Intro to Classical First Written Test Flashcards
evidence of ancient music
depictions (statues, tomb carvings) of people singing and musicing, plato+aristotle writings of music, some ambiguous notation greek music survives.
music in hebrew bible
psalms talk about david pleasing lord, pslams themselves often set to music, but biblical music ambiguous
history of music and religion
music and religion tied together from even before middle ages, ie psalms.
middle ages music culture
400-1400. all culture was from catholic church.
mass importance to music
tons of medieval music written for mass. tons of different masses and different musics needed. once mass entered liturgy it stayed there.
church calendar
Easter, christmas, lent, advent, epiphany, music needed for all of these
codification of music
6th cent. Pope Gregory with holy ghost dove singing to him on shoulder. wrote down gregorian chants.
lyre
ancient string instrument
memorization
how music is passed down before written notation: an oral tradition
written notation
first appeared around 850, probably from before that but none survives
Gregorian chant
religious music codified by Pope Gregory I, “plainchant”
properties of gregorian chant
monophonic, small range, conjunct style, arhythmic , modal
Hildegard of Bingen
1098-1179. Priestess, composer, fought w/ rome over different stuff.
In paradisum
Antiphonal, 7th cent, requiem mass, g-d mostly, cadence centered on g. Follows phrase pattern, modal.
Modal
Style of music used until 1500s. Tone scale has less important parts. Creates more ambiguous melody
After masses filled up,,.
Composers composed for local saints, extra mass music
Sequence style
AA’ BB’ CC’
Single person, then choir repeats it. Phrases in pairs.
Ex. Columba expasta
Bar form
A A’ B
1-2 3-4 5-8
This is the setup of a music that repeats over and over for each verse.
Numbers are parts of poetry.
Strophic
Several verses of text, same music over each
Columba expasta
Look up on worksheet
Mass
Daily celebration in the Roman Catholic Church, accompanied by music often
Secular music
Played at classic chivalric courts, by troubadours etc. ex Bernart de Ventadorn. Became much more prominent in renasaiince
La dousa votz
Secular troubadour song by Bernard de Ventadorn
Modal, strophic, bar form- rhythm by poetic inflection
Gregorian chant in music history
First great repetoire of classical music
Purpose of drone w/ Greg chants
To anchor pitch give singers a reference pt
Origins of polyphony
Shorouded in mystery, like notation. First example from 935, though it probably existed earlier. Depictions of harmonies from art.
led to development of polyphony
Folk singing, drones, embellishment, people singing in different octaves ie men and women, men and boys
Parallel organum
Added voice in lock step with main voice. In octave or at 4th or 5th. Added voice usually 1:1 notes sometime 2:1.
early polyphony name
Called organum, adding a voice to Greg chants. Diff types parallel, and then free: discount and melismatic
Free organum: discount
Both voices move at same pace, 1:1 notes sometimes added gets 2:1. Interval of added voice changes between octave 4th and 5th and unison, not same interval all the time like parallel
Free organum: melismatic
The chant moves more slowly, like a drone, sometimes 6-10 notes per main line note. Chant is either a plodding drone or has normal base note.
Early rhythm
Added as last layer of music, adapted from meter of poetry
problems with more complex Greg chants
They lose identity, the chants are harder to hear. Solution: church doesn’t care, chant is trill there and is structure.
Coordination of 4+ voices is hard. Solution: introduce rhythm to coordinate it!
Medieval composition of harmonies
Done in additive layers, melodies voice by voice, then rhythm. Results in odd-sounding harmonies.
Paratin the great
French composer at Paris u/notre dame, circa 1250. Used rhythm patterns in his music. Big revolution in music.
are antiqua vs are nova
14th cent distinction of old and new music. Ars nova: secular as is most surviving 14th cent music.
motet
two lines built on top of Greg chants, two lines are two different poems. Greg chant played as an instrument,
round (rota)
Harmonies come in at different times, ie row row row hour boat. 4 pt harmony, two base voices below them.
Pes
‘Base’ voice in round, Latin for foot
Chaçon
No relation to gregorian chants. 4 part harmony, four lines of music. Great guillaime of marchot. Strophic
Middle Ages main musical trends
anonysmous composing->named composers
Sacred music(Greg chants) -> secular music
Gregorian chant-> embellishment of chants
Harmonies- octaves, 4ths, 5ths, unisons. Consequence of layering.
