Music Appreciation Quiz #4
rhythm of baroque
highly regular, distinctive rhythms against steady beat, harpsichord marking time, harmonic rhythm was purposeful with the chords change every measure or at other set intervals
ground bass
music constructed from bottom up
ritonello form
Baroque musical form based on recurrences of ritornello
beat
basic unit of measurement for time in music
accent
certain beats emphasized
Giovanni Gabrielli
1555-1612, organist at St. Mark's Basilica-Catholic Cathedral in Venice, Italy, O magnum mysterium
Claudio Monteverdi
1567-1643, music superstar, spans genres-last great madrigalist, first great opera composer, Court of Mantua, St.Mark's Cathedral in Venice, coronation of Poppea
Baroque period
1600-1750, jeweler's term for big pearls, started in Italy-Venice, madrigals from Rennaissance became extreme-word painting, moves to major and minor keys, singers weren't feeling it
Henry Purcell
1659-1695, English composer, organist at West minster Abbey, London, wrote sacred, instrumental, and theater music, Dido and Aeneas
Johann Sebastian Bach
1685-1750, born in Germany, big music family, composed vocal and instrumental music, refurbished and built organs, 20 kids
Dido and Aeneas, recitative and aria from Act III final scene
1689, from Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, about the glory of Rome, Aeneas and Queen Dido of Carthage in love, commits agonizing suicide, recitative: Dido makes Belinda hold her hand, aria: dies, built over ground bass, composer: Henry Purcell, genre: opera
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, I
1721, possible job application, genre: concerto grosso, comp:Back, Perf force: solo instruments-flute, violin, and harpsichord, baroque string orchestra-violin, viola, cello, bass, submitted to margrave of Brandenburg-just moved with kingdom of Prussia-fastest growing
dynamics
volume of sound, approximate, gradual/sudden, subito, crescendo
extravagance vs control in Baroque
Extravagance-large scale works for large ensembles, intense, dramatic emotions, control-thorough, methodical expression, extract max affect from material, unite elements
libretto
Italian "little book," complete book of words for opera, oratorio, librettist write words
concerto
Latin "to contend," large compositions for orchestras and solo instruments
ornamentation in baroque
add fast note and vocal effects like trills to melody-more fluid and expressive, typically improv, but some written, calls attention to certain areas of music, shows prowess and chops
functional harmony
chords that are standardized and logical, one chord follows another in a predictable, purposeful way in relationship to tonic (key), Baroque was a solidification of the major/minor system
three main institutions for music
church, court, and opera house
opera composers
close to court life, exemplified nature of absolutism-expensive and spectacular, themes: allegoriccal tributes to glory and virtue of noble patrons, newest institution-supported by public admission, entrepreneurs were the bosses, public concert halls-not regular feature of musical life, solo singers were the stars, composers wrote to show off singers, composers usually conducted own operas, excitement mixed with unpredictability
church composers
composed and improvised new music for worship-Catholic and Protestant, played and led performances, gave elaborate works for special events, train choir boys, responded to increase in want for keyboard, chamber, and orchestral works
O magnum mysterium
composer: Giovanni Gabrielli, Genre: motet, Perf. force: two choirs, each with three voice parts and four instrumental parts (organ and brass), texture: homophonic to polyphonic (imitative polyphony), echos and goes back and forth and ends with homophonic, meter: changes often, triple to duple, occasion: part of larger motet for Christmas season, lowly animals see Jesus first
Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus
composer: Handel, genre: oratorio, perf forces: voices and festive Baroque orchestra, ananonymous narrators-episodes of life of Christ, continuously performed, for King George II of England
Musical life in late baroque period
composer=artisan, made-to-order craft for patrons, servants, music often anonymous in character
genres of Baroque instrumental music
concerto grosso and concerto
baroque dances
dance music=from France (Paris), many dance types: minuet, gigue-like Irish jig, sarabande-slow dance, sometimes in collections, suites-meant for listening
age of absolutism
decreasing power of church, belief in divine right of kings-chosen by God, so had absolute, total, and unlimited power, pomp and extravagance of aristocratic arts-King James I of England and King Louis XIV of France "sun king"
age of science
development of scientific methods and technology, Leibniz and Newton make calculus, Newton makes laws of mechanics and theory of gravity, rise of empiricist thinking and philosophy by Descartes, Locke, and Hume
keys
diationic mode on which music is based
Baroque Opera
drama presented to music, characters sing instead of talk, most characteristic form of Baroque, combined many arts like scene design, drama, music, and dancing
meter (in Baroque)
emphasized, clear, and concise, systematized with bar lines and measures
Court composers
