music appreciation

monody

vocal style established in the Baroque, with a solo singer and instrumental accompaniment

figured bass

Baroque practice consisting of an independent bass line that often includes numerals indicating the harmony to be supplied by the performer.

basso continuo accompaniment

word meaning continuous bass also refers to performance groups with bass, chordal instruments such as harpsichord & organ, along w/ other instruments like cello & bassoon.

major minor scale

major is happy sounding, minor is sad sounding, set of 7 pitches employed from the chromatic scale

equal tempered tuning

tuning system of instruments based on the division of the octave into 12 equal half steps. the same system used today

doctrine of affects

The belief of Baroque composers in projecting the ideas of the text. It should convey the emotion so clearly that the listener should feel it. States of the soul, the expression of affections is the dominate goal in fashioning a piece of music. The power

opera

a theatrical performance in which the words of a play are sung with an orchestra as accompaniment, a play mostly sung, with costumes, scenery, action, and music

oratorio

dramatic poem set to music; long musical work with singing but without acting;, nonstaged, usually sacred, choral and instrumental work.

cantata

a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text

aria

a solo song in an opera

da capo aria

ARIA FORM with two sections. The first section is repeated after the second section's close, which carries the instructions of the da capo (Italian word for the head'), creating an ABA FORM.

chorale

a congregational song or hymn of the German Protestant Church, originally for the entire congregation to sing, characteristic hymn introduced by martin luther

ripieno

the larger of the two ensembles in the Baroque concerto grosso, In baroque music, especially concerto grosso, term means the main group of instrumentalists as opposed to the small/solo group which is known as the concertino

ritornello

recurring theme that functions as a refrain in Baroque compositions; can serve as intro and postlude in arias or choruses as a unifying thread.

recitative

a vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech, an opera solo that is much like speaking.

secco

singing style that has little accompaniment and lots of freedom

accompagnato

Full Instruments, voice, and Basso Continuo, Orchestra accompaniment

ground bass

A bass line repeated over and over while the composition plays above or a repeating melody, usually in the bass, throughout a vocal or instrumental composition.

claudio monteverdi

Italian composer (1567-1643) & The transitional figure from the renaissance to the baroque and the main figure who led the way to a new baroque style. The most important composer of the early Baroque. one of the inventors of the new seconda prattica

henry purcell

English organist at Westminster Abbey and composer of many theatrical pieces (1659-1695), This man was a composer from England who wrote religious and theater music. He wrote the operas, "Dido" and "Aeneas" based on myth of trojan warrior, Aeneas, sails w

johann sebastian bach

renowned organist and composer; spent entire life in Germany; while music director of Church of Saint Thomas in Leipzig composed Mass in B Minor; got reputation of being one of the greatest composers of all time; perfected baroque style, Devout German Lut

george frideric handel

A German-English composer of the late Baroque period 1685-1759 whose Messiah remains one of the best-known pieces of music in the world. Handel was an active court composer, receiving commissions from such notables as King George I of England, for whom hi

baroque period

(about 1600-1750)Baroque period was a musical period that used polyphony (many independent voices), rich ornamentation of melodies, and the development of many forms (fugue, toccata, oratorio, opera, etc.) that are still used today.

rococo period

1700 - 1750, Period bridging the Baroque with the classical, was a reaction to the elaborate gaudy grandiose period of the baroque its the opposite of baroque era, this period is when classical music evolved its was delicate, simple, graceful

polyphonic

having two or more independent but harmonically related melodic parts sounding together

homophonic

sounding alike, having a single melodic line with accompaniment, one melody of real interest combined with other sounds

cadence

the close of a musical section

trills

motion between two adjacent notes (major or minor second)

mordents

An ornament in which the written note is played, followed by the note below the written note and the written note again

terrace dynamics

Expressive style typical of some early music in which volume levels shift abruptly from soft to loud and back without gradual crescendos and decrescendos.

major minor tonality

Baroque/Classical, Developed at the beginning of the Baroque period, the major/minor tonality system was a system of classification which allowed for a definite tonality, and allows every chord to move and be defined in relation to that tonality., each ch

temperd tuning

how to tune your instruments

doctrine of affections

The Baroque practice of attempting to project states of feeling and ideas in music, more expressive

libretto

the words or text of an opera or musical play, The composer of an opera's music is remembered more frequently than the author of its text (libretto)

concerto

long musical composition for one or more principal instruments with orchestral accompaniment, instrumental work, usually in three movements, highlighting contrast, A multi-movement work consisting of music that contrasts a soloist with an orchestra or ban

concerto grosso

a piece of music for orchestra featuring a small group of soloists, called the concertino, contrasting with the larger group, called the ripieno

concertante

a special orchestral style; a concerto-like approach to the use of the orchestra in which individual instruments regularly emerge from the orchestral texture to function as soloists, Music, exhibiting or needing great skill and brilliancy; alternating tut

orchestral suite

arrangement of songs or dances from an opera or ballet.

fugue

a musical form consisting of a theme repeated(subject) a fifth above or a fourth below its first statement, Polyphonic form popular in the Baroque era in which one or more themes are developed by imitative counterpoint.

absolute music

Music that is independent of words, drama, visual images, or any kind of representational aspects.

jean-joseph mouret

french composer (1682 - 1738), composed dance suite: Rondeau, Baroque period

antonio vivaldi

Italian baroque composer and violinist (1678-1741), a Venetian PREIST and baroque music composer, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist; he was born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a series of four violin concertos, is his best kn

vocal genres in baroque music era

opera, mass,oratorio, & cantata

performing forces

string orchestra,with added woodwinds: organ and harpsichord in use

instrumental genres

trio sonata ,concerto grosso ,suite ,prelude, fugue, chaconne, passacaglia

texture (baroque era)

monodic texture-early baroque
polyphonic texture-late baroque
linear-horizontal dimension