Music History Final Exam Review

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key musical works, styles, instrument families, and formal terms for the final exam review.

Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam

Anonymous chant from the Mass for Epiphany; a cappella male chorus; Early Middle Ages

As Vesta Was Descending

Thomas Weelkes madrigal from The Triumphs of Oriana; a cappella mixed vocal ensemble; Renaissance

Dido’s Lament (from Dido and Aeneas)

Henry Purcell opera recitative and aria; female soloist with string orchestra & continuo; Baroque

Partita BWV 825 in B-flat Major – Gigue

Johann Sebastian Bach solo harpsichord dance-suite movement; Baroque

Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, Mov. III “Minuet and Trio”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart string orchestra piece in ternary form; Classical

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Mov. I

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart orchestral work in sonata form; Classical

Der Erlkönig

Franz Schubert through-composed art song for male soloist & piano; Romantic

Maple Leaf Rag

Scott Joplin solo piano rag; cornerstone of Ragtime style (late Romantic/early 20th c.)

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Mov. IV

Ludwig van Beethoven choral-orchestral cyclical symphony movement; Romantic

Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun

Claude Debussy Impressionistic symphonic poem for orchestra

Lost Your Head Blues

Bessie Smith early 20th-century classic blues; female vocalist with small combo

It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

Duke Ellington swing-era big-band piece featuring male soloists

Salt Peanuts

Dizzy Gillespie bebop tune for jazz quintet; mid-20th c.

Signs

Five Man Electrical Band 1960s rock song for rock combo

Short Ride in a Fast Machine

John Adams minimalist symphonic poem for orchestra

Medium

Type of performing group used in a piece (e.g., string orchestra, jazz quintet)

Instrumental Family

Group of instruments that produce sound in the same basic manner

Winds

Instruments that produce sound by blowing air through or across them

Woodwinds

Wind instruments primarily made of wood (flute/piccolo are metal exceptions)

Brass

Wind instruments made of brass (e.g., trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba)

Strings

Instruments producing sound by vibration of stretched strings (violin, cello, etc.)

Percussion

Instruments producing sound by striking an object or membrane

Common Orchestral Woodwinds

Flute/Piccolo, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon

Common Orchestral Brass

French horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba

Common Orchestral Strings

Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp

Chant

Monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the early Middle Ages

Madrigal

Secular a cappella vocal piece of the Renaissance, often polyphonic

Opera Recitative & Aria

Alternating speech-like and lyrical sections that convey plot and emotion in Baroque opera

Dance Suite

Baroque instrumental collection of stylized dances (e.g., Allemande, Courante, Gigue)

Ternary Form (ABA)

Three-part musical structure with a contrasting middle section

Sonata Form

Classical structure with Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation

Through-Composed

Song form with continuously new music for each stanza

Symphonic Poem

Single-movement orchestral work that illustrates a programmatic idea

Ragtime

Late-19th/early-20th-century piano style featuring syncopated (“ragged”) rhythms

Swing

1930s big-band jazz style characterized by strong rhythmic “swing” feel

Bebop

1940s small-combo jazz style noted for fast tempos and complex improvisation

Minimalism

Late-20th-century style using steady pulse, repetition, and gradual change