handel

Question 1

handel brith and death

Answer 1

1685 - 1759 (age 74)

Question 2

handel’s composition

Answer 2

messiah (overture)

Question 3

oratorio (handel)

Answer 3

a large-scale work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra
serious subject, usually based on biblical texts
consists of recitatives, arias, ensembles and choruses
developed in the Baroque era

Question 4

french overture (handel)

Answer 4

a Baroque orchestral genre, often the orchestral introduction to an opera or oratorio
first developed at the court of Louis XIV by Jean-Baptiste Lully
generally in two parts:
first part - slow tempo, homophonic, texture, features dotted figures
second part – fast tempo, imitative texture

Question 5

melisma (handel)

Answer 5

a group of notes sung on a single syllable/vowel

demonstrates vocal virtuosity and often serves to highlight key words

Question 6

aria (handel)

Answer 6

Italian for “air”
a solo song with accompaniment, heard in an opera, oratorio or cantata
highly emotional and often virtuosic
may have lyrical or dramatic qualities
often serves to reveal the character’s most intimate emotions

Question 7

handel’s era (handel)

Answer 7

baroque era

Question 8

baroque era

Answer 8

from the Portuguese barroco meaning “irregularly shaped or misshapen pearl”
first used as a derogatory term in reference to the overly ornate art of the era
now applied to art, architecture, and music of the 17th and early 18th centuries