MUSIC 120 B Midterm - Terms Flashcards
Gregorian Chant
monophonic sacred hymns. Monophonic melody with a freely flowing, unmeasured vocal line; liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church
Notre Dame Polyphony
ex. “Gaudi Maria virgo”
refers to the group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced
Renaissance madrigal
see Arcadelt and John Farmer
Renaissance secular work originating in Italy for voices, with or without instruments, set to short, lyric love poem. Composer’s main concern was giving pleasure to the performers. Typically offer various levels of meaning
Renaissance motet
see Josquin, “Ave Maria”.
Polyphonic vocal genre, secular in the Middle Ages but sacred or devotional thereafter
SATB
high to low arrangement of singing voices (soprano, alto, tenor, bass): see Josquin: same terminology applies to the instrumental “voices” in Bach fugues.
Melodic contour
see “Tu se morta”
Successive changes in pitch level of a melody—the rising and falling of high and low tones—describe what we call its shape
Chord
three or more notes sounded together
A cappella
voices only – no instruments
Monody
one vocalist with instrumental accompaniment – established in the Baroque: see aria & recitative
The Camerata
intellectual society who first imagined the forms of monody
Strophic form
wherein musical passages recycle throughout a vocal piece; lyrical content can change
Stanza/strophe
a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse.
Timbre
tone color – the quality of sound that distinguished one voice or instrument from another
Harmony
(chords) The simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships of intervals and chords
Tempo
rate or speed of music
Textures
Monophony
Polyphony
Homophony
Monophony
one melodic part; single line texture
Polyphony
two or more melodic parts sounding simultaneously
Homophony
chords and ONE prominent melody – principle melody and accompanying harmony
Terraced dynamics
sudden changes in volume
“Doctrine of the Affections”
theory that a person only experiences one principal emotion at one time
Word/text painting
(see “Tu se morta,” “Dido’s Lament” )
musical pictorialization of words from the text as an expressive device; a prominent feature of the Renaissance madrigal
Melismatic/melisma
many notes sung per one syllable
Syllabic style singing
one note per syllable, as per MOST recitative
Recitative
vocal style that imitates speech patterns – like heightened speech
Aria
Solo voice with orchestral support; emotional and tuneful
(Basso) continuo
ever-present “rhythm section” of Baroque orchestra playing supporting bass line and chords.
Basso ostinato
(see “Dido’s Lament”)
repeated bass part
Ritornello/ritornelli
repeated instrumental passage in either Baroque vocal or instrumental music
Ritornello form
First movement form in Baroque concerto; alternating passages for tutti and soloist or soloists
Major/minor
minor key quality is sadder, or darker
Tonic key
home key; tonic note = key note; first note of the scale or key
Fugue
(Bach’s Fugue in G Minor) see below
Polyphonic form popular in the Baroque era in which one or more themes are developed by imitative counterpoint
Fugal subject/answer
subject of fugue is the main theme of the piece
Castrato/castrati
male stars of opera who had been castrated before puberty to preserve their voices: played major male roles in Baroque opera
Libretto/librettist
“libretto” means “little book” – the text of opera, cantata, or oratorio. Librettist is the person who writes the libretto
Stile concertato
Baroque ideal of contrasting colors and forces. Developed by Monteverdi – introduced novel effects such as rapid repeated notes as symbols of passion
Solo concerto
(see La Primavera)
Instrumental genre in several movements for solo instrument (or instrumental group) and orchestra.
Concerto grosso
(e.g., Brandenburg Concerto, by Bach)
Baroque concerto type based on the opposition between a small group of solo instruments (the concertino) and orchestra (the ripieno)
Tutti
full orchestra (see Concerto)
Cantata
Lutheran liturgical work
multi-movement composition for voices and orchestra (See, “Sleepers Awake,” which represents ONE chorale-based movement in Chorale Cantata 140, by J.S. Bach)
Vocal genre for solo singers, chorus, and instrumentalists based on a lyric or dramatic poetic narrative. It generally consists of several movements including recitatives, arias, and ensemble numbers.
Chorale
Lutheran hymn and basis for Chorale Cantatas.
Oratorio
see Messiah, by George Handel
a multi-movement sacred work; length of an opera, and has roles, arias and recitatives, but no scenery, and has an Historicus – a narrator of biblical story
Pietà
The home for orphan girls where Vivaldi worked producing his over 400 concertos
Scriptorium
a room set apart for writing, especially one in a monastery where manuscripts were copied
“Alleluia, O virga mediatrix”
Hildegard von Bingen. Melismatic style. Moreover, the compass or range of the piece’s entire melody from its highest to lowest note, encompasses a wider span than is typical of other Gregorian chants. Likewise, as EOM points out, Hildegard’s melodic construction features many expressive leaps, strikingly wide jumps in the melodic contour where typically the vocal part leaps from a lower to a higher tone, as one hears in the piece’s verse where the word “mortem” (“death”) receives a large melodic leap as well as a trailing melisma. Such leaps are another distinguishing feature of this composer’s writing and a stylistic fingerprint that is audible in Hildegard’s other compositions.
