RCM level 10 history glossary

musica mundana

The idea that the planets represent perfect mathematical ratios that could be expressed as inaudible musical sounds.

neumes

Early form of musical notation indicating melodic contour and direction, a precursor to staff notation.

monophonic texture

A single melodic line with no accompanying harmony.

polyphonic texture

Two or more independent melodic lines sounding together.

a cappella

Vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment.

Renaissance modes

Modal scales used for melodies in medieval and Renaissance music.

plainsong (plainchant)

Monophonic, modal medieval chant with a narrow range.

prose rhythm

Rhythm that follows the natural flow of text rather than a regular meter.

Gregorian chant

Liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin; often modal and syllabic.

syllabic text setting

One note per syllable of text.

neumatic text setting

Two to four notes per syllable of text.

melismatic text setting

Many notes per syllable of text; highly elaborate.

responsorial singing

A soloist alternates with a chorus (verse and response).

antiphonal singing

Two groups/choirs alternate statements of a chant.

mass

Liturgical service with prayers, Scripture readings, and the Eucharist; central in Catholic worship.

ordinary

Mass texts that stay the same: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.

proper

Mass texts that vary according to the liturgical calendar (Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion).

gradual

Fourth Mass proper section, often melismatic and responsorial; based on Psalms.

organum

Early polyphony built on a plainchant cantus firmus with added voices; features parallel to more independent lines.

cantus firmus

A fixed, borrowed melodic line used as the structural basis for a polyphonic work.

tenor

Voice carrying the cantus firmus in organum; often the lowest or foundational line.

rhythmic modes

Six basic rhythmic patterns tied to poetic meter, used in Notre Dame polyphony to organize rhythm.

organal style

Lower chant voice with the upper voice ornamented; long-note cantus with florid upper lines.

discant style

Polyphony with active, note-for-note counterpoint—voices move against a held cantus firmus.

clausula

A self-contained discant passage, often melismatic and based on a chant fragment.

motet

Vocal composition, sacred or secular, frequently with added or extended text; originally a polytextual sacred work.

polytextuality

Two or more texts heard simultaneously in a motet.

chanson

Monophonic secular French song of the late medieval period (14th c. onward).

trouvère

Northern France aristocratic poet-musician.

troubadour

Southern France aristocratic poet-musician.

strophic form

Music that stays the same for each verse of the text.

haut

Loud outdoor instruments; associated with outdoor ensembles (e.g., sackbut, shawm).

sackbut

Brass instrument; an early trombone.

shawm

Loud double-reed instrument, a predecessor of the oboe.

bas

Indoor/soft instruments (dulcimer, lute, psaltery, vielle).

dulcimer

String instrument whose sound is produced by hammers striking strings.

psaltery

Plucked string instrument; barred or trough-like instrument.

vielle

Medieval bowed string instrument (violin ancestor)

estampie

Medieval instrumental dance characterized by a stately tempo.

heterophony

Two or more voices/instruments elaborating the same melody in different ways.

ars nova style

14th-century style of increased rhythm, harmony, and rhetoric, using isorhythm, hocket, and musica ficta.

hocket

Interlocking technique where voices alternate notes to form a single melody.

musica ficta

Raising or lowering pitches by a semitone to avoid undesirable intervals or create tension.

diabolus in musica

The tritone; an augmented fourth/diminished fifth interval historically called the devil in music.

renaissance

“Rebirth”; a period of musical change and development bridging medieval and baroque.

imitative counterpoint

Polyphonic technique where voices imitate a melodic idea in succession.

points of imitation

Moments where a motif is stated in one voice and then enters in others.

homorhythmic texture

All voices move with the same rhythm, creating a chordal texture.

madrigal

Secular vocal genre of the 16th century focusing on the relationship between poetry and music; often uses word painting.

word painting

Music reflects the literal meaning of the text.

chromaticism

Melodic/harmonic use of notes outside the standard diatonic scale.

ballett

Little dance; 16th-century Italian/English strophic song with fa la la refrains.

nonsense syllables

Non-lexical syllables used in some English madrigals.

harpsichord

Keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked; often has two manuals.

virginal

A small, plucked keyboard instrument (England); often one manual.

variation

A work based on a theme with transformations or alterations.

idiomatic writing

Composition that exploits the technical capabilities of a particular instrument.

baroque

17th–18th centuries style of art and music; originally viewed as ornate and elaborate.

figured bass

Bass line with numerical figures indicating chords to be realized.

basso continuo

Continuing accompaniment with two instruments: one plays the bass line, the other realizes the harmony.

Affections

Philosophical idea that a piece should express a single emotional state throughout.

terraced dynamics

Dynamic changes occur abruptly rather than gradually.

fortspinnung

Technique of extending a melodic line by sequential repetition and development of motifs.

binary form

Two-part form: A then B (A||B||).

rounded binary form

Binary form in which the first section returns at the end (A||B+A1||).

ternary

Three-part form: A||B||A||.

opera

Originating in Italy; a sung drama with recitatives, arias, ensembles, and choruses.

opera seria

Italian serious opera; heroic/noble tragic subjects.

opera buffa

Italian comic opera; everyday characters and light plots.

singspiel

German comic opera with spoken dialogue.

terzetto

A three-voice ensemble or trio number.

trouser role

Male character played by a female (soprano/mezzo/alto) voice.

overture

Orchestral opening to an opera or oratorio, often in sonata form.

aria

A solo vocal piece—often emotional and virtuosic—that reveals character feelings.

da capo aria

A–B–A form; returns to A with ornamentation on the reprise.

ground bass

A repeating bass line (ostinato) over which upper voices vary.

chorus

Vocal ensemble of varying size; participates in plot or serves as commentary.

monody

Late 16th/early 17th c style featuring a single vocal line with simple accompaniment.

stile rappresentativo

“representational style”; term used by the Camerata to describe the monodic style where a recitative-like melody moved freely over a foundation of simple chords

recitative

Speech-like singing used to advance plot in opera/oratorio/cantata.

recitativo secco

Dry recitative with continuo accompaniment only.

recitativo accompagnato

Recitative with orchestral accompaniment; more dramatic.

libretto

Text of an opera, oratorio, or cantata.

castrato

Male singers castrated before puberty to retain a high singing voice; performed heroic roles.

cantata

Multi-movement vocal work for soloists, chorus, and orchestra; sacred or secular.

chorale

German Protestant hymn intended for congregational singing; often the basis for cantatas.

ritornello

structure used in mvmts 1 & 3 in a baroque concerto; opening psg (ritornello) is restated throughout the mvmt, serving as a refrain

arioso

Lyric vocal style between recitative and aria.

canon

Polyphony built on exact imitation; a fixed melodic idea enters in different voices.

round

Canon in which each voice enters in imitation at the same pitch with overlapping entrances.

fugue

Highly structured polyphony with subjects entering in succession and imitative development.

augmentation

Theme presented in longer note values (rhythmic lengthening).

diminution

Theme presented in shorter note values (rhythmic shortening).

oboe da caccia

Alto oboe

oboe d’amore

Mezzo-soprano oboe pitched lower than a regular oboe

taille

Tenor oboe

concerto

Multi-movement work for soloists and orchestra; contrast between tempi and textures.

concerto grosso

Baroque concerto featuring a small group of soloists (concertino) contrasted with the full orchestra (ripieno).

ripieno

Full ensemble in a concerto grosso; the tutti.

concertino

Small group of solo instruments in a concerto grosso.