Music in Society - Test 1

Music

The art of organizing sound.

Active Listening

Purposeful, attentive listening.

Purpose of Music

Elicit an emotional response from the listener.

Also, communication, expression, pleasure, entertainment, etc.

Composer wants the listener to have some kind of response/opinion.

Properties of Music

Rhythm

Pitch

Dynamics

Tone Color

Rhythm

The flow of music through time.

What happens between the beats.

Pitch

The highness or lowness of the sound.

Interval

The space between two notes

Dynamics

The loudness or softness of the music

Tone Color

The element of Music that gives it a specific feel -

dark, light, bright, round, etc.

The sound quality that distinguishes one instrument from another.

Middle Ages Dates

400-1400

Composers

Middle Age Society

Catholic Church = center of society.

Characteristics of Music in the Middle Ages

Mostly vocal music.

Secular music used instruments.

Composers not given much status.

Popular instrumentation began with the pipe organ.

Troubadours

Secular poet/musicians that would travel and perform in the Middle Ages.

Guillame de Machaut

Most important composer of the Middle Ages.

Composer of the oldest printed music we have found.

Developed the technique of "polyphonic music".

Polyphonic Music

The use of two or more melodic lines of equal importance.

(Not melody and harmony).

Renaissance

"Working Musicians" became much more prominent.

Musicians begin to have a higher status than ever before - home base, steady pay, etc.

Italy, Venice especially, is the cultural center of the arts in Europe.

Motet

Polyphonic choral work set to sacred Latin text.

Mass

Polyphonic choral work, set in 5 different sets to cover the entirety of the service.

5 Components of a Mass

Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei

Palestrina

Led the counterreformation - did not want the new types of music being used in the protestant church.

Secular Music During the Renaissance

Madrigal

"pop music" of the time.

Songs about love.

Created for many voices.

Giovanni Gabreilli

Renaissance composer

Composer for the St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice

Instrumental polychoral music.

Created the first taste of stereophonic surround sound.

Incredibly innovative for the time.

Helps usher in the Baroque period.

Antiphonal

Statement and response piece.

Baroque Dates

1750 - When Bach Dies

Idea of Beauty in the Baroque Period

Elaborate ornamentation

Love for the dramatic

Age of Michelangelo style - lots of color and action in art.

art/architecture/elaborate music are and culture.

Homophonic

A single dominant melody.

Begins to sound like music today.

Opera

Drama that is sung with an orchestral accompaniment.

Includes sets and costumes.

Oratorio

Large scale composition for orchestra, chorus, and vocal soloists.

Usually contains a story line and is dramatic.

No sets or costumes.

The most famous - The Messiah, Handel

Recitative

The dialogue between people in an opera (with no real rhythm or time).

Aria

In an opera, when the drama stops and a soloist has a featured song.

Characteristics of Baroque Music

Crescendo and Decrescendo not invented yet - always sudden changes in dynamics.

Figured bass.

The introduction of movements in pieces.

Terraced Dynamics

Before the invention of crescendo and decrescendo - sudden changes in dynamics.

Figured Bass

Chord symbols, etc. instead of notes on a staff.

Movement

An independent piece that's part of a larger work.

Fugue

Polyphonic work that's based off of a main theme or subject.

J.S. Bach mastered this.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Church organist by trade.

Deeply religious man - Composing and performing was a sacred task for him.

Incredibly innovative and progressive.

Did a lot of improvising/improv fugues.

Achieved a great amount of success and celebrity status in his life.

Many consider his music to be the height of all music.

Hayden

Classical Period Composer.

Patron for the Esterhazy family, who thrived under the patronage system.

Developed the string quartet and symphony.

Wrote over 104 symphonies.

Parton

A person or group that supports a cause or individual.

Symphony

A work of music with movements.

Mozart

Classical period composer.

Child prodigy - writing symphonies by age 9 or 10.

Hated working as a patron - wanted to operate on his own terms. Didn't make much money doing what he was doing.

All of his status came postmortem.

Beethoven

Classical period composer.

Most important composer - developed the way we listen to music today - writing music with an emotional base.

Bridged the gap between the classical and romantic periods.

Wrote 9 symphonies.

First successful freelance musician.

Tragic life full of abuse and struggle.