like a similar piece. A composer could have lots of variety and write in 50 different styles, but if you like only 2 or 3 of those styles then that variety is meaningless.

I must check out Scarlatti though. Even though I've listened to hundreds of baroque discs, I've only heard one Scarlatti piece.

[MidiWorld]

Originally Posted by SeriouslyRetro

I must check out Scarlatti though. Even though I've listened to hundreds of baroque discs, I've only heard one Scarlatti piece.

I have about 528 Scarlatti sonatas (in MIDI format, but pretty good quality).
You're welcome to listen to them at my website: Scarlatti Sonatas.

While you're there, I would also recommend the Buxtehude collection and a few less popular baroque composers like Soler or Zipoli.
They are listed on the Baroque Page along with Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and the rest of the gang.

MIDI files may never be a substitute for a St Martin-in-the-Fields concert, but at least they give you an idea what to buy on CD.

[SeriouslyRetro]

Hey thanks, MidiWorld. I was looking for a quick way to sample baroque pieces and 30k MIDI files are a hell of a lot faster to download than 1Mb+ MP3s (especially on dialup). I don't use Windows, but surprisingly I have a MIDI player on my Amiga.

Now I can make a list of pieces I like, then look for them on compact disc.

[Rod Corkin]

Easy answer, I suggest Handel is the King of Baroque, even above JSB. I think for a long time the musical 'intelligencia' kept Handel under lock and key, a kind of Bachian conspiracy, but these days Handel's huge output of music has been rediscovered and is being performed everywhere. Bach's humble collection of fugues and cantatas sounds rather 'small-town' in comparison.

We all know Messiah (which alone was never surpassed by any other composer) but now people can hear Solomon, Israel in Egypt, Theodora etc - epics way beyond anything Bach produced or could even imagine. Also consider what a Bach opera would have sounded like if he had decided to make his way as a freelance like Handel, how many contrapuntal exercises on an ordinary theme could audiences tolerate? I would say Handel is the King of opera generally too.

Then there are the other superb and original gems like Alexander's Feast, Acis & Galatea, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, Dixit Dominus, Chandos Anthems etc?

The pinnacle of the concerti grossi genre with op3 and 6

The pinnacle of the trio sonata genre with op2

I could go on and on....

[Rod Corkin]

Originally Posted by some guy

I'm going to make a prediction: the more you listen, the more Purcell's going to edge Handel out. I could be wrong...

It is hard to stop listening to Vivaldi, I must say. Terrifically addictive.

And I really think this thread should have been "Baroque excluding Bach."

That's like asking who's your favorite Elizabethan dramatist. Some people might say Marlowe--I know, I've gone to grad school with them--but who's seriously going to pick anyone but Shakespeare?

I have listened to a fair amount of Purcell, whom Handel had great admiration for. Nevertheless I would say Handel is in a league above Purcell. Beethoven didn't regard him as the greatest composer for no good reason.

[SeriouslyRetro]

Easy answer, I suggest Handel is the King of Baroque, even above JSB.

I can't agree with that, but I don't like vocal music or operas and that's mostly what Handel composed. So for me, Handel doesn't have a huge output of music, but a very small selection compared to other baroque composers. (but as I said before, there are some great pieces there)

I've been listening to lots of great Geminiani pieces lately - the Concerti Grossi after Corelli's Op. 5. I'm picky and usually I like only a few pieces on each disc, but I like nearly every piece (similar to how I liked nearly every piece in Handel's Op. 6 and Vivaldi's Op. 3). So I'm adding Geminiani to my list:

1. J.S.Bach
2. Vivaldi
3. Purcell and Handel
4. Geminiani

[Rod Corkin]

Originally Posted by SeriouslyRetro

I can't agree with that, but I don't like vocal music or operas and that's mostly what Handel composed. So for me, Handel doesn't have a huge output of music, but a very small selection compared to other baroque composers. (but as I said before, there are some great pieces there)

I've been listening to lots of great Geminiani pieces lately - the Concerti Grossi after Corelli's Op. 5. I'm picky and usually I like only a few pieces on each disc, but I like nearly every piece (similar to how I liked nearly every piece in Handel's Op. 6 and Vivaldi's Op. 3). So I'm adding Geminiani to my list:

1. J.S.Bach
2. Vivaldi
3. Purcell and Handel
4. Geminiani

Most perplexing Mr Retro, I have Beethoven's complete works on CD and my Handel collection is by the clock at least 4 times longer so far without duplications, and is by no means complete. Believe me Handel's output is truly vast, see this link below:

http://www.gfhandel.org/genre.htm

I would like your assessment of this list! And I would say Handel produced many many more 'large works' than Bach. By the clock I would not be surprised if Handel's output way surpassed Bach's. But volume of output isn't everything, far from it. I was most surprised to see Vivaldi him as your number two, considering the rather average quality of most of his output, but never mind. Corelli and Telemann I would say are also very much 'second division' regardless of the volume produced.

PS my Amiga 1200 is to date the best computer I have ever used or owned, what a shame what happened with the Amiga...