Fall Final Review

1.      What did the word “baroque” originally mean and when was it first applied?

Around 1600, Italian musicians created a new kind of music later called “Baroque.” It was a term first used in the mid-1700’s to describe music or art of the older generation that was regarded as bizarre or exaggerated.

To what period does it now refer?

1.      Music historians now use it for the period of about 1600 to 1750

How did Baroque musicians evoke theatricality in their work?

1.      by using contrast and motion to arouse feelings

What are the affections?

1.      generalized states of feeling, such as joy, anger, love, fear, excitement, or wonder

How did the composer expect to arouse emotion in the listener?

1.      By imitating emotion in musical gesture, the composer expected the listener to experience the corresponding affection.

What is the prima pratica? Seconda pratica?

1.    first practice, obeys the rules of sixteenth-century counterpoint.  voice-leading rules are broken and unprepared dissonances are used to set vivid words in the text

What were the antecedents for opera?

pastoral drama, madrigal comedy and intermedio

What was the aim of the creators of opera?

1.       to generate the ethical effects of ancient Greek tragedies

What was monody?

1.      a term used by modern historians that refers to solo singing with accompaniment.

What is the first opera?

1.      Dafne (1598), which survives in fragments

What is recitative?

1.      half-way between speech and song

How did recitative style imitate speech?

1.      By imitating the stress patterns and rhythm of speech

How did opera change as it spread?

1.      it changed from entertainment based on humanist ideals to a theatrical spectacle centered on singers.

Where was the first public opera house opened?

1.   In   Venice, the first public opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, opened to a paying public in 1637

When did opera separate into recitative and aria?

1.      By the middle of the seventeenth century.

What three factors have been in tension in opera since the very beginning?

drama, spectacle, and vocal display

What trend that occurred around 1600 does the basso continuo reflect?

1.      the increased emphasis on the melody and bass lines.

What was the primary purpose of the basso continuo?

1.      to accompany the melody

What was the concertato medium

1.       contrasting groups of voices or groups of instruments

What effect did combining instruments have on intonation?

1.       required compromises between just intonation, used by singers and string players, mean-tone temperament, used for keyboards, and more equal temperaments, used by lutes and viols.

How did changes in instrumentation affect tuning during the 1600’s?

1.       Increased reliance on harpsichord and organ caused mean-tone temperament to predominate.

How was chromaticism used in the Baroque period?

1.       to express intense emotions in vocal music, to suggest harmonic exploration in instrumental pieces, and to create distinctive subjects for treatment in imitative counterpoint.

What was the purpose of ornamentation in the Baroque?

1.      Ornamentation was a means of moving the affections

What was a concerted madrigal?

1.       Pieces written for solo voice or small vocal ensemble with basso continuo and/or other instruments. They exemplify the blending of old (polyphonic vocal music) and new (concerto medium).

What was the descending tetrachord? Basso ostinato? Ground bass? Chaconne?

-a common ground-bass pattern, often used for laments.

-Both are terms for a repetitive bass pattern

-1.      a light-hearted dance-song imported from Latin American into Spain, was played on guitar, and its refrain followed a repeating pattern of chords.

Describe the structure of an early 17th century cantata.

1.      successive sections: recitative, arioso, and aria

1.      What were the two differing styles used in the sacred concerto?

stile antico (old contrapuntal style) and the stile moderno (modern style).

Who was the pioneer of the small sacred concerto?

1.       Lodovico Viadana (1560–1627)

What were oratorios?

1.      An oratorio uses most of the same types of music as an opera, but it has a religious subject, it is rarely staged, there is often a narrator, and it employs a chorus that could take roles.

Who was leading composer of oratorios in the 17th century?

Carissimi (1605–1674),

What was Schütz renowned for?

1.      for applying the new Italian styles to church music and conveying the meaning of words through music.

What two features did shutz blend in his late works?

1.      the polychoral style of Gabrieli, with the dissonance of Monteverdi.

What is a historia?.     What was the most common type of historia?

a musical setting based on a biblical narrative

1.      the Passion, a musical setting of the story of Jesus’ crucifixion

Name three types of improvisatory works for keyboard or lute.

1.       toccata, fantasia, or prelude

Name four types of fugal works in continuous imitative counterpoint.

1.       ricercare, fantasia, capriccio, or fugue

Give two types of works with contrasting sections

 canzona or sonata

How did Louis use the arts?

to establish his authority

What was the court ballet?

1.      a distinctive French genre that included solo songs, choruses, and dances

What were the three performing groups of the French court?

1.      Royal Chapel, Chamber, and the Great Stable

What prompted the development of the wind instruments?

1.       The desire for greater control over intonation and tone color and the prominence of winds in ceremonial music at court

How did string music at the French court in the 1600s influence the development of the modern orchestra?

