What are the major differences between Baroque and Classical forms of music?
I offer the descriptions provided by the “Harvard Brief Dictionary of Music”… Classical, classicism: In amateur parlance, “classical” music usually means everything outside the field of popular music. In musical terminology, the term is used in a much more restricted sense; that is, it refers to the period represented by the Viennese Classics: Haydn, Mozart, the early works of Beethoven, and, to some extent, Schubert. As opposed to the Romantic style of the 19th century, Classical music is generally characterized by objectivity, emotional restraint, formalism, and simplicity. Since Haydn was born in 1732, and Beethoven and Schubert died in 1827 and 1828 respectively, the period extends from about 1750 to about 1820. Baroque: The music of the period about 1600-1750, following that of the Renaissance. … The beginning of Baroque music is marked by the rise of the monodic style [unaccompanied song or accompanied solo song], applied to opera, oratorio, and cantata; its end, by the death
Baroque music is music that is Highly Ornamented, Experimental, and Exuberant.
Classical music is music that focused on Order, Clarity, and Balance.
Those are the major, most easily observed differences.
In some ways, Baroque music has direct parallels to the type of classical music being written today.
