Exam 2

Which term is synonymous with "Gregorian chant"?

plainsong

We have "Viderunt Omnes" as the text for our chant and organum examples. What does Viderunt omnes (fine terrae salutare Dei nostri)" mean?

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God; sing joyfully to God.

Which statement does not apply to the listening example (of Gregorian chant)?

it is sung in triple meter

Given to the church as a tithe while still a child, this composer of Gregorian chant later founded a convent and gave advice
to popes as well as kings.

Hildegard of Bingen

Which statement best describes the melodic character of medieval music?

mostly moves by step within a narrow range and rarely uses the chromatic notes of the scale

Identify the response that accurately describes the rhythmic style of medieval music.

while some music is sung in notes of equal value and without clearly marked rhythms, polyphony is composed in triple meter and uses repeating patterns

Which building in Paris is considered to be at the heart of the early development of polyphony (organum)?

Notre dame Cathedral

Extra credit. What was new about the architecture of the Notre dame cathedral?

It was the first important church to use the flying buttress

Organum is:

the early polyphony of the Western Church from the ninth through the thirteenth centuries

(Extra credit) What is characteristic of Notre dame organum?

both a and b
a. the long low drone notes (original chant)
b. the faster and more florid upper voice(s)

We saw a monochord in the first sacred music documentary. What is it?

an instrument that measures and demonstrates the fraction of notes within the octave

__________ was active at the cathedral of Paris (Notre Dame) between 1198 and 1236, where he revised the Magnus liber organi, a collection of organum in which the newly composed melody complemented rather than duplicated the original plainchant.

Perotinus

Identify the texture of the listening example. (Hint: the lower voices are singing Gregorian chant melody stretched out in long note values)

polyphonic (two-part counterpoint)

The most important composer of the 14th century "ars nova', this individual was also a gifted poet who works
are considered equivalent to those of his English counterpart, Geoffrey Chaucer. He was the first important
composer to set the mass ordinary to p

Guillaume de Machaut

The Ordinary of the Mass refers to:

the five sung portions of the Mass for which the texts are invariable

In the Kyrie of the Messe de Nostre Dame, passages of chant alternate with sections of four-part polyphony.

true

Identify the incorrect statement about the Messe de Nostre Dame.

composed by Perotinus for performance during Christmas Mass in the newly constructed cathedral of Paris, Notre Dame

What is the correct definition of "melismatic singing"?

singing many notes to just one syllable of text

Which response describes the singing style of the listening example?

melismatic

The ancestor of the modern oboe is the

shawm

Shawms were made to be played outdoors.

true

The recorder is also known as the

flute or "flauto dolce

The dulcian or fagotto (bundle of sticks) is the ancestor to the modern-day

bassoon

The word "minstrel" means

little servant

One 13th-century poet defined the minstrel as one who could

all of the above- be witty
play the harp, fiddle and psaltery
imitate birds and operate marionettes

Minstrels living in the "rough and ready" military culture of the 11th century war were sometimes
expected to

all of the above-
act as night watchmen
rally the troops
act as propagandists

While the English nobility was still performing music based on stories about battles, in the south of
France a new kind of poetry/music was evolving. The poet-musicians who flourished in this area
were known as the

Troubadours

The troubadours wrote in a language which was the everyday language of the people, called Occitane.
Instead of saying "oui" for "yes," like modern-day French they said

oc

Troubadours and Trouveres

all of the above-
were from France.
were poet-musicians.
were the first to notate a large body of secular music.

Instead of focusing on war, most Troubadour songs had to do with

courtly love

Which term describes the feminine counterpart of the troubadour?

trobairitz

Identify the one statement about A chanter m'er that is correct.

the song has no clearly articulated meter or rhythm, but is sung in notes of more or less equal length

Rubor sanguinis and A chanter m'er are both examples of Gregorian chant.

false

What is the french word for "song"?

chanson

Machaut's "Puis qu'en oubli" is in _________ form.

rondeau

Which statement does not apply to the concept of humanism?

humans are the conduit for gifts descending from heaven

The melodic character of Renaissance music is best described as:

mainly stepwise motion within a narrow range; diatonic, but chromaticism occasionally used for intensity

Which statement accurately describes Renaissance harmony?

more careful use of dissonance and the triad becomes the basic building block of harmony

Josquin was a hugely influential figure in the development of Renaissance sacred music, well known because of the inventiveness and profound expression in his work. Another reason he's considered to be a master in the polyphonic style is his use of ______

imitation

The statement that best describes the rhythmic character of Renaissance music is:

duple meter becomes as common as triple meter; rhythm in sacred music is relaxed and without strong downbeats; rhythm in secular music is lively with frequent use of syncopation

