MUSIC HISTORY EXAM 13-17

Give an example (one of each) of a Baroque genre that used flexible rhythm and metered rhythm.

Flexible rhythm: recitative, toccata, prelude

Metered rhythm: dance music, such as allemande, courante, or gigue

What does it mean that performers were co-performers in Baroque music?

Performers were "co-performers" in the Baroque era because they added ornaments and improvised parts, helping complete the music instead of just playing what was written.

WHat was the short-hand code (or system) used by continuo performers in Baroque music to fill in harmonies?

Figured bass

What was the belief about the purpose of music in the Baroque era?

To move the emotions (the Affections)

What did Monteverdi do in his music that was shocking to some?

He broke traditional rules of counterpoint to express stronger emotion

True/False The interior voices (alto and tenor) were the most prominent in Baroque composition.

False

True/False In the Baroque chromaticism was used to express emotion, create harmonic exploration, and to create interesting subjects or themes for treatment in imitation.

True

Anna Renzi:

a singer who dominated the stage in Venice in 1641, composers wrote specifically for he talent (the vogue of operatic diva)

Teatro San Cassiano:

the first public opera house that opened in Venice 1637

Sinfonia:

used throughout the seventeenth century for an abstract ensemble piece, especially serves as a prelude i.e. overture

Ritornello:

an instrumental refrain that follows each stanza

Florentine Camerata:

an academy where scholars met to discuss literature, science, and the arts, and musicians performed new music. AKA Camerata d' Bardi, since he hosted it, Caccini gave it its name

What were the forerunners of the opera form?

Pastoral dramas, intermedi, madrigal cycles

What was the purpose behind early opera?

To recreate the emotional power of ancient Greek drama.

What is an impresario?

Theater owners contracted an impresario to produce the season's operas.

Impresarios hired librettists, composers, singers, and production staff.

Impresarios are the production managers of the opera.

What was the name of the vocal style that Jacopo Peri devised?

Recitative

Because women were prohibited from the stage in Rome, who sang the female roles? (Hint, we don't do this anymore)

Castrati

Name the first opera "that stuck" and its composer.

L' Orfeo - Claudio Monteverdi

True/False Girolama Mei believed that Greek Tragedies were sung in their entirety.

True

Name two Lutheran composers whose compositions blended the Italian style with the Lutheran chorale tradition.

Heinrich Schütz

Hermann Schein

Cori spezzati:

divided choirs- used in the wealthy Catholic churches for major feast days (Giovanni Gabrieli)

Chacona:

the first type of music to be brought from the New World to Europe, the simple repeating pattern of the refrain is plucked on the guitar

Gradus ad parnassum:

Steps to Parnassus 1725, an influential textbook on counterpoint written by Johann Joseph Fux

Fiori Musicali:

Musical Flowers 1635, a set of three organ masses by Frescobaldi suggesting what an organist could play at mass, he includes a toccata before mass at the elevation and before the ricercare.

Historia:

prominent genre in Lutheranism- a musical setting based on a biblical narrative (Passions)

Barbara Strozzi was a composer of this new vocal genre (usually solo at this time) which was sectional and composed mostly for private performance.

Cantata

What are musical features of an ostinato, or ground bass?

a pattern in the bass that repeats while the melody above changes, usually triple or compound meter, 2,4, or 8 measures long seen in Spain and Iltaly

What are the features of an oratorio?

Combined narrative, dialogue, and commentary, performed where lay people prayed,

used recitatives, arias, duets, and instrumental preludes, and ritornellos

they were religious and not staged action was described rather than acted

there was a narrator with a chorus usually one per part.

True/False. Stile moderno was a term used to describe the new way of writing music in the Baroque.

True

True/False. Saltus duriusculus was a music theory term referring to the use of harsh cadential notes.

True

True/False. The passacaglia or chaconne featured variations in the treble lines over a continuously repeating bass pattern.

True

Compare and contrast the instrumental forms ricercare and fugue.

A ricercare is an older, more serious instrumental piece that uses strict imitation and usually stays in one mood.A fugue is more developed, with a clear subject, countersubject, and episodes, and often has more dramatic changes. Both use imitation, but fugues are more structured and complex.

Style luthe:

Style luthé is a Baroque style where chords are played broken instead of together, creating a gentle, flowing sound.

Divertissements:

Divertissements are short, light entertainment sections in French operas, usually with dance, chorus, or instrumental music.

Zarzuela:

Spanish musical-theater work that mixes spoken dialogue, singing, and dancing.

Masque:

English court entertainment with music, dancing, costumes, and acting, often involving audience participation.

Tragedie en musique:

French Baroque opera style created by Lully that combines serious drama, dance, chorus, and French overture.

Name the most well-known ground bass aria from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

When I am laid in the earth.

Name a grand motet we listened to written by Lully.

Te Deum

What French rhythmic elements were added in performance?

Notes inégales (uneven long-short patterns) and overdotting were the main French rhythmic elements added in performance.

What are the major forms of Russian Baroque music?

Sacred choral concertos, cantatas, early operas, and instrumental suites.

True/False. The French aesthetic dichotomy could be described as the French ideals of elegance and restraint alongside natural expression of text and emotions through music.

True

True/False. Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was the most well-known composer of lute music in France.

False

Give evidence as to the importance of ballet in the court of Louis XIV.

Ballet was very important in Louis XIV's court. He often danced in major roles, founded the Royal Dance Academy, and expected nobles to participate. Ballet became a tool for showing royal power, teaching discipline, and creating a strong, elegant image of the French monarchy.

Baroque organ builder:

Arp Schnitger, Gottfried Silbermann

Abendmusiken:

public concerts of sacred vocal music at St. Mary's (Lubeck) on five Sunday afternoons each year before Christmas

Antonio Sartorio:

leading opera composer in Venice, known for variety and using the trumpet for heroic effect

Wrote 600+ cantatas:

Allesandro Scarlatti

Stradivari:

Famous violin builder from northern Italy. Violins have never been built better.

What was the common form for the movements of a sonata de chiesa established by Corelli?

Slow -> Fast -> Slow -> Fast

What was typical of Corelli's trio sonata compositional style especially between the two violin parts? (Hint: this technique helped move the music in a forward motion.)

The two violin parts would frequently cross and exchange music, interlocking in suspensions. This is what gave the music its forward motion.

Which are the sections of the Baroque organ?

Rückpositiv, Hauptwerk, Brustwerk, Oberwerk, Pedal. Only large organs had all 5 divisions.

True/False Town councils hired church musicians in the Lutheran areas of Germany. True/False

False

True/False Scarlatti's typical cantata structure was 2 or 3 pairs of arias and recitatives.

True

True/False German composer Johann Kuhnau published the first keyboard sonatas in Frische Clavier Früchte, 1696.

True

Name and describe the two paths of German Lutheran vocal music during the Baroque

One way vocal music went was the chorale tradition, or the Kantorei style. This was started by Luther and emphasized congregational singing as well as the chorale melody. Chorale motets and cantatas were written from these.

The concerted style was the other style of vocal music. It introduced new, Italian techniques that related to opera and chamber cantatas. It focused on solo singing (rather than congregational) and emphasized text expression. These were less devotional and showcased the singers and performers who made the music.

Describe the musical form (structure) of a da capo aria.

It begins with a highly ornamented A section in which the performer states the poetry. The B section offers some of the thematic ideas from the A section, however it may depart from the original key and then returns to the original key to give it a sense of cohesion. Then the singer goes back to the head (da capo) and utilizes more ornamentation in the melody. So, the form is ABA. See also page 376 for a detailed explanation in FORMS AT A GLANCE.