Dance Chapter

Question 1

Why was vocal music esteemed more in the Middle Ages and Renaissance?

Answer 1

Due to the lack of musical literacy in most instrumental musicians

Question 2

How did vocal music being more esteemed affect the copying and or printing of instrumental music?

Answer 2

It was quite rare and only 50 instrumental dance tunes survive today

Question 3

How did this affect the hierarchy of musicians?

Answer 3

Singers were considered much more important than instrumentalists

Question 4

What four characteristics are found in the earliest examples of instrumental dance tunes and are still found in dance today?

Answer 4

Steady beat, Repetition, Clear meter, periodic phrasing

Question 5

What is an estampie? What historical time period is it from?

Answer 5

The most common instrumental dance from the medieval time period

Question 6

What are the ancestors of the piano, oboe, trombone, and bassoon?

Answer 6

psaltery, shawm, sackbut, dulcian

Question 7

How was dance viewed in the Renaissance?

Answer 7

it was an important social skill

Question 8

What is a common pair of dances from the Renaissance? Briefly describe each (tempo, meter, and dance steps)

Answer 8

Pavane and Gailliard : slow tempo, duple meter, feet close to the ground and vigorous tempos, triple meter, skipping steps

Question 9

What is a suite?

Answer 9

A group of dance movements

Question 10

List the four main dances found in a suite.

Answer 10

Allemande (germany), Courante (France), Sarabande (Central america), Gigue (England and Ireland)

Question 11

Allemande

Answer 11

Duple Meter moderate tempo

Question 12

Courante

Answer 12

triple meter; slow tempo

Question 13

Sarabande

Answer 13

triple meter, slow tempo

Question 14

Gigue

Answer 14

triple meter, fast tempo

Question 15

What happens to German composers in the 18th Century?

Answer 15

they become prominent for the first time

Question 16

What country was the most musically prominent at the time?

Answer 16

Italy

Question 17

What is the form for dances in the Baroque? Include the tonal scheme.

Answer 17

Binary form. I-V, V-I. Two equal sections repeated.

Question 18

How was Bach viewed during his lifetime?

Answer 18

He was locally known as a “servant” (someone who works in courts and churches).

Question 19

Name four facts about Bach’s life that you find interesting.

Answer 19

1. Bach composed at the keyboard.
   
   2. Duke of Weimar imprisoned Bach for a month before Bach went to Leipzig.
   3. He trained students on instruments in Leipzig.
   4. In Leipzig, he had to promise to lead an exemplary life and not to leave town without permission.

Question 20

What is the Bach Revival and who is responsible for it?

Answer 20

The rediscovery of Bach’s music in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His music began to be published and performed in the early 19th century. Mendelssohn was responsible for the Bach Revival.

Question 21

Compare the background, training, employment and role in society of Bach and a living composer.

Answer 21

Background: Living composers have diverse backgrounds. Bach came from a family of composers.
Training: Living composers are conservatory trained. Bach was trained by his father and brother.
Employment: Living composers are employed by schools (teaching). Bach was employed by churches and courts.
Role in society: Living composers are respected artists. Bach was known as a servant, because he worked for churches and courts.

Question 22

What is a BWV? What is a Hoboken? Explain.

Answer 22

BWV: Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue), numbering system identifying Bach’s compositions. Works are grouped thematically, not chronologically.
Hoboken: Hoboken-Verzeichnis is a catalogue of over 750 works by Haydn as compiled by Anthony van Hoboken. Also grouped thematically.

Question 23

What happens to the Minuet in the Classical period?

Answer 23

It becomes the third movement of symphonies, most popular dance.

Question 24

In what country does ballet originate and when?

Answer 24

Northern Italy, 1500s.

Question 25

In what country does ballet develop? When and why?

Answer 25

France, 1600s because Louis XIV finances the development.

Question 26

Why is Jean Baptiste Lully important in the history of ballet? Include two facts about his life that you find interesting.

Answer 26

He was the first the first to use female ballet dancers, he converted it from a ball room activity to the stage, and he opened the paris opera ballet. Two facts: lost favor with the king in 1684 because of a sexual scandal. Died two weeks after an injury to his foot while conducting.

Question 27

List four developments in the history of ballet that took place in France during the Baroque period.

Answer 27

1. Paris Opera Ballet company is founded.
   
   2. Women are encouraged to join ballet.
   3. Ballets are used to tell stories.
   4. Five foot positions are created and developed (by Pierre Beauchamp).

Question 28

How did ballet travel from France to Russia and what takes place once it arrives?

Answer 28

Tsar Peter the Great, ruler of Russia, traveled to Paris and saw ballet. He brought back French ballet teachers and ballet thrived in Russia.

Question 29

Which are Tchaikovsky’s three best known ballets?

Answer 29

“Swan Lake”, “The Sleeping Beauty”, “The Nutcracker”.

Question 30

Name five differences between ballet in the Baroque and Romantic periods.

Answer 30

1. Baroque was less technically difficult.
   
   2. Romantic had shorter outfits (legs/arms were not covered)
   3. In Romantic ballet, female has a prominent role and male typically has more of a supporting role.
   4. Baroque ballet used boots as shoes.
   5. Baroque ballet had more repetitive dance steps that were less athletic.

Question 31

What challenge did composers in the early 20th century face and why?

Answer 31

Creating performance worthy pieces alongside classics of the past. They needed to be pieces that were high quality and long lasting (timeless).

Question 32

Which three ballets did Stravinsky write during his Russian period?

Answer 32

“The Firebird”, “Petrushka”, “The Rite of Spring”.

Question 33

What are the Ballet Russes?

Answer 33

Ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929. Premiered Rite of Spring with Najinsky and Stravinsky.

Question 34

What is Primitivism?

Answer 34

A belief in the value of what is simple and unsophisticated, unaffected by objective reasoning. Prehistoric.

Question 35

Why is Primitivism used in “The Rite of Spring”?

Answer 35

The Rite of Spring takes place in prehistoric Russia.

Question 36

List five ways in which Primitivism is represented in this piece.

Answer 36

1. Percussive orchestration
   
   2. Emphasises rhythm
   3. Replaces meter with pulse
   4. Does not develop ideas
   5. Does not use transitions, cuts and pastes.

Question 37

What do Samba, Cha-cha, Rumba and Jive have in common?

Answer 37

They are from Africa, and they use a lot of percussion to make it sound like African music.

Question 38

Name five characteristics of the Romantic period that can be found in Tchaikovsky’s life and in “The Nutcracker”.

Answer 38

Large orchestra, long and expressive melodies, escape reality (fantasy), exoticism