Western Music History Terms Chp. 12-14

chaconne

BAROQUE GENRE derived from the CHACONA, consisting of VARIATIONS over a BASSO CONTINUO

passacaglia

BAROQUE GENRE of VARIATIONS over a repeated BASS line or HARMONIC PROGRESSION in triple METER

variations

FORM that presents an uninterrupted series of variants on a THEME; the theme may be a MELODY, a BASS line, a HARMONIC plan, or other musical subject

chacona

A vivacious dance-song imported from Latin America into Spain and then into Italy, popular during the seventeenth century; usually in triple meter and employing some type of variation technique

fantasia

instrumental COMPOSITION that resembles
an IMPROVISATION or lacks a strict FORM

fugue

COMPOSITION or section of a composition in strict IMITATIVE COUNTERPOINT that is based on a single SUBJECT and begins with successive statements of the subject at contrasting pitches, usually the first and fifth scale degrees

subject

THEME, used especially for the main MELODY used in a RICERCARE, FUGUE, or other IMITATIVE work

answer

In the EXPOSITION of a FUGUE, the second entry of the SUBJECT, normally on the DOMINANT if the subject was on the TONIC, and vice versa

dynamics

Level of loudness or softness, or intensity

sonata

A piece to be played on one or more instruments. BAROQUE instrumental piece with contrasting sections or MOVEMENTS, each based on different material or on variants of the same material. GENRE in several movements for one or two solo instruments, often exploiting the idiomatic possibilities of
a particular instrument.

figuration, figure

MELODIC pattern made of commonplace materials such as SCALES or ARPEGGIOS, usually not distinctive enough to be considered a MOTIVE or THEME

chorale variations

A set of VARIATIONS on a CHORALE MELODY

partita

BAROQUE term for a set of VARIATIONS on a MELODY or BASS line

clavecin

French term for HARPSICHORD. A person who performs on or composes works for the clavecin is known as a clavecinist

agréments

ORNAMENT in French music, usually indicated by a sign

style brisé

Broken or ARPEGGIATED TEXTURE in keyboard and LUTE music from 17th century France. The technique originated with the lute, and the FIGURATION was transferred to
the HARPSICHORD

suite

A set of pieces that are linked together into a single work. During the BAROQUE, a suite
usually referred to a set of stylized DANCE pieces

allemande

Highly stylized DANCE in BINARY FORM, in moderately fast quadruple METER with almost continuous movement, beginning with an upbeat. Popular during the RENAISSANCE and BAROQUE; appearing often as the first dance in a SUITE

gigue

Stylized DANCE movement of a standard BAROQUE SUITE, in BINARY FORM, marked by fast compound METER such as 6/4 or 12/8 with wide MELODIC leaps and continuous triplets. Both sections usually begin with IMITATION

saraband

Originally a quick dance-song from Latin America. In French BAROQUE music, a slow DANCE in BINARY FORM and in triple METER, often emphasizing the second beat; a standard MOVEMENT of a SUITE

unmeasured prelude

A French BAROQUE keyboard GENRE, usually the first MOVEMENT in a SUITE, whose nonmetric NOTATION gives a feeling of IMPROVISATION

gavotte

BAROQUE duple-time dance in BINARY FORM, with a half-measure ANACRUSIS and a characteristic rhythm of short-short-long

minuet

DANCE in moderate triple METER, two-measure units, and BINARY FORM

sonata da camera

BAROQUE SONATA, usually a SUITE of stylized DANCES, scored for one or more TREBLE instruments and CONTINUO

sonata da chiesa

BAROQUE instrumental work intended for performance in church; usually in four MOVEMENTS—slow–fast–slow–fast—and scored for one or more TREBLE instruments
and CONTINUO

trio sonata

Common instrumental GENRE during the BAROQUE PERIOD, a SONATA for two TREBLE instruments (usually VIOLINS) above a BASSO CONTINUO. A performance featured four or more players if more than one was used for the continuo part

walking bass

BASS line in BAROQUE music—and later in JAZZ—that moves steadily and continuously, often stepwise

