Western II - Quiz 1 (Early Baroque- Handouts 1-3)

Monody

A single vocal line with thin accompaniment

Basso Continuo

style of accompaniment where the bass line is notated (played by 1 instrument) while the harmonization is improvised (by 1 or 2 instruments, according to tradition/style or figured bass). foundational to early baroque music.

Florentine Camerata

Group of intellectuals led by Count Giovanni Bardi. Credited with the creation of Recitative and Opera originally inspired by their love for Greek drama.

Recitative

a style of monody that attempts to imitate natural speech, basso continuo accompaniment

When was opera invented?

1598

Intermedio

Precursor to opera. Lighthearted comdic acts performed during the intermission of a play

Largest intermedio

J. Peri’s - 5th Intermedio

Jacopo Peri

singer, organist, chitarrone player, composer and member of the florentine camerata credited with the invention of opera

La Dafne

First Opera. Published in 1602. composed by Peri and lyricised by ottaviano rinuccini. music and libretto have been lost.

L’Euridice (1600)

Peri, Caccini, and Rinuccini

L’Euridice (1602)

just Caccini and Rinuccini

First Opera Masterpiece

Montiverdi’s “L’Orfeo” (1607)

Where did Castratti originate?

the Church in Rome

Barbarini Family

Cardinal family involved in patronage of opera in rome during the 17th century

Where where the first comic operas written and performed?

Rome

Luigi Rossi

Prominent roman opera and cantata composer - musician for Cardinal Antonio Barbarini

Where was opera first performed publicly instead of in private aristocrating settings?

Venice

First Public Opera House

Teatro San Cassiano (1637)

Characteristics of Venetian Opera

Spectacular sets and effects, more arias, plots based on myths or greco-roman history

Francesco Cavalli

Venetian singer, composer, and maestro fi capella. Most prominent opera composer of the 17th century.

Antonio Cesti

leading Venetian singer/composer of the 17th century

What were the functions of instrumental music in the 17th century?

Dance, theater, ceremonial, hunting/military, private entertainment

Which was the most popular instrument in the baroque?

THE LUTE

What is a theorbo?

A bass lute with additional strings and an extended neck designed for accompaniment

What is tablature?

Notation used for string instruments, especially the lute

What is a viola da gamba?

a frretted string instrument,“leg viola” which sits between the legs and is played with an underhand bow. Bulit in different sizes for use in consorts

Which instruments were not as common in the beginning of the 17C?

oboe and flute

When and where was the violin initially developed?

16th century Italy - it became popularized in the 16/17C

What was the main center for Violin in teh 17C?

Venice! Other centers of activity include brescia and cremona

Who was the most common violin composer of the 17C?

Biagio Marini! Other prominent composers include Dario Castello, and Giovanni Legrenzi

What is a Sonata (genre)?

A contrasting sectional piece

When and Where did sonatas originate?

ensemble use by giovanni gabrielli in venic during the 16th century

What were the two types of sonatas in the 17th century?

solo: 1 instrument and basso continuo (popular in beginnning-mid century)

trio sonata: 2 instruments and basso continuo (popular in latter half of century)

REVIEW QUESTION: where was opera born? What new musical style invented there enabled opera?

Opera was born in Florence with the invention of Recitative by the Florentine Camerata.

REVIEW QUESTION: Describe Basso Continuo including its function, types of instruments, number of performers, and notation.

Basso Continuo was the most prominent style of accompaniment during the baroque period. In this style, bass notes are notated and played by 1 bass instrument (cello, bass viol, bassoon), while harmonization is improvised by 1 or 2 chordal instruments (harpsichord, organ, theorbo/chitarrone, guitar, harp). Bass continuo functions as a light improvised harmony to support monody in vocal and instrumental pieces.

REVIEW CARDS: what are the three most common solo instruments in the 17C?

Lute, Harpsichord, Viola Da Gamba

REVIEW QUESTION: What other instruments are common in solo or chamber contexts? Orchestra contexts?:

In solo or chamber contexts, the violin family, cornet, organ and recorder were widely used. In orchestral contexts, the oboe, flute, trumpet, and timpani became an addition to large ensembles in which the violin family was the base.

What are come characteristics of opera in spai and the americas?

all roles were sung by women

b.c. was performed by harps, guitars and viols

both dialogue and aria were sung in strophic, lyrical settings

which instruments performed basso continuo in spain and the americas?

harp, guitar, and viol

Zarzuela

a spanish sub-genre of opera which mixes spoken dialogue with syllabic and strophic song. Makes use of pastoral plots. Ititially developed by Juan Hidalgo and Pedro Calderon de la Barca

In the late 17th century, where was italian opera centralized?

Venice and Naples

Who is the most prominent Venetian opera composer during the late 17th century?

Francesco Cavalli

Who was the most prominent Napoleon composer in the late 17th century?

Alessandro Scarlatti

Molíere

Playwright during the 17th century credited with the invention of French Comedy

Baller de Cour

A Frech Court spectacle which combined visual art, poetry, and music with its main course: dance.

Why was there resistance to opera in france?

Music did not fit the flow of French poetry and language - deep tradition of spoken tragedy

Who was the kind of france during the 17th century?

