Term IDs Midterm

Question 1

Absolute music

Answer 1

Instrumental music not based on literary or other extra-musical ideas; otherwise referred to as pure music

Question 2

Gesamtkunstwerk

Answer 2

“Total art work”; applied to the musical dramas of Richard Wagner

Question 3

Grand opera

Answer 3

A type of nineteenth-century French opera characterized by spectacular stage effects and scenery, ballets, and pageantry.

Question 4

Idée fixe

Answer 4

A “fixed idea,” a term used by Berlioz in his Symphonie fantastique to describe the recurring melody that represents the beloved in each movement.

Question 5

Industrial Revolution

Question 6

Leitmotif

Answer 6

In Wagner’s music dramas, a “leading” motive associated with a character or dramatic element.

Question 7

Lied (Lieder)

Answer 7

German for “art song”.

Question 8

Musical romanticism

Question 9

Nocturne

Answer 9

“Night piece”; a lyrical instrumental composition of the nineteenth century, typically for piano.

Question 10

Pentatonic scale

Answer 10

A five-pitch scale common in folk music and non-Western music; on the piano, a pentatonic scale may be produced by playing the black keys.

Question 11

Program music

Answer 11

Instrumental music with some extramusical element or idea, often drawn from literature or the other arts.

Question 12

Risorgimento

Question 13

Song cycle

Answer 13

A collection of songs unified by a narrative or poetic idea or by musical means.

Question 14

Verismo

Answer 14

Applied to late nineteenth-century Italian opera, which was distinguished by its realism.