<P> The middle Baroque period in Italy is defined by the emergence of the vocal styles of cantata, oratorio, and opera during the 1630s, and a new concept of melody and harmony that elevated the status of the music to one of equality with the words, which formerly had been regarded as pre-eminent . The florid, coloratura monody of the early Baroque gave way to a simpler, more polished melodic style . These melodies were built from short, cadentially delimited ideas often based on stylized dance patterns drawn from the sarabande or the courante . The harmonies, too, might be simpler than in the early Baroque monody, and the accompanying bass lines were more integrated with the melody, producing a contrapuntal equivalence of the parts that later led to the device of an initial bass anticipation of the aria melody . This harmonic simplification also led to a new formal device of the differentiation of recitative (a more spoken part of opera) and aria (a part of opera that used sung melodies). The most important innovators of this style were the Romans Luigi Rossi and Giacomo Carissimi, who were primarily composers of cantatas and oratorios, respectively, and the Venetian Francesco Cavalli, who was principally an opera composer . Later important practitioners of this style include Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Legrenzi, and Alessandro Stradella . </P> <P> The middle Baroque had absolutely no bearing on the theoretical work of Johann Fux, who systematized the strict counterpoint characteristic of earlier ages in his Gradus ad Parnassum (1725). </P> <P> One pre-eminent example of a court style composer is Jean - Baptiste Lully . He purchased patents from the monarchy to be the sole composer of operas for the French king and to prevent others from having operas staged . He completed 15 lyric tragedies and left unfinished Achille et Polyxène . Lully was an early example of a conductor; he would beat the time with a large staff to keep his ensembles together . </P> <P> Musically, he did not establish the string - dominated norm for orchestras, which was inherited from the Italian opera, and the characteristically French five - part disposition (violins, violas--in hautes - contre, tailles and quintes sizes--and bass violins) had been used in the ballet from the time of Louis XIII . He did, however, introduce this ensemble to the lyric theatre, with the upper parts often doubled by recorders, flutes, and oboes, and the bass by bassoons . Trumpets and kettledrums were frequently added for heroic scenes . </P>

Who listened to music in the baroque period