Mass Ordinary
contained texts that remain the same for and every mass in which they are included
Mass Proper
The Ordinary’s opposite but adjoining member. The content of these prayers, recitations and chants vary according to specific days of the Church calendar
Perpetual round
two- and more vocal parts dovetail, overlap and realign with each other—as in the more familiar children’s round sung to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
Countenance Angloise
English “quality” or “manner” of composition. Ending phrases and cadencing on the “imperfect” but “sweeter” consonance of a complete triad
“Sumer is icumen in”
The full sounding “countenance Angloise” is audible in the famous “Sumer is icumen in”. An early example of the English preference for robust vocal harmony and sweeter consonances. Its structure: a “perpetual” round, wherein two- and more vocal parts dovetail, overlap and realign with each other—as in the more familiar children’s round sung to “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”—over a pes, or two-voice ostinato and voice exchange
Old Hall Manuscript
(some 148 mass movements, motets, and sacred songs) as providing a vital historical link between Middle Ages and Renaissance composition. The “Old Hall” is also the earliest record of particular attributions—that is by name—of English composers.
Renaissance/”the golden age of a capella music”
that is vocal music without instrumental accompaniment. For renaissance composers and music theorists, music should be intimately expressive of the word
Ars Nova
“The New Art” Fourteenth-century French polyphonic musical style whose themes moved increasingly from religious to secular. Gulliuam
Council of Trent
Part of the Counter Reformation. Program of internal reform - a special council meeting intermittently in northern Italy at Trent worked to pass measures aimed at reforming the Roman Church and purging it of the abuses that were the cause of dissension. Some, and possibly the Pope himself, were reportedly inclined to think that polyphonic music should be erased from the liturgy altogether and a return made to the earlier monophonic chant. Sacred and liturgical music should be constituted so as not “to give empty pleasure to the ear, but in such a way that the words be clearly understood by all.”
Pope Marcellus Mass
Composed by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Saved the polyphonic tradition in liturgical music by composing the Pope Marcellus Mass, a work that demonstrated the compatibility of polyphony with a clear projection of text and meaning.
Points of imitation
successive entrances of the voices imitate one another’s melodic ideas (“Ave Maria . . . virgo serena,” motet)
Dynamics
Element of musical expression relating to the degree of loudness or softness, or volume, of a sound.
Dissonance
Combination of tones that sounds discordant and unstable, in need of resolution
14th-century Chanson
ex.,”Puis qu’en oubli sui de vous”
French polyphonic song, especially of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, set to either courtly or popular poetry
Frotolla
ex., “El Grillo”
a type of Italian secular song cultivated in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
“Il bianco e dolce cigno”
- Arcadelt published “Il bianco e colce cigno” (“The White and Sweet Swan”) in 1538 as part of his first collection of madrigals. The piece, and the collection that included it, was intended for amateur performance, calling for little of the virtuosic capabilities required by the intricate madrigals that developed in the later Renaissance period. Four voice madrigal. Aracadelt’s single most popular and successful work
“Fair Phyllis”
John Farmer composition. Part of a collection of madrigals published by the composer in 1599, right on the cusp of the Baroque era. word painting (also referred to as “text painting”), whereby the composer attempts to match the imagery of his text with similarly evocative musical behavior. Thus, the poetic line, “Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone,” is word painted by having the line sung by a single voice—a lone soprano
“Doctrine of the Affections” - Baroque
Baroque music is really defined by an expressive role: there was, then, “a faith in the power [of music] to move the affections [that is, the emotions]—to stir the passions of the listener.” In the Baroque era, this faith was expressed in what was called the “Doctrine of the Affections,” a set of beliefs about human psychology and emotions that informed aesthetics and music.
“Tu se Morta”
The messenger tells Orfeo, point blank, that his bride is dead. His response comes in his famous (expressive) recitative. The tonality, not surprisingly, remains in the minor mode brought by the preceding dramatic events (the passages of recitative sung by the Messenger). However, the supportive chords played by the continuo support of organ and a theorbo (a very large, low-pitched lute), move in unpredictable and unexpected ways—exhibiting the kind of harmonic shenanigans that upset Monteverdi’s more buttoned-down critics. The timbre is dark hued indeed, ensured by Monteverdi’s choice of the pipe organ and deep sounding theorbo. The lyric “you are dead” is word painted by a “sorrowful” plunge in Orfeo’s melodic line. In addition, the middle word of the phrase, “are” (se, in the Italian) sounds a highly dissonant note in relation to the governing key note sounded by the theorbo and organ; the resolution of the dissonant leap coincides with the word “dead (morte).” When the grief stricken and defiant Orfeo resolves to go down into the “depths” of the underworld—to the profondi abissi—to confront the ruler of Hades, his melodic line fittingly falls to his lowest note.
