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music chapter 1

Terms in this set (78)

A cappella
Unaccompanied vocal music.
A-B-A
Type of single-movement form consisting of an opening section of music with certain characteristics, a contrasting section, and then a return to the original music at the end. Also known as three-part form or ternary form
Atonal music
Music without a tonal center, or key. Developed in the early twentieth century by Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg.
Beat
The basic, underlying pulse of the music. Similar to your heartbeat. It can be fast or slow, depending on the mood of the music
Canzon
Renaissance period instrumental genre employing imitative polyphony.
Catholic Counter-Reformation
The Catholic Church's effort in the sixteenth century to counter the reform movement lead by Martin Luther. The Council of Trent, held from 1545-1563, defined the theological tenets of the Catholic Church that differentiated it from the reform movement.
Classical
Historical period of music. Approximately 1750-1825
Consonant
Sounds that feel at rest, stable, pleasing.
Exoticism
Romantic period practice of incorporating characteristics of music of other cultures into Western art music.
Form
The structure of a musical composition. In individual movements form usually is based on how the themes (main melodies) are manipulated. In entire compositions it refers to the overall outline of movements or other large sections such as the acts of an opera.
Frequency of Vibration
The rate at which the air is set in motion which causes a pitch to be perceived.
Gregorian Chant
Medieval period, monophonic, vocal music of the Roman Catholic church
Harmony
Element of music that is literally all of the pitches that are not the melody. Harmony adds a richness of sound to the melody and can convey emotional aspects of the music such as feelings of happiness or sadness, tension, or peacefulness, etc.
Homophony
Type of texture consisting of a prominent melody with subordinate accompanying material.
Imitative Polyphony
Polyphonic texture in which each voice imitates what a previous voice has already stated.
Improvisatory Style
The creation of music during a performance.
Major
Kind of harmony that sounds happy, triumphant, or bright.
Major Key
Tonal center with a generally bright or triumphant feel to it.
Medieval
Historical period of music dating from 500-1450 AD.
Minor
Kind of harmony that sounds sad, melancholy, or ominous.
Minor Key
Tonal center with a generally dark or melancholy feel to it.
Monophonic
A kind of texture that consists of a single melodic line.
Monophony
A monophonic texture.
Motet
Sacred, polyphonic vocal genre dating from the thirteenth century through the eighteenth century.
Movement
A part of a large musical composition with a beginning and end but does not constitute the entire composition. Similar to a single act of a multi-act play.
Opera
Staged musical genre combining singing, acting, costumes, and scenery with an accompanying orchestra in a pit below, and in front of, the stage
Perotin
Medieval period composer noted for the writing of organum.
• Pitch The relative highness or lowness of a musical sound based on the frequency of vibration.
Repetition and Contrast
The two considerations that need to be balanced by the formal structure of a composition.
Rhythm
The element of music that animates it, gives it a feeling of moving through time. Contains the pulse, beat of the music, and the various emphases associated with it such as meter and syncopation.
Ricercar
A Renaissance period instrumental composition usually employing imitative polyphony.
Romantic
Historical period of music dating from 1825-1900
Sacred
Music that is religious in nature.
Scale
A series of pitches in ascending or descending order that is used as the basis of a musical piece.
Secular
Music not of a religious nature.
String Quartet
A composition traditionally written for two violins, a viola, and a cello. This ensemble is also called a String Quartet, which can lead to some confusion.
Symphony
An orchestral composition usually in four movements employing significant thematic development and a unified approach to the entire composition.
Texture
The relative melodic complexity of the music usually based on how many or few melodic ideas are prominent.
Thematic Development
The compositional process whereby melodies are changed in any number of ways in order to explore the variety of interest inherent in them. Common in the Classical period, especially in movements in sonata form.
Timbre
The "tone color" of a musical sound. The distinct quality of sound that differentiates one instrument or voice from another.
Tone Color
The element of music regarding the quality, or distinctiveness of sound.
Troubadour Songs
Noblemen from southern France who wrote poetry and sang during the Medieval period.
Twentieth Century
Historical period of music dating from 1900-the present.
Trouveres
Noblemen from northern France who wrote poetry and sang during the Medieval period.
Bach, Johann Sebastian
1685-1750. Baroque period German composer. Especially noted for his command of writing in a highly polyphonic style and for his cantatas, suites, passions, concertos, and concerto grossos
Barber, Samuel
1910-1981. Twentieth-century American composer whose music combined Romantic era lyrical qualities with judicious use of dissonance and rhythmic complexity. His style is often referred to as neoromantic.
Bartok, Béla
1881-1945. Twentieth century Hungarian composer who incorporated folk tunes and rhythms into his compositions.
• Berlioz, Hector 1803-1869. Romantic period French composer, conductor, and music critic. His compositions were often very large in scope and employed unique instrumental combinations.