1.       The French created the first large ensembles of the violin family, the Vingt-quatre Violons du Roi (Twenty-Four Violins of the King) and the Petits Violons (Small Violin Ensemble). These became the model for the modern orchestra

What genre did Lully and Quinault invent?

1.       tragédie en musique (later named tragédie lyrique).

How many acts were in a French opera?

1.      Quinault’s propagandistic librettos featured serious, usually mythological plots in five acts.

What was the structure of the French Ouverture?

1.       two repeated sections: the first slow with dotted rhythms and the second fast and imitative. 

What was the Divertissement?

1.       A divertissement usually appeared at the center or end of each act and provided opportunities for dances and choruses

Describe Lully’s recitative

1.       more rhythmic and more songful than Italian recitative, often shift between duple and triple to allow the most natural and expressive declamation of the words

Describe Lully’s harmony.

1.      Harmony in Lully’s music tended to be tonal rather than modal.

Where was the emphasis in French Opera?

1.      on the dramatic declamation of words and on entertaining spectacle.

What were the agréments?

brief ornaments

What was the air?

the leading genre of vocal chamber music in France

What was the typical structure of a mid-17^th century German suite?

1.      a mid century German suite usually begins with an allemande followed by a courante, sarabande, and gigue (often preceded by a prelude)

What were the 7 typical parts in a mid 17^th century French suite?

1.      a mid-century French suite begins with a prelude, often an unmeasured prelude, and continues with a series of dance-inspired movements like the allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue, gavotte, and minuet

What was the importance of French music in the 18th century?

1.      The French style was almost as influential as Italian music, and the integration of the two became one of the themes of the eighteenth century.

What were the main influences on English music?

elements of Italian, French and English style.

What are the stylistic antecedents to Dido and Aeneas of Purcell?

1.       Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (1689) incorporates elements of the English masque and of French and Italian opera.

What was the major change in musical tonality by the third quarter of the 17^th century?

1.      composers were writing tonal music, after a gradual evolution from modality to tonality

What is the name for a set of dances linked together?

A suite.

What were the leading vocal genres in mid-17^th century Italy?

1.       Opera and cantata were the leading vocal genres

What replaced the short, contrasting sections of the mid-century cantata?

1.      The short, contrasting sections of the midcentury cantata were later replaced by alternating recitatives and arias.

What was the most common form of aria in Scarlatti’s operas and cantatas?

1.      The most common form of aria in Scarlatti’s operas and cantatas is the da capo aria, a conventional, yet flexible form.

What was the usual texture of the trio sonata (ie. how many instruments, and of what kind)?

1.      A trio sonata features two treble instruments with basso continuo, which normally included a bass instrument and harpsichord or organ.

What kind of music did Corelli compose?

He composed only instrumental works,

What are the typical traits of Corelli’s music?

Sequences, chains of suspensions, walking bass and dialogue between the violins

1.      Corelli’s church sonatas often include four movements in the pattern slow-fast-slow-fast, usually consisting of a majestic first movement, a fugue, a slow duet in triple meter, and a fast dance. His chamber sonatas typically begin with a prelude followed by two or three dance movements. Corelli’s solo violin sonatas use the same format as his trio sonatas, but demand more virtuosity. In the sonatas, movements are based on a single subject stated at the outset, which is then expanded through sequences, variations, and modulations. Corelli’s music is tonal, and he used suspensions and sequences to achieve the sense of forward harmonic motion on which tonality depends. Corelli’s sonatas served as models that composers followed for the next half-century, and his compositions have become classics.

What elements did the concerto grosso contrast?

1.      the concerto grosso, which contrasted a small ensemble (or concertino) with a large ensemble (or concerto grosso)

How was the typical Corelli concerto grosso structured?

1.      Corelli’s concerto grossi were essentially trio sonatas divided between soli and tutti.

What was the collegium musicum?

1.      a group of amateurs for whom music-making was a prominent part of social life.

How did German composers mix Italian, French and German styles in their operas?

1.      adopted Italian recitative and aria styles in their operas but also used a variety of French dance rhythms and German song styles.

What accounted for the improvisatory feel of the toccata?

1.      The improvisatory feel of the toccata was largely due to abrupt changes of harmonic direction; contrasting irregular rhythms and steady sixteenth notes; phrases with irregular or inconclusive endings; and changes in melodic direction and texture.

What was the German approach to national styles in the 18th century?

1.      Composers in Germany often studied abroad and blended Italian, French, and native styles in new ways.

How was the orchestral suite formed?

1.      From about 1690 to 1740, German composers wrote a new type of orchestral suite with dances patterned on those from Lully’s ballets and operas.