Identify the statement that correctly describes the musical color of the Renaissance.

although more instrumental music has survived, the predominant sound remains that of unaccompanied vocal music

The correct definition for "a cappella" is:

a term applied to unaccompanied vocal music

Which statement descries the manner in which Renaissance composers use texture?

while contrapuntal, polyphonic texture for four or five voices is typical, occasional passages of chordal homophonic texture are inserted for variety

Identify the statement about Josquin that is incorrect.

he was employed at various times by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy

Which statement is not true concerning the Renaissance motet

sung in the vernacular language of the country of composition

Which statement accurately defines the motet?

a composition for choir setting a religious, devotional, or solemn text

Listen to the opening section of Josquin's Ave Maria and identify the statement that does not describe the passage.

in triple meter

Josquin's "Ave Maria" uses

all of the above-
voice pairing
imitation
a cappella singing with a sacred Latin text

Another effect Josquin uses is _________, where the parts "rhythmically fight against each other in a jagged way.

syncopation

Identify the correct statement about the listening example.

the texture is homophonic

Which composer was referred to as the "Prince of Music"?

Palestrina

Little is known of Palestrina's early life, but legend has it that he was discovered for

the beauty of his voice when he was a boy, which enchanted the bishop.

Palestrina's job in his hometown from 1544 to 1551 consisted of

d. all of the above-
a. playing the organ
b. training the choir
c. overseeing the music for the services

Up until Palestrina's appointment in Rome, all the major composers that worked for the Catholic church had come from abroad. Perhaps the greatest of these had been the Flemish composer ____________.

Josquin Desprez

What was the name of the conference (from 1545-1563) in which leading cardinals and bishops tried to address the problems facing the Catholic church of the time?

Council of Trent

What was the purpose of the Council of Trent?

to consider reforms for the Roman Catholic church

The most pressing problem threatening the Catholic church during this time was the Reformation (Protestantism). As
far as music was concerned, some officials wanted polyphonic music banned from the church. What were
their reasons for this?

d. all of the above-
They believed sacred music should be pure
They thought the sacred texts must be clearly understood
They didn't want the words to sound confusing or blurry

What did Orland de Lassus do that upset the church? Where did his melodies come from for his Missa
entre Vous Filles?

from a popular pornographic folk song

Why did the church have a problem with polyphony?

both a and b-
When composers began overlaying and interweaving so many voices the words of the mass became harder to hear.
the church was also concerned about the origin of the melodies the composers chose for their work

In 1555 Palestrina was made an official member of the

Cappella Sistina (the Sistine Chapel choir)

The Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel choir) is made up of

entirely boys and men

What is a castrato?

a boy or adult singer who had been castrated to keep his voice from changing so that it would remain in the soprano register

Members of the cappella sistina were expected to be celibate and to live as if they were members of the clergy. How was Palestrina able to be a member?

the Vatican decided to overlook the fact that he was married and had children

Palestrina is arguably the first in a long line of great Italian composers. No one is sure when he wrote the ___________, but it was this work that sealed his reputation (and was his answer to the Council of Trent).

Pope Marcellus mass, Missa Papae Marcelli

Palestrina's melodies can be described as

archlike

Identify the incorrect statement about Palestrina.

he was an ordained priest as well as a composer of sacred and secular music

The text setting for the Pope Marcellus mass is mostly

syllabic

Which genre of music permitted men and women to sing together?

madrigal

The madrigal is best described as:

a popular genre of secular vocal music, originating in Italy, in which four or five voices sing love poems

In which country did the madrigal originate?

Italy

El Grillo" is an example of a frottola (a precursor to the madrigal) by Josquin Desprez.
It is about

a singing cricket

Identify the incorrect statement concerning the madrigal.

could be sung by a group of men or women, but never by a mixed group

Identify the correct definition for "word painting.

the process of depicting the text in music, be it subtly, overtly, or even jokingly, by means of expressive musical devices (the musical reflection of the text).

Identify the incorrect statement concerning A s Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending .

a consort of string instruments was expected to support the singers

One of the statements below does not pertain to Thomas Weelkes. Which one is incorrect?

during his student days he was associated with the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris

Which is true about the direction of the music for the words "ascending" and "descending" in As Vesta was Descending?

It descends for "descending" and ascends for "ascending.

Which is true of Weelkes' "As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending"?

it is sung a cappella with one singer to a part

hat is the texture on the words "all alone" in As Vesta was Descending?

monophonic

It was mentioned in one of the video lectures that Thomas Weelkes, according to church record,
was noted as having been

a common drunkard and blasphemer