Chapter 29: Musical Conversations: Haydn and Classical Chamber Music Flashcards
Theme
Melodic idea used as a basic building block in the construction of a piece. Also subject. (page 170)
Thematic Development
Musical expansion of a theme by varying its melodic outline, harmony, or rhythm. Also thematic transformation. (page 170)
Motive
Short melodic or rhythmic idea; the smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic-harmonic-rhythmic unit. (page 171)
Sequence
Restatement of an idea or motive at a different pitch level. (page 171)
Absolute Music
Music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program. Also called pure music. (page 171)
Multimovement Cycle
A three- or four-movement structure used in Classical-era instrumental music—especially the symphony, sonata, concerto, and chamber music; each movement is in a prescribed tempo and form; sometimes called sonata cycle. (page 171)
Rondo
Musical form in which the first section recurs several times, usually in the tonic. In the Classical multimovement cycle, it appears as the last movement in various forms, such as A-B-A-B-A, A-B-A-C-A, and A-B-A-C-A-B-A. (page 172)
Refrain
Text or music that is repeated within a larger form. (page 172)
Chamber Music
Ensemble music for up to about ten players, with one player to a part. (page 172)
String Quartet
Chamber music ensemble consisting of two violins, viola, and cello. Also a multimovement composition for this ensemble. (page 173)
Rounded Binary
Composition form with two sections, in which the second ends with a return to material from the first; each section is usually repeated. (page 174)
Theme and Variations
Compositional procedure in which a theme is stated and then altered in successive statements; occurs as an independent piece or as a movement of a multimovement cycle.
