Baroque Music: A Practical Guide for the Performer

Professional and amateur musicians will appreciate this clear, readable guide to the music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, and other Baroque composers. Author Victor Rangel-Ribeiro draws upon the writings of C. P. E. Bach, J. J. Quantz, G. P. Telemann, Francesco Geminiani, Leopold Mozart, and Giuseppe Tartini to offer advice on the difficult aspects of eighteenth-century German, Italian, and English masterworks.
Advancing from relatively simple material to more complex works, this guide begins by outlining the problems inherent in Baroque performance. Subsequent chapters examine ornamentation and the principles of figured bass, applying them to various types of works, including keyboard concertos and vocal music. An epilogue sheds new light on a highly complex rhythmic issue, and the appendices present three unfamiliar examples of ornamentation. Profusely illustrated with musical examples, this volume was praised by violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin for its readable and engaging style, free from the pedantic, overly scholarly approach.

Victor Rangel-Ribeiro is the author of two widely praised scholarly books on the performance of Baroque music and the chamber music repertory. He has edited several volumes for Dover, tracking down rare old editions and translating Italian, French, and German texts into English.