Search Results: Baroque Music

The Baroque era, which lasted from roughly 1580 and 1780, was a time of enormous contrasts: Opulence and innovation, on the one hand; death and crises, on the other. Ongoing religious wars and the opening of global trade networks led to mass...

Music (or mousike) was an integral part of life in the ancient Greek world, and the term covered not only music but also dance, lyrics, and the performance of poetry. A wide range of instruments was used to perform music which was played...

Music and dance were highly valued in ancient Egyptian culture, but they were more important than is generally thought: they were integral to creation and communion with the gods and, further, were the human response to the gift of life and...

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a composer of baroque music who was born in Germany but became an English citizen. His most famous works include his Messiah, Water Music, baroque Italian operas, and English oratorios. A hugely successful...

A photograph showing a section of the 2022-23 exhibition Baroque, Age of Contrasts in the Swiss National Museum, Zürich. ©Swiss National Museum (used with permission)

A photograph showing part of the exhibition space of the 2022-23 exhibition Baroque, Age of Contrasts in the Swiss National Museum, Zürich. ©Swiss National Museum (used with permission)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German organist and composer whose work is today regarded as amongst the finest of mature baroque music (c. 1600-1750). More famous as an organist than as a composer in his own lifetime, Bach's rich...

A c, 1640 oil on wood painting by Cornelis I. de Baellieur, Gallery of a Collector. Part of the exhibition Baroque, Age of Contrasts in the Swiss National Museum, Zürich. ©Swiss National Museum (used with permission

A tapestry showing an event during talks in relation to the Treaty of the Pyrenees, and the proposed marriage of Louis XIV and the Spanish Infanta. Paris, 1668, tapestry (high warp), silk, wool, gold thread. Part of the exhibition Baroque...

A decorated and gilded nautilus shell. Indo-Pacific, 17th century. Part of the exhibition Baroque, Age of Contrasts in the Swiss National Museum, Zürich. ©Swiss National Museum (used with permission)