Music Appreciation test 3

Prelude 2, Chapters 14-20

polyphony

multivoiced music

sacred

inspires the faithful to worship

organum

style in which plainchant was “decorated” with one or more simultaneous music lines

plainchant

or chant, single line melodies of the early christian church, lacks harmony or counterpoint, and monophonic in texture

Latin

formal language of the church

vernacular

language of the people

troubadours

of Languedoc (southern France)

trouveres

of northern France

secular

human

liturgy

the order of church services and structure of each service

Gregorian chant

spirit-led, non metric, Pope Gregory is credited with codifying these melodies

syllabic

1 note per syllable

neumatic

2 notes per syllable

melismatic

many notes per syllable

neumes

little ascending and descending symbols, suggests the contour

modes

a variety of scale patterns, basis of European music for thousands of years

tonal

characterizes music, deeply ingrained in Western culture

offices

a series of services celebrated in religious communities at various hours of the day

mass

a reenactment of Christ’s last supper

proper

texts that vary day to day throughout the year

ordinary

texts that remain the same every mass

kyrie

the first item in the ordinary of the mass

a cappella

voices alone

antiphonal

alternating between two groups of singers

monasteries

a community of systematic religious practice

verse

sung by a single leader

unison

full ensemble sings

responsorial

practice of group repetition of a leader’s text-music phrase, can change the idea

rhythmic mode

a fixed pattern of long and short notes that is repeated or varied

ars nova

new art

chansons

secular songs, courtly love poems

French chanson

an outgrowth of the medieval version we heard by Machaut

Italian madrigal

known for the expressive device of word painting

word-painting

making the music directly reflect the meaning of the words

madrigalism

enhances the emotional content of the music

madrigal

the most important secular genre of the era, an aristocratic form of poetry

part book

one singer on a line, madrigals read from it

visual art

medieval painting presented life through symbolism

humanism

the ability for humans to solver their own problems and order the world rationally

a cappella

voices alone, no companiment

cantus firmus

a fixed, preexisting melody

motet

designed to convey the changing meanings in the text

imitation

musical ideas are exchanged between vocal lines, a similar phrase is heard in different registers

homorhythm

all voices move together rhythmically

rondeau

In its simplest, 13th-century form, consists of eight short lines with a rather artificial repeat structure, line 1 being identical with lines 4 and 7, and line 2 with line 8. Scheme A B a A a b A B

ballade

The poem usually has three stanzas, each of seven or eight lines, the last one or two of which are identical in all the stanzas, thus forming a refrain.  The form of the stanza is: a b a b c d E    or  a b a b c d E F 

virelai

A b b a A b b a A b b a A b b a. Consisted of a refrain (R) that usually alternates with three stanzas (S):  R-S1-R-S2-R-S3-R. 

Mass

a daily service with two categories of prayers

Ordinary

texts that remain the same for every mass

Proper

texts that vary according to the day

Kyrie

a prayer for mercy that dates from the early centuries of Christianity

Gloria

“Glory be to God on high,” a joyful hymn of praise

Credo

“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,” the confession of faith and longest of the Mass texts

Sanctus

“Holy, holy, holy,” a song of praise that ends with Hosanna in the highest

Agnus Dei

“Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,” sung three times

Reformation

Protestant movement that introduced reforms to the church

congregational singing

Luther and Calvin believed this should be the basis of Christian worship, simple and monophonic

counter-reformation

the Catholic church’s movement, lasted many years and brought sweeping changes to the church

Council of Trent

longest committee meeting in history from 1545-1563

bas

soft

haut

loud

recorder

an end-blown flute with a breathy tone

rebec

bowed-string instrument

shawn

a nasal-sounding ancestor of the oboe

sackbut

an early version of the trombone

cornetto

a wooden instrument with fingerholes like a recorder but cup shaped mouthpiece

tabor

a cylindrical drum

nakers

small hand drums played in pairs

ronde

a circle or line dance

pavane

slow and stately

saltarello

showy, fast-paced

embellishments

melodic decorations