Test 2 Flashcards
When was the Baroque period?
1600-1750
What were the Baroque aesthetics?
random babies in the art, confusing, busy
What makes the harpsichord different from the piano?
harpsichord plucks the strings and has no dynamics
What is unique about the Baroque orchestra?
mostly stringed instruments, small, 15-20 people
What is the purpose of the opera?
music to be like a speech
What is the difference between an aria and a recitative?
aria: character sings how they feel, time stops
recitative: plot moves forward, conversations
What is an overture?
the intro to an opera, instrumental
What are some things to know about ‘Dido and Aeneas’?
they fall in love, he leaves, she throws herself off a balcony, written by Nahum Tate, composed by Henry Purcell
What is the title of the person that writes the opera’s text?
librettist
Who is a famous violin maker in the Baroque period?f
Antonio Stradivari
What is a basso continuo part?
the bass accompaniment, played by 2 people, piano and gamba or harpsichord and gamba
What does a trio sonata consist of?
4 people playing 3 parts, 2 on the basso continuo part
What are some things to know about Antonio Vivaldi?
called the “red priest”, worked at a girls’ orphanage, wrote sonatas and concerti for the girls to perform, wrote Spring
What is a concerto?
two groups going back and forth, orchestra vs. soloist
What is a ritornello?
a refrain that comes back a lot, played by everyone
What is something to know about Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’?
programmatic work, comes with a poem
What is a programmatic work?
a piece with extra musical associations
What is an absolute work?
a piece with no lyrics and no extra musical associations
Who was in charge of Collegium Musicum?
J.S. Bach
What was the Collegium Musicum?
a group of people who got together to play for leisure and would sometimes put on public concerts
What is a fugue?
a melody played by itself followed by other voices repeating it, imitative polyphony
Who was George Handel?
a German guy writing Italian operas in England
What is an oratorio?
about religious topics, put on like a concert, not acted out, e.g. Messiah
What genres have 3 movements?
concerti and sonatas
What genres have 4 movements?
symphonies and string quartets
What era had more woodwinds in the symphonies?
classical era
What does the key structure look like in a Da Capo Aria?
tonic-not tonic-tonic
When was the Classical Period?
1750-1800
What were the aesthetics of the Classical period?
high art, more refined, a point to the art
What was the patronage system?
an artist worked for a patron, lived in their manor or whatever and wrote music for them
What was a freelance artist?
someone who went wherever they wanted and composed for different things
What are the 3 components of sonata form?
exposition, development, recapitulation
What is the form of the third movement in a four movement plan?
minuet and trio
What is a symphony?
music composed for an orchestra, 4 movements
What instruments, and how many of each, are in a string quartet?
2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
What is a sonata, the genre?
multiple works with piano accompaniment
What did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart do for a living?
started off in the patronage system but got kicked out and became a freelancer in Vienna
What is the famous opera that Mozart wrote?
Don Giovanni
What type of opera was Don Giovanni?
dramma giocoso
What is a dramma giocoso?
a mix between opera seria and opera buffa
What is opera seria?
historical, tragic, usually dealing with Greek mythology
What is opera buffa?
silly, funny, contemporary characters
What was the Heiligenstadt Testament?
Beethoven’s letter to his brothers explaining the fact that he was going deaf
What is the ‘Symphonia Eroica’?
symphony no. 3, written by Beethoven originally in honor of Napoleon, but changed the title to heroic symphony
What is unique about Beethoven’s symphony no. 5?
uses motives instead of themes
What is a set of compositions ordered by the date of publication called?
opus
What is it called when the theme occurs in more than one movement to unify the piece?
cyclical
What is scherzo?
means joking, faster, triple meter
What are the tempi of the 4 movements in a 4 movement plan?
fast, slow, medium, fast
What are the forms of the 4 movements in a 4 movement plan?
sonata, something, minuet and trio, sonata
