Music Appreciation Vocab

Ballade

A French poetic style and chanson type of the Middle Ages and Renaissance usually having a text dealing with courtly love. The term is also applied to a Romantic genre, especially a lyric piano composition.

Virelai

A Medieval and Renaissance form of French poetry and song, written in ABBA form with a courtly text. The origin of the word virelai is the Old French word Virer meaning to turn or to twist, indicating that the song form originated from a dance form.

Anthem

A choral setting of an English religious text similar to a motet, usually used in church with or without organ accompaniment.

Minstrel

A court musician or entertainer of the 12th through 17th centuries who performed professionally. Minstrels could either be employed at a single court or would wander from court to court through the countryside. Most often, a minstrel could perform on more than one instrument, sing, and compose songs.

Motet

A polyphonic vocal style of composition. The motet was popular in the middle ages, when it consisted of a tenor foundation upon which other melodies were added. The texts of these voices could be sacred or secular, Latin or French, and usually had little to do with each other, with the result that the composition lack unity and direction. During the 14th century, isorhythm came into use and other rhythmic refinements somewhat unifying the sound and texture of the motet. By the renaissance, the separate voices of the motet had adopted the same text and each voice was considered a part of the whole rather than a whole in itself, thus finally giving the motet unity and grace.

French Overture

A style of composition usually used as an introduction to a ballet, opera, or suite. It is divided into sections, the first being stately and regal, using gotten rhythms, the second section is lively and usually fugal, and if there is a third section, it is usually in imitation of the first section. This form originated in the 1650's.

Bel Canto

A style of singing that emphasizes the beauty of sound throughout the entire voice range. A tender, pure, and sympathetic legato, the opposite of bravura singing. Specifically, an elegant Italian vocal style characterized by florid melodic lines delivered by voices of great agility, smoothness, and purity of tone.

Rococo Style

A term appled to French compositions of the 18th century, implying light, airy, graceful, and ornamented style, in response to the rigid, severe lines of the previous era.

Madrigal

A vocal music form that flourished int he Renaissance, originating in Italy. The madrigal is generally written for four to six voices that may or may not be accompanied. In modern performance, madrigals are usually presented a cappella. Madrigals are usually set to short love poems, though the words are occasionally about death, war, etc. They were extremely popular in England and Italy, and also produced in France, Germany, and a few in Spain. The madrigal is characterized by word painting and harmonic and rhythmic contrast. In the madrigal, each line has its own tune, rather than the entire composition having a single tune with harmonic accompaniment.

"De ma dame/Dieus/Omnes" from Le Jeu de Robin et de marion

Adam de la Halle

Cantigas de Santa Maria: Instrumental (CSM 206)

Alfonso X (El Sabio)

Cantigas de Santa Maria: Prologo (CSM 60)

Alfonso X (El Sabio)

Gregorian Chant

Also called old Roman chant, this is one of the earliest surviving styles of music in Western Europe attributed to Pope Gregory the Great. Gregory probably had little to do with the surviving chant, as the chants that survive in manuscripts date from the 11th to 13th centuries, and Gregory died in the year 604. The surviving chants are modal with monophonic melodies with freely-flowing, unmeasured vocal lines. Most chants belong to the Mass or the daily offices.

Lute

An instrument popular in the Medieval and Renaissance eras. The lute is a plucked string instrument of the guitar family, it has a short, fretted neck, a rounded back, and a large body something between oval and pear shaped. The number of strings is variable as is the size but in the Renaissance, lutes with six courses of strings were often tuned in A or G with no real standard. The lute enjoyed immense popularity in the Renaissance, partially due to its beautiful tone, its portability, and its aptitude for accompanying the voice.

Prelude

An instrumental composition intended to introduce a larger composition or set of compositions. A short composition for piano. A composition which establishes the key for a composition that immediately follows.

Sonata

An instrumental genre in several movements for a soloist or an ensemble. The original usage for the term implied a composition that was to be performed by instruments rather than sung. Later the term came to be understood as a four movement composition: slow, fast, slow, fast as was used in the church sonata (sonata da cheese), or allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue, as it was used in the chamber sonata (sonata camera). As the sonata developed, it became longer and adopted the sonata-allegro form for the first movement, which as generally fast. The following movement was generally somewhat slower, and the number of movements varied, but was generally about three.

Bellicha

Annonymous

Laudate Deum

Anonymous

Quant ay Lomon Consirat

Anonymous

Quem Quaeritis

Anonymous

Sa'dawi

Anonymous

Saltarello No. 1

Anonymous

Domna, pos vos ay chausida

Berenguier de Palou

Tant m'abelis

Berenguier de Palou

Quan vei la lauzeta mover

Bernart de Ventadorn

Program Music

Compositions with extra-musical content that directs the attention oft eh listener to a literary or pictorial association. Program music was especially popular in the 19th century.

Sacred Music

Compositions with religious themes that re meant to be performed for church services or religious activities. Any composition without religious themes and not intended to be used in religious services is considered to be secular music.

Syncopation

Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an off-beat.