Renaissance music context
secular music started to rival sacred music, “ars nova”, rise of humanitarian studies
Renaissance music general characteristics
polyphony and named composers well-established. equality of voices, simultaneous composition of harmonies w/ rhythm.
Renaissance harmonies
composers more aware of harmonies than in middle ages, less accidental. still modal, added 3rds to soften 4ths and 5ths.
Dufay
From france, studied in italy. Most famous and celebrated composer in his day. wrote complicated religious music. great early renaissance.
Ave Maris Stella
motet hymn, paraphrased old greg hymn, adds to it, on upper voices. users medieval harmonies + 3rds, equal voice polyphony
motet hymn
motet- sacred composition for voices/instruments, text in latin
hymn- basically a strophic gregorian chant
alternativism
alternating between gregorian chant and harmonized version
middle renaissance
firmly equality of voices and modality. chords built more on 3rds. music begins to have flow/beat, rhythmic pulse. consonance on strong beats, dissonance on weaks.
paraphrase (in music)
ornamentation/decoration
imitation harmonic texture
voices enter at different times/staggered, like a round but at different pitches
chordal/homophonic harmonic texture
simpler harmonies build on chords
Josquin des Prez
greatest middle ren composer, born in france, worked in italy. very expressive, “beethoven of renaissance.” known for careful setting of text. great middle renaissance.
mark of successful musician in renaissance
composing masses
“ordinary”, parts of mass
kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus, agnus dei.
Pangue lingua
piece by josquin. shows both chordal harmonic texture and imitation. voice parts built on paraphrased greg chants.
equality of voices
trait of renaissance music, all voices are equally important, no dominant voices as in medieval harmonies/organum
late renaissance music characteristics
sacred music most popular, style firmly established, equal voice polyphony, imititation and chordal, modal, harmonies based on third
Palestrina
1525-1594. most famous ren composer, exemplified late ren music. composed pope marcellus mass.
counter-reformation and music
church banned unclear settings of text and complex music (such as imitatation harmony). palestrina showed that music can still be great, advanced and beautiful with these restrictions
Pope Marcellus Mass
written by palestrina. mostly homophonic, has sub-choirs answering each other.
england and renaissance music
england insular, ren music took longer to arrive. dazzling when it did. catholic vs anglican music big thing about sacred music. madrigals big thing
madrigal
style of secular music from italy, popular in england. rhythmic flow, eq of voices, 3rd based. lighter, less complex
other madrigal things
risqué lyrics, moderner sounding harmony, “text painting”, shorter and more sectional
text painting
painting details from the words with music. ie ascending scale for ascending a hill, descending for descending, 2 voices in two for two parts
instrumental music and late renaissance
ren styles also fit instrumental music. instrumental music mainly dance from 1550-1600. clear cadences and very sectional for good dancing. scores don’t tell what instrument plays the part.
parans
duple meter, solemn music
galliard
tuple meter, can either be solemn or faster
viols
precursor to modern string instruments, many different kinds played in many different ways. softer sound than modern strings
daphne gaillard
AABBCC. same basic thing each time, but with embellishment
kemp’s jig
AAB w/ improv+embellishment. named after will kemp, shakespearian actor assoc. with it. popular in folk music
recorder
mini flute
lute
like guitar with pear-shaped back, tight strings. from spain
pange lingua mass
by josquin. embellished gregorian chant is basis. first part uses imitational harmony (kyrie), gloria uses both imit and chordal
baroque music big ideas
etymology: from out of shape and irregular pearls. comes from post-renaissance desire to systemize all information. music is mainly defined by extravagance and control. uses idiomatic and contrast music.
idiomatic
music is written for specific instruments, unlike in renaissance. some parts clearly for vocal or clearly for instruments
constrast
rejection of the sameness that permeated renaissance music, ie homophony and equality of voices
antiphony
When different parts of music contend with each other, have a back and forth.
baroque dynamics
terraced dynamics. loud or soft, nothing in between. similar to sectioned nature of the music. first music to use dynamics markings.
O Magnum Mysterium
7 pt harmony and organ. goes from duple to triple. antiphonal. surehanded control.
baroque melody
rejects renaissance homophony, now very complex and decorative, idiomatic. trills and frills and other improvisations common.
baroque rhythm
free rhythm: unfolds freely in time. has no pulse
sewing machine rhythm: rigid, churning beats, energetic
basso continuo
“walking bassline.” a pair of instruments, one bass and one chordal. bass plays a note and chordal builds a chord on it based on code. for the first time, a specialized kind of music. controlled the extravangance of the tune.
baroque tone color
first orchestras. basically strings+basso continuoso. 1st and 2nd violins, violas, cellos+bases, in octaves, harpsicord+organ bcs.