cadenza

Highly embellished passage, often IMPROVISED, at an important CADENCE, usually occurring just before the end of a piece or section

diminuation

Uniform reduction of NOTE values in a MELODY or PHRASE. Type of IMPROVISED ORNAMENTATION in the sixteenth and 17th centuries, in which relatively long notes are replaced with SCALES or other FIGURES composed of short notes

notes inégales

17th century convention of performing French music in which passages notated in short, even durations, such as a succession of eighth notes, are performed by alternating longer notes on the beat with shorter offbeats to produce a lilting rhythm

ouverture

OVERTURE, especially FRENCH OVERTURE. SUITE for ORCHESTRA, beginning with an OVERTURE

overdotting

Performing practice in French BAROQUE music in which a dotted NOTE is held longer than written, while the following short note is shortened

collegium musicum

An association of amateurs, popular during the BAROQUE PERIOD, who gathered to play and sing together for their own pleasure. Today, an ensemble of university students that usually performs early music

orchestra

ENSEMBLE whose core consists of strings with more than one player on a part, usually joined by woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments

Stadtpfeifer

Professional town musicians who had the exclusive right to provide music within city limits

nationalism

In politics and culture, an attempt to unify or represent a particular group of people by creating a national identity through characteristics such as common language,
shared culture, historical traditions, and national institutions and rituals. 19th to 20th century trend in music in which composers were eager to embrace elements in their music that claimed a national identity

aria

In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, any setting of an Italian STROPHIC poem for a solo singer. Lyrical monologue in an OPERA or other
vocal work such as CANTATA and ORATORIO

da capo aria

ARIA FORM with two sections. The first section is repeated after the second section's close, which carries the instruction “da capo”, creating an ABA FORM

impresario

During the BAROQUE PERIOD, a businessman who managed and oversaw the production of OPERAS; today, someone who books and stages operas and other musical events

diva

A leading and successful female OPERA singer

prima donna

A soprano singing the leading female role in an OPERA

tragédie en musique

French 17th and 18th century form of OPERA, pioneered by Jean-Baptiste Lully, that combined the French classic drama and BALLET traditions with music, DANCES,
and spectacles

divertissement

In TRAGÉDIE EN MUSIQUE, a long interlude of BALLET, solo AIRS, choral singing, and spectacle, intended as entertainment

conductor

A person who leads a performance, especially for an ORCHESTRA, BAND, CHORUS, or other large ENSEMBLE, by means of gestures

French overture

Type of OVERTURE used in TRAGÉDIE EN MUSIQUE and other GENRES that opens with a slow, HOMOPHONIC, and majestic section, followed by a faster second section that begins with IMITATION

récitatif measuré

In French BAROQUE OPERA, RECITATIVE in a songlike, measured style, in a uniform METER, and with relatively steady motion in the accompaniment

récitatif simple

In French BAROQUE OPERA, RECITATIVE
that shifts frequently between duple and triple METER to allow the syllables of words that are naturally accented in speech to fall on the downbeats

grand motet

French version of the large-scale SACRED CONCERTO, for soloists, double CHORUS, and ORCHESTRA

petit motet

French version of the SMALL SACRED CONCERTO for one, two, or three voices and CONTINUO

semi-opera

Modern term for a 17th century English mixed GENRE of musical theater, a spoken play with an OVERTURE and four or more MASQUES or long musical interludes

Anthem

A POLYPHONIC sacred work in English for Anglican religious services

catch

English GENRE of CANON, usually with a humorous or ribald text

verse anthem

ANTHEM in which passages for solo voice(s) with accompaniment alternate with passages for full CHOIR doubled by instruments

