Wikipedia

Baroque pop

Baroque pop(sometimes calledbaroque rock) is afusion genrethat combinesrock musicwith particular elements ofclassical music.[1][4][5]It emerged in the mid-1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound[4]and is identifiable for its appropriation ofBaroquecompositional styles (contrapuntalmelodies andfunctional harmonypatterns) and dramatic or melancholic gestures.[3]Harpsichordsfigure prominently,[6]whileoboes,French horns,andstring quartetsare also common.[5]

Baroque pop
Anelectric harpsichord
Other names
Stylistic origins
Cultural origins1960s, United Kingdom and United States
Derivative forms
Other topics

Although harpsichords had been deployed for a number of pop hits since the 1940s, some record producers in the 1960s increasingly placed the instrument in the foreground of their arrangements.[6]Inspired partly bythe Beatles' song "In My Life"(1965), various groups were incorporating baroque and classical instrumentation by early 1966.[7]The term "baroque rock" was coined in promotional material forthe Left Banke,who used harpsichords and violins in their arrangements[8]and whose 1966 song "Walk Away Renée"exemplified the style.[6][9]

Baroque pop's mainstream popularity faded by the 1970s, partially becausepunk rock,discoandhard rocktook over; nonetheless, music was still produced within the genre's tradition.[9]Philadelphia soulin the 1970s andchamber popin the 1990s both reflected the spirit of baroque pop,[4]while the latter incorporated much of the period'slow fidelitymusical aesthetic.[10]

Characteristics

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The Left Banke – "Walk Away Renée" (1966)
Excerpt of "Walk Away Renée".Journalist Matthew Guerriri named the song the" quintessence "of baroque pop, citing its" elegantly jangling harpsichord ".[6]
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In classical music, the term "Baroque"is used to describe theart musicof Europe approximately between the years 1600 and 1750, with some of its most prominent composers includingJ. S. BachandAntonio Vivaldi.[11]Much of the instrumentation of baroque pop is akin to that of the late Baroque period or the earlyClassical period,chronologically defined as the period of European music from 1690 to 1760 and stylistically defined by balanced phrases, clarity and beauty.[12]

Baroque pop, stylistically, fuses elements of rock with classical music, often incorporating layered harmonies, strings, and horns to achieve a majestic, orchestral sound.[4]Its prominent characteristics are the use ofcontrapuntalmelodies andfunctional harmonypatterns.[3]It was intended to be a more serious and mature outgrowth of rock music.[4]JournalistBob Stanleyuses the term "English baroque" to describe a subset that existed between 1968 and 1973, after the genre's more widespread presence in rock and pop.[9][nb 1]"Baroque rock" may be invoked as a synonym of "baroque pop"[14]or as its own distinct term.[15][16]

History

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Precursors (early 1960s)

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The Boston Globe's Matthew Guerrieri credits the origins of baroque pop to American pop musicians and record producers likePhil Spectorandthe Beach Boys'Brian Wilsonplacing theharpsichordin the foreground of their arrangements.[6]Harpsichords were widely available in recording studios, and had been used in popular music since as early as the 1940s, but the instrument did not gain prominence until the 1960s.[6]One of the firstpop rockhits to use a harpsichord wasthe Jamies' "Summertime, Summertime" (1958).[17]Later examples cited by Guerrieri range from the Beach Boys' "I Get Around"(1964) and"When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"(1965) tothe Righteous Brothers"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"(1964) andthe Mamas & the Papas' "Monday, Monday"(1966).[6]Guerrieri speculates that the harpsichord may have been desirable for its buzzing, stingingtimbre,which suited "the treble-heavy pop soundscape" of the time.[6][nb 2]

The 1964 single "She's Not There"by the English bandthe Zombiesmarked a starting point for baroque pop, according to Stanley. He writes that the song "didn't feature any oboes but stuck out rather dramatically in 1964, the year of 'You Really Got Me' and 'Little Red Rooster'",that its arrangement was comparably" restrained "and" almost medieval ", and that its refined qualities were emphasised by singerColin Blunstonehaving an enunciation that was "pureSt Albans grammar".[9]

The Beatlesworking in the studio with their producerGeorge Martin,c. 1965

Along withBurt Bacharach,Spector melded pop music with classical elements before they were combined with rock.[1]Music historian Andrew Grant Jackson states that "the era of baroque pop", in which "rock melded with classical elements", began withthe Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire"(February 1965) and Brian Wilson's work onThe Beach Boys Today!(March 1965). In Jackson's view, baroque pop andchamber popwere one and the same.[1]Slate's Forrest Wickman creditsthe Beatles' producer,George Martin,along withPaul McCartneyand Wilson, as some of the men "most responsible" for the move into baroque pop.[18]

