Higher Flashcards
Mass
Religious music sung in Latin Usually sung a cappella with a very polyphonic texture Often features passages of melisma It has six main sections: Kyrie Eleison Gloria in excelsis Deo Credo in Unum Deum Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Benedictus Agnus Dei
Plainchant
Sung in Latin with no regular metre
Tonality is described as modal
Word setting can be both melismatic and/or syllabic
Oratorio
Large scale work without acting or stage design
Sung in English
Contains songs for solo voice and/or choirs
Often includes recitatives, arias and choruses
Chamber music
Music performed by a small group
One player to a part
Examples are string quartet, piano trio or wind quintet
Impressionist
20th century style
Brief musical ideas merge and change, creating a blurred and vague outline
Tuneful but with unusual harmonies and dissonance
Jazz funk
Combination of jazz and rock
Uses both popular and jazz instruments
May contain improvisation
Commonly uses the added 6th
Lied
A German song from the romantic period for voice and piano
Either strophic or through-composed in form
Musique concrete
20th century style of composition
Uses acoustic sounds which are manipulated by technology
Recitative
Performed by a solo voice
Mainly syllabic with simple accompaniment
Music follows the rhythm of speech
Often followed by an aria
Sonata
Work for solo piano or solo instrument and piano
Often in three or four movements
Soul
Style of Afro-American popular music
Elements of gospel and blues
Solo voice with backing vocals
Likely to feature a horn section
Acciaccatura
Ornament that sounds like a crushed note
Played just before the beat
Added 6th
A major or minor triad with a major 6th on top
E.g. C E G A or C Eb G A
Diminished 7th
A diminished triad with a diminished 7th on top
Four notes, each a minor 3rd above the last
E.g. C Eb Gb Bbb
Diminished triad
Three notes, each a minor third above the last
E.g. C Eb Gb
Dominant 7th
A major triad with a minor 7th on top
E.g. C E G Bb
Harmonic minor scale
Minor scale with a raised 7th
Sounds middle eastern
Interrupted cadence
Chords V to VI at the end of a phrase
Sounds unfinished
Interval
The distance between two notes
Melodic minor scale
Minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th on the way up but not on the way down
Modes
Used before major and minor keys
Can be found in both folk and jazz
Obbligato
Prominent solo instrument part in a piece of vocal music
Instrumental countermelody played above singers
Mordent
Ornament consisting of the main note, the note above, the main note
Relative major/minor
Relative major and minor keys are those with the same key signature
Plagal cadence
Chords IV to I at the end of a phrase
Sounds finished, like an ‘amen’ ending
Tierce de Picardie
When a piece in a minor key ends on a major chord
3 against 2
The effect of triplets played against quavers
Cross rhythm common in romantic music
Augmentation
An increase in the length of notes
E.g. 1 beat becomes 2
Diminution
A decrease in the length of notes
E.g. 4 beats becomes 2 or 1 becomes 1/2
Irregular time signatures
An unusual time signature
It is hard to tell how many beats are in a bar
E.g. 5/4 or 7/8
Time changes
Time signature changes during a piece
Can make it hard to tell the time signature
Triplet
Three notes played in the time of two
Basso continuo
The name for a bass line in the Baroque period
Consists of a single base line (e.g. cello) with a keyboard part (e.g. harpsichord) filling in the harmonies
Concerto grosso
Work from the Baroque period
A small group of soloists (concertino) is accompanied by an orchestra (ripieno)
Da capo aria
An aria in ternary form
Used in opera and oratorio
Passacaglia
Variations over a ground bass
There are usually three beats in a bar
Ritornello
Instrumental introduction to a vocal composition
Instrumental passage between scenes in a Baroque opera
In a concerto grosso, it is played by the ripieno
Sonata form
Exposition: two subjects in related keys
Development
Recapitulation: the two subjects return, this time both in the opening key
Subject
The main theme in a composition
The main theme in sonata form
The main theme on which a fugue is based
Through-composed
A vocal piece in which there is little or no repetition of the music
Coloratura
High, florid singing
Involves elaborate ornamentation of a melody
Sounds very difficult to perform
Concertino
The small group of solo instrumentalists in a concerto grosso
Harmonics
The high, eerie sounds produced on a string instrument by lightly touching the string at certain points
Ripieno
The larger group of ensemble instruments in a concerto grosso
String quartet
Work for two violins, a viola and a cello
Tremolando
Means ‘trembling’
Rapid repetition of a note on a string instrument
Rapid alternation of two notes on any instrument
