Genres

Question 1

What is required?

Answer 1

Definition, background origins, characteristic features, and titles of required works

Question 2

Gregorian Chant

Answer 2

It was a form of plainchant that was modal and monophonic with unmeasured rhythms. It was named after Pope Gregory. the unmeasure rhythm and monophony of Gregorian chant was referred to as plainsong

Question 3

Organum

Answer 3

• earliest form of polyphony, where new melodic lines are added to an existing Gregorian chant
• initially parallel lines were added to chant melodies emphasizing parallel organum
• first notated examples were in the Musica Enchiriadis
• later developments were added by the Notre Dame composers with wider variety of intervals rhythms and melodic motion.

Question 4

Motet

Answer 4

• A choral composition with or without instrumental accompaniment and often poly textual
• O mitissima/Virgo/Haec dies is a motet
• often combined sacred and secular texts
• it is just new texts added to the upper voices of organum. 3 voices, with tenor as the cantus firmus

Question 5

Chanson

Answer 5

• Secular french monophonic song with modal melodies often in strophic form.
• Instrumental accompaniments were often improvised rather than notated
• Texts expressed the conventions of love associated with the age of chivalry
• modal melodies

Question 6

Dance Music

Answer 6

• One of the most common type of instrumental type of music in this period
• Examples include the saltarello, ronde and basse danse
• Earliest examples of dance music were monophonic in texture and based on modal melodies

Question 7

Mass (Medieval Era)

Answer 7

the most important ceremony in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church; consists of prayers that do not change from day to day (Ordinary), and prayers that change depending on the calendar (Proper)

Question 8

Ars Nova style

Answer 8

Latin for “new art”, from the title of a treatise by Phillipe de Vitry; used in reference to French music of the 14th century and involved greater complexity in melody, harmony, and rhythm

Innovations in rhythmic patterns, lyrical setting, melodic construction, and harmonic variation all were hallmarks of the Ars Nova style

Question 9

Mass (Renaissance Era)

Answer 9

In the Renaissance era, composers used polyphonic settings of the Mass Ordinary to display a wide range of contrapuntal techniques.

• often used secular songs as melodic sources for the cantus firmus
• masses could also be freely composed based entirely on new material

Question 10

Motet History

Answer 10

13th Century: Based on cantus firmus, had a 3 voice texture, including polytextuality with both sacred and secular elements (Works include O mitissima/Virgo/Haec Dies)
14th Century: Ars Nova style brought greater complexity in rhythm, harmony and counterpoint, yet the motet was still built on cantus firmus with polytextuality
15th Century: Vocal Polyphony, based on single text (no more polytextuality) with contrapuntal writing experimentation

Question 11

Madrigal

Answer 11

A popular secular vocal genre that flourished in the 16th century; based on an intimate relationship between poetry and music.

Started as a type of secular song that flourished in small aristocratic courts of Italy, later evolving into a more complex polyphonic texture with increased chromaticism.
in the late 16th century and early 17th century, it lead a more virtuosic style, featuring elements of Baroque style. (Basso Continuo, and declamatory style)

Music was generally through-composed with prominent word painting

Question 12

Opera

Answer 12

A drama that is sung, combining both vocal and instrumental music with drama, visual arts, and dance.

• first operas were composed by members of the Florentine Camerata
• inspired by a renewed interest in classical antiquity
• components includes recitative, aria, ensembles and choruses.
• all or most of the text is sung

Question 13

Cantata

Answer 13

A multi-movement choral work (sacred or secular) for soloists, chorus, and orchestra

Just like the Roman Catholic Church fostering the evolution of the Mass in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the German Lutheran Church played a major role in the growth and development of the cantata in the Baroque Era
The Lutheran hymn became a melodic source and sometimes a framing device in the cantata

• multi-movement vocal work
• sacred or secular
• for vocal soloists and chorus with instrumental accompaniment
• consists of recitative, arias, ensembles, and choruses

Question 14

Suite

Answer 14

A collection of stylized dances and other pieces in the same key; cultivated in the Baroque era

• the music they composed was more intended for listening than dancing
• suites were composed for both solo keyboard instruments and for orchestra
• Baroque Dances: Allemande, Courante, sarabande, and gigue
• individual dances are generally in binary form

Question 15

Symphony

Answer 15

A symphony is a multi-movement orchestral work.
Early Classical Era symphonies were often based on three-section Italian overture model (fast-slow-fast)
The symphony incorporated the newly emerging sonata form, usually in the first movement, and sometimes in movements 2 and/or 4 as well.

Question 16

Oratorio

Answer 16

Large-scale vocal and orchestral work, based on sacred or grand-scale subjects; performed in concert setting without scenery, costumes or acting; contains recitatives, arias, and choruses

• begins with an orchestral overture
• performing forces include vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra
• often sacred and based with biblical texts