ch. 5 music from the age of global commerce Flashcards
why were there so many European composers during this period?
they could make a good living having patrons such as wealthy kings, princes, and religious congregations in Europe
Baroque
- a period in European music history
- a term applied to anything that seems elaborate and exaggerated
opera
a theatrical musical genre that tells stories thru recitative, arias, instrumental music, acting, and dancing
recitative
melodic and rhythmic text recitation
arias
songs with clear melodies
ritornellos
repeated instrumental interludes
theorbo
a bass lute with an enormously long neck + 14 courses of strings capable of playing low-pitched bass pitches
arpeggios
leaps thru the pitches of a triad
why do opera singers sound “strange”?
they have cultivated a vocal technique that is loud enough to be heard without amplification in large opera houses
castrati
- in the 17th century, lead male roles were sung by castrati
- male singers castrated before puberty to prevent their voices from changing from soprano to tenor or bass
- the sound of a castrato was associated with masculine power and heroic male roles
monody
a three part texture consisting of a vocal melody (or sometimes a duet) accompanied by an instrumental bass line and chords improvised by a keyboard or lute player
basso continuo
the combination of bass line and chords in monody
what was the impact of Monteverdi’s fifth book of madrigals?
- he introduced the new style of monodic vocal composition
- this new style established virtuosic singing in the form of fast runs, trills, and other ornaments bc the voices are not tethered to contrapuntal relations among the parts
- new genre = aria
what does the term “early music” refer to?
- European church, court, and concert music composed before 1750
- music that some modern performers believe requires “historically informed” performances bc they are so diff from modern practice
who composed “Violin Concerto in E Major, Spring”?
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
* lived and worked in Venice, Italy
* one of the most prolific & influential composers of the Baroque period
concerto
a composition that pits an orchestra against a soloist or small group of soloists
how many movements do concertos typically have?
3
fast tempo, slow tempo, fast tempo
how does it work? (“Violin concerto in E Major, Spring”)
p. 119
sonata
- comes from the Latin word for “sound”
- an instrumental composition for a soloist or small group of soloists
what were concerts and sonatas meant for?
for listening in concert or church settings, rather than for dancing, the amusement of amateur players, or as instrumental versions of vocal works
interpretations of purely instrumental works (such as concertos and sonatas)
- that they are meant for purely musical enjoyment -> description + analysis of their musical elements
- they carry associations and iconic musical gestures -> the moods and emotions in particular instrumental compositions can be explained in terms of their musical elements, w/o direct references to a text
program music
music composed to express the emotions, moods, and meanings of an unperformed verbal narrative
who composed the oratorio “Messiah”
George Frideric Handel
oratorio
a multi-movement composition that tells a biblical story in the vernacular (local) language rather than in the Latin of the Catholic liturgy
* uses conventions of opera (recitative, aria, basso continuo, choruses) but w/o acting, costumes, or scenery
