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Famous Music from the Baroque Period
Part 4 (c. 1600–1750)
Sarabande in D Minor
by G.F. Handel (1685–1759)
George Frideric Handel composed the Sarabande as part of his Keyboard Suite in D minor (HWV 437) between 1703 and 1706. The sarabande was originally a lively dance from Central America that became popular in Europe, though it was once considered scandalous and even banned in Spain for its perceived obscenity. Handel transformed this controversial dance into one of the Baroque period’s most elegant and haunting pieces, adding two variations that give it a slow, expressive depth.
The Sarabande remained largely in obscurity until the 1970s, when director Stanley Kubrick featured it in Barry Lyndon (1975). Its use in film sparked a revival, and it quickly became a favorite for modern audiences, appearing in TV shows, commercials, and films. Handel’s Sarabande stands out among Baroque music for its slow, powerful melody, and its haunting beauty continues to captivate listeners today.
Adagio in G Minor
by Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1751)
This hauntingly beautiful neo-Baroque piece is often attributed to Tomaso Albinoni, though much of it was actually composed by 20th-century musicologist Remo Giazotto, who presented the work as an elaboration on a fragment he claimed to have discovered in a manuscript attributed to Albinoni.
Published in 1958 under the title Adagio in G Minor for Strings and Organ, on Two Thematic Ideas and on a Figured Bass by Tomaso Albinoni, the work quickly gained international recognition. Today, the Adagio is most frequently performed by string ensembles, with or without organ, though it has also been arranged for numerous other instruments.
Despite ongoing questions about its origins, it remains one of the most widely recognized and emotionally moving works associated with Albinoni’s name, admired for its lyrical beauty and dramatic intensity.