Music Appreciation Final

Art song Solo voice + piano with poetic text; common in the Romantic era.

Lied German art song; plural: Lieder.

Song cycle Set of art songs linked by theme or text.

Character piece Short Romantic piano work expressing a mood.

Nocturne Lyrical “night piece” for piano.

Mazurka Polish triple-meter folk dance used by Chopin.

Polonaise Stately Polish processional dance.

Idée fixe Recurring melody representing the beloved in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

Program symphony Multi-movement programmatic symphony (e.g., Symphonie fantastique).

Symphonic poem One-movement orchestral program work.

Incidental music Music written for performance with a play.

Concert overture Single-movement orchestral piece, often in sonata form.

Nationalism Music expressing national identity (folk tunes, rhythms).

Rubato Expressive flexibility in tempo.

Legato Smooth, connected playing.

Staccato Short, detached notes.

Through-composed Form with new music throughout, no repeated sections.

Modified strophic Mostly repeating form with slight variations.

Crescendo Gradually getting louder.

Decrescendo Gradually getting softer.

Homophony Melody with accompaniment.

Monophony Single melodic line with no accompaniment.

Polyphony Multiple independent melodic lines.

Imitation One voice echoes another’s melody.

Ostinato / Ground bass Repeated pattern in the bass line.

Fugue Polyphonic work built around a central subject.

Exposition (fugue) All voices enter with the subject.

Recitative Speech-like vocal line used in opera.

Aria Lyrical solo song in opera.

Overture Instrumental introduction to a larger vocal work.

Da capo aria (ABA) Aria form where the opening returns and is embellished.

Concerto Solo instrument + orchestra.

Sonata form Exposition, development, recapitulation.

Coda Ending section concluding the piece.

Major mode “Bright” sounding scale/mode.

Minor mode “Dark” sounding scale/mode.

Program music Instrumental music telling a story or depicting an idea.

Absolute music Music with no program or story.

Miniature (Romantic) Short, intimate work expressing one mood.

Grandiose composition Large-scale Romantic works with huge forces.

Leitmotif Melody representing character/object (Wagner).

Music drama Wagner’s integrated opera style.

Gesamtkunstwerk “Total work of art” combining all art forms.

Impressionism (music) Style using color, atmosphere, whole-tone scales.

Expressionism (music) Intense emotional style, dissonant, atonal.