History of Western Music

This set of flashcards covers the vocabulary and historical landmarks of Western music, spanning from Prehistoric times through the Classical period, including key forms, styles, and famous composers.

Survival of the Fittest

The principle believed by early inhabitants who personified nature as their God and behaved like the wild beasts around them.

Prehistoric Music

Music likely created by early men and women as a way to imitate the sounds of nature for religious or recreational reasons.

Human Voice

Likely the first musical instrument ever employed by humankind.

Flutes

Rudimentary musical instruments found by archaeologists that date back to more than $35,000$ years ago.

Neanderthal Period

The archaeological era some researchers believe music was discovered in, proving music existed earlier than previously thought.

Middle Ages

A period from $500-1400$, also known as the Medieval period or "Dark Ages," characterized by simple music following the fall of the Roman Empire.

Gregorian Chant

Also known as Roman chant, plain chant, or plainsong; a monophonic, single-melodic line using Latin text with no harmony or counterpoint.

Pope Gregory the Great

The patron of choir boys and singers after whom the Gregorian Chant was named.

Sacred Music

Early Christian church music derived from existing Jewish and Byzantine religious chants.

Syllabic

A type of chant where one note is sung to each syllable of text.

Neumatic

A type of chant where small groups of up to five or six notes are sung to a single syllable of text.

Melismatic

A type of chant featuring long groups of notes set to a single syllable of text.

Renaissance

Meaning "rebirth," this period from $1400-1600$ was marked by exploration, innovation, and the revival of the arts lost in antiquity.

A Cappella

Vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment, often associated with the "golden age" of Renaissance music.

Polyphony

A common musical technique formed by simultaneously singing or playing different melodies that enter different parts of a song.

Monody

A form of accompanied solo music consisting of a vocal line.

Early Opera

A musical development from the Renaissance where music and drama are combined.

Ordinary Mass

A type of Catholic Mass that involves a fixed order of songs and prayers performed every day.

Proper Mass

A type of Catholic Mass involving songs and prayers that vary according to specific liturgical events like Pentecost.

Kyrie Eleison

The first part of the Ordinary Mass, described as a "Prayer of Mercy."

Madrigal

A secular vocal music form originally from troubadours, characterized by delicacy, charm, and lyrics about sentiment or passion.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

The greatest master of Renaissance sacred vocal polyphony and a prolific composer of masses and motets for the Catholic Church.

William Byrd

An English musician nicknamed the "Father of Music" who used contrapuntal and lyrical patterns in his religious compositions.

Thomas Morley

A student of William Byrd and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School during the Renaissance.

Barocco

The Portuguese term meaning "oddly shaped pearl" from which the word Baroque is derived.

Baroque Music

A musical style from around $1600$ to $1750$ that used contrasting dynamics and emotions to mirror the evolution of human philosophies.

Terraced Dynamics

A Baroque period technique involving a sudden, sharp change from one dynamic level to another.

Concerto Grosso

Italian for "big concert," this musical form utilizes a small group of soloists (concertino) and a full orchestra (tutti).

Fugue

A musical piece similar to a round song based on imitative polyphony with interwoven melodies.

Oratorio

A large religious-themed compositional work for soloists, choir, and orchestra; considered the simple, non-staged counterpart of the opera.

Recitative

A technique used in Baroque operas and oratorios where text is delivered in a free rhythm and rapid pitch, similar to rapping.

Chorale

A hymn melody sung by a congregation in German Protestant church services, typically featuring a four-part setting.

Johann Sebastian Bach

A major Baroque composer who once walked $280$ miles to study other organists and whose works were later recognized for their brilliance.

George Frideric Handel

A prolific Baroque composer from Halle, Germany, nicknamed "The Great Bear" and known for his extensive collection of oratorios and operas.

Classicism

A Classical period music style that replicated Greek antiquity ideals, emphasizing clarity, balance, simplicity, and logic.

Fortepiano

The versatile keyboard instrument with a richer and more powerful sound that replaced the harpsichord during the Classical period.

Sonata

Meaning "sounded" or "played," this is a long piece written for one or two instruments consisting of three to four movements.

Sonata-Allegro Form

The most prominent musical form of the Classical era, consisting of five parts: Introduction, Exposition, Development, Recapitulation, and Coda.

Exposition

The section of the sonata-allegro form that presents the main characters of the piece as Theme $1$ and Theme $2$.

Development

The part of the sonata-allegro form where the composer varies keys and rhythms to create tension, instability, and a climax.

Recapitulation

The section of the sonata-allegro form that provides a summary and resolves the story by returning to the home tone.

Concerto

An instrumental work written for soloists accompanied by an orchestra, typically divided into three divergent movements (fast-slow-fast).

Symphony

A large instrumental composition with three or more movements written for a full orchestra.

Franz Joseph Haydn

An Austrian composer known as the "Father of the Symphony" and the inventor of the string quartet, who composed $106$ symphonies.