Editing Program music (section)

===18th century===
Part of the music from the Baroque and Classical eras is [[Absolute music|absolute]], as is suggested by titles which often consist simply of the type of composition, a numerical designation within the composer's oeuvre, and its key. Johann Sebastian Bach's [[Concerto for two harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060]] and Mozart's [[Piano Sonata No. 16 (Mozart)|Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545]] are examples of absolute music.

Some composers{{which |date= December 2021}} of the Baroque era used to design titles for their music in a fashion resembling that of Romantic program music, called the ''rappresentativo'' (representative) style. Some of the most notable examples were composed by [[Antonio Vivaldi]] – some of his [[Violin concerto|violin]], [[Flute concerto|flute]] or recorder concertos bear titles inspired by human [[Doctrine of the affections|affects]] (''Il piacere'' – the pleasure), occupations (''La caccia'' – the hunting, ''La pastorella'' – the shepherdess) or, most notably, aspects of nature and meteors (''[[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|The Four Seasons]]'', ''La notte'' – the night, [[La tempesta di mare (flute concerto)|''La tempesta di mare'']] – the sea storm). Another well-known example is [[Heinrich Ignaz Biber]]'s ''Sonata representativa'' (for violin and [[Basso continuo|continuo]]), which depicts various animals (the nightingale, the cuckoo, the cat) in a humoristic manner. However, a distinction may be drawn between "representational" music and program music properly speaking, as well as between "imitation" and "representation. Finally, there is the question of whether a deliberate expressive character is sufficient to rank as a "program".{{sfn|Scruton|2001}}