Gibbs Final Terms

Question 1

Aria

Answer 1

an accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio Ex: Casta Diva

Question 2

Atonal

Answer 2

not written in any key or mode. Ex: Schoenberg’s compositions

Question 3

Ballad

Answer 3

a narrative composition in rhythmic verse suitable for singing. Ex: Schubert’s Erlkonig

Question 4

Bel canto

Answer 4

Translated to beautiful singing, bel canto is a type of operatic singing originating in 17th century and 18th century Italy and stressing ease, purity evenness of tone production and an agile and precise vocal technique. Ex: Bellini’s Norma

Question 5

Cantabile

Answer 5

in a singing manner, to play. Ex: Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, Opening Trumpet Excerpt

Question 6

Cabaletta

Answer 6

an operatic song in simple style characterized by a uniform rhythm and the lively bravura concluding section of an extended aria or duet. Ex: Norma: Casta Diva

Question 7

Cadenza

Answer 7

a parenthetical flourish in an aria or other solo piece commonly just before a final or other important cadence. Ex: Haydn, Trumpet Concerto

Question 8

Character piece

Answer 8

a short musical composition especially for piano conveying a single mood or impression. Ex: Chopin Preludes op. 28

Question 9

Chorale

Answer 9

a hymn or psalm sung to a traditional or composed melody in church. Ex: Mendelssohn Chorale in Symphony n. 5 in last mov.

Question 10

Coloratura

Answer 10

elaborate embellishment in vocal music Ex: Casta Diva

Question 11

Concert Overture

Answer 11

an orchestral overture intended for concert performance. ex: Overture of Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Question 12

Etude

Answer 12

a piece of music for the practice of a point of technique. Ex: Charlier’s Trumpet Etudes

Question 13

Expressionism

Answer 13

a theory or practice in art of seeking to depict the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist. Ex: Alben Berg’s Wozzeck

Question 14

Gesamtkunstwerk

Answer 14

Translates to “total work of art” and is an art work produced by a synthesis of various art forms (such as music and drama)

Question 15

Grand opera

Answer 15

opera in which the plot is serious or tragic and the entire text is set to music. Ex: Verdi’s Aida

Question 16

Idée fixe

Answer 16

an idea that dominates one’s mind especially for a prolonged period. Ex: Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique

Question 17

Leitmotif

Answer 17

an associated melodic phrase or figure that accompanies the reappearance of an idea, person, or situation especially in a Wagnerian music drama. Ex: Wagner’s Fire Leitmotiff

Question 18

Music drama

Answer 18

an opera in which the action is not interrupted by formal song divisions (such as recitatives or arias) and the music is determined solely by dramatic appropriateness. ex: Wagner’s Ring Cycle

Question 19

Music of the Future

Answer 19

Is Wagner’s essay where he argued that opera should be a fully integrated art form where music, poetry, drama, and staging are seamlessly combined. He coined the term Gesamtkunstwerk (translated as “total work of art”) to describe this vision.

Question 20

nationalism

Answer 20

an ideology that elevates one nation or nationality above all others and that places primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations, nationalities, or supranational groups

Question 21

Nocturne

Answer 21

a work of art dealing with evening or night. Ex: Chopin’s Nocturne N. 2

Question 22

Operetta

Answer 22

a usually romantic comic opera that includes songs and dancing. Ex: Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow

Question 23

Program music

Answer 23

music intended to suggest a sequence of images or incidents. Ex: Berlioz’s Symphonie Fatanstique

Question 24

recitative

Answer 24

a rhythmically free vocal style that imitates the natural inflections of speech and that is used for dialogue and narrative in operas and oratorios. ex: The recitative in Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde

Question 25

Scherzo

Answer 25

a sprightly humorous instrumental musical composition or movement commonly in quick triple time. ex: Brahms, Symphony n. 2, mov 3

Question 26

Second Viennese School

Answer 26

The Second Viennese School was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna.

Question 27

Symphonic poem

Answer 27

an extended programmatic composition for symphony orchestra usually freer in form than a symphony. ex: Franz Liszt – Les Préludes

Question 28

Through-composed

Answer 28

having new music provided for each stanza. Ex: Verdi – La Traviata, Act II

Question 29

Virtuoso

Answer 29

one who excels in the technique of an art. Ex: Anna Netrebko