Unit 1 Flashcards
(42 cards)
Hymn
A sacred song with nonbiblical text; “O Que Suave” is from the California missions of Spain. It would have been sung during the elaborate outdoor processions that were part of Corpus Christi, a major Catholic holiday.
Polyphony
Singing in multiple independent voice parts; used by the Roman Catholic Church to make worship services as impressive as possible during Spanish colonization.
Psalter
Used by Anglicans and Puritans from England, a book of metrical songs; turned psalms into popular poetry using the same simple verse structures as traditional folk ballads, as in “Old Hundred”
Metrical psalms
Texts in the Old Testament Book of Psalms versified in English and published in psalters; “Old Hundred” is bone simple and derives from the French Calvinist tradition.
Strophic
Having all stanzas of text sung to the same music; “Old Hundred”
Lining out
In some New England congregations, a single singer would read or chant a psalm one line at a time to the congregation, who would sing each line back because too too few worshipers could read the psalms or buy the book; “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.”
Regular singing
A movement that called for musical literacy and singing guided by rules/notated music; supporters were pitted against the supporters of the Old Way, in which worshipers decorated their praise as the spirit moved them.
Tunebooks
Books in which psalm tunes were published during the Regular Singing controversy, which guarded them from the whim of oral transmission
Singing schools
Devoted to teaching the rudiments of singing and note reading, these along with tune books began a new era of more disciplined psalmody to the New World; also provided a social opportunity for young men and women to mingle
“Urania”
The first American tune book to bring psalmody into the commercial arena; A collection of psalm tunes, anthems, and hymns published by James Lyon in Philadelphia that offered something for every sacred singer
Anthems
Elaborate choral works by British composers, often with Biblical texts
“The New England Psalm Singer”
The first published collection of entirely American music by one composer; a tune book reflecting the vitality that flowed into New England sacred music as Puritan restrictions fell away, music literacy spread, and resistance to Britain’s rule became the moral focus; “Chester”
Collegium musicum
A group of amateur Moravians, who performed to enrich a community life dedicated to God’s glory through music; formed orchestras to accompany choral anthems and played European chamber/orchestral music; “Ich will dir ein freudenopfer thun”
Couple dances
Courtly French dances that called for precise, schooled movements
Country dances
From the Anglo-Celtic traditions of England, Scotland, and Ireland
Benefit concerts
One-time concerts intended to turn a profit for the performers (who payed the expenses)
Subscription concerts
A concert series in which the organizers issued a public proposal and proceeded based on the public’s response.
Ballad operas
A genre of opera with new words/ideas set to borrowed tunes, chosen for their associations; targeted society
Pasticcio
A theatrical genre that borrowed from other music, but prioritized music over social commentary
Comic opera
A genre of musical theatre that was a spoken play with a large amount of specially composed music; were melodramatic and and sentimental, with a happy ending
Ancient music
The reformer Nathaniel D. Gould’s name for the work of Europeans and Old World training, which moved with a gravity better suited to the solemnity of public worship; “Old Hundred”
Fuging tune
A form beloved by 18th century psalmists that begins with block chords before exploding into a fuge section where each voice part enters at a different time so that the texture overlaps; “Sherburne”
Camp meeting
Gatherings at which frontier worshipers camped out for several days of prayer and singing in an atmosphere of spiritual revivalism
Second Great Awakening
A surge of religious renewal between 1780 and 1830 that brought a fervent Christianity to northern, southern, and western fringes of the young republic
