The new school spread quickly to all coun tries, only in France its progress was checked by the power of Lulli, who devoted himself chiefly to ballet-music. The latter was largely introduced into Moliere's plays and obtained the favor of Louis XIV, who sometimes ap peared himself in the dances.
The opera was not the only form of the period of phenomenal musical activity which marked the closing of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th. The oratorio also had its beginning in this wonderful era. Filippo Neri (1515-95), who has since been canonized by the church, was an enthusiast in the mattes of good church music and at his church in Rome he frequently had religious meetings apart from the regular services, in which he portrayed Scriptural subjects in the shape of musical plays. His friend Palestrina of ten assisted in this pious work, and may have had a hand in the development of the great sacred form. As these entertainments did not take place in the body of the church, but in the Oratory (Ora torio), the origin of the name of this form will readily be seen.
But the real establishment of the form came with Emilio del Cavaliere (1550-98), who wrote a large work in the new style, entitled e Como.) This was first, performed in 1600, probably in the church where Neri had labored, and was given upon a stage, with costume and action, exactly as it it were an opera. Although both Neri and Cavaliere were dead, such minute directions were left regarding the mode of pre senting the work that one may presume that the intentions of the composer were thoroughly carried out. This first oratorio was so en tirely in the new school of monody and decla mation that one may doubt as to whether the es tablishment of opera is not in a large degree to be credited to Del Cavaliere.
Besides the opera and oratorio, instrumental forms were established at this time as well. Dancing is the mother of instrumental form. The dances of Spain had gradually made their way into France and exerted a strong influence upon classical music. In an effort to obtain contrasts several of these were joined together in one large composition, which was at first called a partita, but afterward became a suite.
Free instrumental forms also sprang from the organ toccatas already alluded to. Fresco
baldi (1588-1653) was to Rome what Willaert had been to Venice half a century before. Fres cobaldi has been called the father of true organ playing. He improved the toccata and called it sonata (a sounding-piece,— that is, an instru mental piece), to distinguish it from the cantata, — the singing piece. Corelli (1653-1713) gave to the old sonata a form, which, although much less important than the later, classical shape, had yet within itself the elements of the noble form. Its first movement was a large three division shape, exposition, development and re capitulation; and this led to the Sonata-Allegro, the first movement-form of the classical sym phonies and sonatas, the form of many noble overtures.
Amid all these remarkable advances the fugue remained rigid and lifeless, a survival of the old intellectual problem-music. As yet the fugue was little more than a canon, a continu ous imitation of a given melody. It waited its liberator — Bach.
During the century which followed we find Italy combining contrapuntal skill with the less educated enthusiasm which marked the early operas, and such men as Monteverde (1568 1643) and eventually Alessandro Scarlatti (1659-1725) make of the new school something far better than its founders had dreamed of. Stradella, Carissimi, Lotti and Rossi added to the advance of the great new school which was to cause Italy to be justly called the °Mother of Music.° The school was established in Eng land too by Henry Purcell (1658-95), who even introduced the Italian musical signs and ex pression-marks into his native country. Pur cell, who was the greatest musical genius that England ever produced, founded his own Eng lish operas upon the Italian models, but his works had characteristics entirely their own and extend all the way from the melody of 'Lilli burlero' (the revolutionary song of 1688) to the loftiest anthems and brightest operas.
In France the great Lulli (1633-87) was bringing forth the most dainty and graceful bal lets. In Germany Reinhard Keiser (1673-1739) began the 18th century by endeavoring to form a German school of opera, but the Italian operas soon resumed their sway.