Ecco la Primavera

Francesco Landini

Ars Nova

French musical style of the 14th century. The term is generally used to distinguish the music from the time period of 1316 to the death of composer Guillaume de Machaut 1377 from the earlier musical style of the Ars antiqua. During the ars nova period, musical themes were transformed increasingly from religious to secular.

Chanson

French polyphonic song of the Middle Ages and Renaissance set to either courtly or popular poetry.

Ballade 32: "Plourez dames"

Guillaume de Machaut

Ballade 33: "Le Voir Dit"

Guillaume de Machaut

Bel Fiore Danca

Guillaume de Machaut

Lai 13: Le Lai de Bonne Esperance

Guillaume de Machaut

Notre Dame Mass: Agnus Dei

Guillaume de Machaut

Notre Dame Mass: Kyrie

Guillaume de Machaut

Rondeau 17: Dis et Sept Cinq

Guillaume de Machaut

Rondeu 18: Puis qu'en Oubli

Guillaume de Machaut

Alleluia, O virga mediatrix

Hildegard von Bingen

Ave generosa

Hildegard von Bingen

Kyrie

Hildegard von Bingen

O Ignis Spiritus

Hildegard von Bingen

O Virga ac Diadema

Hildegard von Bingen

O Viridissima Virga

Hildegard von Bingen

Ordo Virtutum: "Procession"

Hildegard von Bingen

Recitative

In an opera, oratorio, cantata, or other multi-movement vocal compositions, a recitative is a narrative song that describes some action, thought, or emotion. The recitative follows the natural flow of the language, and is more a speaking composition than a singing composition. The two styles of recitative are the dry (secco) style and the accompanied (accompagnato) or measured recitative (recitative misurato or stromentato) style.

Liturgy

In those churches that use standards written forms of service, the liturgy act ritual or service of public worship.

Oratorio

Large scale dramatic composition originated in the 17th century with text usually based on religious subjects. Oratorios are performed by choruses and solo voices with an instrumental accompaniment and re similar to operas but without costumes, scenery, and actions.

Viderunt omnes

Leonin

Rondeau

Medival and Renaissance style of courtly love song. The music was derived from the rotundellum, which was a circle dance. The definitive characteristic of the rondeau was its structure: ABaAabAB. The upper case A represents a refrain or a repeat of music and text and the lower case a represents a repeat of music with different text.

Polyphonic

Music composed for many parts or voices, each with its own melody, thus creating a rich texture of sound. The music itself is called polyphony. This is in contrast to monophonic music, which has only one part of voice. This is a type of compositional texture.

Monophonic

Music that is written for only one voice or part is said to be monophonic. This is in contrast to polyphonic music, which has more than one part of voice.

Ornament

Musical ornaments are symbols that provide direction for performers to embellish the written musical notation in specific ways. Each musical period through history has specific was that the performer is expected to perform each of the ornaments. Also, different countries and even different composers have their own interpretation of how each ornament is to be performed.

Troubadour

One of a school of poets and musicians popular in southern France, Provence, and northern Italy between the 11th and late 13th centuries.

Concerto

Originally applied to almost any kind of concerted music for voices and instruments of the Baroque era. Today it is take to mean a composition that shows off a specific instrument with he orchestra used as accompaniment. The term concerto is the same in English, French, and Italian.

Sederunt Principes

Perotin

Viderunt Omnes

Perotin

Organum

Term referring to the earliest kind of polyphonic music. Organum developed from the practice of adding voices above a plain chant (chants firmus); these added voices at first ran parallel to the plain chant at an interval of a fourth or fifth. Later they began to move about more freely. Organum was in use from about the 12th through the 13th centuries.

Ars Antiqua

Term used by 14th century composers to distinguish the French sacred polyphonic music style of the 13th century from that of the ars nova. The term antiqua is now generally extended to include the earlier music of the Notre Dame period (Leonin and Perotin), thus covering the musical styles from 1150 to 1320.

Counterpoint

The art of combining two or more melodies to be performed simultaneously and musically. In counterpoint, the melody is supported by another melody rather than by chords.

Bass Line

The bottom line of music played by the bass-pitched instrument.

Guidonian Hand

The first system of learning music developed in the 11th century by Guido d'Arezzo. He assigned each note a name, Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, and La (thus the original solfeggio), and designed a system of placing notes on horizontal lines to notate pitches (thus the origin of the staff). The Guidonian Hand is another of his inventions; it is a system of assigning each part of the hand a certain note, thus, by pointing to a part of his hand, a group of singers would know which note was indicated and sing the corresponding note.

Baroque

The music of the period 1600-1750, directly following the Renaissance and preceding the Classical era. This style is characterized by a lot of ornamentation, thus the name; it is also distinguishable by it use of basso continuo and the application of the doctrine of the affections. The main composers of the era include Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudo Monteverdi, Antonio Vivaldi, Dominico Scarlatti, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Frederick Handel.

Secular Music

Those composition that are not sacred; compositions that do not have any connection with religion.

Concerto Grosso

a Baroque style of music in which a small group of solo instruments plays in opposition to a larger ensemble (the ripieno).

