MUSC 120 - Last 100

Imitative Counterpoint

A style of polyphony where musical lines imitate a motif introduced by another voice.

Homophony

A texture where one voice has the melody and the others provide harmonic accompaniment.

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement focusing on human potential and achievements, emphasizing the study of classical texts.

Individualism

A Renaissance concept celebrating personal creativity and self-expression.

Perspective and Realism in Art

Art techniques developed during the Renaissance to create depth and life-like images.

Romanesque Architecture

A medieval architectural style featuring rounded arches and massive walls.

Gothic Architecture

A medieval architectural style characterized by pointed arches, flying buttresses, and stained glass.

Musical Patronage

Financial and social support for musicians and composers from courts, churches, or wealthy individuals.

Pythagorean Temperament

A tuning system that prioritizes perfect fifths.

Mean-Tone Temperament

A tuning system that adjusts intervals for smoother harmonies.

Chromaticism

Use of notes outside the prevailing key or mode to add color or tension.

Music Printing

The dissemination of music through printing, pioneered by Petrucci in the early 16th century.

Partbooks

Books containing music for a single voice or part, intended for ensemble performance.

Contenance Angloise

A style marked by smooth consonances, particularly thirds and sixths, associated with English composers.

Faburden

A medieval harmonic technique using parallel intervals.

Fauxbourdon

An early Renaissance harmonic technique using parallel intervals.

John Dunstable

An English composer influential in developing the smooth, consonant 'English manner.'

Renaissance Motet

A sacred polyphonic vocal composition, typically unaccompanied and in Latin.

Burgundian Court

A major cultural and musical center in the 15th century, patronizing composers like Du Fay.

Guillaume Du Fay

A leading composer of the Burgundian school, known for his masses, motets, and chansons.

Chanson

A French secular polyphonic song.

Plainsong Mass

A mass based on existing plainchant melodies.

Cantus Firmus Mass

A mass built around a pre-existing melody, often in the tenor voice.

Hundred Years War

A prolonged conflict (1337–1453) between England and France, influencing cultural and musical exchange.

Johannes Ockeghem

A Franco-Flemish composer known for his complex polyphony and extended vocal ranges.

Musical Puzzles

Compositions with cryptic instructions or canonic techniques, such as voices singing at different speeds.

Points of Imitation

A technique where a theme is passed and imitated between voices.

Heinrich Isaac

A Renaissance composer known for masses, motets, and German secular songs.

Josquin Desprez

A prominent Renaissance composer celebrated for his mastery of polyphony and text expression.

Paraphrase Mass

A mass that elaborates on a pre-existing chant, using it in all voices.

Text Expression

The use of musical elements to reflect the emotional content of the text.

Text Depiction

Using music to illustrate specific words or phrases.

Imitation Mass

A mass that borrows multiple voices from a pre-existing polyphonic work.

Frottola

An Italian secular song style, often simple and homophonic, popular before the madrigal.

Renaissance Madrigal

A secular vocal composition for several voices, often expressive and through-composed.

Lute Song

A solo vocal piece with lute accompaniment, popular in the late Renaissance.

Book of the Courtier

A Renaissance guidebook on courtly behavior by Baldassare Castiglione, highlighting the arts.

Music and Education in the Renaissance

Music became an integral part of humanist education, teaching harmony, order, and discipline.

Through-Composed

A musical form with new music for each stanza of text, avoiding repetition.

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)

An Italian poet whose works inspired Renaissance madrigals.

Adrian Willaert

A Renaissance composer and founder of the Venetian school, known for polychoral works.

Jacques Arcadelt

A Franco-Flemish composer noted for his early madrigals.

Cipriano de Rore

A composer of expressive madrigals, bridging Renaissance and early Baroque styles.

Concerto delle Donne

An elite group of female singers in late Renaissance Ferrara known for virtuosic performances.

Orlando di Lasso

A prolific composer of sacred and secular music, embodying the cosmopolitan Renaissance style.

Carlo Gesualdo

An Italian madrigal composer known for extreme chromaticism and emotional intensity.

Madrigalism

Word painting in madrigals, where music illustrates the text.

Balletto

A light, dance-like vocal composition, often with 'fa-la-la' refrains.

Claudin de Sermisy

A French composer of chansons, known for lyrical and accessible melodies.

Clément Marot

A French poet whose texts were set to music in chansons and psalms.

Clément Janequin

A French composer famous for descriptive chansons.

Parisian Chanson

A lighter, homophonic style of chanson, popular in 16th-century France.

Musique Mesurée

A French Renaissance style aligning musical rhythms with poetic meters.

Thomas Morley

An English composer and theorist, known for madrigals and his introduction to practical music.

Triumphs of Oriana

A collection of English madrigals honoring Queen Elizabeth I.

Religious Conflict in England

Tensions between Catholics and Protestants influenced English music, including restrictions.

Lute Tablature

A notation system for the lute showing finger positions rather than pitches.

Chorale

A congregational hymn of the Lutheran church.

Metrical Psalm

A vernacular, metrical setting of a psalm for congregational singing.

Anthem

A sacred choral composition, typically English, for the Anglican Church.

Martin Luther

The German theologian who initiated the Protestant Reformation and emphasized congregational singing.

95 Theses

Luther’s list of grievances against the Catholic Church, sparking the Reformation.

Chorale Motet

A polyphonic setting of a chorale tune, blending Lutheran and Renaissance styles.

Thomas Tallis

An English composer known for sacred music across Catholic and Anglican traditions.

William Byrd

A leading English composer of both Catholic and Anglican music.

Reforms of Council of Trent

Catholic Church reforms emphasizing clarity in sacred music to support worship.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

A Renaissance composer known for his clear, smooth polyphony, often associated with the Counter-Reformation.

Tomas Luis de Victoria

A Spanish composer of expressive and spiritual sacred music.

Consort

An ensemble of instruments, often of the same family.

Pavane

A slow, stately Renaissance dance.

Galliard

A lively Renaissance dance in triple time.

Basse Danse

A slow, elegant Renaissance dance.

Allemande

A moderate-tempo Renaissance and Baroque dance.

Intabulation

An arrangement of vocal or instrumental music for lute or keyboard.

Variations

A form where a theme is repeated with alterations.

Prelude

An introductory musical piece, often improvisatory.

Fantasia

A free-form instrumental composition, often improvisatory.

Ricercare

A serious, contrapuntal instrumental composition.

Toccata

A virtuosic instrumental piece, often keyboard-based, showcasing skill.

Canzona

An instrumental composition modeled on the French chanson.

Sonata

An instrumental work, typically in multiple movements.

Polychoral Motet

A motet for multiple choirs, popular in the Venetian school.

St. Mark’s, Venice

A major musical center, known for its acoustics and polychoral compositions.

Giovanni Gabrieli

A Venetian composer known for polychoral and instrumental music.

Petrucci

An early music printer who pioneered moveable-type printing for music.