The Baroque Period

Question 1

The most characteristic feature of baroque music was a specific type of accompaniment called,___________, in which a keyboard instrument played a continuous bass line in the left hand and chords in the right hand. The bass line was doubled by a low melodic instrument such as the cello or bassoon.

Answer 1

basso continuo

Question 2

A _______ is a section that sounds complete but is part of a larger musical composition.

Answer 2

movement

Question 3

A ________ is a large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra. Set to biblical text.

Answer 3

oratorio

Question 4

Both J.S Bach and G.F. Handel were born in the year_____.

Answer 4

1685

Question 5

Although he was German, Handel spent the last 47 years of his life in _______.

Answer 5

London

Question 6

The main keyboard instruments of the baroque were the ______ and the _______.

Answer 6

1. organ

2. harpsichord

Question 7

Another less popular keyboard instrument in the baroque was the ________, which produced sound by metal blades (tangents) striking the strings.

Answer 7

clavichord

Question 8

True or false. The position of a composer in the baroque was that of a high class servant with few personal rights.

Answer 8

true

Question 9

An ordinary baroque citizen’s best chance to hear music would be at ________.

Answer 9

church

Question 10

For most opera fans, the main attraction is a(n) _____. A song for a solo voice with orchestra accompaniment.

Answer 10

aria

Question 11

One of the cornerstones of baroque music is the ________, a polyphonic composition based on one main theme.

Answer 11

fugue

Question 12

The baroque _________ was a composition in several movements for 1 to 8 instruments.

Answer 12

sonata

Question 13

The dates of the baroque are _______ to ________.

Answer 13

1. 1600

2. 1750

Question 14

_______ and _______ are the two giants of baroque musical composition.

Answer 14

1. Handel

2. Bach

Question 15

In the baroque, the Lutheran church service was the spiritual as well as social event of the week, lasting ____ hours.

Answer 15

4

Question 16

The abbreviation op. stands for _______, and Italian word meaning work.

Answer 16

opus

Question 17

A trio sonata involves _____ performers.

Answer 17

4

Question 18

________ was the most eminent organist of the baroque period.

Answer 18

J.S. Bach

Question 19

A _____ was a German hymn tune for congregational singing.

Answer 19

chorale

Question 20

Vivaldi was known as the _______.

Answer 20

“red priest”

Question 21

Vivaldi composed approximately _____ concerti.

Answer 21

450

Question 22

Vivaldi was a virtuoso _______ player.

Answer 22

violin

Question 23

_______ is George Frideric Handel’s most famous work.

Answer 23

Messiah

Question 24

The technique __________ involves presenting the subject of a fugue using lengthened time values.

Answer 24

augmentation

Question 25

The size of the baroque orchestra was smaller than the modern orchestra, with only ____ to ____ players.

Answer 25

1. 10 | 2. 40

Question 26

Which of the following is not synonymous with the term baroque? A. Flamboyant B. Naturalistic C. Bizarre

Answer 26

B. Naturalistic

Question 27

Early baroque music featured ________ texture.

Answer 27

homophonic

Question 28

________ is a musical procedure in which a fugue subject is imitated before it is completed.

Answer 28

stretto

Question 29

Like no other composer before him, Monteverdi used _____ with unprecedented freedom in his compositions.

Answer 29

dissonances

Question 30

Composers of the middle baroque favored composing for instruments of the _______ family.

Answer 30

violin

Question 31

How many moods does a baroque composition usually express?

Answer 31

One.

Question 32

The plots of early baroque operas were based on _____ and _____.

Answer 32

1. Greek mythology | 2. ancient history

Question 33

True or false. Like their predecessors in the renaissance, baroque composers continued to use text painting.

Answer 33

true

Question 34

The large group of players in a concerto grosso are called the ______.

Answer 34

tutti

Question 35

Opera was started around the year _______ by a group of Italian musicians and artists called the Camerata.

Answer 35

1575

Question 36

Musical style in which drama is sung with orchestral accompaniment is __________.

Answer 36

opera

Question 37

The earliest known opera is _______ by Jacopo Peri.

Answer 37

Euridice

Question 38

Which of the following is not true? A. Castrati received the highest fees of any musician. B. Castrati combined the lung power of a man with the range of a woman. C. Castrati were social outcasts.

Answer 38

C. Castrati were social outcasts.

Question 39

_______ spent the major portion of his life at the cathedral of St. Mark's, the most important church post in Italy at the time.

Answer 39

Monteverdi

Question 40

_______ was a feared general, flutist, and composer.

Answer 40

Frederick the Great

Question 41

Baroque music features sudden alterations between soft and loud dynamics called _______.

Answer 41

terraced dynamics

Question 42

In the baroque the orchestra evolved into a performing group based on the instruments of the ______ family.

Answer 42

violin

Question 43

The text of the opera is called the ______ and is written by a ________.

Answer 43

1. libretto | 2. librettist

Question 44

The technique of presenting the subject of a fugue using shorter time values is called _________.

Answer 44

diminution

Question 45

The main theme of a fugue is called the _______.

Answer 45

subject

Question 46

A popular compositional technique in the baroque was ________, which is successive repetition of a musical idea at higher or lower pitch levels.

Answer 46

melodic sequence

Question 47

______ refers to a vocal line that imitates the voice fluctuations of speech.

Answer 47

recitative

Question 48

One of Bach's greatest compositional achievements was the ______________, 2 sets of 24 preludes and fugues, one in every key.

Answer 48

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Question 49

A ______ is a single tone, usually in the bass, that is held while the other voices produce a series of changing harmonies against it.

Answer 49

pedal point

Question 50

________ wanted to create music of ________ by extending the range of affections, aka emotional states, conveyed through his music.

Answer 50

1. Monteverdi | 2. emotional intensity

Question 51

Henry Purcell's Dido's Lament features a(n) ______, or repeated pattern in the bass.

Answer 51

ground bass

Question 52

Instrumental music became as important as vocal music during the ______ baroque period. (early, middle, or late)

Answer 52

late

Question 53

The recurring theme in a concerto grosso movement is called the ______.

Answer 53

ritornello

Question 54

When a subject is played "upside down" or with reversed intervals it is called ______.

Answer 54

inversion

Question 55

A popular instrumental genre was the _____, which featured a series of dance-inspired movements.

Answer 55

suite