Midterm Definitions Flashcards
Texture
refers to the interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony.
Monophony
A single voice or line without accompaniment
Polyphony
a many-voiced texture with different melodic lines, based on counterpoint
Counterpoint
One line set against another
Homophony
when one melodic voice is prominent over the accompanying lines or voices
Imitation
when a melodic idea is presented in one voice, then restated in another ( a common unifying technique in polyphony)
Heterophony
when several musicians play or sing the same line of music, but some element is varied so they are out of sync
Homorhythmic
A type of homophonic texture in which all the voices move together with the same words.
Patronage
Sponsorship of the arts
Monasteries
Religious communities devoted to seclusion, study, and worship
Vernacular
The common language of the people
Humanism
The confidence of people in their own ability to solve problems and understand the world, inspired by the writers of Greece and Rome.
Plaintchant/chant
An early church style featuring a monophonic, nonmetirc (no harmony or counterpoint) melodies set an a church mode, set in a single line
Liturgy
The order of church services and the structure of each service.
Gregorian Chant
The early chant melodies the codification of which is attributed to Gregory the Great
Syllabic
One note sung to each syllable
Neumatic
2-5/6 notes to a syllable
Melismatic
Many notes to a syllable
Modes
The scale patterns that preceded the modern major and minor scales. Lacked the attraction to a tonic note.
Offices
A series of services celebrated in religious communities at various hours of the day
Mass
A reenactment of Christ’s Last Supper, and the primary ritual of the Roman Catholic Church
Proper of the Mass
The texts of the mass that vary from day to day
Ordinary of the Mass
The texts of the Mass that remain the same every day.
A cappella
Only voices
Antiphonal
Alternating between two groups of singers.
Responsorial
Similar to call and response, but with respondents are expected to repeat the words and melody precisely.
Organum
The earliest form of polyphony music, developing out of the improvisational aspects of Gregorian chant
Parallel Motion
Voices moving in the same direction
Oblique motion
One voice static while the other voice movies
Contrary motion
One voice static while the other moves.
Rhythmic mode
A fixed pattern of long and short notes that is repeated or varied, over a sustained bottom voice taken from the chant of the same name.
Troubadours (f. torbairitz)
Southern French courtly poet-musicians
Trouvères
Northern French courtly poet-musicians
Minnesingers
German singers of courtly love
Estampie
A sung dance form common in late medieval France
Strophic
The same melody is repeated with every stanza of the poem
Ars nova
A more refined and complex style of music which appeared in France in the 1300s.
rebec and vielle
Medieval bowed instruments
Shawm
proto-oboe
Sackbut
proto-trombone
Cantus firmus
Lit. “fixed melody.” A song used as the basis on which to build another work (via ornamentation), most famously a Mass.``
Sections of the Ordinary
Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Angus Dei
Motet
A sacred work with a Latin text, for use in the mass and other religious services. In the medieval period, with secular works layered on top.
Congregational singing
The kind of worship, distinct from the Catholic choir-based method, that Martin Luther advocated.
Counter-Reformation
The Catholic response to Luther and the other reformers, centered in the Council of Trent.
Word-painting
Making music directly reflect the meaning of the words. E.g., a harsh dissonance coinciding with the word “death.”