Musical History

Question 1

What are some examples of Renaissance music?
What are some composers?
Time period?

Answer 1

Sacred - mass and motet.
Secular - madrigal, chanson.
Palestrine, Lassus, Byrd and Dowland.
1400 - 1600

Question 2

What are the features of Baroque music?

Answer 2

1. Harpsichord, violins, flutes/recorders, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets and kettle drums.
2. Ornamented melody.
3. Basso continuo.
4. Monophony and homophony.
5. Western tonality - modes replaced by major/minor.
6. Binary, ternary (da capo aria), rondeau, ritornello and fugue.
7. More linear melodies/idiomatic writing.
8. Affekt.
9. Energetic rhythms.
10. Contrasting dynamics/instrumental timbres.

Question 3

What are some Baroque composers?

Time period?

Answer 3

Bach: 1685-1750 - German.
Handel: 1685-1759 - German.
Monteverdi: 1567-1643 - Italian.
Purcell: 1659-1695 - English.
Vivaldi: 1678-1741 - Italian.
Lully: 1632-1687 - French.
1600 - 1750.

Question 4

What are the features of Classical music?

Answer 4

1. Mainly homophonic.
2. Greater variety of keys, dynamics and rhythms - crescendo.
3. Shorter melodies and clear cut phrasing - Alberti bass.
4. Introduction of piano and clarinet.
5. Popularity of a comic opera.
6. Development of large-scale structures e.g. sonata form.

Question 5

What are some Classical composers?

Time period?

Answer 5

Haydn: 1732-1809 - Austrian.
Mozart: 1756-1791 - Austrian.
JC Bach: 1735-1782 - German.
Beethoven: 1770-1827 - German.
Gluck: 1714-1787 - German.
1750 - 1810

Question 6

What are the features of Romantic music?

Answer 6

1. Lyrical melodies.
2. Greater tonal and rhythmic ambiguity - adventurous modulations.
3. Denser textures and expansion of the orchestras - virtuosic.
4. Closer links to other arts.
5. More technical virtuosity.
6. Recurring themes give more shape to the piece.
7. More variety in types of pieces.

Question 7

Romantic time period?

Composers?

Answer 7

1810-1900

Liszt, Chopin, Berlioz and Schubert.

Question 8

What are the features of Renaissance music?

Answer 8

1. Music based on modes.
2. 4+ parts.
3. Blending parts.
4. Harmony focusing more on the flow of chordal progressions.

Question 9

What genres of instrumental music come from the Classical era?

Answer 9

Sonata.
Trio.
String quartet.
Symphony.
Concerto.
Serenade
Divertimento.