Author Bernard Gendron says that, further to American composer and conductorLeonard Bernstein's public approval of the band's music, the Beatles were feted in the "art-music world" in the summer of 1965 through the arrival of"'Beatles à la Baroque' or more generically 'baroque rock'".[19]He also writes that since this phenomenon preceded the release of Beatles recordings such as "Yesterday"(which used a classicalstring quartet),[20]it is likely that the band did not instigate the link between their music and its classical components, but were in fact responding to classical and baroque readings of their work. These readings also included the 1965 albumThe Baroque Beatles Book,where their songs were reimagined in a tongue-in-cheek Baroque setting.[21]

A classically trained musician, Martin played what sounded like a baroque harpsichord solo on the Beatles' "In My Life",released on their December 1965 albumRubber Soul.[22][nb 3]Author Joe Harrington comments that due to the Beatles' influence in all areas of pop music's development, "In My Life" led to the arrival of "baroque-rock".[22]ProducerTommy LiPumarecalled that "Once the Beatles featured that harpsichord sound on 'In My Life,' pop producers began working it in."[17]

Emergence (mid to late 1960s)

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See also:Psychedelic music

The genre originated in the United Kingdom and the United States.[3]By early 1966, further toRubber Soul,various groups began using baroque and classical instrumentation, described as a "baroque rock" movement by Gendron.[23]Among these recordings was the Rolling Stones' "Lady Jane".[22]The popularity of harpsichords in pop, rock and soul arrangements at this time reflected a desire for unusual sounds and, in the case of many American producers, a sought-for association with the retrospective focus that informed London's fashion scene and the psychedelic music scene there.[17]

The Left Banke,1966

The Zombies' "She's Not There", together with a predilection for all things British through the Beatles' international success, inspired New York musicianMichael Brownto formthe Left Banke.Stanley considers the band's "Walk Away Renée"(1966) to be the first recognizable baroque pop single.[9]"Baroque rock" was the label devised by the Left Banke's publicists and the music press. According to music criticRichie Unterberger,"the sobriquet may have been ham-fisted, but certainly there were many Baroque elements in the Left Banke's pop—the stately arrangements, the brilliant use of keyboards and harpsichords, the soaring violins, and the beautiful group harmonies."[8][nb 4]The band's follow-up single, "Pretty Ballerina",continued their absorption in the genre. Guitarist Rick Brand later described their lyrics as" rather self-consciously beautiful musical whimsy, as you find in the latter 18th-century Romantic music, pre-Beethoven".[9]

Although the Beach Boys'Pet Sounds(1966) has been advanced in later years as baroque pop, or even the first example of the genre, no contemporary press material referred to the album as "baroque", and instead commentators focused on the album's "progressive"traits.[24]The album's baroque-pop aesthetics were limited to one track, "God Only Knows",[17][24]a song thatThe Record's Jim Beckerman deemed "baroque rock" in the same "retro instrumentation and elegant harmonies" vein as the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"(1966) andProcol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale"(1967).[25]

Gendron's "baroque rock" examples include "Walk Away Renée" withSpanky and Our Gang's "Sunday Will Never Be the Same"(1967), andthe Stone Poneys' "Different Drum"(1967) – all of which used harpsichord and strings – and the Rolling Stones'" Lady Jane "(harpsichord anddulcimer) andthe Lovin' Spoonful's "Rain on the Roof"(1966, harpsichord-sounding guitars).[26]Music journalist Steve Smith highlightsthe Moody Bluesand Procol Harum as "major practitioners" of baroque pop. He recognizes "For No One","She's Leaving Home"and"Piggies"as other examples of the Beatles' forays in the genre, and"Ride On, Baby"and"Ruby Tuesday"as further examples of the Rolling Stones' baroque pop.[5]

According to Stanley, the period of sustained commercial success for pop and rock recordings with harpsichords and string quartets climaxed with the Beatles' 1967 albumSgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,"which mixed everyday lyrics withmusic hallandEdwardianato create lysergically enhancedparlour music".[9]Also in 1967, producerMark Wirtzattempted to create a baroque pop concept album withA Teenage Opera,but the project as a whole remained unfinished. However, the single "Excerpt from A Teenage Opera"reached #2 in the UK. At this time, the development in musical arrangements presented by baroque pop was challenged by the breakthrough of psychedelic rock bands from theSan Francisco scene.[27]In a climate equally informed by political radicalism in 1968, Stanley writes, "English baroque" continued as a combined simulacrum of the Zombies' albumOdessey and Oracle(1968), McCartney's contributions toThe Beatles(1968),Honeybus' single "I Can't Let Maggie Go"(1968),Scott Walker's chamber pop, andCrosby, Stills & Nashvocal harmonies.[9][nb 5]English baroque survived into the early 1970s, as record labels sought to capitalize on the singer-songwriter phenomenon by offering lavish string arrangements to unknowns. Among these artists wereNick Drakeand individual members of Honeybus.[9]