“festive orchestra”
For special events “festive” - normal baroque orchestra with trumpets, bassoons, oboes, timpanis, flutes etc
baroque music emotions
an emotion is presented and then explored. then another one is presented and explored. repeat this process. music is in sections this way- like jumping between dictionary entries. like loudness dynamics. carries the emotion directly, doesn’t experience it.
Claudio Moneverdi
succeeded gio gab @ st marks. composed grand motets, and madrigals, madrigals transitioned from renaissance style and baroque style. most importantly: first great opera composer. started private operas wrote some public
libretto
words of the opera, the text
opera
most characteristic of baroque music, with a desire for individual expression. “drama of music” originates with desire to bring back classical forms of poetry, poetry recitation with accompanying music.
subjects of opera
usually greek mythology, sometimes with focus on musical characters (Apollo, orpheus). sometimes bad roman history also
number opera
opera in a string of delineated sections, format up til 1900s
arias/songs/chaçons
singing parts in opera. elaborate centerpieces of opera. actionless in terms of the plot, tends to be more reflective. duets and trios can reflect counterpoints of many characters
recitive
free rhythm, not musically interesting parts. contain the most action and plot movement. music usually just basso continuo.
chorus
a chorus that comments on whats going on, started very song-like. can be realistic characters or not (a greek chorus)
early opera history
First public opera house opens in 1637, soon becomes main form of entertainment.
why so few operas survive
THEY BURNED CAUSE OPERA HOUSES WERE TINDER BOXES
The Coronation of Poppea
1642 opera by monteverdi. unusual in that there are no heros, only villains and good people who get pulled under. uses basso continuo. plot: Nero’s consort poppea schemes her way to become empress. chordal- lute. cellos+base are bassline.
castrati
Males castrated so they can sing in soprano range, used in operas
Henry Purcell
First great English opera composer. Had tons of english musical positions. His death marked downturn in english music for hundreds of years.
Dido + Aeneas
Opera by Purcell. relatively easy sining. dry recitative. contrasts with aria, controlled by bass, which recurrs all the way through. “ground bass.” greek chorus. uses painted text.
Late baroque music
All early baroque styles mastered and controlled. Late composers (bach and handel) finally realized the POWER of music, its spiritual power on its own. Instrumental music becomes as popular as vocal music.
late baroque melody
either 1) highly ornate and expressive, with tone underneath decoration
2) neutral/plain melody, for imitative music (a la fugues)
late baroque rhythm and harmony
either sewing machine or free, same as before.
harmony still tonal
texture/tone color
mostly counterpoint.
concerto
kind of music that puts one musical element against another.
solo concerto- soloist vs an orchestra
concerto grosso- soloists vs orchestra
Concerto more facts
Concertos in 3-4 movements (sections), each with contrasting meter, tempo, character. often took form fast-slow-fast. Fast sections used imitative/contrapuntal harmony, slower parts used homophonic/chordal harmony. Slowers were in different key and more introspective/introverted, spiritual “core” of work. Vivaldi wrote solos, bach wrote grossos. Solo parts very idiomatic.
Antonio Vivaldi
Great early renaissance composer. Was head of school for poor+needy woman, wrote music for them to perform and they performed it well. Wrote >450 concertos in his career, very influential baroque composer.
Structure of Concerto
rit-Solo-rit-solo-rit-solo-rit etc
abc a c b
Usually begin with rit. Rit parts divided into small themes that are played and recombined repeatedly. Rit pillars/anchors music between solos. Sometimes solos are quite long, sometimes rits are free and dont use abc. Rit stays in key, solo sometimes chromatic/changes key.
JS Bach
Deeply religious man, composer, organist, never left germany. Great composer of the baroque era. Lived mainly in Weimar, then Cöthen, then Leipzig. originally composed organ music, then largely secular stuff as Cothen didn’t have much church music, then later on in Leipzig- late organ works, passions, cantatas, massive encyclopedic stuff (art of fugue, well-tempered clav), mass in b minor. Wrote Brandenburg concertos (grossos) for Margrave of Brandenburg to apply for court musician job, but was turned down- concertos too hard to play and odd in format. More well known as organist and composer during his time. His music is characterized by very thick middle lines.
