Western Art Music Flashcards
Oratorio
An un-staged musical narrative written about sacred subject matter; Usually sung in the language of the composer.
Libretto
The “story” of the opera; Becomes more elaborate with emphasis on music conveying narrative.
Chanson
French for “song;” Sung in the local dialect & often about love.
Recitative
Speech-like singing with minimal accompaniment; Used to move the narrative action along.
Character Piece
Piece for solo piano; Used to depict a particular mood or extra musical idea.
Symphony
A multi-movement (3-4) work for orchestra.
Extended Techniques
Nontraditional methods of playing acoustic instruments to yield new & unfamiliar sounds.
Song Cycles
Large collections of art songs unified by narrative.
List the historical eras of music in order from oldest to newest:
Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th-21st Century
Aria
More song-like singing with more elaboration accompaniment; More elaborate on thoughts & emotions of a specific character.
Virtuoso
Solo performer of great technical ability.
Gesamtkunstwerk
Total artwork (opera); Synthesizes music, narrative, drama, dance, etc.
Opera
A staged narrative which includes multiple vocalists and instrumental accompaniment.
Counterpoint
Multiple simultaneous melodies highly refined (technique).
Western Art Music
“Classical music;” Music whose origins are in Europe or whose stylistic characteristics can be traced back to European composers.
