In the Renaissance, man had discovered his/her individuality, in the Baroque era at times this lead to excessive and almost luxuriant exuberance. In music, new forms emerged like the opera and the styled dance suite. Instrumental music became predominant…
A characteristic of Baroque music is the basso continuo, the harmonic base that enabled soloists to improvise.
Music became strictly structured, both in style and sound. Striking examples are the ornamentations that had to satisfy all kinds of stylistic rules. Polyphony became popular, with the Fugues by Bach as obvious examples.
For me, the most important Baroque composers were Bach, Sanz and Brescianello. Bach is a famous challenge for guitarists, Sanz provides an interesting view on Spanish music from the Baroque, and I have played a few suites by Brescianello with pleasure.