Review - Vocabulary - Baroque Compositions Flashcards
What is the term for the second time the main theme appears in a fugue and it’s usually in dominant key?
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Answer.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
What is the term for musical pictorialization so the music mirrors the literal meaning of the words? Achieved through melody, harmony, or rhythm.
Describe one example. Name the title and its composer.
word painting
“Glory to God in the highest” is sung in upper register in “Glory to God” chorus of Messiah by Handel
What is the following?
half-singing, half-talking way of singing used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas. It follows the natural rise and fall of the texts so it has rhythmic flexibility and gives hints of the plot to the audience.
Give one example title and its composer.
recitative
Messiah by Handel
Provide definition of subject
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Subject is the initial statement of a fugue and it’s usually in the tonic key.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
Give the term.
- from the Italian stringere, meaning “to tighten”. Overlapping subject entries in close succession
- provide definition and give one example piece, its genre and composer.
stretto
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
Provide definition for melisma.
Describe one example. Name the title and its composer.
-many notes to a syllable/vowel. Demonstrates vocal virtuosity and often highlights key words
“re-joice” from ‘Rejoice Greatly” (soprano aria) from Messiah by Handel
Provide definition of prelude.
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Prelude is a short keyboard work in improvisatory style and often paired with a fugue.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
Define tonal answer*
- provide definition and give one example piece, its genre and composer.
- a statement of the subject in which one or more intervals is adjusted to accommodate the harmony
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
What is the following?
Give one example. Name the title and its composer.
Italian for ‘air’. Solo song with accompaniment in opera, oratorio, and cantata. Emotional and often virtuosic. May have lyrical or dramatic qualities; often reveals the character’s feelings and emotions.
aria
“Rejoyce Greatly” from Messiah by Handel
answer*
- provide definition and give one example piece, its genre and composer.
- the second statement of the main theme in a fugue; usually in the dominant key
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
Provide definition of fugue
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
A fugue is a highly structured, imitative contrapuntal composition with a repeating theme.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
Provide definition of homorhythmic texture
Describe one example. Name the title and its composer.
-all voices sing or play the same rhythm. Results in a blocked chordal texture (homophonic) to deliver the text with clarity and emphasis.
“Hallelujah!” from “Hallelujah!” chorus of Messiah by Handel
Give the term.
- the initial statement of the main theme of a fugue; in the tonic key
- provide definition and give one example piece, its genre and composer.
subject*
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major by JS Bach
What is the passage within a fugue in which there’s no subject or answer and often repeated sequentially?
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Episode
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
Provide definition of answer
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Answer is the second time the main theme appears in a fugue and it’s usually in dominant key.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
What is the following?
an aria (solo song) in ternary (ABA) structure. The returning A is usually ornamented in performance. It is the most common type of aria in Baroque opera and oratorio.
Give one example title and its composer.
da capo aria
“Rejoice Greatly” from Messiah by Handel
What is the following?
“A half-singing, half-talking way of singing, supported only by continuo and used in opera, oratorio, and cantata”
Give one example title and its composer.
recitativo secco (Italian for “dry recitative”)
There were shepherds” soprano recitative in Messiah by Handel
What is the term for a method of tuning keyboard instrument in which an octave is divided into 12 equal semitones?
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Equal Temperament.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
-stretto
- provide definition and give one example piece, its genre and composer.
- from the Italian stringere, meaning “to tighten”. Overlapping subject entries in close succession
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
What is the following?
a Baroque orchestral genre, often the orchestral introduction to an opera or oratorio. Usually in two parts A (slow, homophonic textures, dotted rhythm) and B (fast, imitative texture). Developed by Lully.
Give one example title and its composer.
French overture
Messiah by Handel
What type of answer is the exact transposition of the subject?
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Real answer.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
Provide definition of da capo aria
Give one example title and its composer.
an aria (solo song) in ternary (ABA) structure. The returning A is usually ornamented in performance. It is the most common type of aria in Baroque opera and oratorio.
“Rejoice Greatly” from Messiah by Handel
Provide definition for recitativo accompagnato
Give one example title and its composer.
(Italian for “accompanied recitative”)
A half-singing, half-talking way of singing used in opera, oratorio, and cantata. Supported by instrumental ensemble or orchestra so it allows for greater connection with the text.
Messiah by Handel
- combination of two or more independent melodic lines; also referred to as “polyphonic texture”
- provide definition and one example piece, its genre and composer.
counterpoint *
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
- an exact transposition of the subject
- provide term and one example piece, its genre and composer.
real answer*
- Prelude and fugue in B Flat major is a solo keyboard by Bach.
Provide definition of tonal answer
Give sample title, the genre and the composer.
Tonal answer is the the repeat of the subject in which one or more intervals is adjusted to accommodate the harmony.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, solo keyboard, Bach
