Form in the Baroque era

The Baroque era was the origin of many types of musical work, or genres, that remain with us today: opera, prelude, fugue, partita, overture, cantata, oratorio, passion, concerto, sonata and aria. Ballet developed when courtly dances turned into a performance art instead of social participation. Although many of the genre names we know today emerged in the Baroque era, their meanings were not yet standardised. For instance, the oratorio Messiah by Handel (1685–1759) begins with a movement titled ‘Sinfonia’, although today we would call it an overture.