MUSICAL STYLE The basso continuo is ever-present in Baroque music. Textures are primarily melody and accompaniment or contrapuntal. Voices and instruments were freely mixed. Newly developed instruments provided a rich palette of tone color. Rhythms are often derived from dance rhythms. Melodies are ornate and often make use of dramatic leaps. Harmony is based on major/minor tonality, and dissonances become more common. Repetition and simple binary and ternary forms provide the basis for musical structure.
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