Music Exam 1

opera

staged drama. scenery, action, costumes

madrigal

secular composition for unaccompanied voices, 4-6 voices. smaller ensemble

word painting

illustrating meaning of words through music

symphony

an extended, ambitious composition typically lasting b/w 20-45 minutes, exploiting the expanded range of tone color and dynamics of the classical orchestra

concerto

a 3-movement work for an instrumental soloist and orchestra

a capella

unaccompanied choral music

melody

series of single tones add to a whole

consonance

one combo stable

dissonance

tone combo unstable, sometimes can be stable

rhythm

flow of music through time

beat

clap, tap hands, regular recurrent pulsation, divides music into equal units of time

timbre

the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitches and intensity

pitch

the degree of highness or lowness of a tone

tempo

the speed at which a passage of music is or should be played

allegro

at a brisk tempo

forte

loud; strong

crescendo

a gradual increase in loudness in a piece of music

pizzicato

plucking the strings of a violin or other stringed instrument with one's finger

plainchant

Gregorian chant, medieval church music, no accompaniment

renaissance

14th-17th century, bridges art period during the 15th century

terraced dynamics

soft to loud, decrescendos, and crescendos

monophonic

single melody, no accompany

homophonic

one main melody, with accompainment

polyphonic

many sounds

dynamics in music refers to

degrees of loudness and softness

an important women composer of the middle ages was

hildregard of bingen

timbre is synonymous with

tone color

the texture of renaissance music is chiefly

polyphonic

during the renaissance every educated person was expected to

read musical notation, play a musical instrument, be skilled in dance. (all of the above)

Gregorian chant

is set to sacred Latin texts, retained some elements of the Jewish synagogue of the first centuries of christ, was the official music of the roman catholic church for more than 1,000 years. (all of the above)

the organization of beats into regular groups is called

meter

music can be defined as

an art based on the organization of sounds in time

the phrase middle ages refers to the period of European history spanning

450-1450

the renaissance may be described as an age of

curiosity and individualism, exploration and adventure, the "rebirth" of human creativity

the renaissance madrigal is a

piece for several solo voices set to a short poem, usually about love

most medieval music was

vocal

the two main forms of sacred renaissance music are the mass and the

motet

Baroque melodies often are

elaborate and ornamental

all of the following were major baroque composers except

Wolfgang A. Mozart

the text, or book, of a musical dramatic work is called the

libretto

the word baroque has at various times meant all of the following except

naturalistic

the word movement in music normally refers to

a piece that sounds fairly complete and independent but is part of a larger composition

a polyphonic composition based on one main theme, a cornerstone of baroque music, is the

fugue

bach created masterpieces in every baroque form except the

opera