Grade 3 History Flascards

Front 1

Barroco

Back 1

Portuguese for ‘rough pearl’. It is the origin of the term ‘Baroque’. It describes the ornate, decorative and grandiose art and music of the Baroque Era. However, the word was originally used as an insult, to describe art or music in bad taste

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Le nuove musiche (The New Music, 1602)

Back 2

a musical collection by Caccini, a member of the Florentine Camerata. Caccini and the Florentine Camerata invented three musical elements associated with the beginning of the Baroque period: opera, recitative(beginning of the sound of Music - singing speech) and monody(solo sing w/ a chord in the background). Le nuove musiche features solo songs written in the new monodic style (solo singer with simple instrumental accompaniment)

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Major-minor tonality

Back 3

a system of major and minor keys that feature a thrust toward the tonic. The use of major-minor tonality became firmly established during the Baroque period.

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Equal temperament

Back 4

a system of tuning keyboard instruments so that the octave is divided into 12 equal semitones. Developed during the Baroque era, the equal temperament system allowed musicians to play in any major/minor key without experiencing unpleasant sounds. It is the tuning system still in use today

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Figured bass

Back 5

a Baroque practice of writing numerals above or below a bass line to indicate the harmony to be supplied through improvisation by the basso continuo players

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Basso continuo / thorough bass

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Italian for ‘continuous bass’. A Baroque performance group with two performers: a bass instrument (usually cello or bassoon) and a chord instrument (usually harpsichord, lute or organ). It is used to accompany an instrumental or vocal melody

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The affections

Back 7

a philosophy practiced by Baroque musicians. They believed that music should communicate one clear emotion throughout the duration of a piece

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Improvisation

Back 8

improvisation was an important element in Baroque music. Figured bass require the basso continuo players to improvise the indicated harmony. Also, singers and players were expected to add their own ornamentation to the written melody. Two of the greatest Baroque improvisers were J.S. Bach and Handel. Improvisation became less important after the Baroque period

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Ornamentation

Back 9

melodic decorations such as trills, mordents and turns used to emphasize certain notes and to add flavour and emotion.. They were commonly improvised during the Baroque period

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Terraced dynamics

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a Baroque system of dynamics where a passage played at one dynamic level is contrasted at another level, creating an echo effect. Terraced dynamics became less important after the Baroque period as instruments capable of creating smooth crescendos and diminuendos were developed

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Binary form

Back 11

a two-part (A-B) form with each section normally repeated. It is a standard form for pieces in the Baroque period

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Ternary form

Back 12

a three-part (A-B-A) form where the final section is a repetition of the first section. It is a standard form for pieces in the Baroque period

Front 13

Homophonic texture

Back 13

a musical texture with a melody and accompanying harmony. Monody (one melody with instrumental accompaniment) is a form of homophonic texture. Its invention by the Florentine Camerata around the 1600 marks the beginning of the Baroque period. It was popular in later period of the Baroque Era

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Polyphonic texture

Back 14

a musical texture with two or more melodic lines. Polyphonic texture was developed during the Baroque period through genres such as the fugue.

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Concerto (plus 6 terms)

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instrumental genre in several movements for solo instrument or instrumental group and accompanying instrumental group/orchestra.. The word originates from the Latin word concertare ‘to vie with’.

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Solo concerto

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concerto for virtuoso solo instrument and accompanying instrumental group/orchestra (ripieno)

Hint 16

Concerto

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Concerto grosso

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concerto for instrumental group (concertino) and accompanying instrumental group/orchestra (ripieno)

Hint 17

Concerto

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Ritornello form

Back 18

Italian for ‘little return’. A Baroque form based on a short instrumental passage that returns again and again like a refrain

Hint 18

Concerto

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Tutti / ripieno

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Italian for ‘all’. The accompanying instrumental group/orchestra in a concerto.

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Ripieno

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– Italian for ‘full’. The accompanying instrumental group/orchestra in a concerto.

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Concertino

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the featured ensemble in the Baroque concerto grosso.

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Oratorio (plus 5 terms)

Back 22

large scale dramatic composition originating in the Baroque period with text usually based on religious subjects. Oratorio is performed by solo voices, ensembles, chorus and orchestra. It is similar to opera, but it has no costumes, scenery or action
Terms: French overture,Da capo aria, Recitative secco, Recitative accompagnato,Word painting

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French overture

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Baroque instrumental introduction to an opera, ballet, or suite, written in two sections. The first section is a slow opening featuring ponderous dotted rhythms, and the second section is a fast Allegro. It often ends with a brief return to the slow opening

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Da capo aria

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aria in ternary (A-B-A) form, often found in Baroque operas and oratorios. During the Baroque period, the singer was expected to add ornaments in the last A section

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Recitative secco

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Italian for ‘dry recitative’; recitative (a type of speech-like singing/declamation used in operas and oratorios) accompanied with occasional chords by the basso continuo (bass and chord instrument such as cello and harpsichord). Its free melody closely follows the natural inflection of the text

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Recitative accompagnato

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recitative (a type of speech-like singing/declamation used in operas and oratorios) with orchestral accompaniment

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Word painting

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musical pictorialization used as an expressive device to convey emotions, actions or objects in the text

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Prelude and Fugue (plus 8 terms)

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a Baroque polyphonic instrumental genre with a prelude (a short keyboard work in improvisatory style) followed by a fugue (an imitative, contrapuntal composition in which a single subject prevails throughout the piece by entering in one voice, then another)
Terms: Subject, Answer, Countersubject, Episode, Stretto, Counterpoint,Pedal point, Tierce de Picardie

Hint 28

Prelude and Fugue

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Subject

Back 29

the main theme of a fugue in the tonic key

Hint 29

Prelude and Fugue

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Answer

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the second statement of the main theme of a fugue, in the dominant key

Hint 30

Prelude and Fugue

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Countersubject

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a recurring counter-melody that accompany the subject or answer in a fugue

Hint 31

Prelude and Fugue

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Episode

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a transitional passage in a fugue, often sequential, found between statements of the subject or answer

Hint 32

Prelude and Fugue

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Stretto

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entries of subject or answer in a fugue that overlap in close succession. J.S. Bach often used strettos in his fugues to create a dramatic climax

Hint 33

Prelude and Fugue

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Counterpoint

Back 34

the art of combining two or more melodies in contrapuntal, polyphonic texture. Baroque fugal writing requires a high level of technique in counterpoint. One of the greatest master of Baroque counterpoint is J.S. Bach.

Hint 34

Prelude and Fugue

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Pedal point

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a sustained note, frequently in the bass, over which the harmonies change. J.S. Bach often wrote a tonic or dominant pedal in the final section of his fugues to re-enforce the key in a dramatic and climactic manner.

Hint 35

Prelude and Fugue

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Tierce de Picardie

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a type of ending in a minor key work in which the perfect cadence (V-I ending) finishes with the tonic major chord (I#3). It is a common ending in minor key Baroque pieces.

Hint 36

Prelude and Fugue