Ch. 39 Flashcards
Who are the best know composers of Baroque music?
Bach and Handel
How are Bach and Handel different?
- Handel was a traveler around the world, Bach stayed in Germany
- Handel had no children, Bach had 20
- Handel was wealthy, Bach wasn’t
- Handel’s Music never went out of favor, Bach’s suffered 80 years of neglect
What was the difference between Handel and Bach’s goals as composers?
Handel wanted his music to sound good, to be heard and enjoyed by all. Bach wanted his music to be good in an almost divinely perfect way
What is the BWV?
“Bach Work List”; the system for numbering Bach’s works
A collection of 46 pieces written mostly between 1708-1713
Orgelbüchlein
What does Orgelbüchlein mean?
“little organ book”; the manuscript measures only 6 x 7 inches
an ornamented setting of a pre-existing chorale tune intended to be played on the organ before the singing of the chorale by the full congregation
Chorale prelude
What was the purpose of the chorale prelude?
To recall the chorale tune in the minds of the faithful before they tried to sing it themselves
What did Bach attend to achieve with his collection of chorale preludes?
- To provide the organist with a repertory of pieces to play in church
- To show the organist or composer how to construct a chorale prelude on a given tune by providing multiple examples
- To develop the technical facility of the organist by requiring an extensive use of the pedal
any such sustained or continually repeated pitch, usually placed in the bass and sounding while the harmonies change around it, is called a ________.
Pedal point
Pipes of the same type are grouped together in a row and produce a particular sound, and each group of similar sounding pipes is called this
rank
Every rank of pipes is activated by pulling out a small wooden knob called a ______, which sends an airstream through those pipes
stop
Bach often concludes his keyboard works with what?
a sustained or repeating bass
the term used in the Baroque and Classical periods to refer to the director of music not just of the chapel but of the entire court; Bach assumed this position at Cöthen
Kapellmeister
Two sets of contrapuntal pieces along the lines of simple fugues; each collection contains 15 works and each of these is in a separate key
Two and Three Part Inventions
the Two and Three Part Inventions are also called what?
The Sinfonia
a collection of preludes and fugues by Bach in two books, each volume contains 24 pairs of preludes and fugues arranged by key in ascending order
The Well-Tempered Clavier
Where was the Well-Tempered Clavier written?
Cöthen and Leipzig
In The Well-Tempered Clavier, all 12 pitches of the octave are supplied with what?
A prelude and fugue in a major and minor key
a division of the octave into 12 equal half steps such as we have on the keyboard today
Equal temperament
a shift from minor to major at the end of a piece
Picardy third
a theme in a fugue
subject
opening section of a fugue in which each voice presents the subject in turn
exposition
a counterpoint to the theme
countersubject
a free section in a fugue based on motives derived from the subject
episode
the motive which had been in the bass is moved to the alto and the alto motive is placed in the bass
Invertible counterpoint
What are the characteristics of a fugue?
- A contrapuntal composition for 2, 3, 4, or 5 voices
- Exposition
- Episodes
- Ends with a strong affirmation of the tonic key
Why, in Bach’s world, were solo pieces, works for small ensembles, and even orchestral music considered to be chamber music?
Because all such music was performed by just one performer on a part and in a domestic music room or chamber
term that indicates that a composer has written a specific part for an instrument and intends it to be played as written
obbligato
a word that Bach used as a synonym for suite
partita
What famous set of six concertos did Bach compose while in Cöthen?
Brandenburg Concertos
What 3 ways are Bach’s ritornello theme typical of Baroque melodies?
- Idiomatic to the violin
- Lengthy and somewhat asymmetrical
- Possesses a driving rhythm that propels the music forward
taking a primary musical idea and spinning it out in one seemingly unending melodic strand and uniform rhythm (Bach does this at the beginning of the Brandenburg concertos)
Fortspinning