King Louis XIV - symbol of absolutist monarch “sun king”

What were the first two italian operas performed in France?

L. Rossi’s Orfeo and F. Cavalli’s Ercole Armante

What was the first important franch opera?

Cadmus et Harmoine (1673) - Lully

Jean Baptiste lully

Highest ranking French Court musician in history. Dancer, composer, and court musician to King Louis XIV. Rose to fame in the 1650s and remained relevant to the end of the century.

Where is Jean Baptiste Lully from?

Florence

Why did Jean Baptiste Lully move to Paris?

To teach King Louis’ cousin to dance

What was Lully’s first opera?

Cadmus et Harmoine (1673)

What was Lully’s most famous opera?

Armide (1686)

Who devised differing styles of recit to fit the French language?

Jean Baptiste Lully

What is the form of the french overture?

Binary: AABB

Who invented the French Overture?

Jean Baptiste Lully

What is characteristic of the A section in the French overture?

Slow, majestic, dotted rhythms

What is characteristic of the B section in the French Overture?

Faster, fugul imitation

Récitatif Simple

style of french recit that alternates between duple and triple meter to follow the language

Récitatif Mesuré

style of french recit that has a constant meter and is more song-like

what is a tirade?

a type of french ornament that uses a perfect octave. found in the A section of a franch overture.

What is an Agrément?

french word for ornament. singers were expected to add agrément to an Air - considered it “completion” of the Air

Notes Inégales

A performance practice typical of french baroque music that notes are performed with unequal durations - it sounds swung

What is a Masque?

English Court Performances that were much like the French ballet de cour, incorporating poetry, vocal and instrumental music, and dance

Henry Purcell

(1658-1695)

court composer for 3 english kings, organsit, chorister, famous for the synthesis of italian and french elements in english opera and the exhaltation of poetry/text in his work. most prominent english composer for the 17th century.

Which genres of music was Purcell most known for?

stage music, vocal chamber music, and anglican sacred music

What was purcell’s most famous work?

Dido and Aeneas (1688)

Dido and Aeneas is based on which Roman poem?

Virgil’s Aeneid

Why was Dido and Aneas originally composed?

for performance at a girl’s boarding school

Characteristics of Dido’s lament

lamento bass pattern - descending tetrachord in a minor key, pattern is 5 bars long and repeats 10 times

phrases of the vocal line do not align with the 5-measure phrases of the bass pattern

John Blow

Teacher to Henry Purcell, prominent english baroque composer, opera “Venus and Adonis” (1682) is Dido and Aeneas’ predecessor

What is Chaconne ground bass?

descending ground bass pattern used for pieces upbeat texts and dances

What is Lamento ground Bass?

descending ground bass pattern which is used in sad songs

Ostinato/Ground Bass

Descending, repeated bass patterns frequently used in English vocal compositions

REVIEW QUESTION: What two powerful performance traditions influenced the creation of French Opera?

Ballet de Cour and Italian Opera

tragédie en musique/tragédie lyrique

French form of Opera that featured legends of chivalrous nobles and were formatted in a prologue and five acts

Who was the primary french composer of opera during the reign of King Loius XIV?

Jean Baptist Lully!

Who is the composer and what is the title and date of the first important english opera?

Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, 1688

Describe the ground bass as used in dido’s lament

A lamento bass pattern incorporated through 5-measure ostinatos which descend a tetrachord in a minor key. the pattern occurs 10 times and does not align with the phrases of the singer.

characteristics of late 17th century venetian opera

celebrity virtuosic singers

MORE ARIAs 9strophic, binary, and ternary)

Prominent Venetian composers in the 17th century

CAVALLI, Giovanni Legranzi, Antonio Sartorio

What were the two types of recit that emerged in Naples during the late 17th C?

Recitativo Secco : singer and b.c.

Recitativo Accompagnato : singer, orchestra, and b.c.

Da Capo Aria

A B A’ form

contrasting moods between A and B section

A’ is a repition of A with ornaments

Sonata (genre)

instrumental chamber music genre in which a piece is split by contrasting sections

What are the two types of Sonatas in the Baroque?

solo sonata (solo and b.c.)

trio sonata (2 solo and b.c.)

Where does the Sonata genre originate?

Canzonas (contrasting sections, used by gabrielli)

What are the two sonata types?

Sonata da Chiesa (church)

Sonata da Camera (Chamber)

Characteristics of Sonata da Chiesa

used to replace portions of the mass proper

4 contrasting movements: slow, fast, slow, fast

pieces are titled by affect

serious style: use of imitative counterpoint

Characteristics of Sonata da Camera

dance style with contrasting meters and tempos

first movement is not in a dance style, acts as overture/prelude

homophonic texture

NOT IMITATIVE/COUNTERPOINT

movements are titled after dance suites

up to 5 movements

Arcangelo Corelli

Bolognese violinist and composer who wrote instrumental chamber music for stings. Worked in rome as a cardinal musician and was the first to build a career entirely off of instrumental music for strings. he wrote many collections of sonatas, both chiesa and camera.

Suites

A group of dance or dance-related pieces. Most common French instrumental genre of the 17th Century.

dances are primariy in binary form

PACSOG

prelude/overture

allemande

sarabande

optional dances

Gigue