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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Baroque |
music and art of 1600-1750. The word originated from ‘barroco’ (Portuguese for rough pearl). It was originally meant as an insult, meaning ‘bad taste’. |
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Basso continuo |
Baroque period performance practise involving 2 players – one player plays the written bass line (with the cello or bassoon), and another player plays the chords indicated by the figured bass (with a keyboard instrument) |
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Equal temperament |
the Baroque period method of tuning keyboard instruments by dividing the octave into 12 equal semitones. It allows the player to play all 24 major/minor keys without sounding out of tune. It is still in use today. |
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Figured bass |
numerals written above or below a written bass line to indicate the harmony during the Baroque period. |
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Homophonic texture |
a single melody with harmonic accompaniment |
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Polyphonic texture |
two or more melodic lines played at the same time. Also known as counterpoint. |
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Terraced dynamics |
Baroque period practise of abruptly changing dynamics instead of using gradual crescendos and diminuendos. |
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The Affections |
the Baroque period belief that music should be about one’s feelings and emotions. Because of this, Baroque period music generally expresses one single clear emotion throughout the piece. |
La Primavera
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Word painting |
musical pictorialization |
Messiah
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Solo concerto |
music for a featured soloist and orchestra (ripieno/tutti). |
La Primavera
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Drone |
a sustained bass note, often found in folk music. |
La Primavera
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Ostinato |
a repeated short rhythmic or melodic pattern. Italian for ‘persistent’. |
La Primavera
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Ripieno |
the orchestra in the Baroque concerto. Italian for ‘full’. Also known as tutti. |
La Primavera
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Ritornello form |
the opening passage (the ritornellos) returns again and again, like a refrain. Used in the 1st and 3rd movements in a 3-movement Baroque concerto. |
La Primavera
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Idiomatic Writing
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the unique technical capabilities of an instrument are highlighted; opposite of generic
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La Primavera
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Oratorio |
a large-scale work for solo singers, ensemble, choir and orchestra on a biblical or other serious topic. Like an opera, but oratorios have no costumes or scenery. |
Messiah
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Da capo aria |
aria in ternary (ABA) form. The most common form of aria during the Baroque period. |
Messiah
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French overture |
a Baroque instrumental genre in 2 parts. The first part features slow dotted notes in homophonic texture. The second part is fast and polyphonic. |
Messiah
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Homorhythmic texture |
all voices sing the same rhythm in a chorale, resulting in homophony. |
Messiah
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Libretto |
the text of an oratorio or aria |
Messiah
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Melisma |
when a singer sings many notes per syllable in vocal music |
Messiah
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Recitativo accompagnato |
declamatory (speech-like) singing with orchestra in the background |
Messiah
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Recitativo secco |
declamatory (speech-like) singing with basso continuo (bass and keyboard) in the background. |
Messiah
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Prelude and fugue |
a Baroque keyboard genre. Prelude is a short introductory keyboard work. Fugue is a Baroque polyphonic keyboard work where the main theme is heard in one voice after another. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Counterpoint |
the art of creating a polyphonic composition. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Subject |
the first statement of the main theme in a fugue, heard in the tonic key. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Real answer |
the second statement of the main theme in a fugue, heard in the dominant key. The real answer is an exact transposition of the subject into the dominant key. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Tonal answer |
the second statement of the main theme in a fugue, heard in the dominant key. The tonal answer has small changes to the transposed subject melody in order to accommodate the dominant key. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Countersubject |
a recurring second melody that serve as the secondary background melody to the subject/answer in a Baroque fugue. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Episode |
a passage in free-counterpoint heard between statements of the subject/answer in a baroque fugue. Often sequential. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Stretto |
the overlapping statement of the subject/answer in a baroque fugue. Italian for ‘tighten’. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Pedal point |
a sustained note over which harmonies change. Often found in a baroque fugue. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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Tierce de Picardie |
V-I#3 perfect cadence in a minor key, resulting in a sudden shift to the major. |
Prelude & Fugue in B flat Major
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