Advanced Higher Flashcards
Anthem
A piece of choral religious music sung in English
Used in the Protestant church during the Renaissance period
It may be accompanied, but it is usually a cappella
Ayre/Air
Ayre is the Renaissance word for song
Sung in English with a secular (non-religious) text
Song for a solo singer
Likely to be modal
Usually strophic in form
Normally accompanied by Renaissance instruments such as lute
Ballett
Sung in English with a secular (non-religious) text
It is sung a cappella and is strophic in form
It goes “Fa la la”
Chorale
A hymn tune sung in German
Written in four parts (SATB)
Mainly syllabic and homophonic
Contemporary jazz
A style of modern jazz (essentially a term for jazz music from the 1980s to the present day)
Clear influences of pop and rock
EDM
Electronic dance music
Broad range of percussive electronic music genres (e.g. house, dubstep) produced primarily for nightclubs, raves and festivals
Began in the 90s and is still popular today
Galliard
Lively dance with three beats in a bar
Usually follows a pavan
Madrigal
Sung in English with a secular (non-religious) text Song in four part harmony (SATB) Traditionally polyphonic and a cappella Feature lots of imitation Normally through-composed Often uses word painting
Motet
Essentially the Catholic equivalent to an Anthem
Sung in Latin
Sung in four part harmony (SATB)
Sung a cappella and is polyphonic in texture
Nationalist
Expression of strong feelings for the composers country in their music
Music with a distinct flavour by which the composers nationality may be easily recognised
Neoclassical
Combination of forms and structures from earlier periods and 20th century characteristics such as wider melodic leaps, expanded tonal harmonies and unpredictable rhythms
Tonal but may contain some dissonance
May include the use of ornamentation
Pavan
Slow, stately dance with two beats in a bar
Usually followed by a galliard
Rennaissance
From approximately 1450 - 1600
Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ and marks a period in history where there was a resurgence of interest in music based on the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans
Serial
20th century music based on the twelve notes of the chromatic scale placed in the composer’s chosen order (this is known as a tone row or note row)
Serial music is highly dissonant and atonal
Appoggiatura
Comes from the Italian ‘to lean upon’
Takes half the time value of the main note (two thirds if the main note is dotted)
Augmented triad
Major triad but the 5th degree is raised by a semitone
E.g. Eb G B
Polytonality / Bitonality
The use of two (bitonality) or more keys (polytonality) simultaneously
Suspension
A note from one chord is held over to the next chord creating a discord, and is then resolved by moving one step to make a concord
Adds richness and drama
Tone row / Note row
Series of twelve notes used for composing
All the notes are of equal importance and shouldn’t be played out of order
Each note is a different note of the chromatic scale
Tritone
A dissonant interval
Sounds harsh and unpleasant
Consists of two notes, three tones away from each other
It lies right between the least harsh sounding intervals: the perfect 4th and perfect 5th
Hemiola
A rhythmic effect that gives the impression of a piece of music changing from duple to triple time, or vice versa
Turn
An ornament consisting of the note above, the main note, the note below, and the main note again
Answer
In a fugue it is the same melody as the first subject but at a higher or lower pitch (usually in the dominant)
A real answer plays the subject using exactly the same intervals
A tonal answer plays the subject using slightly different intervals depending on the key/harmony at that time
Antiphonal
Performed by two choirs in interaction, often singing alternate musical phrases
One group of voices or instruments answers another
The ‘old school’ version of call and response
Bridge
A link between two themes
A short passage leading from one subject to another
Sometimes used for key changes
Common in sonata form
Countersubject
In a fugue, once the subject has been played, the first voice to enter will continue by playing a continuation of the melody called a countersubject
Fugue
A contrapuntal composition based on a theme
Usually written in four parts (voices)
The theme (subject) is announced in one voice part alone, then imitated by other voices in close succession
Inversion
A tone row played upside down i.e. a mirror image of the original
Leitmotif
A short musical theme, like a signature tune, associated with a particular character or plot element
Common in Romantic and film music
Song cycle
A group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit
They are linked by a common theme or text
Can be solo songs or songs for choir
Usually accompanied by piano but sometimes by small ensembles or full orchestra
E.g. collections of Lieder
Retrograde
A tone row played backwards
Stretto
In a fugue, when the subject enters rapidly in one voice after the other
Sounds busy and frantic
Often used to build to a climax just before the end of the fugue
Subject
The main theme in a composition
The main theme in sonata form
The main theme on which a fugue is based
Consort
A group of similar instruments in the Renaissance period
E.g. a consort of lutes or a consort of viols
A consort made up of different instruments is called a ‘broken’ or ‘mixed’ consort
Piano trio
A work for piano and two other instruments, normally violin and cello
Sprechgesang
A style of half speech and half singing
Sung in German
Used in Expressionist music meaning it is atonal
