What are figured bass and basso continuo? How are they related? What is ornamentation? What is an oratorio? How does it differ from an opera? What is an orchestra? How did the development of orchestras influence Baroque music? What is an instrumental suite?

Basso continuo is a bass line which accompanies a melody. Figured bass is the bass line with figures (numbers) under the bass notes. The numbers give the intervals between the bass note and the chord tones above it. Ornamentation is a way to embellish a melody with turns, trills, or grace notes-they decorate 9the melody to make it more interesting. An oratorio is like an opera, but is based on a religious story. An orchestra is a large ensemble of strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, and keyboard instruments. The orchestra made musical performances more accessible to the public, and this led to the beginning of the Classical Music period. An instrumental suite is a collection of shorter pieces-usually dance pieces.