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