Baroque Period

      The Baroque Period was during 1600 to 1750. The baroque period can be put into three 50 year sub groups: Early Baroque, Middle Baroque, and Late Baroque.

      During the Early Baroque period, Monteverdi was a popular Italian composer. His music marked the transition from the Renaissance period to the Baroque period. Some say he was one of the earliest composers using polyphony. He also wrote one of the earliest operas, L'Orfeo. It is still performed today.

      In the Middle Baroque period, Henry Purcell and Jean Baptiste Lully were famous.. Lully was a French composer whose music was known for its power and liveliness but also for its deep emotion.  Some of his most popular works are his passacaille and chaconne which are dance movements. He introduced ballets and rhythm. Lully's music is still played regularly via recordings at the Palace of Versailles during the summertime in the gardens. Henry Purcell was an English composer however. His music incorporated Italian and French elements into it, but it was still considered a unique form of English music.

      In the Late Baroque period, several composers were well known. Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi were some of them.
Bach was a court musician who eventually became a composer. His family was also full of composers and musicians and such. (he was German)  His most famous works include The Brandenberg Concertos, Well-Tempered Clavier and Art of the Fugue. His fame during his lifetime was mostly due to his skills on the organ, but he today he is viewed as an excellent composer.
Handel was a European composer who is well known for writing an oratorio called Messiah. He composed operas while still living in Germany. He later lived in Italy. Handel's most famous works include Water Music, Music for the Royal Fireworks and Zadok the Priest.
Vivaldi was an Italian priest who became a composer. During his time, he was a very influential composer. He is known mainly for composing concertos, (mostly for the violin) as well as 40 operas. His best known violin concerto is The Four Seasons.
After the Baroque period, what is known as the Classical period came ''next''. Music from the Baroque period is appreciated today, and still influences artists.
I got a lot of my information from this website. http://www.ask.com/wiki/Baroque_music 

(to be continued, still need to add pictures and more links...)