Midterm Music Flashcards
J.S. Bach- Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565
TITLE Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
COMPOSER Johann Sebastian Bach
DATE/ERA c. 1704/Late Baroque
GENRE Toccata; Fugue
INSTRUMENTATION Pipe organ*****
CHARACTERISTICS
The very beginning of the piece is the toccata.
J.S. Bach- Brandenbrug Concerto No. 2
TITLE Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
COMPOSER Johann Sebastian Bach
DATE/ERA 1721/Late Baroque
GENRE Concerto Grosso***
INSTRUMENTATION
Ripieno or orchestra: violins, cellos, violone (an early double-bass), and harpsichord (basso continuo)
Concertino or soloists: violin, oboe, recorder and trumpet****
CHARACTERISTICS The form of the first movement is ritornello form.*****
Handel- Lascia ch’io pianga from Rinaldo
TITLE Rinaldo “Lascia ch’io pianga”
COMPOSER Handel
DATE/ERA 1711/Late Baroque
GENRE Opera
LANGUAGE Italian
Vivaldi- Violin Concerto L’ Estate (Summer), iii
TITLE The Four Seasons L’Estate (“Summer”), third movement
COMPOSER Vivaldi
DATE/ERA publ. in 1725/Late Baroque
GENRE Concerto
INSTRUMENTATION Solo violin and orchestra
Vivaldi Violin Concero, La Primavera (Spring)
TITLE
The Four Seasons
La Primavera (“Spring”), first movement
Itzhak Perlman Vivaldi The Four Seasons Spring
COMPOSER Vivaldi
DATE/ERA publ. in 1725/Late Baroque
GENRE Concerto
FORM Ritornello****
INSTRUMENTATION Solo violin and orchestra
CHARACTERISTICS
The opening material is the ritornello*****. It is played by the orchestra entirely at the beginning and at the end, but only partially between episodes.
The soloist (violin) plays the imagery related to Spring as described in the poem.
The music alternates between ritornello and episodes
Rameau- Les Cyclopes
TITLE Les Cyclopes
COMPOSER Jean-Philippe Rameau
DATE/ERA c. 1724/Late Baroque
FORM Rondeau
INSTRUMENTATION Harpsichord
Lully- Armide
TITLE - “Enfin, il est en my puissance!” (“Finally, he is in my power!”) From Armide, Act II, Scene 5 .
COMPOSER Jean-Baptiste Lully
DATE/ERA 1686/Baroque
GENRE Tragédie lyrique (lyrical tragedy)**
INSTRUMENTATION Orchestra, voice
LANGUAGE French
Lully Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Marche pour La Cérémonie Des Turcs
TITLE “La Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs” from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
COMPOSER Jean-Baptiste Lully
DATE/ERA 1670/Baroque
GENRE Dance/March
INSTRUMENTATION Orchestra
Strozzi- Lagrimie Mie
TITLE Lagrime Mie
COMPOSER Barbara Strozzi
DATE/ERA 1659/Baroque
GENRE Cantata da camera (chamber cantata)
INSTRUMENTATION Soprano, continuo
LANGUAGE Italian
Overall, the style of singing is more lyrical than a recitative but not as formal as an aria. This is called arioso. And it is, indeed, a very poignant, deeply moving arioso!
Monteverdi- In un fiorito prato from L’Orfeo
TITLE L’Orfeo, Favola in Musica (musical fable) “In un fiorito prato” and “Tu sei morta” - Monteverdi, L’Orfeo
COMPOSER Monteverdi
DATE/ERA 1607/Baroque
GENRE Opera
INSTRUMENTATION Orchestra
LANGUAGE Italian
Morley- April is in my Mistress’ Face
TITLE April is in my mistress’ face
COMPOSER Thomas Morley
DATE/ ERA Published in 1594/ Late Renaissance
GENRE Madrigal
INSTRUMENTATION Four voices, A Capella
LANGUAGE English
Appreciate how each line of the poem evokes a different season, starting in the Spring (April) with the mistress’s beautiful face, only to end in Winter (December) with the coldness of her heart.
As they are four lines in the poem, and four seasons, there are four sections in the music, each featuring a different melody (to hear each melody, focus on the soprano line).
Morley sets the piece in the minor mode (G Minor), giving the overall music a rather melancholic character. Yet he separates each section/season with a cadence
on a major chord.
Arcadelt- Il Bianco e Dolce Cigno
TITLE Il bianco e dolce cigno
COMPOSER Jacques Arcadelt
DATE/ ERA 1530s/Renaissance
GENRE Madrigal
INSTRUMENTATION Four voices, A Capella
LANGUAGE Italian
The piece is mostly homophonic until the end of the sentence altro dolor non sento (“I would feel no other pain.”) By contrast, the very end is polyphonic and starts with di mille mort’.
The text speaks of death, yet Arcadelt sets it in the key of G Major. The major mode, commonly associated with “happiness,” reinforces the feeling of contentment of the narrator: “in death I die full of joy and desire.”
The little death describes a feeling of dying or a loss of consciousness, in sleep for example, or after an orgasm! Hence the “joy and desire” described later. Remember that madrigals often dealt with erotic poetry! Renaissance secular music could be very sensual indeed and yet, never vulgar.
Dowland- Lachrimae
TITLE Lachrimae (“Tears”) Instrumental version of Flow, my tears
COMPOSER John Dowland
DATE/ ERA ca. 1596/Late Renaissance
GENRE Ayre
INSTRUMENTATION Lute solo
The piece opens with an arpeggiated chord and a descending four-note motive, representing sadness and tears, falling.
Palestrina - Agnus Dei from Missa Papae Marcelli
TITLE “Agnus Dei” from Missa Papae Marcelli
COMPOSER Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
DATE/ ERA Published in 1567/Renaissance
GENRE Mass
INSTRUMENTATION Six voices
LANGUAGE Latin
1/ Imitative entrances.
2/ Palestrina’s music and text setting unfold at a slower tempo than Josquin’s, and each line moves mostly by steps (two notes next to each other), giving the whole movement a more serene quality
3/ The sense of pulse is weakened
Josquin- Agnus Dei from Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie
TITLE - “Agnus Dei” from Missa Hercules Dux Ferrarie
COMPOSER- Josquin des Prez
DATE/ ERA- ca. 1503/ Renaissance
GENRE - Mass
INSTRUMENTATION- Four voices
LANGUAGE - Latin
1/ Imitative entrances
2/ Soggetto cavato
3/ The third setting of Agnus Dei starts at 23’55 and is written for six voices
