... out - an idea brought from the Medieval period. Related idea: COUNTERPOINT The violin too was becoming increasingly popular as a solo instrument. Developed from the viols of the Renaissance the violin family were the 'back bone' of any musical ensemble. The Italian violin makers such as Antonio Stradivarius were developing and improving instruments. Composers began to write music specifically for the instruments. One such composer was Vivaldi who wrote many pieces of work for strings - his most famous is perhaps the 'Four Seasons' - this was important because it was amongst the first pieces of music that had a 'programme'. Click on his picture to hear the first movement of 'Spring'. Related idea: CONTINUO; CONCERTO GROSSO; PROGRAMME MUSIC Church music as in previous musical eras played a very important role but it was having less of an influence on general music making. That said many of the major composers in the Baroque ...

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