Music History DMA Qualifying Exam Terms

Lied

German art song primarily for solo voice and piano that sets poetry to music. It became popular around the 19th Century with works from notable composers such as Schubert, Mahler, Schumann, and Schoenberg

opera seria

A genre of serious opera that originated from Italy and was heavily popularized within the 18th Century. Plots either were based on historical or mythological stories to express moral messages to their audiences. Notable examples of opera seria include Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and Handel's Guilio Cesare

partita

A collection of dances (suite) within a composition that is primarily written for solo instruments. This term was evolved within the Baroque era (17th Century) was most notably used by J.S. Bach with his violin partitas. It typically features various styles of dance movements, each with its own character and tempo.

harpsichord

A string keyboard instruments that originated in the 15th Century and became the principle keyboard instrument during the Baroque era. This keyboard would be used for either solo works or providing the basso continuo during recitatives and concerto grosso.

rondo

One of the main musical forms that was popular in the Classical era. The refrained (A) section contrasts against other sections (B,C,D), which would create combinations such as ABACA or ABACADA for 5-part or 7-part rondos. Examples of works in rondo form include Mozart's "Rondo alla turca" or the last movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 104.

cyclic mass

A mass in which all movements are linked together by a common musical theme. This genre emerged from the middle of the 14th Century with Guillaume de Machaut's "Mass of our Lady."

expressionism

A German/Austrian movement within 20th Century literature and art that conveyed intense and grotesque subjects relative to dark psychological emotions. Examples of works in expressionism includes Schoenberg's "Perriot Lunaire" and Alban Berg's "Wozzeck"

recitativo accompagnato (accompanied recitative)

A recitative that features full orchestra accompaniment rather than solo continuo accompaniment. Examples of works that use recitativo accompagnato include Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice" and Handel's Messiah

countersubject

The secondary imitative theme in a fugue that harmonically and melodically contrasts against the primary subject. Examples of this can be found in various fugal compositions within solo and orchestral works such as Bach's "Well Tempered Clavier"

gigue

A lively Baroque dance usually in the compound meter (6/8, 9/8, 12/8) that would typically be the last movement in dance suites. An example of pieces that includes this dance is the Violin Partita in E Major by J.S. Bach