Unit 1 Flashcards
Hymn
A sacred song with nonbiblical text; “O Que Suave” is from the California missions of Spain. It would have been sung during the elaborate outdoor processions that were part of Corpus Christi, a major Catholic holiday.
Polyphony
Singing in multiple independent voice parts; used by the Roman Catholic Church to make worship services as impressive as possible during Spanish colonization.
Psalter
Used by Anglicans and Puritans from England, a book of metrical songs; turned psalms into popular poetry using the same simple verse structures as traditional folk ballads, as in “Old Hundred”
Metrical psalms
Texts in the Old Testament Book of Psalms versified in English and published in psalters; “Old Hundred” is bone simple and derives from the French Calvinist tradition.
Strophic
Having all stanzas of text sung to the same music; “Old Hundred”
Lining out
In some New England congregations, a single singer would read or chant a psalm one line at a time to the congregation, who would sing each line back because too too few worshipers could read the psalms or buy the book; “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.”
Regular singing
A movement that called for musical literacy and singing guided by rules/notated music; supporters were pitted against the supporters of the Old Way, in which worshipers decorated their praise as the spirit moved them.
Tunebooks
Books in which psalm tunes were published during the Regular Singing controversy, which guarded them from the whim of oral transmission
Singing schools
Devoted to teaching the rudiments of singing and note reading, these along with tune books began a new era of more disciplined psalmody to the New World; also provided a social opportunity for young men and women to mingle
“Urania”
The first American tune book to bring psalmody into the commercial arena; A collection of psalm tunes, anthems, and hymns published by James Lyon in Philadelphia that offered something for every sacred singer
Anthems
Elaborate choral works by British composers, often with Biblical texts
“The New England Psalm Singer”
The first published collection of entirely American music by one composer; a tune book reflecting the vitality that flowed into New England sacred music as Puritan restrictions fell away, music literacy spread, and resistance to Britain’s rule became the moral focus; “Chester”
Collegium musicum
A group of amateur Moravians, who performed to enrich a community life dedicated to God’s glory through music; formed orchestras to accompany choral anthems and played European chamber/orchestral music; “Ich will dir ein freudenopfer thun”
Couple dances
Courtly French dances that called for precise, schooled movements
Country dances
From the Anglo-Celtic traditions of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Benefit concerts
One-time concerts intended to turn a profit for the performers (who payed the expenses)
Subscription concerts
A concert series in which the organizers issued a public proposal and proceeded based on the public’s response.
Ballad operas
A genre of opera with new words/ideas set to borrowed tunes, chosen for their associations; targeted society
Pasticcio
A theatrical genre that borrowed from other music, but prioritized music over social commentary
Comic opera
A genre of musical theatre that was a spoken play with a large amount of specially composed music; were melodramatic and and sentimental, with a happy ending
Ancient music
The reformer Nathaniel D. Gould’s name for the work of Europeans and Old World training, which moved with a gravity better suited to the solemnity of public worship; “Old Hundred”
Fuging tune
A form beloved by 18th century psalmists that begins with block chords before exploding into a fuge section where each voice part enters at a different time so that the texture overlaps; “Sherburne”
Camp meeting
Gatherings at which frontier worshipers camped out for several days of prayer and singing in an atmosphere of spiritual revivalism
Second Great Awakening
A surge of religious renewal between 1780 and 1830 that brought a fervent Christianity to northern, southern, and western fringes of the young republic
Shape notes
A four shape notation system that took root in the southern singing traditions
Folk hymns
Religious words set to secular tunes; “Wondrous Love”
Scientific music
Music based on theoretical knowledge of harmonic correctness rather than simply talent or practical experience
Lowell Mason
A reformer of sacred music as well as the father of public school music, who profited from exploring Americans’ appetite for edification
Hymnal
Tunebooks with full music and full text
Call and response
An Africanism in which a leader’s musical phrase is answered by the group
Polyrhythm
An Africanism in which each instrument maintains a distinctive rhythmic pattern, which interlocks with the other instruments’ rhythms to create a complex texture
Patting juba
A transformation of African drumming practice that uses the human body as a substitute for outlawed percussion instruments
Work songs
Helped workers fulfill their tasks by pacing and coordinating movements and rallying spirits; “Carrie Belle”
Rev. Richard Allen
An ex slave who compiled “A Collection of Spiritual Songs and Hymns”; the first such book prepared for a black congregation in America; “Am I a Soldier of the Cross”
Spirituals
African American sacred songs rooted in the experience of slavery
Classical sphere
Consists of composers’ music, whose ideal is transcendence that is achieved when performers follow the composers’ notation closely
Popular sphere
Consists if performers’ music, whose ideal is accessibility, giving authority to the audience
Traditional sphere
Unwritten music whose ideal is continuity and is connected with particular customs and ways of life
Harmoniemusik
Military music performed by an ensemble made up of pairs of wind instruments and that required more polished players; “Hail Columbia”
Brass band
The typical American wind ensemble by the mid 1800s due to the development of keyed brass; “Helene Schottische”
Oratorios
Large scale religious works for chorus, solo singers, and orchestra; the Boston Handel and Hayden Society set out to establish a place for them
John Sullivan Dwight
A music critic who Helped pave the way for regular performances of classical instrumental music with his founding of “Dwight’s Journal of Music”