Who wrote the first multi-movement sonatas for keyboard?

Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722)

How did German-speaking musicians become the leading composers in Europe in the 18^th century?

by combining musical traits of Italy, France, and the German-speaking lands.

What were the principal musical centers in 18th century Italy?

1.      Naples, Rome and Venice remained the principal musical centers.

Who created the new form for Italian serious opera in the 18th century?

1.      A new kind of serious Italian opera (opera seria) emerged in the 1720s, codified by librettist Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782).

Vivaldi used a simple but flexible plan that allowed him to achieve variety through ever-changing combinations of a few basic elements. Name five of those elements

1.       He used different groupings of solo and orchestral instruments ; opposition between soloist and orchestra.; the three-movement plan (fast-slow-fast); ,ritornello form; The opening ritornello is composed of several small units; The opening and closing ritornellos are in the tonic, and the others confirm the keys to which the music modulated during the virtuosic and idiomatic solo episodes.

What was the basis of his slow movements?

1.      long-breathed, cantabile melodies, to which the performer was expected to add embellishments

Vivaldi’s concerti, for all their formal economy, have great variety and and a great range of expression. Give five reasons for this.

1.      The musical ideas seem spontaneous and natural. They have a clear formal structure, with assured harmonies, varied textures, and forceful rhythms.

How did Couperin treat the Italian and the French styles?

1.      Couperin admired both Lully and Corelli, and sought to blend French and Italian styles in his chamber music.

Rameau is known today primarily for two things. what are they?

1.      was both a theorist who founded the theory of tonal music and a composer who was Lully’s most important successor

What is another name for the fundamental bass?

1.      in modern terms, the progression of chord roots)

What was his attitude to modulation?

1.      He recognized modulation, but considered that each piece had one principal tonic key

Give four characteristics of Rameau’s operatic style.

1.      Rameau’s melodies are often triadic, outlining the harmonies, which he drew from a rich palette of chords. The instrumental passages of Rameau’s operas were especially original, with tone painting, novel orchestration, and independent woodwind parts. Rameau moved smoothly between recitative and aria styles and frequently included choruses.

What was the German approach to national styles in the 18th century?

1.      Germans had a history of interest in music from other nations, and their synthesis of these diverse traditions gave their music wide appeal.

How would you describe the music of Telemann?

1.      a mixture of French and Italian styles and German counterpoint.

What was Bach’s relationship to the musical styles of his time?

1.      He absorbed the major genres and styles of his time, blended them in new ways, and developed them further.

How did Bach learn composition?

1.      by copying and arranging other composers’ music.

What was Bach’s procedure in writing music?

1.      Bach composed by inventing the principal theme or vocal melody and then elaborating it.

Give two examples of how Bach used the music of Vivaldi.

1.      Bach arranged Vivaldi violin concertos for keyboard and adopted ritornello form and other Vivaldi qualities in his own works.

What was the form of the organ prelude in the Orgelbüchelein?

1.      short chorale preludes which served as an introduction before congregational singing.

What is the form of the Well Tempered Clavier? The Well-Tempered Clavier consists of twenty-four prelude and fugue pairs in each major and minor key.

1.       Each prelude assigns the player a specific technical task and illustrates different types of keyboard performance conventions and compositional practices, while the fugues comprise an array of fugal writing techniques.

Describe the Art of the Fugue

systematically demonstrates all types of fugal writing.

What is Bach’s aim in the unaccompanied sonatas for flute, violin and cello?

1.      create the illusion of a harmonic and contrapuntal texture.

What is the model for the Brandenburg Concertos?

1.      follow Italian models but expand the forms

What was the Lutheran church cantata?

a series of recitatives and arias featuring a poetic text based on a biblical text and closing with a chorale

What are the stylistic influences that Bach used in the St. John and St. Matthew Passions?

1.      he drew on elements from opera, cantata, and oratorios to recount the story of Jesus’ death.

Handel grew up where? He moved where? He ended up where?

1.      He was born in Germany, and he studied the music of German and Italian composers. In 1703, he moved to Hamburg, played in an opera orchestra, and composed his first opera. He traveled to Italy where he associated with the leading patrons and musicians. Handel’s greatest success came in London,

What is Handel best known for?

1.      Handel is best known for his Italian operas and English oratorios.

What were the French, Italian and German elements Handel combined in his operas?

1.      In his operas, Handel combined French overtures and dances, Italian style recitatives and arias, and German elements of counterpoint and orchestration.

What were the two types of recit Handle employed?

  He employed the two types of recitative in Italian opera—simple recitative (with continuo) and accompanied recitative (with orchestra

How did Handle move the plot forward in his operas?

1.     by freely combining recitative, arias, ariosos, and orchestral passages