voices_book_1

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

(sometimes known as head rhyme), the repetition of a speech sound, usually a consonant, in a sequence of words. The recurrent sound is generally at the beginning of a word or a stressed syllable.

Question 2

aria

Answer 2

the Italian word for air. Although it carries a number of meanings in relation to music, it is most commonly used to describe an expressive piece written for solo voice. Arias are featured in large-scale vocal works including operas, oratorios and cantatas.

Question 3

baritone

Answer 3

a type of male voice between tenor and bass.

Question 4

Baroque

Answer 4

the Baroque period in music lasted from about 1600 until about 1750.

Question 5

beat

Answer 5

see pulse.

Question 6

blank verse

Answer 6

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Not to be confused with free verse, blank verse was the dominant verse form in early modern drama, favoured by Marlowe, Shakespeare and their contemporaries.

Question 7

chord

Answer 7

a musical chord is formed when two or more pitches are played simultaneously together as one unit. The adjective used to describe a texture using a succession of chords is chordal.

Question 8

Classical

Answer 8

the Classical period in western music is used as a description of music of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The leading exponents of the style known as Classical are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756_91), Joseph Haydn (1732_1809), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770_1827) and Franz Schubert (1797_1828).

Question 9

concerto

Answer 9

the concerto is an important musical genre. Developed during the Baroque period (about 1600_1750), it is a work for solo instrument and orchestra.

Question 10

contrapuntal

Answer 10

see counterpoint.

Question 11

counterpoint

Answer 11

textural interweaving of different melodic and rhythmic patterns. The adjective is contrapuntal.

Question 12

dhamma

Answer 12

the Pali term for the truth of how things are, and practices that lead to knowledge and understanding of that truth.

Question 13

dynamics

Answer 13

the term used to describe the range of volume or loudness in a piece of music. A variety of dynamics in a piece can create contrast and add to the expressive content: forte (f ) is loud; piano (p) is quiet.

Question 14

epic poem

Answer 14

epic is the name given to long, narrative poems concerning the deeds of gods, heroes and men, the oldest surviving example of which is Homer_s Iliad. The term derives from the Greek for word (epos). Epic poetry characteristically adheres to set conventions, such as the inclusion of lengthy speeches and repeated phrases. Characteristic of Greek and Latin epic is the fact that it is composed in a poetic metre known as dactylic hexameter.

Question 15

harmony

Answer 15

in music, harmony is created when different pitches are played together at the same time. Some harmonies are consonant, which means the pitches are blended together to make pleasing sounds that are easy to listen to. Others are dissonant, where sounds created by certain pitch combinations are relatively harsh and grating. Two or more pitches played simultaneously together as one unit are called a chord.

Question 16

imitation

Answer 16

in music, a technique where voices or instruments imitate one another.

Question 17

karma

Answer 17

the Sanskrit word for action. The word implies the idea that whatever is done in this life is influenced by the circumstances of previous lives and that actions in this life will in turn influence lives to come.

Question 18

librettist

Answer 18

see libretto.

Question 19

libretto

Answer 19

the text for an extended vocal work, particular an opera. The writer of such a text is called a librettist.

Question 20

meditation

Answer 20

a practice used for religious and therapeutic purposes. In Buddhism there are two types of meditation: meditation to calm the mind and meditation to develop understanding of dhamma.

Question 21

melody

Answer 21

a melody or tune is created by combining rhythm and pitch. The way in which these two elements are manipulated to create melody can produce a range of effects. A melody can be constructed from several phrases.

Question 22

nibbana

Answer 22

the Pali term (in Sanskrit the term is nirvana) used in Buddhism to refer to the highest possible happiness. It means literally blowing out. The things that are blown out are the fires of greed, hatred and ignorance, which prevent ordinary people from being happy.

Question 23

nirvana

Answer 23

see nibbana

Question 24

Oedipus

Answer 24

in Greek mythology, Oedipus was the son of Laius, ruler of Thebes. As a baby he was cast out by his parents and when he grew up he unwittingly killed his own father and married his own mother.

Question 25

opera buffa

Answer 25

a type of lighthearted or comic opera popular in the Classical period.

Question 26

Pali

Answer 26

an ancient language developed in the Indian subcontinent and used to record early Buddhist texts.

Question 27

pass laws

Answer 27

leglislation introduced by the South African government in 1923 and again in 1952 to restrict the movements of non-whites. The 1952 Act made it compulsory for all black Africans over the age of 16 to carry _passbooks_ at all times. The passbook provided proof of permission (or proof that permission had not been granted) to live and/or work in a specific area. Failure to produce a passbook on demand meant arrest and automatic penalties, including imprisonment.

Question 28

phrase

Answer 28

a musical phrase is a short, self-contained group of notes, rather like a phrase in writing or speaking.

Question 29

pitch

Answer 29

the way in which notes sound high or low in relation to one another.

Question 30

pulse

Answer 30

the regular pattern of stresses (referred to individually as beats) that runs throughout a piece of music. In vernacular language _the beat_ is often used more generally to describe the pulse. Music almost always has a pulse, but in some pieces it is clearer to hear than in others.

Question 31

quatrain

Answer 31

a four-line stanza-form, very common in English poetry, with a range of possible rhyme schemes.

Question 32

register

Answer 32

a distinctive use of language, written or spoken, for a particular situation.

Question 33

rhyme scheme

Answer 33

the order and arrangement of rhymes, either throughout a whole poem or in a typical stanza.

Question 34

rhythm

Answer 34

in music, the way in which sounds are distributed over time, but, unlike the pulse, these sounds can last for varied lengths of time. Some notes are short and will seem to move fast, while others will last longer and could seem to move more slowly. Some rhythms are even and smooth, while others are uneven. One way to think about the relationship between rhythm and pulse is to think about speech. Speech tends to have rhythm, but it does not necessarily have a regular pulse.

Question 35

Sanskrit

Answer 35

an ancient Indian language used primarily for religious texts.

Question 36

shebeen

Answer 36

an unlicensed establishment selling alcohol to black Africans, who, under apartheid, could not enter bars reserved for white people.

Question 37

simile

Answer 37

a figure of speech in which two different things are explicitly compared, using the words _like_ or _as_.

Question 38

sutta

Answer 38

the Pali term for a thread. A text from the Buddhist tradition that is said to have been composed by the Buddha.

Question 39

tempo

Answer 39

he term used to describe the speed of the music, which can be thought of as the rate of pulse. Music with a slow pulse will go slowly, while music with a fast pulse will seem to move at greater speed. To create contrast and interest composers often vary the tempo within a piece of music.

Question 40

texture

Answer 40

in music, the term is used to refer to the ways in which different lines of music interweave. The simplest musical texture is a single unaccompanied melodic line, while combinations of voices and instruments playing different parts simultaneously create more complex musical textures.

Question 41

timbre

Answer 41

the different sound qualities of instruments and voices. Individual instruments have their own timbres.

Question 42

tipitaka

Answer 42

the collection of Buddhist texts. Literally _the three baskets_.

Question 43

unison

Answer 43

all instruments or voices playing the same notes.

Question 44

Oratorio

Answer 44

A large musical piece for voice and instruments similar to opera but no costumes or dancing. Usually for a church