Ch. 39

Question 1

Who are the best know composers of Baroque music?

Answer 1

Bach and Handel

Question 2

How are Bach and Handel different?

Answer 2

1. Handel was a traveler around the world, Bach stayed in Germany
2. Handel had no children, Bach had 20
3. Handel was wealthy, Bach wasn’t
4. Handel’s Music never went out of favor, Bach’s suffered 80 years of neglect

Question 3

What was the difference between Handel and Bach’s goals as composers?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What is the BWV?

Answer 4

“Bach Work List”; the system for numbering Bach’s works

Question 5

A collection of 46 pieces written mostly between 1708-1713

Answer 5

Orgelbüchlein

Question 6

What does Orgelbüchlein mean?

Answer 6

“little organ book”; the manuscript measures only 6 x 7 inches

Question 7

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

Answer 7

Chorale prelude

Question 8

What was the purpose of the chorale prelude?

Answer 8

To recall the chorale tune in the minds of the faithful before they tried to sing it themselves

Question 9

What did Bach attend to achieve with his collection of chorale preludes?

Answer 9

1. To provide the organist with a repertory of pieces to play in church
2. To show the organist or composer how to construct a chorale prelude on a given tune by providing multiple examples
3. To develop the technical facility of the organist by requiring an extensive use of the pedal

Question 10

any such sustained or continually repeated pitch, usually placed in the bass and sounding while the harmonies change around it, is called a ________.

Answer 10

Pedal point

Question 11

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

Answer 11

rank

Question 12

Every rank of pipes is activated by pulling out a small wooden knob called a ______, which sends an airstream through those pipes

Answer 12

stop

Question 13

Bach often concludes his keyboard works with what?

Answer 13

a sustained or repeating bass

Question 14

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

Answer 14

Kapellmeister

Question 15

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

Answer 15

Two and Three Part Inventions

Question 16

the Two and Three Part Inventions are also called what?

Answer 16

The Sinfonia

Question 17

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

Answer 17

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Question 18

Where was the Well-Tempered Clavier written?

Answer 18

Cöthen and Leipzig

Question 19

In The Well-Tempered Clavier, all 12 pitches of the octave are supplied with what?

Answer 19

A prelude and fugue in a major and minor key

Question 20

a division of the octave into 12 equal half steps such as we have on the keyboard today

Answer 20

Equal temperament

Question 21

a shift from minor to major at the end of a piece

Answer 21

Picardy third

Question 22

a theme in a fugue

Answer 22

subject

Question 23

opening section of a fugue in which each voice presents the subject in turn

Answer 23

exposition

Question 24

a counterpoint to the theme

Answer 24

countersubject

Question 25

a free section in a fugue based on motives derived from the subject

Answer 25

episode

Question 26

the motive which had been in the bass is moved to the alto and the alto motive is placed in the bass

Answer 26

Invertible counterpoint

Question 27

What are the characteristics of a fugue?

Answer 27

1. A contrapuntal composition for 2, 3, 4, or 5 voices
2. Exposition
3. Episodes
4. Ends with a strong affirmation of the tonic key

Question 28

Why, in Bach’s world, were solo pieces, works for small ensembles, and even orchestral music considered to be chamber music?

Answer 28

Because all such music was performed by just one performer on a part and in a domestic music room or chamber

Question 29

term that indicates that a composer has written a specific part for an instrument and intends it to be played as written

Answer 29

obbligato

Question 30

a word that Bach used as a synonym for suite

Answer 30

partita

Question 31

What famous set of six concertos did Bach compose while in Cöthen?

Answer 31

Brandenburg Concertos

Question 32

What 3 ways are Bach’s ritornello theme typical of Baroque melodies?

Answer 32

1. Idiomatic to the violin
2. Lengthy and somewhat asymmetrical
3. Possesses a driving rhythm that propels the music forward

Question 33

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)

Answer 33

Fortspinning