music mr golladay test 2

a cappella

Music sung without instrumental accompaniment.

Ars nova

A style of music from the 1300s that used new and more complex rhythms.

ballade

A medieval French song form that was often about love or other serious topics.

basse danse

A slow, graceful Renaissance court dance.

cantus firmus

A fixed melody used as the basis for a piece of music.

clausula

A short section of medieval polyphonic music, often added to a chant.

cloister

A covered walkway in a monastery or convent.

consort

A small group of instruments from the same family.

courtly love

A medieval tradition of idealized love between a knight and a noble woman.

Counter Reformation

The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation.

dance suite

A group of different dances played together as one musical work.

discant

A medieval style where two or more voices move independently but sound together.

formes fixes

Fixed musical forms used in medieval French music.

galliard

A lively Renaissance dance in triple meter.

Gregorian chant

Traditional Catholic church music sung in Latin, usually without instruments.

homophonic

Music with one main melody supported by chords or other parts.

humanism

A Renaissance focus on human abilities, learning, and classical Greek and Roman ideas.

imitation

When one musical part repeats or copies an idea from another part.

instrumental music

Music written to be played by instruments rather than sung.

isorhythm

A medieval technique using repeating rhythmic and melodic patterns.

liturgy

The official words and actions used in a religious service.

lute

A Renaissance string instrument with a rounded back, similar to a guitar.

madrigal

A Renaissance secular vocal song that often used word painting.

Mass Ordinary

The parts of the Catholic Mass that stay mostly the same each day.

Mass Proper

The parts of the Catholic Mass that change depending on the day or celebration.

melismatic

Singing many notes on one syllable of text.

minstrel

A traveling musician or entertainer who performed songs and stories.

monastery

A place where monks live, work, and worship.

monophonic

Music with only one melodic line and no harmony.

motet

A polyphonic vocal composition that was usually sacred during the Renaissance.

neumes

Early symbols used to show the general shape and direction of Gregorian chant melodies.

Notre Dame School

A group of medieval composers who helped develop early polyphonic music.

Office

Church services prayed at specific times throughout the day.

organum

An early form of polyphony that added another voice to Gregorian chant.

pavane

A slow Renaissance court dance in duple meter.

plainchant

Unaccompanied monophonic church singing, usually using Gregorian chant.

polyphony

Music with two or more independent melodic lines played or sung together.

Reformation

A religious movement that challenged the Catholic Church and led to Protestant churches.

Renaissance

A period from about 1400–1600 known for renewed interest in art, learning, and classical ideas.

rhythmic modes

Medieval patterns used to organize long and short musical rhythms.

rondeau

A medieval French song form with a recurring refrain.

sackbut

An early Renaissance brass instrument similar to the modern trombone.

secular music

Music that is not connected to religion.

shawm

A loud medieval and Renaissance double-reed woodwind instrument.

sacred music

Music written for religious purposes or worship.

syllabic

Singing one note for each syllable of text.

tenor

The voice or part that often carried the main melody in medieval polyphony.

troubadour

A medieval poet and musician from southern France who often wrote about courtly love.

trouvère

A medieval poet and musician from northern France who often wrote songs about love.

viol

A Renaissance string instrument played with a bow.

virelai

A medieval French song form with a repeating refrain.

word painting

A musical technique where the music reflects the meaning of the words.