MH Entrance Exam Flashcards
Pythagoras
a. First Music Theorist
b. ratios
c. Pythagorean scale.
Lyre
Small harp, ancient greek
Doctrine of Ethos
Music effects morals
Boethius
wrote Medieval textbook, introduced 3 Cassifications:
- Musica Universalis-
- Musica Humana-harmony of human body and spiritual harmony
- Musica Instrumentalis- Instrumental music, audible/real music
Chant
Monophonic sacred music
Syllabic
Each syllable has a tone
Melismatic
Group of notes sung on one syllable
Direct
One singer or a group of singers perform the work all the way through without alterations
Responsorial
Soloist/single layer alternates with a chorus or congregation
Antiphonal
Verses sung alternately by soloist and choir or by choir and congregation
Liturgical Calendar
Determines scripture to be read, celebrations, and music in relation
Divine Office
Cycle of daily worship services other than the mass including music
Mass
Most important service in the Roman Church
Mass Proper
Parts of the mass that vary depending on the calendar day.
a. IGAOC- Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion
Mass Ordinary
Parts of the Mass with invariable words, but many possible melodies.
a. KGCSA- Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
Psalmody
Singing of Psalms set to actions in the Mass, such as the introit (Entrance Procession) and Communion
Chant Theory
Modes used to classify chants and arrange them in books for liturgical use. Modes:
a. -Authentic- Range from step below final to 8 va above
i. Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian
b. Plagal- Range from a 4th or 5th to a 5th or 6th above, same names as Authentic, but with a hypo-prefix
Troubadour/Trouvéres-
a. Poet composers
b. French Aristocracy
c. Composed in 2 vernacular languages-Occitan and Old French.
Medieval Instruments
a. Vielle (fiddle)
b. Hurdy Gurdy
c. Harp, Psaltery
d. Flute
e. Trumpet
f. Pipe Organ
Cantus Firmus
Pre-existing melody used as basis of polyphonic composition
Organum
a. Polyphony of Medieval Ages,
b. one or more voice parts accompanying the cantus firmus,
c. parallel motion at a 4th, 5th, or 8 va
Notre Dame Polyphony
a. School of Polyphony in Paris in the 12th-13th century
b. best composers of organum
c. Pérotin and Léonin
d. book of organum called “Magnus Liber Organ”
Motet
a. Mainly vocal polyphonic composition
b. sacred text
c. no instruments
Ars Nova
Latest music of the Medieval period 14th century with complex rhythms and meter.
Isorhythm
a. Repeating rhythmic pattern- talea
b. in at least one voice part throughout a composition.
c. Distinctive feature of Ars Nova
Machaut
a. Medieval French poet
b. 14th century composer
c. Ars Nova
d. Developed the motet and secular song forms.
Du Fay
a. Franco- Flemish composer
b. early renaissance.
c. fauxbourdon technique
Guido of Arezzo
a. Italian music theorist of the Medieval Era, r
b. Inventor of modern music notation (staff).
c. Wrote the Micrologus
d. Guidonian hand
e. Solfege.
Josquin Des Prez
a. Central figure at the Franco-Flemish School.
b. Most famous composer between Du fay and Palestrina
c. Composed motets during Renaissance
Music Printing
a. Petrucci; is the father of music printing.
b. Time consuming method of pressing music onto paper.
c. 1501
Odhecaton
a. First collection of polyphonic music printed entirely from movable type.
b. Petrucci printed this.
Madrigal
a. Complex polyphonic unaccompanied vocal piece on a secular text
b. 16th and 17th centuries.
c. Through composed with new music for every line of poetry.
Renaissance Instruments
a. Cornett
b. Sackbut
c. Viola da gamba
d. Lute
e. Recorder
f. consorts (different size instruments)
g. crumhorns
a. Cornett
b. Sackbut
c. Viola da gamba
d. Lute
e. Recorder
f. consorts (different size instruments)
g. crumhorns
Protestant Reformation
a. Previous restrictions on sacred music taken away.
b. Psalms
c. Congregational singing- less polyphony and people sang in unison.
