Chapter 17: Dramatic and Choral Music Flashcards
1
Q
Describe bel canto
A
- “beautiful singing”
- vocal technique that emphasizes lyrical melodic lines, legato phrasing, seemingly effortless vocal technique.
- Orchestral accompaniment is discreet, limited to harmonic underpinning with little or no counterpoint.
- Emphasis is on the voice.
2
Q
What is a cabaletta?
A
Lively conclusion to an aria
3
Q
Which composer helped establish bel canto?
A
Gioacchino Rossini
4
Q
Who was the leading composerof Italian opera in the middle of the 19th century?
A
Giuseppe Verdi
5
Q
What is melodrama?
A
the use of spoken dialogue accompanied by orchestra.
6
Q
What are the three words Gesamtkunstwerk is based on?
A
- Gesamt, meaning “synthesized, unified, whole, complete, self-contained”
- Kunst, meaning “art”
- Werk, meaning “work”
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7
Q
Who implemented Gestamtkunstwerk?
A
Wagner
8
Q
What is Leitmotiv?
A
“a leading motive”
- a brief musical idea connected to some person, event, or idea in a music drama.
- Musical figure capable of growth, development, and transformation.
9
Q
What distinguishes Leitmotiv from Wagner’s music dramas?
A
- The musical metamorphosis of these ideas over time according to the dramatic situation
- the musical and dramatic interrelationship of these motifs within a braod network of thematic ideas.
10
Q
What is operetta?
A
- Smaller scale than opera
- Mixed spoken dialogue with sung numbers and dealt with humorous and lighthearted subjects
