Baroque Period Exam

Question 1

realization

Answer 1

Performing (or creating a performable edition of) music whose notation is incomplete, as in playing a basso continuo or completing a piece left unfinished by its composer.

Question 2

Teatro San Cassiano

Answer 2

First public opera house; opened in Venice in 1637.

Question 3

Libretto

Answer 3

Literary text for an opera or other musical stage work.

Question 4

figured bass

Answer 4

A form of Basso continuo in which the bass line is supplied with numbers or flat or sharp signs to indicate the appropriate chords to be played.

Question 5

fugue

Answer 5

Composition or section of a composition in imitative texture that is based on a single subject and begins with the successive statements of the subject in voices.

Question 6

cadenza

Answer 6

Highly embellished passage, often improvised, at an important cadence, ususally occurring just before the end of a piece or section.

Question 7

Accompanied recitative

Answer 7

Recitative that uses orchestral accompaniment to dramatize the text.

Question 8

Da capo aria

Answer 8

Aria form with two sections. The first section is repeated after the second section’s close, creating an ABA form.

Question 9

Sonata da camera

Answer 9

Baroque sonata, usually a suite of stylized dances, scored for one or more treble instruments and continuo.

Question 10

Simple Recitative

Answer 10

Style of recitative scored for solo voice and basso continuo, used for setting dialogue or monologue in as speech-like a fashion as possible, without dramatization.

Question 11

Sonata da chiesa

Answer 11

Baroque instrumental work intended for performance in the church; usually in four movements – slow-fast-slow-fast – and scored for one or more treble instruments and continuo.

Question 12

Passion

Answer 12

A musical setting of one of the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion, the most common type of historia.

Question 13

Baroque

Answer 13

Period of music history from about 1600 to about 1750, overlapping the late Renaissance and early Classical periods; “misshapen pearl”

Question 14

Affections

Answer 14

Objectified or archetypal emotions or states of mind, such as sadness, joy, fear, or wonder; one goal of much Baroque music was to arouse the affections.

Question 15

Notes inegales

Answer 15

Seventeeth-century convention of performing French music in which passages notated in short, even duration, such as succession of eight notes, are performed by alternating longer notes on the beat with shorter off beats to produce a lilting rhythm.

Question 16

Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi

Answer 16

first large ensemble of stringed instruments; assembled by Louis XIII; cored consists of strings with more than one player performing each part; predecessor to the modern orchestra; typically played music in a five-part texture: six soprano violins, tuned like the modern viola, divided among three inner parts; and six bass violins, tuned a whole tone lower that the modern cello, on the bass line.

Question 17

Music of the Chamber

Answer 17

primarily string, lute, harpsichord, and flute players, provide music for indoor entertainments.

Question 18

Music of the Great Stable

Answer 18

comprised of wind, brass, and timpani players, who played for military and outdoor ceremonies and sometimes joined the chapel or indoor music, adding instrumental color; wind ensemble profoundly influenced the development of wind and brass music by encouraging improved instruments and playing techniques and by nurturing generations of performers, including families of wind players like the Hotterterres and Philidors.

Question 19

Music of the Royal Chapel

Answer 19

included singers, organists and other instrumentalists who performed for religious services.

Question 20

Opera

Answer 20

Drama with continuous or nearly continuous music, staged with scenery, costumes, and action.

Question 21

Cantata

Answer 21

1) In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a vocal chamber work with continuo, usually for solo voice, consisting of several sections of movements that include recitatives and arias and setting a lyrical or quasi dramatic text.
2) Form of Lutheran church music in the eighteenth century, combining narrative, dialogue, and commentary through arias, recitatives, ensembles, choruses, and instrumental music, like an unstaged opera. Usually on a religious or Biblical subject.

Question 22

J.S. Bach

Answer 22

(1685-1750) Though of as old-fashioned by contemporaries; today seen as one of the greatest composers of all time; worked as a composer in courts and churches in cities such as Weimar, Cothen, and Leipzig; wrote about 200 church cantatas; 30 secular cantatas; about 300 organ chorales; and 70 other works for organ; as well as many other significant works.

Question 23

Antonio Vivaldi

Answer 23

(1678-1741) Known as “the red priest”, Italy’s best known composer of his time; wrote about 500 concertos; most of his works were instrumental.

Question 24

Barbara Strozzi

Answer 24

(1619-1677) Venetian singer and composer; supported by father and wealthy patrons; especially well-known for cantatas; total of over 100 works.

Question 25

Arcangelo Corelli

Answer 25

(1653-1713) Studied in Bologna; worked as a violinist, teacher, ensemble director and composer for wealthy patrons in Rome; established the foundation for violin playing and exploited the singing qualities of the instrument better than his contemporaries.

Question 26

George Frideric Handel

Answer 26

(1685-1759) Well-traveled composer who was born in Halle, studied in Italy and worked in England; created and eclectic style using elements of German, Italian, French, and English music; credited with creating the English oratorio; most of his major works were for public performances; significant composer of opera and oratorio as well as other genres.

Question 27

Henry Purcell

Answer 27

(1659-1695) Composed in all genres of the time, but focused on vocal music; known for adept settings of English texts; had several royal appointments, incorporated elements of French and Italian styles in his music.