CLEP Humanities : Answering Other Questions About Baroque Music

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Baroque Music (1600 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer of music in which of the following styles?

Possible Answers:

Medieval

Romantic

Renaissance

Baroque

Classical

Correct answer:

Baroque

Explanation:

Johann Sebastian Bach was the most significant and well-known composer of the Baroque Era, which stretched from 1600 to 1750. Bach's signature elements—strong counterpoint, involved harmonies, and complex melodies—were extremely typical of Baroque music in general.

Example Question #2 : Baroque Music (1600 1750)

Which of the following is a grouping of Baroque composers?

Possible Answers:

Felix Mendelssohn, Frederic Chopin, Richard Wagner

Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Richard Strauss

Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Carl Friedrich Abel

Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Carl Maria von Webber

Correct answer:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell

Explanation:

"Baroque" generally refers to the symphonic and orchestral music composed between 1600 and 1750, which now forms a large core of the classical music canon. Baroque music is defined stylistically by heavy ornamentation, intense orchestrations, and a focus on tonality, harmony, and counterpoint. Some of the significant composers of the Baroque period are Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Pachelbel, and Henry Purcell.

Example Question #3 : Answering Other Questions About Baroque Music

Which composer wrote the suite of compositions known as the Brandenburg Concertos?

Possible Answers:

Franz Haydn

Johann Sebastian Bach

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Georg Friederich Hande

Ludwig van Beethoven

Correct answer:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Explanation:

The Brandenburg Concertos are widely considered the pinnacle of Johann Sebastian Bach's musical compositions. Presented to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721, the six concertos are the perfect exemplar of Baroque composition, featuring layered harmonies of various instruments in an ornate contrapuntal orchestration. The Concertos most likely took years to compose, and were only fully completed in 1721.

Example Question #4 : Answering Other Questions About Baroque Music

Johann Sebastian Bach is representative of which of the following musical styles?

Possible Answers:

Romantic

Baroque

Medieval

Classical

Renaissance

Correct answer:

Baroque

Explanation:

Johann Sebastian Bach is the composer most closely associated with the Baroque period. Bach's music, with its complex counterpoint melodies and harmonies, multilayered instrumentation, and formal structure, stands as representative of the entire era. Bach's music was seen as a high point of the Baroque era, and my of his works inspired developments away from Baroque music.

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