Classical Music Era and Enlightenment Vocabulary

Flashcards covering classical music concepts, Enlightenment figures, opera forms, and representative composers from the lecture transcript.

Standard Practice Period

The era in classical music (roughly mid-1700s) when composers like Haydn and Mozart set the 'rules' for music style.

Standard Practice Period (1750–1900)

The musical period from 1750 to 1900 known for public concerts, salon culture, and the development of standard musical forms.

The Enlightenment

A European intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and individual rights that strongly influenced culture and music.

The Enlightenment (18th-Century France)

An 18th-century movement in France marked by an emphasis on secularism, reason, and societal debate.

Style galant

A light, elegant musical style popular in the 18th century, focusing on simple melodies and clear structure.

Style galant (Harmonic Feature)

An 18th-century musical style that utilizes figures like the Alberti bass to add interest to a slow harmonic rhythm.

Alberti bass

An accompaniment figure used in the Style galant to add interest to slow harmonic rhythm.

Da Capo Aria

A type of opera song where the first section is repeated after a contrasting middle section.

Da Capo Aria (Structure)

An opera song structure characterized by an A-B-A form.

Son imbrogliato io

A specific da capo aria from Pergolesi's comic opera La serva padrona.

Querelle des Buffons

A heated debate in 18th-century France about art and nature, sparked by contrasting ideas on music and culture.

Querelle des Buffons (Influence)

An 18th-century cultural debate that influenced Gluck to create opera reforms.

La Serva Padrona

An early comic opera (opera buffa) famous for its humor and simple story.

La Serva Padrona (Plot Summary)

Pergolesi's comic intermezzo centered on the character Serpina rising from servant to mistress.

Serpina

The character in Pergolesi's comic intermezzo La Serva Padrona who rises from servant to mistress.

Opera buffa

The Italian term for comic opera, featuring everyday characters and funny situations.

Opera buffa (18th-Century Context)

The 18th-century opera revolution focused specifically on comic opera.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Philosopher and composer who wrote about music and society, playing an important role in Enlightenment thought.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Musical Role)

Enlightenment figure who authored the Letter on French Music criticizing French style music.

Letter on French Music

Rousseau's famous essay criticizing French music's complexity and praising Italian opera's emotion.

Letter on French Music (Specific Critique)

Rousseau's critique targeting the harmony and melody in French music.

Christoph Willibald Gluck

Composer who reformed opera by making it simpler and more dramatic.

Christoph Willibald Gluck (Key Works)

The opera reformer who composed Orfeo ed Euridice.

Orfeo ed Euridice

A landmark opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck as part of his opera reforms.

Empfindsamkeit

A musical style focusing on sensitive, emotional expression, often with sudden mood changes.

Empfindsamkeit (Key Figure)

A musical style emphasizing emotion and sensitivity, with C.P.E. Bach as a key figure.

C.P.E. Bach

The key musical figure associated with Empfindsamkeit, a style emphasizing emotion and sensitivity.

Encyclopédie

A massive French encyclopedia symbolizing Enlightenment knowledge and ideas.

Encyclopédie (Editor)

A massive French publication representing Enlightenment knowledge, edited by Denis Diderot.

Denis Diderot

An Enlightenment philosophe and the editor of the Encyclopédie.

Philosophe

Enlightenment thinkers who promoted reason and progress.

Philosophe (Examples)

Enlightenment thinkers who promoted reason and progress, such as Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Johann Anton Stamitz

Early symphony composer and leader of the Mannheim school, known for dynamic orchestral effects.

Johann Anton Stamitz (Innovations)

A Mannheim symphony innovator recognized for expanded orchestration.

Mannheim school

An early symphonic center led by Johann Anton Stamitz, known for dynamic orchestral effects and expanded orchestration.

Franz Joseph Haydn

The 'Father of the Symphony,' a key composer who shaped classical music's form.

Franz Joseph Haydn (Symphonic Examples)

The 'Father of the Symphony' known specifically for composing Symphony 88 and Symphony 100.

Symphony 88 and Symphony 100

Two prominent symphonies composed by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Symphony

A large orchestral work, usually in multiple movements, developed during the Classical period.

Symphony (Evolutionary Origin)

A large orchestral form that evolved from the Italian opera overture.

Giovanni Battista Sammartini

An early composer whose symphonies exemplify the evolution of the genre from the Italian opera overture.

Italian opera overture

The musical genre from which the Classical symphony evolved.

Sonata

A piece for one or two instruments, often structured in several movements.

Sonata in D Major, K. 119

A specific instrumental sonata composed by Domenico Scarlatti.

Domenico Scarlatti

The composer of Sonata in D Major, K. 119.

Concerto

A musical work featuring a solo instrument accompanied by orchestra.

Johann Christian Bach

A composer known for keyboard concertos that combined ritornello and sonata forms.

Singspiel

German comic opera with spoken dialogue instead of recitative.

Abduction From the Seraglio

Mozart's German comic opera (Singspiel) featuring spoken dialogue.

“Alla Turca”/Turkish topic

A musical style imitating Turkish music, popular in the late 18th century, influenced by Turkish Janissary band instruments, and often lively and exotic-sounding.