Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
220 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
lyre
|
Plucked string instrument with a resonating soundbox, two arms, crossbar, and strings that run parallel to the soundboard and attach to the crossbar.
|
|
|
harp
|
Plucked string instrument with a resonating soundbox, neck, and strings in roughly triangular shape. The strings rise perpendicular from the soundboard to the neck.
|
|
|
bull lyre
|
Sumerian LYRE with a bull's head at one end of the soundbox.
|
|
|
genre
|
Type or category of musical COMPOSITION, such as SONATA or SYMPHONY.
|
|
|
hymn
|
Song to or in honor of a god. In the Christian tradition, song of praise sung to God.
|
|
|
diatonic
|
(1) In ancient Greek music, adjective describing a TETRACHORD with two WHOLE TONES and one SEMITONE. (2) Name for a SCALE that includes five whole tones and two semitones, where the semitones are separated by two or three whole tones. (3) Adjective describing a MELODY, CHORD, or passage based exclusively on a single diatonic scale.
|
|
|
notation
|
A system for writing down musical sounds, or the process of writing down music. The principal notation systems of European music use a staff of lines and signs that define the pitch, duration, and other qualities of sound.
|
|
|
aulos
|
Ancient Greek reed instrument, usually played in pairs.
|
|
|
kithara
|
Ancient Greek instrument, a large LYRE.
|
|
|
melody
|
(1) Succession of tones perceived as a coherent line. (2) Tune. (3) Principal part accompanied by other parts or CHORDS.
|
|
|
monophonic
|
Consisting of a single unaccompanied MELODIC line.
|
|
|
heterophony
|
Music or musical TEXTURE in which a MELODY is performed by two or more parts simultaneously in more than one way, for example, one voice performing it simply, and the other with embellishments.
|
|
|
harmonia
|
(pl. harmoniai) Ancient Greek term with multiple meanings: (1) the union of parts in an orderly whole; (2) INTERVAL; (3) SCALE type; (4) style of MELODY.
|
|
|
ethos
|
(Greek, 'custom') (1) Moral and ethical character or way of being or behaving. (2) Character, mood, or emotional effect of a certain TONOS, MODE, METER, or MELODY.
|
|
|
diastematic
|
Having to do with INTERVALS. In diastematic motion, the voice moves between sustained pitches separated by discrete intervals; in diastematic NOTATION, the approximate intervals are indicated by relative height (see HEIGHTED NEUMES).
|
|
|
note
|
(1) A musical TONE. (2) A symbol denoting a musical tone.
|
|
|
interval
|
Distance in pitch between two NOTES.
|
|
|
scale
|
A series of three or more different pitches in ascending or descending order and arranged in a specific pattern.
|
|
|
tetrachord
|
(from Greek, 'four strings') (1) In Greek and medieval theory, a SCALE of four NOTES spanning a perfect fourth. (2) In modern theory, a SET of four pitches or PITCH-CLASSES. (3) In TWELVE-TONE theory, the first four, middle four, or last four notes in the ROW.
|
|
|
genus
|
(Latin, 'class'; pronounced GHEH-noos; pl. genera) In ancient Greek music, one of three forms of TETRACHORD: DIATONIC, CHROMATIC, and ENHARMONIC.
|
|
|
monophonic
|
Consisting of a single unaccompanied MELODIC line.
|
|
|
heterophony
|
Music or musical TEXTURE in which a MELODY is performed by two or more parts simultaneously in more than one way, for example, one voice performing it simply, and the other with embellishments.
|
|
|
harmonia
|
(pl. harmoniai) Ancient Greek term with multiple meanings: (1) the union of parts in an orderly whole; (2) INTERVAL; (3) SCALE type; (4) style of MELODY.
|
|
|
ethos
|
(Greek, 'custom') (1) Moral and ethical character or way of being or behaving. (2) Character, mood, or emotional effect of a certain TONOS, MODE, METER, or MELODY.