Giovanni Palestrina
a. Italian composer of sacred music
b. best known rep. of Roman School of Music Composition.
c. work is seen as the culmination of Renaissance polyphony
d. Pope Marcellus Mass
Figured Bass
a. Music notation
b. numerals and symbols indicate intervals,, chords, and non-chord tones played in relation to the bass note.
Basso Continuo
a. AKA Thorough Bass Notation
b. the continuo part of the music provided harmonic structure
c. Historically improvised
Baroque Instruments
a. Violin
b. Cello
c. Contrabass
d. Viola
e. Oboe d’amore
f. Baroque Flute
g. Horn
h. Trombone
i. Harpsichord
j. Clavichord
Baroque Orchestra
a. Typically smaller orchestra
b. originating in France with Lully
c. Mainly Strings
Temperament
a. Only applies to keyboard instruments
b. 12 notes per octave; standard tuning.
c. Equal temperament
d. Well temperament.
Trio Sonata
2 or 3 solo melodic instruments with basso continuo in 2 forms
a. Sonata da Camera
b. Sonata da Chiesa
Seconda Pratica
a. stile modern
b. Term coined by Monteverdi
c. Innovative as to monodic style and freedom in dissonance treatment justified by the expressive setting of texts.
Claudio Monteverdi
a. Italian composer
b. string player, and choir master
c. PIoneer in the development of opera
d. transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Baroque Opera
a. Singers and musicians perform a dramatic work in a theatrical setting
b. Mythological story.
c. Tragedies were changed to have happy endings.
Recitative
Rhythm of natural speech with slight melodic variation.
Aria
a. Solo vocal piece
b. Orchestral accompaniment
c. Opera
Oratorio
a. Extended composition with text
b. dramatic in character
c. based on a religious theme for solo voices, chorus, and orchestras
d. No action, costume, or scenery
Fantasia
Contrapuntal instrumental imitation of the vocal motet.
Da Capo Aria
a. Ternary form (3 sections) of an Aria
b. beginning section, contrasting second, and repeat of the beginning for the 3rd section
c. Improv and embellishments.
Ritornello
An instrumental interlude recurring after each stanza in a vocal work.
Fugue
a. imitative polyphonic composition
b. theme or themes are stated successively in all of the voices of the contrapuntal structure.
Suite
French set of 17th century music pieces consisting of
a. allemande
b. courante
c. sarabande
d. gigue
Concerto
A composition for an orchestra and one or more solo instruments, typically in three movements.
Johann Sebastian Bach
a. German
b. Famous family
c. Protestant
d. Worked in Leipzig
e. Outstanding harpsichordist, organist, and expert on organ building
f. Generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time
g. Creator of the Brandenburg Concertos, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, and numerous other masterpieces of church and instrumental music.
Cantata
a composition for one or more voices usually comprising solos, duets, recitatives, and choruses and sung to an instrumental accompaniment.
Piano
a. Classical musical instrument with a large keyboard
b. with the sound board enclosed in a wooden case.
c. steel wires and felt hammers that hit the wires to produce musical notes through vibration.
Sonata form
3 sections
a. Exposition
b. Development
c. Recapitulation
Classical orchestra
a. Considerably smaller than a modern orchestra
b. Added woodwinds
Franz Joseph Haydn
Austrian composer; very important to the creation of the fundamental genres in classical music. He later became a major influence for later composers; including his pupil Ludwig van Beethoven. String quartet, Esterhazy family, London symphonies
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
a. Austrian composer
b. Prodigy taught by father
c. created several operas, sonatas, symphonies, and concertos that greatly shaped classical music
d. Vienna
e. Dies young
f. Model of classical music
Opera seria
a. AKA Mellodramma Serio,
b. Italian opera
c. Serious, classical, or mythological themes
d. upper class
Opera buffa
a. AKA Comic Opera
b. Italian opera
c. Farcical comedy style
d. Characters from everyday life
e. For lower class
Symphony
Sonata Form; Full orchestra composition made up of four parts:
a. Sonata/Allegro
b. Adagio
c. Minuet/Scherzo with Trio
d. Allegro/Rondo/Sonata
String Quartet
Musical composition written for four string instruments; typically two violins, viola, and cello.
Chamber music
Classical music made up of a small ensemble of instrumentalists; usually performed in a small auditorium or private room.
