Music

History I Final Study Guide

12/12/14

Full anthem- Anglican church anthem sung by full choir throughout

Verse anthem- anthem in which one or more solo voices are contrasted with the full choir. Byrd,
Purcell, Greene, and Gibbons, used verse anthems in some of their songs.

Opera- precursors: solo madrigal and Renaissance intermezzo

French opera: literature, influence of Aristotle, nationalism



-hated Italian structure; Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, Jean Baptiste Moliere (all



librettists



-Louis XIV: ballet and dance music

Aria- a lyrical piece for solo voice, with or without instrumental accompaniment. Either independent or
forming part of an opera, oratorio, cantata, or other large work

Recitative- a type of vocal writing, normally for a single voice, with the intent of mimicking dramatic
speech in song

French overture- two parts:

1. slow, majestic dotted rhythms

2. Fast, imitative (AB(A)) form

Concertato medium- music characterized by the interaction of two or more groups of instruments or
voices. Derived from the Italian concertare, concerned, which implies that a heretogenous group of
performers is brought together in a harmonious ensemble. Advent of concertato style took place in
Venice in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Exploits contrasts by using combinations/groupings of
instruments

Concerto- 3 types:

1. Concerto grosso- small group of soloists vs tutti (everyone)

2. Solo concerto- soloists vs tutti
3. Ripieno concerto- concerto for orchestra

Trio sonata- two treble instruments and 1 or more basso continuo. Example: Arcangelo Corelli, Trio
Sonata Op. 3, No. 2

Categories of instrumental music and genres-

Monody- music consisting of a single line. Secular solo song ca. 1600

Solo madrigal- the 16th century Italian madrigal was a typical renaissance genre. By the early 17th
century, as monody spread victoriously, its transformation into a solo madrigal had tremendous
importance for the history of music, since it ultimately formed one of the sources of the cantata.
Exemplified by Monteverdi.

Basso continuo- another name for figured bass. One of the principal features of Baroque compositional
and performance practice style. Certain contemporary writers, such as Pepusch, noted that the basso
continuo is the Thorough Bass, or Continual Bass, and is commonly distinguished from the other Basses
by Figures over the Notes, which are to be realized on a keyboard instrument or theorbo.

Cantata- Bach: required to write cantatas each Sunday and on feast days when he was a Lutheran
Church musician. By definition, a work for one or more voices with instrumental accompaniment. The
most important form of vocal music of the Baroque period outside opera and oratorio. Cantatas are
mainly secular and stem from the solo madrigal.

Oratorio- an extended musical setting of a sacred text made up of dramatic, narrative and
contemplative elements. Except for a greater emphasis on the chorous throughout much of its history,
the musical forms and styles of the oratorio tend to approximate to those of opera in any given period,
and it is normally performed as a concert, but without scenery, costumes or action. Most extensively
cultivated in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Motet- one of the most important forms of polyphonic music from about 1220 to 1750. Originated as a
liturgical trope, but developed into a form of secular art music during the late Middle Ages. Medieval
motet was a polyphonic composition in which the tenor was usually arranged in a pattern of reiterated
rhythmic configurations while up to three upper voices moved at a faster rate. In the 16th century the
motet achieved its classical synthesis in the context of Franco-Flemish style of Josquin and his
successors.

English oratorio-

Baroque dances

Suite

Fugue

Ostinato

Baroque instruments

Baroque
Ordre/agrment-