Figured bass
Baroque practice consisting of an independent bass line that often includes numerals indicating the harmony to be supplied by the performer. Figured bass was associated with the continuo, and as you have read, the figured bass or thorough bass was so closely associated with the period, that an alternative label for the Baroque period was the “era of figured bass,” or “the figured bass period.”
Programmatic concerto
instrumental music that is associated with a story, poem, idea or scene. The programmatic concept itself was not entirely new to the Baroque; renaissance musicians had written several bits of mimetic music, instrumental passages or short pieces that imitated sounds of the natural world in accordance with their titles. But in his work, Vivaldi employs the concerto—what was usually an “abstract” idiom without extra-musical associations—as an instrumental “programmatic” work.
Masque
English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance, developed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
“Messiah”
Messiah departed a bit from Handel’s other oratorios; rather than telling a biblical story, the libretto of Messiah contemplates the Old Testament messianic prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ. Its libretto was written by Charles Jennens (1700–1773), a wealthy Londoner and patron of the arts, who compiled the text from several books of the Old and New Testaments (the Hebrew and Christian bibles, respectively). The large-scale form of the Messiah is in three parts, or “acts,” as Handel preferred to call them, comprising some fifty scenes: Act I: Christmas; Act II: Easter; Act III: Redemption.
Classical Style
music composed during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, characterized by the development of the sonata by such composers as Mozart.
Symphony (symphonic form)
Large work for orchestra, generally in three or four movements
Classical string quartet
The string quartet was one of the most common chamber ensembles. Its makeup is two violins, viola, and cello. Here, the first violin has the melody and the other three instruments provide accompaniment
Sonata allegro (“first movement”) form
The opening movement of the sonata cycle, consisting of themes that are stated in the first section (exposition), developed in the second section (development), and restated in the third section (recapitulation). Also sonata form or first-movement form.
Wunderkind
a German word meaning “wonder child” describing Mozart in this case.
Serenade
Classical instrumental genre that combines elements of chamber music and symphony, often performed in the evening or at social functions. Related to divertimento and cassation.
dramma giocoso
Music historians discuss Don Giovanni as a representative work of dramma giocoso (jocular drama), another imported Italian genre that freely mixed the seria and buffa operatic styles
Classical concerto
In the first movement of a Classical concerto (as distinct from a Baroque concerto) there will a double exposition: the first for the orchestra only, and the second spotlighting the soloist. The orchestral exposition will remain fixed in the tonic key; the second exposition for soloist and tutti will modulate, in accord with conventional sonata procedures.
“double exposition”
In the concerto, twofold statement of the themes, once by the orchestra and once by the soloist
“Heiligenstadt Testament”
When Beethoven died, a document known as the Heiligenstadt Testament (named for the town in which Beethoven wrote it down) was found among his personal effects; in it, he records his despair. Beethoven states that the only thing that held him back from suicide was his art; he wouldn’t quit this life, he said, until he had “disclosed all [his] artistic capacities.”
“the heroic period”
The onset and worsening of Beethoven’s condition coincides with his so-called “heroic phase” of composition (roughly, 1803–08).
Eroica Symphony
The first major work in this spirit was his third symphony (1803) called the “Eroica,” the “heroic” symphony (1803–04). Its original title was simply “Bonaparte,” for Beethoven wrote it in tribute to the hero of Revolutionary France. The Eroica marks a major event in musical history, representing the first great transformation of the symphonic form, and the beginning of a so-called “heroic phase” in Beethoven’s career.
Beethovenian process
The Fifth Symphony is perhaps Beethoven’s most famous, and it represents another work from the heroic phase. More than any other piece, the fifth demonstrates Beethovenian process, for you hear Beethoven build a massive work out of the simplest of materials. Beethoven starts from the mere nucleus of a musical idea and explores every musical possibility that it contains.
“Fate Motive”
da da da daaaaaaa… represents fate knocking at the door. The four-note “Fate motive” not only permeates the entire first movement, but also is carried through different movements in the symphony, and is related to the final “goal” in the Finale.
The “Choral” Symphony
In his last symphony, the Ninth, called the “Choral,” Beethoven made an even bolder break with symphonic tradition than in his preceding works. In what is normally a purely instrumental form (that is the Classical symphony), Beethoven wrote the finale for the combined forces of orchestra and choir.
“Ode to Joy”
Beethoven’s final symphony was inspired by “Ode to Joy” a poem by Freidrich Schiller, one of his fav German poets.
