Classical Western Music

Question 1

Name 5 composers from the Baroque period

Answer 1

(from earliest to latest)
Montiverdi
Pacchelbel
Vivaldi
Bach
Handel

Question 2

Name instruments from the Baroque period

Answer 2

Harpsicord
Violes (Baroque violin)
Sackbut (Baroque trumpet)
Recorder

Question 3

What are some features of a harpsicord?

Answer 3

Played like a piano
Strings are plucked with feathers
Staccato 
No dynamics
No pedals
Higher than normal piano because the harpiscord player would conduct the orchestra as there was no conductor

Question 4

What are some features of Violes?

Answer 4

bigger body 
richer sound
c holes
held between the knees
sounds like a classical acoustic guitar

Question 5

What are some features of a Sackbut?

Answer 5

no valves

trumpeter has to change pitch by changing mouth shape

Question 6

What was predominant in Baroque orchestras?

Answer 6

strings

Question 7

Which sections were not as common in Baroque orchestras?

Answer 7

Woodwind, Brass and percussion

Question 8

Which instrument had not been invented in the Baroque period?

Answer 8

the clarinet

Question 9

Name some musical characteristics of the Baroque period.

Answer 9

long elaborate melodies
lots of decoration and ornamentation (trills, turns and mordents)
contrapuntal texture
terraced dynamics
the use of a continuo

Question 10

What are trills?

Answer 10

fast oscillation between two neighbouring notes

Question 11

what are turns?

Answer 11

the note above, note itself, note below, note itself

Question 12

What are mordents?

Answer 12

Note itself, note above, note itself

Note itself, note below, note itself

Question 13

what are terraced dynamics?

Answer 13

sudden contrast in dynamics, achieved by adding or removing the amount of instruments playing

Question 14

What is the continuo?

Answer 14

an accompanying part that includes baseline and chords (harmonies)
normally played by the harpsicord or organ with a cello or lute
instruments in the baroque period would sometimes go out of tune or would break and the basso continuo would fill in any missing parts

Question 15

What are the 2 types of concerto?

Answer 15

Concerto Solo

Concerto Grosso

Question 16

What does the concerto grosso consist of?

Answer 16

Concertino - group of solo instruments
Ripieno - larger ensemble

Ripieno-concertino-ripieno-concertino-ripieno etc

Question 17

What does the concerto solo consist of?

Answer 17

One solo instrument
Orchestra

Solo-orchestra-solo-orchestra-solo-orchestra etc

Question 18

What is a suite?

Answer 18

A collection of dances normally written for harpsicord or orchestra
Each dance in the suite would normally be in the same key signature as each other and in Binary form (A B)
French composers often included a dance in rondo form (A B A C A D)
A popular dance was the minuet

Question 19

What is a minuet and what are the characteristics?

Answer 19

A stately dance
3/4 time signature
Binary form
Normally there would be two different minuets in different key signatures placed together to make a ternary form structure over all:
Minuet 1: A B Minuet 2: A B Minuet 1: A B

Question 20

What is a Tierce de Picardie?

Answer 20

A piece that is written in a minor key but ends on the chord of the tonic major

Question 21

When was the Baroque period?

Answer 21

After the Renaissance, from 1600-1750