Affections
Emotional states like joy,grief, and agitation represented in baroque music through specific musical languages.
Terraced Dynamics
Abrupt alteration between loud and soft dynamic levels
Clavichord
Baroque keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by means of brass blades striking strings, capable of making gradual dynamic changes, but within a narrow volume range.
Basso Continuo
Baroque accompaniment mad up of a bass part usually played by two instruments: a keyboard plus a low melodic instrument.
Figured Bass
Bass part of a baroque accompaniment with figures (numbers) above it indicating the chords to be played.
Movement
Piece that sounds fairly complete and independent but is part of a larger composition.
Tutti
In Italian, all; the full orchestra, or a large group of musicians contrasted with a smaller group; often heard in baroque music.
Ritornello Form
Compositional form usually employed in the baroque concerto grosso, in which the tutti plays a refrain, alternating with one or more soloists playing new material.
Ritornello
In Italian, refrain; a repeated section of music usually played by the full orchestra, or tutti, in baroque compositions.
Subject
theme of a fugue
Answer
Second presentation of the subject in a fugue, usually in the dominant scale.
Countersubject
In a fugue, a melodic idea that accompanies the subject fairly constantly.
Episode
Transitional section in a fugue between presentations of the subject, which offers either new material or fragments of the subject or countersubject.
Stretto
Compositional procedure used in fugues, in which a subject is imitated before it is completed; one voice tries to catch the other.
Pedal Point
single tone, usually in the bass, which is held while the other voices produce a series of changing harmonies against it; often found in fugues.
Inversion
Variation of a fugue subject in which each interval of the subject is reversed in direction.
Retrograde
Variation of a fugue subject in which the subject is presented by beginning with its last note and proceeding backward to the first.
Augmentation
Variation of a fugue subject in which the original time values of the subject are lengthened.
Diminution
Variation of a fugue subject in which the original time values of the subject are shortened.
Prelude
Short piece usually serving to introduce a fugue or another composition; a short piece for piano.
Libretto
text of an opera
Librettist
dramatist who writes the libretto, or text, of an opera
Voice Categories of Opera
Voice ranges which include coloratura soprano, lyric soprano, dramatic soprano, lyric tenor, dramatic tenor, basso buffo, and basso profundo, among others.
Aria
Song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, usually expressing an emotional state through its outpouring of melody; found in operas, oratorios, and cantatas.
Recitative
Vocal line in an opera, oratorio, or cantata that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech, often serving to lead into an aria.
Ensemble
In opera, a piece performed by three or more solo singers
Chorus
A group of singers performing together, generally with more than one to a part.
Prompter
Person who gives cues and reminds singers of their words or pitches during an opera performance. Is located in a box just over the edge of center stage, which conceals him or her from the audience.
Overture (prelude)
short musical composition, purely orchestral, which opens an opera and sets the overall dramatic mood. Orchestral introductions to later acts of an opera are called preludes.
Camerata
In Italian, fellowship or society; a group of nobles, poets, and composers who began to meet regularly in Florence around 1575 and whose musical discussions prepared the way for the beginning of opera.
Castrato
Male singer castrated before puberty to retain a high voice range; the most important category of vocal soloists in opera during the baroque period.
Countertenor
Male who sings in a female pitch range using a special kind of voice production.
Secco Recitative
Speechlike melody that is sung by a solo voice accompanied only by a basso continuo.
Accompanied Recitative
Speechlike melody that is sung by a solo voice accompanied by the orchestra.
Da Capo Aria
Aria in A B A form; after the B section, the term da capo is written; this means from the beginning and indicates a repetition of the opening A section.
Da Capo
From the beginning; an indication usually meaning that the opening section of a piece is to be repeated after the middle section.
Ground Bass
Variation form in which a musical idea in the bass is repeated over and over while the melodies above it continually change; common in baroque music.
Trill
Musical ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of two tones that are a whole or half step apart.
Improvisation
Creation of music at the same time as it is performed.
Suite
In baroque music, a set of dance- inspired movements all written in the same key but differing in tempo, meter, and character.
French Overture
Common opening piece in baroque suites, oratorios. and operas; usually in two parts: the first slow, with characteristic dotted rhythms, full of dignity and grandeur; the second quick and lighter in mood, often starting like a fugue.
