Baroque and Classical Music Flashcards
What about its dynamics is characteristic of baroque music?
The dynamics change suddenly; each bit is either loud or soft, with no crescendos or diminuendos. They’re called ‘terraced’ or ‘stepped’ dynamics.
What about its melody is characteristic of baroque music?
It’s built up from short motifs, so there’s a lot of repetition, and there are lots of ornaments.
What about its harmonies is characteristic of baroque music?
They’re simple, mainly using chords I and V.
What about its texture is characteristic of baroque music?
It’s often contrapuntal or polyphonic
What is a basso continuo?
A continuous bass part, which is played throughout a piece. The chords are based on it.
What was a basso continuo often played on in the Baroque period?
An organ or a harpsichord (harpsichords were popular baroque instruments). It could also be played by more than one instrument, e.g. cellos, double basses and bassoons
What about classical music is characteristic of that and not the baroque period?
It contains far fewer ornaments, and the pieces are very balanced, tending to have equal four-bar phrases, splitting into a two-bar question and two-bar answer. The dynamics are more subtle, using crescendos and diminuendos, not just changing suddenly.
Describe music in binary form.
Binary means something like ‘in two parts’; there are two bits to a tune in binary form. Binary form is usually used in Baroque dances, and each section is repeated. The structure is AABB. Section A and B contrast, usually by B modulating to a relative key.
Describe music in ternary form.
Ternary means ‘in three parts’, so there are three sections in music with ternary form. The structure is AABBAA because each section repeats. Section A ends in the home key, normally with a perfect cadence, and in section B the music modulates to a related key. The last section can be exactly the same as Section A, but if slightly varied it’s called A1.
What happened with the development of instruments in the classical period?
The piano was invented in about 1700, and got to be way more popular that the harpsichord because you could vary the dynamics. The clarinet was also invented around this time. In this period, orchestras got bigger; woodwind trumpets and horns were used more, and the string section expanded.
What is an aria, and what form were arias in the Baroque period usually in?
An aria is a solo in an opera or oratorio. Arias in the Baroque period were often in ternary form, and this type of aria was often called a ‘da capo aria’ Handel wrote lots of these.
Describe music in rondo form.
Rondo means ‘going round’, and rondo form can have any number of sections. A rondo starts with a main idea in Section A, moves into a new section, goes round again to A, moves into another new section, goes round again to A… as many times as you like. The new section after each Section A always contrasts with A. Section A is known as the ‘main theme’ or ‘refrain’ and the contrasting sections are called episodes. The main theme is always in the home key, and each episode tends to modulate to a related key for contrast
What are variations?
Variations are pieces which start with one pattern or tune, and then change it in different ways. There are two main structures for variation, which are ‘theme and variation’ and ‘ground bass’.
Describe music in ‘theme and variation’ form.
The theme is normally a memorable tune, and is played first. There’s a short pause before the first variation is played, and then another pause before the next variation. Each variation is a self-contained piece of music. There can be as many/few variations as the composer wants, but each variation should be a recognisable version of the main tune, but different from the others.
What is ground bass?
Ground bass is a continuous set of variations- there are no pauses. The main theme, called the ‘ground’-is a bass line which repeats throughout the piece. Varying melodies and harmonies which become gradually more complex are played cover the ground. There are two types of baroque music which are in ground bass form- the chaconne and passacaglia. They’re slow and stately.
What is melodic inversion?
Melodic inversion makes a melody sound very different, but now totally different you keep the same intervals between the notes, but they go in the opposite direction/
What is retrograde?
It’s playing the notes in reverse order. If you switch the notes so that they’re in reverse order and inverted, you get a retrograde inversion.
What is sequencing?
Repeating the pattern of a phrase but starting on a different note, higher or lower, which is called a sequence. Ascending sequences go up in pitch, and descending sequences down. Handel used a descending sequence in bars 18-19 of ‘And the Glory of the Lord’
What is imitation?
Repeating a phrase with slight changes each time. It works especially well if one instrument or voice imitates another and then overlaps. There’s imitation between the altos and tenors in “And the Glory of the Lord”, and between the clarinet and bassoon in “Symphony No. 40 in G Minor”
What is an ostinato?
I’s where one pattern is played over and over again. The rest of the piece changes around it. The ostinato doesn’t have to be in the bass line; it can be in the melody or the chord pattern, and can last for more than one bar.
What are trills, and how are they played in Classical and Baroque music?
A trill is when two notes are repeated very quickly. In Baroque music the trill usually starts one note above the written note then goes quickly back and forth between the written note and the one you started on. In Classical music, the trill usually starts on the written note then goes up to the note above. The second-last note is usually the one below the note, and a sharp, flat or natural sign above the trill tells you if the note you trill to is sharp, flat or natural. [listen out for trills in ‘Symphony No. 40 in G Minor’]
What is an appoggiatura?
It’s written as a little note which clashes with the accompanying chord, and takes half the value of the following note. The note after the appoggiatura is always just above/below, is called the resolution, and has to be from the accompanying chord. Appoggiaturas usually fall on a strong beat, so the resolution falls on a weaker beat.
What are passing notes?
Passing notes link the notes before and after, and the notes before and after a passing note need to belong to the accompanying chord. Usually on weak beats, they’re called ‘accented passing notes’ when they’re on the strong beat.
What is a mordent?
Mordents start off like trills, but end on the written note, which is played for slightly longer than the trilled notes. There are loads of different mordents, but those starting on one note and then going to the note directly above/below are the most common.
What is a turn?
A turn starts on the note above the written note, then goes back to the written note, followed by the note below the written note. It ends back on the written note.
What is an inverted turn?
An inverted turn starts on the note below the written note, then goes back through the written note, then the note above that, and finally back to the written note.
