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63 Cards in this Set

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Harmony
Element of music that is literally all of the pitches that are not the melody. Harmony adds a richness of sound to the melody and can convey emotional aspects of the music such as feelings of happiness or sadness, tension, or peacefulness, etc.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
1756-1791. Classical period Austrian composer noted for his writing of operas,concertos, and symphonies. Especially noted for inventing the operatic sub-genre the dramma giocoso.Wrote an incomplete requiem mass that was completed by one of his students.
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich
1840-1893. Russian Romantic period composer known for his symphonies, ballet music, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, and concert overtures such as the 1812 Overture and Romeo and Juliet.
Imitative Polyphony
Polyphonic texture in which each voice imitates what a previous voice has already stated.
Hildegard of Bingen
1098-1179. Abbess of the convent at Rupertsburg near Bingen, Germany, and a prolific composer and writer.
Stravinsky, Igor
1882-1971. Russian-born composer who later resided in France and the United States and was very influential in the development of primitivism and neoclassicism. Composer of The Rite of Spring, one of the most influential musical compositions of the twentieth century, known for being an example of musical primitivism.
Gregorian Chant
Medieval period, sacred, monophonic, vocal music of the Catholic Church.
texture/Monophonic
A kind of texture that consists of a single melodic line.
Copland, Aaron
1900-1990. American composer especially noted for establishing a recognizably American style of music and for his ballet music based on American themes.
Bernstein, Leonard
1918-1990. American composer and Conductor/Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.Wrote compositions in both the edgy classicalstyle of the twentieth century and in a more popular vein for musical theatre, such as in West Side Story.
Timbre
The "tone color" of a musical sound. The distinct quality of sound that differentiates one instrument or voice from another.
Twentieth Century
Historical period of music dating from 1900-the present.
Rhythm
The element of music that animates it, gives it a feeling of moving through time. Contains the pulse, beat of the music, and the various emphases associated with it such as meter and syncopation.
Puccini, Giacomo
1858-1924. Italian Romantic period composer of operas. Known for the "verismo" style of realism in operatic writing in works such as La Boheme, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly.
Opera
Staged musical genre combining singing, acting, costumes, and scenery with an accompanying orchestra in a pit below, and in front of, the stage.
Handel, George Frideric
1685-1759. German-born composer who worked primarily in England. Best known today for his oratorios, operas, and dance suites, particularly the Water Music and The Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Form
The structure of a musical composition. In individual movements form usually is based on how the themes (main melodies) are manipulated. In entire compositions it refers to the overall outline of movements or other large sections such as the acts of an opera.
Hymns
Any religious song intended for the express purpose of praising God.
Tuvan Throat Singing
A type of vocalization, from the Republic of Tuva, that produces two pitches simultaneously. Also known as multiphonics.
Oratorio
Dramatic, sacred genre of the Baroque period consisting of arias, recitatives, and choruses. Usually based on biblical stories and texts. Performed in concert format, that is, not acted out on stage.
Mass
Musical setting of the texts associated with the Roman Catholic Church's ritual of the mass.
Spirituals
A type of song developed in the black slave culture of the American south, often based on biblical stories and expressing hope of deliverance from bondage.
Aria
A lyrical vocal piece, a song, usually for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment. Common in operas, oratorios, and cantatas.
Ordinary
Five specific texts from the mass consisting of the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Credo, and Agnus Dei. These are the texts that appear in all masses.
Ketjak
A kind of rhythmic chanting from Bali.
Kabuki Theatre
Traditional Japanese theatre combining music, acting, elaborate make-up, and costumes.
Camerata
Sixteenth-century group of Italian intellectuals who espoused a monodic style of vocal music in order to allow the meaning of the words to be clearly understood.
Chorus
Either a large choir of mixed voices or a repeating section of text and music.
Bernstein, Leonard
1918-1990. American composer and Conductor/Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.Wrote compositions in both the edgy classicalstyle of the twentieth century and in a more popular vein for musical theatre, such as in West Side Story.
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, a musical songwriting team.Wrote The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, The King and I, and South Pacific.
Morality Plays
An early (Medieval-Renaissance) dramatic musical genre depicting the struggle of good versus evil.
Incidental Music
Music written to accompany a play. Often includes an overture, numerous dances, and interludes.
Bizet, Georges
1838-1875. Nineteenth-century French composer. Known for the opera Carmen and the incidental music to L'Arlésienne.
Chinese Opera
Traditional musical theatre genre of China combining music, costumes, makeup, scenery, mime, dance, and acrobatics characterized by a generally boisterous presentation of musical materials.
Libretto
The words of an opera often available for audience members during operatic performances.
Gilbert and Sullivan
Late nineteenth-century English operetta (light opera) writing team of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
Verismo
A late nineteenth-century Italian literary style adapted to operatic writing based on everyday people in real-life situations often emphasizing passion and violence.
Lyricist
Someone who writes lyrics.
Webber, Andrew Lloyd
b. 1948. Extraordinarily successful English composer most noted for the writing of musicals such as Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, as well as a requiem mass.
Asymmetrical Meter
Meter in which the number of grouped pulses changes instead of remaining constant.
Polyphonic
A kind of texture that consists of two or more melodic lines.
Polyrhythmic
Music that contains two or more rhythmic meters occurring simultaneously.
Reel
A Celtic set dance for four couples.
Minuet (menuet)
A French dance in a moderate 3/4 time and A-B-A form.
Choreographer
The person who decides on the dance moves for a staged performance.
Strauss II, Johann
1825-1899. Austrian composer known as "The Waltz King" for his many compositions in that genre and also for his operettas.
Solo Instrumental Dance Suite
Genre of music popular in the Baroque period employing stylized versions of popular dances of the time.
Gamelan Angklung
A smaller version of the gamelan.
Duple meter
Meter with two beats, or multiples of two beats, in each measure.
Tempo
The speed of the music.
Overture
A single-movement orchestral composition that precedes a dramatic presentation such as an opera, musical, ballet, or oratorio.
Ternary Form
Refers to any piece with an overall three-part structure. Also known as three-part form or A-B-A form.
Call to Prayer
In the Muslim world the music that is sung five times daily by the "muezzin" telling Muslims it is time to pray. In modern times this has often been replaced by a recording rather than a person singing from a tower called a minaret.
Waltz
A type of dance in 3/4 time popularized in and around Vienna, Austria in the early nineteenth century. The name is derived from the German word "waltzen," which means to turn.
Estampie
A Medieval dance usually in a fast triple meter.
Baroque
Historical period of music dating from 1600-1750.
Primitivism
Twentieth-century musical style associated with harsh unresolved dissonance, unpredictable but strong rhythmic qualities, and short motivic melodies. Used to describe the style of The Rite of Spring.
Gamelan Gong
A large gamelan.
Handel, George Frideric
1685-1759. German-born composer who worked primarily in England. Best known today for his oratorios, operas, and dance suites, particularly the Water Music and The Music for the Royal Fireworks.
Gamelan
A Balinese and Javanese collection of primarily percussion instruments, gongs, cymbals, drums, played as an ensemble.
Achi Llama
Tibetan folk dance, performed outside of the monasteries for the purpose of preserving and retelling historical facts, legends, and myths of their culture.
Des Prez, Josquin
ca. 1440-1521. Renaissance period Flemish composer of liturgical music, most known for the writing of masses and motets.
Cantata
Sacred vocal genre consisting of multiple movements performed during a church service. Common in the Baroque period as well as today.