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