employee of court, music to order, same level as other servants, had to be prolific, realtively secure, could travel and see new trends and develop in music, travel to major cities with employers, required for court life-pay homage to nobles, play for ceremonies, entertain
genre
general category of music, anitphon, Mass
cadenza
improv passage for soloist in concerto/other works in all eras, usually at the end of movement, biggest at the end of first movement
oratorio
long, semi-dramatic piece, religious subject for solos, chorus and orchestra, operatic-Old Testament with operatic features (repetitive and aria),lots of chorus, not part of church services, in concert form without scenery, consumes, or acting
brass
loudest of wind instruments, trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba
concerto grosso
main early type of concerto, for group of solo insrurments and small orchestras, puts soloists against each other with orchestra, usually three movements
rhythm (in Baroque)
more definite, regular, and insistent, single rhythm repeated
early baroque instrumental music
music without words, doesn't depend on it, 3 sources: dance-ballet, virtuosity-improv gradually notated, vocal music, techniques are imitative polyphony transferred to instrumental medium
fugue
musical form, a polyphonic composition for fixed number of instruments/voices built on single theme, fuga-latin for running away
affect
musical vocab of emotions, first vocal, then moved to instruments, used because music was in demand for all three institutions, court wanted more instrumental, and used theories of expression (emotions)
(basso) ostinato
name for ground bass, music from bottom up, persistent bass- Pachelbel Canon
aria
part of opera, extended piece for solo, elaboration and coherence that recitative, more melodic and rhythm more consistent, entire orchestra, shows emotion, what's in mind of singer, means of vocal display and virtuosity
A rhythm
particular arrangements of long and short notes in musical passage
keyboards
piano, harsichord, organ, synthesizers
percussion
pitched: timpani, xylophone, tubular bells, Unpitched: snare drum, bass drum, cymbals
texture in baroque
polyphonic (contrapuntal) dominates, include melody with only bass, combo is intense, homophony does appear in German hymns
dynamics in baroque
rarely indicated in scores, usually steady for whole section or composition, dramatic contrast preferred-loud to soft, change at the end if at all, performers individualize for expressiveness
meter
recurring pattern of strong/weak beats
purpose of art in age of absolutism
royal patronage of arts, courts in Europe imitated France and rulers vied through art, used as a political function to reflect and symbolize the majesty of the state (Palace of Versailles)
style features of late Baroque music
scales tempered-tuned and regulated to be more precise, more systematic use of harmony-logical and functional, new regularity in rhythm, orderly formal schemes-form is the focal point in music, emotions analyzed and classified, belief that music had the power to express emotions with specific motives and keys
opera
secular, 1600 in Italy, appeal is that it projects intense emotions, and multimedia
scale
selection of ordered pitches
movement
self contained section of music, part of larger work like chapters, shows variety: tempos, meter, key
opera seria
serious opera, plots from ancient history, lots of solos
(basso) continuo
set of chords continued under melody, instruments are the cello and harpsichord or organ
diatonic scale
seven pitches represented by white notes
harmony
simultaneous sounds of different pitches
coloratura
singing style characterized by fast runs and scales, large pitch range, cadenzas, and virtuostic displays, usually high voices
tempo
speed of meter, Italian words, more mood than speed
groups of instruments
strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion
melody in baroque
tends to be long and complex-pushed to limits of ornateness and luxury, extended range, twists and turns, frequent use of sequence-forward motion, series of fragments that are identical except for placement-notes are a step down
string family
violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, plucked strings:guitar, mandolin, lute (theorbo, archlute)
measure/bar
way of organizing music
chords
pitches that work well in combo
recitative
part of opera, "recitation" in Italian, technique for declaiming words musically in theatrical way, singing voice is free rhythm of emotional speech, minimal instruments, used to relate info and plot, clear declamation which is important, tells story
woodwinds
once made of wood, now plastic or metal, flutes:piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, sax
modulation
one key to another (key change)
homophony
one melody of interest with background
A form
one of many standardized formal patterns composers use, fixed elements, source of orientation for listeners, general enough to let composers have possibilities, fugue, theme, and variations
ritornello
orchestra material at the beginning of concerto grosso, returns later in piece
tone color in baroque
orchestrations had an interest in sonority with distinct Baroque sounds: harpsichord, bright Baroque organ, recorder, high trumpet and drums for festivals, flexibility-music written to allow for multiple or alternative performing forces, rewrote other works to be flexible