Baroque Music

Question 1

Opera Vocabulary

Answer 1

• Libretto:
  - Text of the opera
• Da capo Aria:
  - Sing through section
  - A, B, A*, B
  - * Ornamented
• Cadenza:
  - An improvised solo at the middle of an aria (or concerto), virtuosic
• Messa di voce:
  - Starting a note quietly, getting louder and then quieter again

Question 2

Baroque Opera: types of songs

Answer 2

• Overture:
  - Opens the Opera
  - Sets the scene
  - Usually stately
  - Very dotted rhythms
  - 1st section usually repeated
  - 2nd section usually polyphonic
  - Imitation
• Recitative:
  - Used to tell the story/advance the plot
  - No regular pulse
  - Chords are held in the continuo part
  - Vocal line moves in free rhythm
• Aria:
  - A character(s) dwell on and develop emotion
  - Outside of the time-frame of the plot
• Chorus:
  - Sung by SATB choir
  - Sums up what has happened
  - Accompanied by the orchestra

Question 3

Composers

Answer 3

• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
• George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)