The Renaissance Period Flashcards
(25 cards)
Polyphony
Music with multiple independent melody lines played simultaneously
A cappella
Vocal music performed without instrumental accompaniment
Madrigal
A secular vocal composition, usually about love, written for multiple voices
Motet
A sacred vocal piece written in a polyphonic style
Mass
A sacred musical setting of religious texts used in church services
Word painting
Musical technique where the music reflects the literal meaning of the song lyrics
Secular
Music not connected to religious or church use
Sacred
Music written for religious purposes or church use
Counterpoint
The relationship between multiple melodic lines in a piece of music
Patron
A wealthy person or organization that financially supports artists and musicians
Troubadour
Medieval traveling musician who performed songs of courtly love
Consort
A group of instruments from the same family playing together
Chanson
A French secular song from the Renaissance period
Viol
A bowed string instrument popular during the Renaissance
Lute
A plucked string instrument similar to a modern guitar
Cantus firmus
A pre-existing melody used as the basis for a new polyphonic composition
Imitation
When one voice or instrument copies the melody of another
Harmony
The combination of different musical notes played simultaneously
Canon
A piece where the same melody is started at different times by different voices
Cadence
A sequence of chords that brings a phrase to an end
Antiphonal
Music performed by two alternating groups of singers or instruments
Melisma
Multiple notes sung to a single syllable of text
Plainchant
Single-line religious melodies used in church services
Notation
The system of writing music down on paper
