Baroque orchestra

The Baroque orchestra is the type of orchestra that existed during the Baroque period, commonly identified as 1600-1750. Its origins were in France where Jean-Baptiste Lully added the newly re-designed hautboy and transverse flutes to his vingt-quatre violons du Roy. As well as violins and woodwinds, the baroque orchestra contained continuo instruments such as the theorbo and harpsichord. The baroque orchestra was reasonably small with a maximum of thirty people. The new instrumentation and orchestration soon spread to the rest of Europe.

The term 'Baroque orchestra' is also commonly used today to refer to chamber orchestras giving historically informed performances of baroque or classical on period instruments or replicas. The period-instrument revival during the 1970s inspired the development of the first period-instrument baroque orchestras, led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustav Leonhardt and Frans Bruggen. Since then many baroque orchestras have been formed across Europe, as well as some in North America. Baroque orchestras of today include:

• The Academy of Ancient Music
• Apollo’s Fire: The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra
• Les Arts Florissants
• Boston Baroque
• Bourbon Baroque: Louisville's Period Instrument Ensemble
• Atlanta Baroque Orchestra
• Concerto Italiano
• Concerto Köln
• Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
• Portland Baroque Orchestra
• The English Baroque Soloists
• The English Concert
• Europa Galante
• Florilegium
• Freiburger Barockorchester
• Hespèrion XX and Hespèrion XXI
• Il Giardino Armonico
• Musica Antiqua Köln
• New Trinity Baroque
• Newport Baroque Orchestra
• Les Paladins
• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
• Taverner Consort and Players
• Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
• Barocco sempre giovane

Instrumentation

Woodwinds

2 Flutes

2 Oboe

2 Bassoons

Brass

2 Horns (in any key)

2 Trumpets (in any key)

Percussion

Timpani

Keyboards

Harpsichord

Strings

6 Violins I

6 Violins II

4 Violas

2 Violoncellos

Bass

Theorbo

Recordings of baroque music

• Antonio Vivaldi, Pietro Locatelli

See also

• List of early music ensembles, for more Baroque orchestras
• Orchestra, see: history of the orchestra

Discover Music of the Baroque Era