Bernstein, Leonard
1918-1990. American composer and Conductor/Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.Wrote compositions in both the edgy classicalstyle of the twentieth century and in a more popular vein for musical theatre, such as in West Side Story. 1918-1990. American composer and Conductor/Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.Wrote compositions in both the edgy classicalstyle of the twentieth century and in a more popular vein for musical theatre, such as in West Side Story.
Brahms, Johannes
1833-1897. Romantic period German composer whose music emphasized the compositional concepts of the Classical period, such as thematic development and adherence to traditional forms, while sounding thoroughly Romantic in regard to the lyrical quality of the melody and thickness of orchestration.
Chopin, Frederic
1810-1847. Romantic period Polish composer known primarily for music for the piano. He invented or redesigned many small-scale genres for the instrument including the etude, prelude,nocturne, mazurka, polonaisse, and ballade.
Copland, Aaron
1900-1990. American composer especially noted for establishing a recognizably American style of music and for his ballet music based on American themes.
Debussy, Claude
1862-1918. French impressionist composer noted for his ballets, orchestral works, and chamber music.
Des Prez, Josquin
ca. 1440-1521. Renaissance period Flemish composer of liturgical music, most known for the writing of masses and motets
Gabrieli, Giovanni
1548-1613. Italian Renaissance period composer noted for composing in an antiphonal style.
Glass, Philip
b. 1937. Contemporary, American, minimalist composer. The most successful composer using minimalist techniques having written in many genres including music for movie scores, operas, symphonies, etc.
Gregorian Chant
Medieval period, sacred, monophonic, vocal music of the Catholic Church.
Handel, George Frideric
1685-1759. German-born composer who worked primarily in England. Best known today for his oratorios, operas, and dance suites, particularly the Water Music and The Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Haydn, Franz Joseph
1732-1809. Classical period composer frequently said to be "The Father of the Symphony" for his contributions to that genre. The court composer to the Esterhazy family for over 30 years, Haydn was one of the most influential composers of his time.
Hildegard of Bingen
1098-1179. Abbess of the convent at Rupertsburg near Bingen, Germany, and a prolific composer and writer.
Leonin
ca. 1163-1190.Medieval composer noted for organum.
Lohengrin
An opera by Romantic period German composer Richard Wagner based on the old Germanic legend of the Swan Knight. The opening of Act III features the melody that would eventually become Here Comes the Bride
Mahler, Gustav
1860-1911. Austrian Romantic composer known for the writing of symphonies and song cycles with orchestral accompaniment.
Mendelssohn, Felix
1809-1847. Romantic period German composer noted for his orchestral music, oratorios, and incidental music and for reviving interest in the music of the Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Monteverdi, Claudio
1567-1643. Baroque period composer noted for his operas.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
1756-1791. Classical period Austrian composer noted for his writing of operas,concertos, and symphonies. Especially noted for inventing the operatic sub-genre the dramma giocoso.Wrote an incomplete requiem mass that was completed by one of his students
Puccini, Giacomo
1858-1924. Italian Romantic period composer of operas. Known for the "verismo" style of realism in operatic writing in works such as La Boheme, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly.
Ravel, Maurice
1875-1937. French composer associated with the impressionistic style, noted for his ballets, operas, and chamber music, also for orchestrating Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Rite of Spring
The A ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky. Noted as an example of musical Primitivism, the piece employs harsh dissonances, unpredictable and irregular rhythmic qualities, and short, motivic melodies.
Schoenberg, Arnold
1874-1951. Austrian-born composer who developed both atonal and serial (twelve tone) compositional techniques.
Schubert, Franz
1797-1828. Austrian Classical/Romantic period composer known for the writing of art songs (lieder), symphonies, and chamber music.
Shostakovich, Dmitri
1906-1975. Twentieth-century Russian composer noted for his symphonies, operas, chamber music, and concert overtures.
Strauss, Richard
1864-1949. German composer noted for his tone poems and operas.
Stravinsky, Igor
1882-1971. Russian-born composer who later resided in France and the United States and was very influential in the development of primitivism and neoclassicism. Composer of The Rite of Spring, one of the most influential musical compositions of the twentieth century, known for being an example of musical primitivism
Tchaikovsky\
1840-1893. Russian Romantic period composer known for his symphonies, ballet music, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, and concert overtures such as the 1812 Overture and Romeo and Juliet.
The Five
A group of five Romantic period Russian nationalist composers,Mili Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui,Modest Mussorgsky, and Nicolai Rimsky- Korsakov, who favored creating a distinctly Russian style of composition.
The Russian Five
A group of five Romantic period Russian nationalist composers,Mili Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui,Modest Mussorgsky, and Nicolai Rimsky- Korsakov, who favored creating a distinctly Russian style of composition.
Verdi, Giuseppe
1813-1901. Romantic period Italian composer known primarily for his operas. His Messa da Requiem, also known as the Manzoni Requiem, is an operatically inspired requiem mass.
Vivaldi, Antonio
1678-1741. Baroque period Italian composer noted for his writing for stringed instruments.
Wagner, Richard
1813-1883. Romantic period German composer of operas.
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