Isorhythm

a Medieval principal of construction which was used most often in motets. This construction is based on a repeating rhythmic pattern in one or more voices.

Basso Continuo

a characteristic of Baroque music consisting of a bass part that runs continuously throughout a work, also called thoroughbass. If it is figured to indicate the harmony, it is called figured bass.

Diminuendo

a directive to a performer to smoothly decrease the volume of the specific passage of a composition.

Crescendo

a directive to a performer to smoothly increase the volume of a particular phrase or passage.

Opera

a drama set to music, usually sung throughout, originating in 17th century Italy. Opera is a combination of music, drama, scenery, costumes, dance, etc., to create a complete art form.

Fugue

a form of composition popular in, but not restricted to, the Baroque era, in which a theme or subject is introduced by one voice, and is imitated by other voices in succession. Usually only the first few notes of the subject are imitated exactly, then each voice deviates slightly until the next time it enters again with he subject. Generally the voices overlap and weave in and out of each other forming a continuous, tapestry-like texture.

Melisma

a group of many notes (usually at least 5 or 6) sung melodically to a single syllable. Melismas are usually found especially in liturgical chant.

Ensemble

a group of musicians that perform as a unit.

Cantata

a poem set to music to be performed by voices and instruments, which usually has several movements: airs, recitatives, and choruses.

Minnesinger

a poet or musician of the Minnesang tradition in Germany, active during the 12th through the 15th centuries. The Minnesingers were usually of the upper class.

Ritornello

a short, recurring instrumental passage in Baroque aira and concerti, particularly in a tutti section.

Lai

a song form of the in use from the 12th to the 15th centuries. In its earliest form the Lai lacked definite structure, but as it developed it adopted a twelve-stanza form. The German adopted the Lai in the 14th century, using the name Leich, and developing a more rigid and regular structure.

Homophonic

a style of composition in which there is one melody, and all the voices and accompaniments move rhythmically together.

Doctrine of the Affections

a theory that arose during the Baroque period that prescribed certain musical methods and figures for summoning or portraying individual emotions. For example, happiness would be aroused through the use of faster notes and major sonorities, sadness through minor keys and slower movement, anger through loudness and harsh discordant harmonies.

Dramma per Musica

an early name for opera used by composers such as Dominico Scarlatti.

Chromatic

any music or chord that contains notes not belonging to the diatonic scale. music which proceeds in half steps.

Composition

any musical work or production. the act of compiling and investing a piece of music.

Choral

belonging to the choir; full, or for many voices.

A Cappella

choral or vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.

Chamber Music

ensemble instrumental music for up to about ten performers with typically one performer to a part.

Modal

having to do with modes; this term is applied most particularly to music that is based upon the Gregorian modes, rather than to music based upon the major, minor, or any other scale.

Jongleur

in Medieval France and Norman England, jongleurs were traveling entertainers who would preform music, dancing, plays, and other sorts of entertainment for courts.

Absolute Music

music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program; pure music; music expressively self-sufficient and intelligible without the aid of a text or a program.

Trouvere

one of a school of poets and musicians popular in northern France between the 11th and 14th centuries.

Aria

originally an air; a song; a tune; sung by a single voice with or without accompaniment. Now taken to mean a lyric song for solo voice generally having two contrasting parts (I and II), ending with a literal or elaborated repeat of part I. The aria first developed into this form in the early operas; the arias found in an opera, cantata, or oratorio usually express intense emotion.

Monody

term applied to Italian songs written to be performed by once voice with instrumental accompaniment dating from the first half of the 17th century.

Realize

term used for the performing of a composition that is not notated in its entirety. For example, a figured bass may be realized by he continuo performer, even though the entire harmonization is not notated. Also, a solo performer will realize ornamentation that is not notated, but is left to the taste and fancy of the performer.

Stile Antico

term used int he transitional period between the Renaissance and the Baroque era. The stile antico was the style of music based upon Giovanni Palestrina's polyphonic musical style, used mostly for sacred music, and written around the year 1600. Stile antico was used by composers from Claudio Monteverdi to Alessandro Scarlatti; this style became the basis of the rules of strict counterpoint.

Cantus Firmus

the basis of polyphonic compositions of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; the tune of the cactus firms was taken from Gregorian chant; it would move very slowly underneath more rapid vocal or instrumental lines above it.

Figured Bass

the bass part generally of a Baroque composition that is marked so as to indicate the harmonies that should go with each note.

Agnus Dei

the fifth part of the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass; numerous and varied melodies were composed during the Middle Ages with the text from john 1:29.

Kyrie Eleison

the first part of the ordinary of the Mass; this is the only Greek surviving in the Roman Catholic Mass; the parts of a typical ordinal Mass are kyrie eleison, gloria in excelsis deo, credo, sanctus, agnus dei, and ite missa est.

Dynamics

the loudness or softness of a composition. Piano means soft and forte means loud.

Dissonance

two or more notes sounded together with are discordant, and, in the prevailing harmonic system, require resolution to a consonance. also discord.