Chorale
Hymn tune sung to a German religious text.
Chorale prelude
Short composition for organ, based on a hymn tune and often used to remind the congregation of the melody before the hymn is sung.
Concerto Grosso
Composition for several instrumental soloists and small orchestra; common in late baroque music.
Fugue
Polyphonic composition based on one main theme, or subject.
Opera
Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition employing vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery.
Sonata
In baroque music, an instrumental compositions in several movements for one to eight players. In music after the baroque period, an instrumental composition usually in several movements for one or two players.
Trio Sonata
Baroque composition that has three melodic lines: two high ones, each played by one instrument; and a basso continuo, played by two instruments.
Solo Concerto
a piece for a single soloist and an orchestra
Cantata
Composition in several movements, usually written for chorus, one or more vocal soloists, and instrumental ensemble. The church cantata for the Lutheran service in Germany during the baroque period.
Oratorio
Large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra, usually set to a narrative text, but without acting, scenery, or costumes; often based on biblical stories.
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750) came from a long line of musicians and passed on this musical heritage, 4 of his children were also composers. Born in Germany and began his musical career as a church organist and then as a court organist and later concertmaster of the court
Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643)
Italian composer, gambist, and Roman Catholic priest considered a founder of opera. His music is regarded as the transition from Renaissance to Baroque. His works include sacred music, many madrigals, and the opera Orfeo.
Henry Purcell
(1659-95) an English baroque composer. Many people regard him as the greatest English composer of the period. He wrote many different types of music, including songs, church music and theatre music, and his Dido and Aeneas is considered the first English
Arcangelo Corelli
(1653-1713) Italian composer and violinist. Famed for his virtuosity and his elegant style of composition, he spent most of his life in Rome, where he was court violinist to Cardinal Ottoboni.
Antonio Vivaldi
An Italian composer of the early eighteenth century, known particularly for his concertos. His style affected those of several other baroque composers, notably Johann Sebastian Bach. Also wrote the popular The Four Seasons.
George Frideric Handel
(1685-1759) a prolific British baroque composer (born in Germany) remembered best for his oratorio Messiah (which included the Hallelujah Chorus)
Specific Events
What was music composed to order for?
Aristocratic Courts
The Church
The Opera House
Where were the primary areas of employment for musicians?
servants
What were composers working in aristocratic courts considered?
yes
Did some aristocrats become accomplished musicians?
unity of mood
When it comes to instrumental music, a section or entire movement will express one basic mood throughout this is called?
repeated throughout
rhythmic patterns heard at the beginning of a piece are often.....
rhythmic pulse
regular, consistent, and strong, typically featuring a constantly moving bass line, even when the music is in a slow tempo
unity of rhythm
provides compelling drive and energy that are characterisitc of baroque music
suddenly rather than gradually
How do terraced dynamics change?
basso continuo
what is one of the most distinctive instrumental features of baroque music?
10 to 40
The instruments of baroque orchestras vary from piece to piece, how many players typically play in an orchestra?
stringed instruments
What instruments predominate along with the basso continuo?
woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments
what instruments are optional and variable in number when used?
purely instrumental music
What type of music grows in importance as a genre throughout the baroque period.
Melodies
- are often complex and are not easy to remember on one hearing
- recur as a whole or in part throughout a movement or aria
-give an impression of continuous expansion, even within a slow tempo
vocal melodies
frequently use wide leaps and contain striking chromatic intervals
major and minor scales but may contain passages of striking chromaticism
What is harmony based on?
predominantly polyphonic, with an emphasis on the lowest and highest melodic lines
What is the texture like in late baroque music?
a harmonic foundation
What does the bass line provide for the music?
improvisation
The bass line being written as a figured bass encourages what?
No
Did baroque music specify what instruments should be played on scores?
Improvisation and Virtuosity by instrumentalists
What was expected and greatly prized by baroque audiences when it came to performances?
improvisation and virtuosity
what does performing or "realizing" a basso continuo line relies heavily on what?
authentic intruments
instruments that are typical of those used during the baroque era
modern instruments
instruments that utilize technological advances made since baroque music was composed