On Saturday, I had the chance to go to a Baroque style Christmas concert in Guangzhou, China. The concert was at a Protestant church on Shamian island (沙面岛, shamian dao), and this church will sometimes host free concerts. I have two friends in the group that performs the Baroque style music—one plays the cello (among other instruments), and the other friend plays the violin.
The first time I heard one of the Baroque concerts several years ago, I wasn’t really into it. Perhaps for the sake of authenticity, they use a harpsichord rather than a piano, and while the instrument is very cool, I don’t enjoy the sharp twang of the notes as much as the smooth, rich tones of the piano. Or maybe I’m just partial to the piano.
But now that I know what to expect from the concert, I have started to appreciate and even enjoy the music more. I like the energy and vitality in the music, and I love watching the technical skill required to play the harpsichord and the violins especially.
What is Baroque music exactly? Baroque music was popular especially from around 1600 to around 1750. This period was also the Enlightenment in Europe—we spent a week talking about that in my European culture class—and the period was dominated by a focus on using science to understand the world. Newton made some important discoveries like the light passing through the prism and separating into its different components. This emphasis on science carried over into music as the composers used scientific principles relating to sound to write their music. Bach and Handel were two of the most famous composers from this era, although they came toward the end of the period. (Adam Fix talked about the science of music in this period in his dissertation: https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/52b93ea6-572b-43f1-83fa-f83f8b6d2701)
The concert had several pieces by different composers including Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Gruber, Franz Xaver, and Corelli, Arcangelo, but most of the pieces were by Bach and Handel including two from Handel’s Messiah.
In addition to the harpsichord, many of the songs also included the cello, several violins, and sometimes a viola. A few songs also had a fancy recorder. I’m not exactly sure if the instrument had a fancier name, but it looked like a nice recorder, but it sounded much better than the ones that I used in elementary school when I was first learning music.
Sometimes, they used the pipe organ rather than the harpsichord. I even learned the Chinese word for pipe organ—管风琴, guan feng qin, literally: pipe, wind, instrument (but only for piano-like instruments). Several of the songs had singers who were also very impressive. A couple of guys sang opera, and I thought for sure that they were using falsetto, but then another friend told me that sometimes guys can actually sing that high. It’s a tenor who has the range of a soprano. That was impressive.
Another lady sang Rejoice Greatly from Handel’s Messiah, and I was quite impressed with her skill. She also sang one or two other pieces.
I enjoyed the concert, and I enjoyed hearing the different instruments and a different style of music from the Baroque style. I think for me this style is kind of an acquired taste, but I think I’m starting to acquire it!
One thing that amazes me is the diversity of music. Listening to a pop song by Ed Sheeran or Jay Chou (周杰伦, zhou jie lun) are both completely different. And that’s just music today! But what if we go back in history and look at music from the Romantic Era or the Baroque period? Or what if we look at ancient Chinese music with instruments like the zither （古筝, guzheng）or the pipa (琵琶)? Or what if we go down to Australia and listen to some music with the didgeridoo? Music is so diverse!
I love learning about music from different time periods and different places. Not all of it is something that I would choose to listen to in the morning while I’m getting ready for the day, but I love experiencing the different styles and the diversity in our world. God has given us so much creativity, and I think this creativity is a gift from Him that also reflects Him. God’s creation is diverse, and I love that our musical instruments are also so diverse.
I look forward to more opportunities to learn about different instruments and different styles of music, and I’m thankful for the chances I have to enjoy beautiful music. Hope you enjoy getting to experience a bit of the style through my videos and this little introduction!