Music History Final Quiz 4

Monody

A style with a solo voice and instrumental accompaniment, emphasizing clear expression of text.

Opera

A staged musical drama combining singing, acting, and orchestral accompaniment.

Florentine Camerata

A group of late Renaissance intellectuals in Florence who helped develop early opera.

Recitative

A speech-like style of singing used in opera to advance the plot.

Aria

A lyrical, expressive solo song in opera or oratorio that conveys emotion.

Da capo aria

An aria with a three-part form (ABA), where the first section is repeated after a contrasting middle section.

Ritornello

A recurring instrumental passage that alternates with vocal or solo sections.

Sinfonia

An instrumental introduction or interlude in operas and vocal works.

Chorus (in opera)

A group of singers who comment on the action or participate in the story.

Oratorio

A large-scale vocal work with religious text, performed without staging or costumes.

Cantata

A vocal composition with several movements, often sacred, for soloists, chorus, and instruments.

Libretto

The text or script of an opera, oratorio, or other vocal work.

Sacred concerto

A Baroque work for voices and instruments with sacred text, often featuring contrasts between soloists and choir.

Temperament

A system of tuning instruments to play in different keys.

Mean-tone temperament

A tuning system that favors pure-sounding thirds but limits certain keys.

Equal temperament

A tuning system that divides the octave into 12 equal parts, allowing music in all keys.

Ballet

A staged dance form with music, often integrated with opera in the Baroque period.

“Sun King”

Nickname for Louis XIV of France, a major patron of Baroque music and dance.

24 Violons du Roi

A royal French string ensemble established by Louis XIV.

Baroque Dance Suite

A set of stylized dances; essential movements include Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, while optional ones include Minuet, Bourrée, or Gavotte.

Semi-opera

An English dramatic work combining spoken dialogue with musical masques and songs.

Trio sonata

A Baroque instrumental work for two melody instruments plus continuo.

Sonata

An instrumental composition with several contrasting movements.

Sonata da camera

A “chamber sonata,” often dance-inspired and performed in secular settings.

Sonata da chiesa

A “church sonata” intended for liturgical use, typically more serious in style.

Concerto

A work for one or more soloists accompanied by orchestra, often in three movements.

Concerto grosso

A Baroque concerto featuring a group of soloists (concertino) contrasted with the full ensemble

Baroque trumpet

A valveless trumpet used in ceremonial and orchestral music.

Lament

A vocal or instrumental work expressing grief or sorrow.

Abendmusiken

Evening musical performances in churches, especially in Lutheran Germany.

Fugue

A polyphonic composition built on a single theme that is imitated and developed in multiple voices.

Toccata

A virtuosic keyboard or instrumental piece emphasizing rapid passages and improvisatory style.

Well-Tempered Clavier

A collection of keyboard works by Bach demonstrating all 24 major and minor keys in a tuned system.

Jean-Philippe Rameau

A French composer and theorist most famous for his operas and treatises on harmony.