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Baroque The style period that followed the Renaissance, encompassing the dates roughly 1600-1725. The period is characterized by a vigorous spirit of ornamentation, action, and elaborate design. Chiaroscuro A union of two Italian words whose meanings refer to bright and obscure; hence, the term applies to the treatment of light and shade in a painting or drawing frequently is used to describe the light effects found in paintings by Rembrandt. Homophonic Texture A melody played with chords. Oratorio An extended musical composition with a text more or less dramatic in character and usually based on a religious theme, for solo voices, chorus, or orchestra, performed without action, costume, or scenery. Text Painting The act of describing an object fully and vividly by words only, so as to present it clearly to the mind, as if in a picture. Basso Continuo Literally, continuous bass. An important aspect of Baroque compositional style in which a bass instrument, most frequently a viola da gamba, cello, or bassoon, is joined by a keyboard instrument to provide an accompaniment to the other voices. The Basso continuo music is indicated by a single bass line and numbers that specify the harmonies to be played by the keyboard instrument. Figured Bass A system of musical shorthand employed in the Baroque period written as a bass line with numerical figures and other symbols written beneath. Playing from the figured bass, performers can complete the harmonic intent of the composer. Recitative A type of solo vocal performance in which words are sung with a minimum of melodic intrest and usually based on speech rhythms, inflections, and syntax. Opera A staged dramatic musical production performed by singers and instrumentalists with support from lighting, scenery, costumes and often, dance. Aria An extended vocal solo, usually with instrumental accompaniment, as in operas, oratorios, and cantatas. Chromaticism The melodic or harmonic use of tones not in the seven-tone diatonic scale of a composition. Antiphonal Music in which alternating choirs perform in separate locations, such as the opposite sides of a cathedral chancel. Cantata Literally "sung," but more often refers to a multi-movement composition for one or more voices with some instrumental accompaniment. Suite An instrumental composition especially in the baroque period, featuring several successive movements, such as Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue. Ornamentation Decorative notes added to a musical line either by the composer through symbols or by the performer through improvisation. Concertato in early Baroque music, refers to a genre of music in which groups of instruments or vocalists share a melody, typically in alternation and usually over a basso continuo Solo Concerto a concerto in which an orchestra and a single performer in turn present and develop the musical material in the spirit of harmonious competition Concerto Grosso Baroque concerto type based on the opposition between a small group of solo instruments (the concertino) and orchestra (the ripieno). Tutti A term applied to passages in which all performers play in contrast to solo passages. Ripieno The larger ensemble in the concerto grosso. Concertino the group of instruments that function as soloists in a concerto grosso Concerto long musical composition for one or more principal instruments with orchestral accompaniment Fugue A style of contrapuntal composition based on one or more short themes called subjects and on related connective materials. Subject A theme, particularly that of the fugue. Countersubjects A secondary theme in a fugue. Answer In fugal writing, a passage in imitation of the subject. Augmentation The doubling of the note values of a musical motive or theme. Diminution Reducing the note values of a musical motive or theme to smaller time values. Inversion Melodic inversion requires every ascending interval to be replaced by an equal descending one, and every descending one to be replaced by an equal ascending one. Retrogression Reversing the sequence of notes in a theme or melody. Stretto A section of fugal or canonic composition in which two or more subject entries overlap. Passacaglia / Chaconne A Baroque instrumental form based on a repeated musical phrase four to eight measures in length, and often found in the bass. Opera Seria The predominant form of opera in the 17th and 18th centuries. Usually to mythological texts, it employed a succession recitatives and arias rather then continuous dramatic unfoldment.