Romanticism
b. Movement affecting the arts, literature, intellectual, and music
c. based around an emphasis on emotion and imagination.
Lied
a. German for song,
b. typically used during the Romantic Period
c. solo voice and piano accompaniment
d. Schumann and Schubert
Strophic
Using the same music per each stanza of text.
Through- composed form
new music for each stanza of text
Franz Schubert
a. Austrian composer
b. Pioneer of the Lieder form
c. wrote over 600 compositions in the span of his short life of 31 years
d. Ave Maria and Symphony No. 8
Bel Canto
a. Italian style of Operatic singing
b. this technique requires very fast vocal movements in high registers.
c. Focus on voice- embellishments and ornamentation.
d. Bellini, Donizzetti, Rossini, Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
a. Italian composer
b. known for his theatrical effect and skill for creating melody.
c. La Traviata and Aida.
Frédéric Chopin
a. Polish composer
b. Virtuoso Pianist;
c. creator of the concept of the instrumental ballade
Franz Liszt
a. Hungarian composer
b. inventor of the symphonic poem
c. experimenter in musical form
d. developed the concept of thematic transformation
e. New German School
Salon
a. Popular European music genre;
b. Focus on the Virtuoso pianistic style.
c. This style was often performed at gatherings in Paris
Richard Wagner
a. German composer
b. Complex operas, including the monumental four-opera cycle, “Der Ring des Nibelungen”.
c. Gesamtkunstwerk- total art work, encompassing all forms of art
d. Leitmotiv- A melodic phrase/recurring musical theme that accompanies the reappearance of characters or situations
e. Bayreuth- Bayreuth Festspielhaus Opera House built for this composer.
Johannes Brahms
a. German composer and pianist
b. Vienna
c. Objected to New German School
d. Academic Festival Overture
e. German Requiem.
Symphonic Poem
a. piece of a singular continuous orchestral movement,
b. programmatic content
c. late romantic period
Tone Poem
a. typically rhapsodic in theme
b. piece of orchestral music
c. usually containing one continuous movement.
Programmatic vs. absolute
a. Absolute is abstract in nature.
b. Programmatic Music has a narrative designed to evoke a specific atmosphere or idea.
c. Mid to late 19th century.
d. Brahms vs. Berlioz.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
a. Russian composer
b. Noted for his orchestration and melodic inspiration
c. The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty.
Bach Revival
Mendelssohn revives Bach with a concert and makes him a central figure.
Impressionism
Movement and composition style in which the focus was on communicating atmosphere. Initiated and most known in reference to the work of Claude Debussy.
Claude Debussy-
known as the first impressionist composer; the French composer had a very individualistic style and is best known for his famous “Clair de lune”.
Primitivism
Style of music as a reaction to the Impressionist movement; was meant to be a style that expresses more ancient rhythms; elements of this style can be seen in the ballet, Rite of Spring, by Stravinsky
Expressionism
German movement; intended to evoke emotions, moods, and ideas; using a subjective perspective worldview.
Arnold Schoenberg
Austrian-American composer, best known for creating the Twelve- Tone Technique or dodecaphony, as it’s also known.
12-tone method
Composition style that tries to prevent an emphasis on one note by sounding off all twelve notes of the chromatic scale; allowing the music to avoid being in a key.
Second Viennese School
Consisting of a collection of composers of the time; members included: Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern; calling this the “Second” was based off the idea that there was an original “First” which would have included: Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.
Serialism
Composition method consisting of a series of rhythms, pitches, dynamics and other musical elements; an early example of this would be Arnold Schoenberg’s twelve-tone technique.
Dmitri Shostakovich
Russian composer and Pianist; heavily influenced by neo-classical style, he used a variety of different musical techniques to create the uniquely sharp contrasts; his works were often described as having elements of the grotesque
Indeterminacy
an approach to composing used to leave some aspects of the music open to interpretation or to the interpreter’s will.
John Cage
American composer; known as a pioneer of the prepared piano (a practice in which the piano has objects placed between or one its strings or hammers to alter the sound).
Minimalism
Compositional approach where music is created through the use of very minimal or limited musical materials.
Neoromanticism
Continuing the composition of tonal music.