Dissipation and revival (1970s–present)

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See also:Philadelphia soulandChamber pop
The Irish bandthe Divine Comedycontributed to a baroque pop revival beginning in the 1990s.[3]

The quaintness of baroque pop and the use of violins and classical guitar became the target of parody at the end of thepsychedelic era.[28]In the 1990s,chamber popderived from the spirit of baroque pop, characterized by an infusion of orchestral arrangements or classical style composition. It originated as a response to thelo-fiproduction that dominated in the 1990s.[10]Between the 1990s and 2010s, baroque pop enjoyed a revival with bands likethe Divine Comedy.[3]

Notes

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  1. ^A compilation,Tea & Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1967–1974(2007), features music that reviewerStephen Thomas Erlewinesays is mostly inspired byPaul McCartney,the ZombiesandGilbert O'Sullivan.[13]
  2. ^In the 1960s, most recordings were monaural, andAM radiowas the dominant form of musical consumption.[6]
  3. ^The instrument used was actually a piano recorded on tape at half speed and then sped up.[17]
  4. ^Guerriri says that, in Britain, the song "bridged the passage from rock intopsychedelicafor numerous groups: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, [and]the Kinks".[6]
  5. ^Stanley believes that this "lost corner of pop history" prevailed while the "predominant trend [from 1968] was to get hairier, heavier, more long-winded". He describes Honeybus as "the quintessential English baroque group".[9]

References

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  1. ^abcdJackson 2015,p. 22.
  2. ^Staff."Chamber Pop Music Guide: 7 Notable Chamber Pop Artists".Masterclass.RetrievedDecember 5,2022.
  3. ^abcdefghiHawkins 2015,p. 193.
  4. ^abcdefghi"Baroque pop".AllMusic.Archivedfrom the original on August 9, 2015.RetrievedMarch 6,2016.
  5. ^abcdSmith, Steve (29 November 2012)."Steve Smith: Wyman and Taylor join the Rolling Stones onstage; Coldplay takes a break" > "Now Playing".Pasadena Star-News.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2012.Retrieved20 May2016.
  6. ^abcdefghijGuerrieri, Matthew (January 22, 2016)."Via Spector and serendipity, the harpsichord invaded pop".The Boston Globe.Archivedfrom the original on August 7, 2017.RetrievedMarch 21,2016.
  7. ^Gendron 2002,pp. 174, 343, various groups using baroque instrumentation in early 1966;Harrington 2002,p. 191, baroque rock inspired by "In My Life".
  8. ^abUnterberger 2014,p. 416.
  9. ^abcdefghijStanley, Bob(September 21, 2007)."Baroque and a soft place".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on September 21, 2013.RetrievedDecember 14,2016.
  10. ^ab"Chamber pop".AllMusic.Archivedfrom the original on June 27, 2015.RetrievedNovember 17,2015.
  11. ^Essentials of music: Baroque composers[jason derulo] Archived2008-12-19 at theWayback Machine.
  12. ^Oxford Music Online 2
  13. ^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas."Tea & Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1967–1974".AllMusic.Archivedfrom the original on February 27, 2017.RetrievedNovember 8,2016.
  14. ^Perný 2014,p. 37.
  15. ^Saas, Don (May 14, 2015)."The Baroque Rock Of The Spring Standards".Baeble Music.Archivedfrom the original on October 26, 2017.RetrievedOctober 25,2017.
  16. ^Howland 2021,pp. 214–215.
  17. ^abcdeMyers, Marc (October 30, 2013)."Bach & Roll: How the Unsexy Harpsichord Got Hip".The Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on April 25, 2016.RetrievedMarch 5,2017.
  18. ^Wickman, Forrest (March 9, 2016)."George Martin, the Beatles Producer and" Fifth Beatle, "Is Dead at 90".Slate.Archivedfrom the original on August 13, 2022.RetrievedMarch 21,2016.
  19. ^Gendron 2002,p. 172.
  20. ^Jackson 2015,p. xix.
  21. ^Gendron 2002,p. 173.
  22. ^abcHarrington 2002,p. 191.
  23. ^Gendron 2002,pp. 174, 343.
  24. ^abHowland 2021,p. 217.
  25. ^Beckerman, Jim (March 21, 2015)."'Walk Away Renee' collaborator Michael Brown of Englewood Cliffs, dies at 65 ".The Record.Archivedfrom the original on August 9, 2016.RetrievedMay 21,2016.
  26. ^Gendron 2002,p. 343.
  27. ^Doggett 2015,p. 375.
  28. ^White 2015,p. 190.

Bibliography

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