Groups

Orchestra

Normally contains four sections: woodwind, strings, brass and percussion. During the Baroque period, however, few percussion instruments were used, and if they were it was usually just timpani, the tuned drums able to reinforce bass notes. Listen to part of this minuet, a dance with three beats in the bar and in a major key, from Handel’s ‘Music for the Royal Fireworks'. You can clearly hear all sections of the orchestra and the timpani reinforcing bass notes. Notice that the trumpets sound very high, which was normal in this period.

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