Music History (301) Midterm #1 Review

Basso Continuo

A continuous bass line with improvised harmonies. This part is often played by a low string player and a keyboardist.

Tutti/Ripieno

Tutti means "all." This term refers to the complete orchestra that is often contrasted with a soloist or group of soloists in Baroque concertos.

Concertino

A small group of soloists in a Baroque concerto

Subject

The primary melodic idea in a fugue.

Episode

A passage in a fugue that is often modulatory or transitional.

Fugal Exposition

This section contains a full statement of the fugal subject in all of the fugal voices.

Stretto

An imitation of a full statement of the fugal subject in all fugal voices

Countersubject

A secondary musical idea that plays alongside the subject in a fugue.

Answer

A statement of the subject in the dominant in a fugue.

Canon

A musical form and a compositional technique, based on the principle of strict imitation, in which an initial melody is imitated at a specific time interval by one or more parts.

Rococo

A light, elegant, and thin-textured style with ornamented melodies.

Passion

An unstaged vocal setting of the passion of Christ. In the Lutheran Baroque tradition, most passions consisted of German texts based on a Gospel in two parts; they featured alternating polyphonic choruses, solo arias, and recitatives, turbae choruses, and chorales.

Italian Cantata

An unstaged piece for solo voice or multiple soloists and accompaniment (often basso continuo) consisting of alternating recitatives and arias. It is sung in Italian, and many were based on secular texts.

German Lutheran Cantata

An unstaged piece of vocal music consisting of alternating polyphonic choral writing and chorales. Arias, and recitatives were added in the High Baroque. Early German Lutheran chorales were based on the chorale texts. Later ones also included poetic interpolations. Sung in German.

English Oratorio

An unstaged genre of music for instruments, voice, and chorus. The text is in English and the topic is often based on the Bible. Music consists of choruses of all types, arias, and recitatives.

Accompanied Recitative

A type of musical declamation that is accompanied by an orchestra.

Unaccompanied Recitative

A type of musical declamation that is accompanied by basso continuo.

Aria

A virtuosic piece for solo voice plus accompaniment that expresses a character's reaction to a plot.

Da Capo Aria

A popular type of aria that features a contrasting middle section (ABA). In the Baroque era, soloists often improvised ornamentation in the final section.

Chorale

A term that refers to a text, a hymn melody, or a four part harmonization of a text and hymn melody in the Lutheran Tradition.

Turbae Choruses

crowd choruses in Lutheran passions that represent the speech of a specific group of people. The music is often rhythmic and the choruses are usually short.

Tragédie en musique

A genre of French Baroque opera characterized by 5 acts, and a descriptive orchestral writing, French overture openings, lyrical airs, dancing, and choruses. Sung in French.

Opera Seria

A serious genre of Italian opera characterized by three acts and alternating recitatives and arias. Sung in Italian.

Baroque variations/ variation techniques

Baroque sets of variations feature repeated bass lines or harmonic patterns over which new figurations occur upon each repetition. Common names for these variations include the Passacaglia and the Chaconne.

Chaconne

A Baroque variation form featuring variations over repeated harmonic patterns.

Passacaglia

A set of variation over a repeated bass pattern

Baroque Solo Concerto

A genre that features alternating tutti and solo sections in changing keys. The orchestra usually introduces the main themes and the solo part is usually episodic and virtuosic.

Concerto Grosso

A genre that features alternating tutti and concertino sections in changing keys. The orchestra usually introduces the main themes and the concertino section are usually episodic and virtuosic.

Dance Suite

collection of Baroque Dances that usually occur in the same key. By the high Baroque, suites usually contained a Sarabande, Allemande, Courante, and Gigue, plus optional dances.

Allemande

A processional and stately German couple dance in 4/4 time and a moderate tempo.

Sarabande

A slow and stately dance in triple meter. The emphasis is usually on the second beat.

Courante

A stately French Triple Meter dance

Corrente

A fast Italian dance in triple meter, often with continuous eighth or sixteenth notes

Gigue

A lively dance, often in compound meter, and sometimes contrapuntal in texture. Usually the last dance in a suite.

Ritornello Form

A formal structure used frequently in Baroque concertos. In this form, opening tutti sections for full orchestra consisting of several small units reappear in part or whole in different keys throughout a piece, separated by episodic or modulatory sections for soloist or concertino.

French overture

An overture in two repeated sections in which the first is homophonic and stately with dotted rhythms and the second is fast and imitative.

Keyboard Prelude

An introductory piece or movement often in an improvisatory style with broken chords and adventurous harmonies.

Fugue

A contrapuntal piece in two or more voices built on musical subject that appears in imitation (usually starting on the tonic and with an answer on the dominant). Chorale Prelude.

Trio Sonata

A Baroque sonata for two treble instruments plus basso continuo

Sonata de Camera

a type of trio sonata consisting of Baroque dances in any number of movements (alternating fast and slow) beginning with a fast movement.

Sonata de Chiesa

A type of trio sonata consisting of four movement beginning with a slow movement (slow-fast-slow-fast)

Ospedale della pietá

This is the orphanage that employed Vivaldi in Venice.

Eisenach

Bach spent his childhood in this town from 1685-1695

Arnstadt

Bach worked as a church musician in this town from 1703-1708

Mülhausen

Bach worked as a church musician in this town from 1708-1717

Weimar

Bach was a court musician in this town from 1708-1717, and was ultimately promoted to concert master there. It was in this city that he was exposed to much Italian music.

Cöthen

Bach was a court musician in this town from 1717-1723. He composed many suites in this town and was exposed to French dancing and dance masters there.

Leipzig

Bach worked in this town from 1723-1750 and composed numerous cantatas.

Thomaskirche

This is one of the two main churches in Leipzig where Bach worked.