Describe some identifying features of the baroque period, use examples from Corelli's Trio Sonata in D, Op. 3 No. 2: Movement IV to justify your answer

Correli's Trio Sonata is a classic example of a baroque work written in 1689. This is demonstrated firstly by the use of melodic ornamentation. An important feature of baroque music, baroque art was driven by embellishment. For example the use of written out turns, seen instantly from bar 1, which is used in imitation through all three parts. Another typifying feature is the used of terraced dynamics, seen in the last 12 bars of the work. All three parts start forte and in the last three bars drop to piano. Furthermore the use of tessitura is another clear example of baroque period. Instruments usually had a smaller range than was used from the classical period onwards. As seen in this work, the range of the violins in a little over an octave, reaching no higher that a D (third position) on the E string.

Some other features that reinforce the character of baroque much but not solely exclusive is the use of: functional diatonic harmony, a compound time gigue (traditional baroque style), and the use of little vibrato in performance.