The classical style would reflect a much simpler approach to sound in time than had been the Baroque style which was a highly complex polyphonic musical texture, whose energy was derived from the rhythmic continuo, the unity of texture, and the continuous organic development of a motivic "germ" which was the essence of the musical substance of each specific form. The term "baroque" was originally a perjorative that was used to describe a style that was too ornamental, even too sentimental and bombastic for the tastes of the aristocracy in the late 18th Century. The picture above of a concert in a Baroque Concert Hall reveals the highly ornamented archtectural style of the Baroque era which was reflected in the musical style as well. A detail of this Baroque orchestral concert reveals the setup of the orchestra with some audience on the stage as well as dignitaries seating in the middle of the orchestra perhaps the 17th version of "surround sound."

In general, architecture, furniture, and sculpture reflected the ornate tastes of people in the Baroque era. Underlying the basic structure was the substance which gave expression to the structure. The organ in the Baroque church as pictured here shows the ornate treatment of the pipes and superstucture of the organ. Such ornamentation reflects two important points: ornamentation can be a way of individualizing and personalizing the general, and ornamentation also lends itself to a great deal of attention paid to detail. In musical practice the musician had to be highly accomplished in the art of ornamentation in order to improvise over a basic structure. In Da Capo settings the return to the A section always was invested with the improvisation of the performer which provided a deepening of the expressive range of the materials. Baroque ornamentation produces a rich and complex effect which the 18th Century interpreted as too bombastic and confusing. The 18th Century was more concerned with the universality of expression.

In Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major (1st movement), we have an excellent example of the concerto grosso style. The work itself is in concerto grosso form with three movements (fast-slow-fast), with the middle movement using only the solo instruments plus continuo (continuo consisted of a keyboard instrument, usually harpsichord, plus a bass instrument, such as cello). You can select the music at the right to follow an excerpt of the score with the music. Concerto grosso style refers to the alternation of orchestra, ripieno (the ripieno consisting of the solo instruments with continuo), and tutti (orchestra + ripieno). The continuo is always present. The harpsichordist read from the bass line and improvised the upper voices according to a figured bass which described the arrangement of the intervals above the bass.

The Baroque style was strongly influenced by the Doctrine of Affections and the values emphasized the unity of affect (i.e., unity of mood) within the same movement. If there was a "contrasting section," it was consider a shading of the original affect. This was reflected in the music as a unity of texture. The main shift in texture is simply the alternation of the performing groups which also controlled the dynamic levels. The musical material was derived from the opening motive was appeared in the first measure. This motive then underwent continuous development and modulated to the diatonically related keys. The larger the form, the more keys that are included. The use of tonality and modulation was a major factor in sustaining larger forms. This first movement is in three sections. The continuous steady rhythm and overlapping of the orchestra and ripieno often disguises the "seams" that denote sections, although in this movement Bach helps us by bringing the instruments to a brief halt for half a beat before resuming with a unison orchestral passage that signals the third section and the return to the key, much the way a recapitulation works in sonata form.