Unit Four -PtII Vocal Terms Flashcards
Song cycle
A collection of several songs united by a common textual theme or literary idea
Art song
A genre of song for voice and piano accompaniment with high artistic aspirations
Through-composed
A term used to describe music that exhibits no obvious repetitions or overt musical form from beginning to end
Strophic
A musical form often used in setting a strophic, or stanzaic, text, such as a hymn or carol; the music is repeated anew for each successive strophe
Modified strophic
Strophic form in which the music is modified slightly to accommodate a particularly expressive word or phrase in the text
Bel canto
(Italian for “beautiful singing”) a style of singing and a type of Italian opera developed in the 19th century that features the beautiful tone and brilliant technique of the human voice
Scena
A scenic plan in Italian opera involving a succession of separate elements such as a slow aria, a recitative, and a fast concluding aria
Cabaletta
The concluding fast aria of any 2 or 3-section operatic scene; a useful mechanism to get the principals off the stage
Ring cycle
A cycle of 4 interconnected music dramas by Wagner that collectively tell the tale of the Germanic legend Der Ring des Nibelungen
Music drama
A term used for the mature operas of Wagner
Gesamtkunstwerk
(German for “total art work”) an art form that involves music, poetry, drama, and scenic design; often used in reference to Wagner’s music dramas
Leitmotif
A brief, distinctive unity of music designed to represent a character, object, or idea; a term applied to the motives in the music dramas of Wagner
Sprechstimme
(German for “speech voice”) a vocal technique in which a singer disclaims, rather than sings, a text at only appropriate pitch levels
Endless melody
Not aria, not recitative
