music history

Question 1

terraced dynamics

Answer 1

a sudden change from one level of volume to another

Question 2

polyphonic:

Answer 2

two or more melodic lines sounding simultaneously

Question 3

homophonic:

Answer 3

one main melody with accompaniment

Question 4

basso continuo:

Answer 4

a unit of two instruments; usually a keyboard and bass instrument

Question 5

figured bass:

Answer 5

a numerical shorthand where the keyboard player “realizes” the bass line and plays chords

Question 6

word painting

Answer 6

musical representation of specific poetic images

Question 7

movement

Answer 7

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

Question 8

concertino:

Answer 8

a small group of soloists

Question 9

tutti:

Answer 9

literally “all”; a larger group of payers

Question 10

concerto grosso

Answer 10

a small group of soloists (concertino) pitted against a larger group of players (tutti)

Question 11

solo concerto

Answer 11

a single soloist pitted against a larger group of players

Question 12

ritornello form:

Answer 12

based on the alternation between soloist(s) and orchestra

Question 13

fugue

Answer 13

a polyphonic composition based on one main theme called the subject

Question 14

subject:

Answer 14

the main theme of a fugue

Question 15

answer:

Answer 15

the subject in a different key (usually the dominant)

Question 16

countersubject:

Answer 16

an accompanying melodic idea

Question 17

episodes:

Answer 17

transitional sections between full presentations of the subject

Question 18

stretto

Answer 18

when the subject is imitated before it is completed

Question 19

pedal point:

Answer 19

(aka: organ point) a single tone (usually in the bass) is held while other voices produce a series of changing harmonies against it
(inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution)

Question 20

prelude:

Answer 20

an independent, short piece that introduces a fugue
Johann Sebastian Bach

Question 21

opera:

Answer 21

a drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment

Question 22

camerata:

Answer 22

a group of Florentine nobles, poets, and composers who prepared the way for opera

Question 23

libretto

Answer 23

the text of an opera

Question 24

recitative:

Answer 24

a vocal line that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech

Question 25

aria

Answer 25

Italian for “song”; a song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment

Question 26

arioso:

Answer 26

a vocal style between recitative and aria

Question 27

overture:

Answer 27

a purely orchestral composition introducing an opera

Question 28

da capo

Answer 28

Italian for “from the beginning” Claudio Monteverdi Henry Purcell

Question 29

ground bass:

Answer 29

(aka: basso ostinato) a phrase (usually in the bass) repeated over and over

Question 30

sonata:

Answer 30

originally a piece for instruments; a composition in several movements for a small group of instruments

Question 31

trio sonata:

Answer 31

most popular version of the sonata; three melodic lines played by four performers

Question 32

sonata da chieza:

Answer 32

church sonata

Question 33

suite:

Answer 33

sets of dance inspired movements (allemande, courante, saraband, gigue)

Question 33

sonata da camera:

Answer 33

chamber sonata Arcangelo Corelli Antonio Vivaldi

Question 34

French overture:

Answer 34

an introductory movement that is not dnce inspired

Question 35

chorale:

Answer 35

a hymn tune for church

Question 36

chorale prelude:

Answer 36

a short composition based on the hymn tune to remind the congregation of the melody

Question 37

cantata:

Answer 37

originally a piece for voices; the principal means of musical expression in the Lutheran service using chorales

Question 38

oratorio:

Answer 38

a large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra, usually set to a narrative text (biblical) George Frederic Handel