I've suppressed the "Dawn of an Era" entry, as this isn't correct.
Tonality (as in Major/Minor tonality) existed long before J.S. Bach in practice, at least as far back as the beginning of the Baroque Era (ca. 1600). Claudio Monteverdi's first opera ("Orfeo") and his books of Madrigals from Number 5 on (all of which use continuo accompaniment) mark the major divide, and he composed until ca. 1640 — and Heinrich Schütz's music, which dates from ca. 1610-1665 counts as well, as do operas by Francesco Cavalli (composed 1640-1670) and Antonio Cesti (composed 1650-1670). Prior to this, one could say that music was often Tonal at cadences and Modal otherwise (think Palestrina [d. 1594], Lassus [d. 1594], and Victoria [d. 1611] who were the last of the Renaissance composers except in England, where the period ended later).
The "Common Practice Period" is sometimes said to begin in 1600 (and a good case can be made for that), while other writers say ca. 1650. Regardless, this "period" saw significant use of functional harmony in a manner that would be considered typical of the "Classical Music" most listeners are familiar with. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) are part of this (if later than Monteverdi and Schütz) and wrote music that predates Bach's birth by 5-7 years or so.
The first attempts to codify tonality date back to Rameau's "Traité d'harmonie" of 1722, but not prior. The Baroque Period ends properly with the death of G.F. Handel in 1759, though some books do give 1750 as its ending year.
Regardless, Bach's dates don't coincide neatly with what the trope entry claims. I welcome discussion on this — please PM me if you decide to.
I've suppressed the "Dawn of an Era" entry, as this isn't correct.
Tonality (as in Major/Minor tonality) existed long before J.S. Bach in practice, at least as far back as the beginning of the Baroque Era (ca. 1600). Claudio Monteverdi's first opera ("Orfeo") and his books of Madrigals from Number 5 on (all of which use continuo accompaniment) mark the major divide, and he composed until ca. 1640 — and Heinrich Schütz's music, which dates from ca. 1610-1665 counts as well, as do operas by Francesco Cavalli (composed 1640-1670) and Antonio Cesti (composed 1650-1670). Prior to this, one could say that music was often Tonal at cadences and Modal otherwise (think Palestrina [d. 1594], Lassus [d. 1594], and Victoria [d. 1611] who were the last of the Renaissance composers except in England, where the period ended later).
The "Common Practice Period" is sometimes said to begin in 1600 (and a good case can be made for that), while other writers say ca. 1650. Regardless, this "period" saw significant use of functional harmony in a manner that would be considered typical of the "Classical Music" most listeners are familiar with. Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) are part of this (if later than Monteverdi and Schütz) and wrote music that predates Bach's birth by 5-7 years or so.
The first attempts to codify tonality date back to Rameau's "Traité d'harmonie" of 1722, but not prior. The Baroque Period ends properly with the death of G.F. Handel in 1759, though some books do give 1750 as its ending year.
Regardless, Bach's dates don't coincide neatly with what the trope entry claims. I welcome discussion on this — please PM me if you decide to.
Thanks!