Concerto

Beginning in the 17th century, ENSEMBLE of instruments or of voices with one or more instruments, or a work for such an ensemble. COMPOSITION in which one or more solo instruments (or instrumental group) contrasts with an ORCHESTRAL ENSEMBLE

ripieno

In a SOLO CONCERTO or CONCERTO GROSSO, the full ORCHESTRA, or TUTTI

solo concerto

CONCERTO in which a single instrument, such as a VIOLIN, contrasts with an ORCHESTRA

tutti

In both the SOLO CONCERTO and the CONCERTO GROSSO, designates the full ORCHESTRA. Also called RIPIENO (Italian, "full"). Instruction to an ENSEMBLE that all should play

concerto grosso

Instrumental work that exploits the contrast in sonority between a small ENSEMBLE of solo instruments (concertino), usually the same forces that appeared in the TRIO SONATA, and a large ENSEMBLE

orchestral concerto

Orchestral GENRE in several MOVEMENTS, originating in the late 17th century, that emphasized the first VIOLIN part and the BASS, avoiding the more CONTRAPUNTAL TEXTURE of the SONATA

overture

An ORCHESTRAL piece introducing an OPERA or other long work. Independent ORCHESTRAL WORK in one movement, usually descriptive

ritornello form

Standard FORM for fast MOVEMENTS in CONCERTOS of the first half of the 18th century, featuring a RITORNELLO. For full ORCHESTRA that alternates with EPISODES characterized by virtuosic material played by one or more soloists

episode

In a FUGUE, a passage of COUNTERPOINT between statements of the SUBJECT. In RONDO FORM, a section between two statements of the main THEME. A subsidiary passage between presentations of the main thematic material

dominant

In TONAL music, the NOTE and CHORD a perfect fifth above the TONIC

modulation

In TONAL music, a gradual change from one KEY to another within a section of a MOVEMENT

fundamental bass

Term coined by Jean-Philippe Rameau to indicate the succession of the roots or fundamental tones in a series of CHORDS

root

The lowest NOTE in a CHORD when it is arranged as a succession of thirds

cantata

In the 17th and 18th centuries, a vocal chamber work with CONTINUO, usually for solo voice, consisting of several sections or MOVEMENTS that include RECITATIVES and ARIAS and setting a lyrical or quasi-dramatic text. Genre of Lutheran church music in the eighteenth century, combining poetic texts with texts drawn from CHORALES or the Bible, and including RECITATIVES, ARIAS, chorale settings, and usually one or more CHORUSES. In later eras, a work for soloists, CHORUS, and ORCHESTRA in several MOVEMENTS but smaller than an oratorio

musical figure

In BAROQUE music, a MELODIC pattern or CONTRAPUNTAL effect conventionally employed to convey the meaning of a text

capriccio

In the BAROQUE PERIOD, a FUGAL piece
in continuous IMITATIVE COUNTERPOINT. In the 19th century, a short COMPOSITION in free FORM, usually for PIANO

étude

An instrumental piece designed to develop a particular skill or performing technique. Certain 19th-century études that contained significant artistic content and were played in concert were called concert études.

clavichord

A small keyboard string instrument producing a sweet, soft, and expressive sound, developed during the RENAISSANCE and used mostly for private music-making until the 18th century. The tone, which is produced by a brass disk striking the string, is under the direct control of the player

temperament

Any system of tuning NOTES in the SCALE in which pitches are adjusted to make most or all INTERVALS sound well, though perhaps not in perfect tune

equal temperament

A TEMPERAMENT in which the octave is divided into twelve equal SEMITONES. This is the most commonly used tuning for Western music today

quodlibet

COMPOSITION or passage in which two or more
existing MELODIES, or parts of melodies, are combined in COUNTERPOINT

accompanied recitative

RECITATIVE that uses ORCHESTRAL accompaniment to punctuate and reinforce the message of the text

simple recitative

Style of RECITATIVE scored for solo voice and BASSO CONTINUO, used for setting dialogue or monologue in as speechlike a fashion as possible, without dramatization

sinfonia

Generic term used throughout the 17th century for an abstract ENSEMBLE piece, especially one that serves as an introduction to a vocal work. Italian OPERA OVERTURE in the early 18th century

ballad opera

GENRE of 18th-century English comic play featuring songs in which new words are set to borrowed tunes