Survey I Forget Which

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Baroque

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Term used to describe the arts generally during the period 1600-1750 and signifying excess and extravagance

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Basso Continuo

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A small ensemble of at least two instrumentalists who provide a foundation for the melody or melodies above; heard almost exclusively in Baroque music

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Doctrine of Affections

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Early-seventeenth century aesthetic theory that held that different musical moods could and should be used to influence the emotions, or affections of the listener.

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Figured Bass

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In musical notation, a numerical shorthand that tells the player which unwritten notes to fill in above the written bass note

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Monody

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A general term connoting solo singing accompanied by a basso continuo in the early Baroque period

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Terraced Dynamics

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A term used to describe the sharp, abrupt dynamic contrasts found in the music of the Baroque era.

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Opera

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A dramatic work in which the actors sing some or all of the parts; it usually makes use of elaborate stage sets and costumes

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Aria

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An elaborate lyrical song for solo voice

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Arioso

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Halfway between an aria and recitative

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Basso Ostinato

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A motive in the bass repeated over and over again

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Cantata

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"Something sung"; Consists of several movements, arias, ariosos, and recitatives. Can be on several subjects.

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Chamber Music

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Music, usually instrumental music, performed in a small concert or private residence with just one performer on each part.

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Chamber Cantata

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A cantata performed before a select audience in a private residence; intimate vocal chamber music, principally of the Baroque era.

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Ground Bass

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The English term for Basso Ostinato

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Libretto

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The text of an opera

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Ostinato

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A musical figure, motive, melody, harmony, or rhythm that is repeated again and again

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Recitative

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Musically heightened speech, often used in an opera, oratorio, or cantata to report dramatic action and advance the plot

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Simple Recitative

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Recitative accompanied only by a basso continuo or a harpsichord, and not the full orchestra

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Chamber Sonata

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A suite for keyboard or small instrumental ensemble made up of individual dance movements

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Concerto Grosso

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A multi-movement concerto of the Baroque era that pits the sound of a small group of soloists (the concertino) against that of the full orchestra (the tutti)

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Concertino

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The group of instruments that function as soloists in a concerto grosso

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Concerto

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An instrumental genre in which one or more soloists play with and against a larger orchestra

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French Overture

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An overture style developed by Jean-Baptiste Lully with two sections, the first slow in duple meter with dotted note values, the second fast in triple meter and with light imitation, the first section can be repeated after the section

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Melodic Sequence

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The repetition of a musical motive at successively higher or lower degrees of the scale

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Opus

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Latin for "work" the term adopted by composers to enumerate and identify their compositions

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Orchestra

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The large instrumental ensemble that plays symphonies, overtures, concertos, and the like

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Overture

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An introductory movement, usually for orchestra, that precedes an opera, oratorio, or dance suite.

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Idiomatic Writing

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Musical composition that exploits the strengths and avoids the weaknesses of particular voices and instrument

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Solo Concerto

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A concerto in which an orchestra and a single performer or other solo instrument in turn present and develop the musical material in the spirit of harmonious competition

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Sonata

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Originally, "something sounded" on an instrument as opposed to something sung (a "cantata"); later, a multi-movement work for solo instrument, or instrument with keyboard accompaniment

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Trio Sonata

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An ensemble of the Baroque period consisting actually of four performers, two playing upper parts and two on the basso continuo instruments

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Ritornello Form

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Form in a Baroque concerto grosso in which all or part of the main theme--the ritornello (Italian for "return" or "refrain")--returns again and again, invariably played by the tutti, or full orchestra

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Walking Bass

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A bass line that moves at a moderate pace, mostly in equal note values, and often stepwise up or down the scale

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Cadenza

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A showy passage for the soloist appearing near the end of the movement in a concerto; usually incorporates rapid runs, arpeggios, and snippets of previously heard themes into a fantasy-like improvisation

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Church Cantata

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(see cantata)

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Chorale

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The German word for the hymn of the Lutheran church; hence a simple religious melody to be sung by the congregation

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Exposition

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In a fugue, the opening section, in which each voice in turn has the opportunity to present the subject; in sonata-allegro form, the principal section, in which all thematic material is presented

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Episode

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A passage of free, nonimitative counterpoint found in a fugue

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Fugue

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A composition for three, four, or five parts played or sung by voices or instruments; begins with a presentation of a subject in imitation in each part and continues with modulating passages of free counterpoint and further appearances of the subject

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Da Capo Form

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Ternary (ABA) form for an aria, so called because performers, when reaching the end of B, "take it from the head" and repeat A

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Prelude

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An introductory, improvisatory-like movement that gives the performer a chance to warm up and sets the stage for a substantive subsequent movement

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Pedal Point

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A note, usually in the bass, sustained or continually repeated for a period of time while the harmonies change around it.

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Subject

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The term for the principal theme in a fugue

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The Art of Fugue

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Bach's last project, an encyclopedic treatment of all known contrapuntal procedures, set forth in nineteen canons and fugues

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Dance Suite

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A collection of instrumental dances, each with its own distinctive rhythm and character

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Opera Seria

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A genre of opera that dominated the stage during the Baroque era, making use of serious historical or mythological subjects, da capo arias, and lengthy overtures

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Oratorio

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A large-scale genre of sacred music involving an overture, arias, recitatives, and choruses, but sung, whether in a theater or a church, without costumes or scenery

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Pastoral Aria

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Aria with several distinctive musical characteristics, all of which suggest pastoral scenes and the movement of simple shepherds attending the Christ Child