|
|
|
diastematic
|
Having to do with INTERVALS. In diastematic motion, the voice moves between sustained pitches separated by discrete intervals; in diastematic NOTATION, the approximate intervals are indicated by relative height (see HEIGHTED NEUMES).
|
|
|
note
|
(1) A musical TONE. (2) A symbol denoting a musical tone.
|
|
|
interval
|
Distance in pitch between two NOTES.
|
|
|
scale
|
A series of three or more different pitches in ascending or descending order and arranged in a specific pattern.
|
|
|
tetrachord
|
(from Greek, 'four strings') (1) In Greek and medieval theory, a SCALE of four NOTES spanning a perfect fourth. (2) In modern theory, a SET of four pitches or PITCH-CLASSES. (3) In TWELVE-TONE theory, the first four, middle four, or last four notes in the ROW.
|
|
|
genus
|
(Latin, 'class'; pronounced GHEH-noos; pl. genera) In ancient Greek music, one of three forms of TETRACHORD: DIATONIC, CHROMATIC, and ENHARMONIC.
|
|
|
diatonic
|
(1) In ancient Greek music, adjective describing a TETRACHORD with two WHOLE TONES and one SEMITONE. (2) Name for a SCALE that includes five whole tones and two semitones, where the semitones are separated by two or three whole tones. (3) Adjective describing a MELODY, CHORD, or passage based exclusively on a single diatonic scale.
|
|
|
chromatic
|
(from Greek chroma, 'color') (1) In ancient Greek music, adjective describing a TETRACHORD comprising a minor third and two SEMITONES, or a MELODY that uses such tetrachords. (2) Adjective describing a melody that uses two or more successive semitones in the same direction, a SCALE consisting exclusively of semitones, an INTERVAL or CHORD that draws NOTES from more than one DIATONIC scale, or music that uses many such melodies or chords.
|
|
|
enharmonic
|
(1) In ancient Greek music, adjective describing a TETRACHORD comprising a major third and two quartertones, or a MELODY that uses such tetrachords. (2) Adjective describing the relationship between two pitches that are notated differently but sound alike when played, such as G# and A.
|
|
|
conjunct
|
(1) In ancient Greek music, adjective used to describe the relationship between two TETRACHORDS when the bottom NOTE of one is the same as the top note of the other. (2) Of a MELODY, consisting mostly of STEPS.
|
|
|
disjunct
|
(1) In ancient Greek music, adjective used to describe the relationship between two TETRACHORDS when the bottom NOTE of one is a whole tone above the top note of the other. (2) Of a MELODY, consisting mostly of skips (third) and leaps (larger INTERVALS) rather than STEPS.
|
|
|
Greater Perfect System
|
In ancient Greek music, a system of TETRACHORDS spanning two octaves.
|
|
|
species
|
The particular ordering of WHOLE TONES and SEMITONES within a perfect fourth, fifth, or octave.
|
|
|
psalm
|
A poem of praise to God, one of 150 in the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Christian Old Testament). Singing psalms was a central part of Jewish, Christian, Catholic, and Protestant worship.
|
|
|
cantillation
|
Chanting of a sacred text by a solo singer, particularly in the Jewish synagogue.
|
|
|
rite
|
The set of practices that defines a particular Christian tradition, including a CHURCH CALENDAR, a LITURGY, and a repertory of CHANT.
|
|
|
church calendar
|
In a Christian RITE, the schedule of days commemorating special events, individuals, or times of year.
|
|
|
liturgy
|
The prescribed body of texts to be spoken or sung and ritual actions to be performed in a religious service.
|
|
|
plainchant
|
A unison unaccompanied song, particularly a LITURGICAL song to a Latin text.
|
|
|
chant
|
(1) Unison unaccompanied song, particularly that of the Latin LITURGY (also called PLAINCHANT). (2) The repertory of unaccompanied liturgical songs of a particular RITE.
|
|
|
chant dialect
|
One of the repertories of ecclesiastical CHANT, including GREGORIAN, BYZANTINE, AMBROSIAN, and OLD ROMAN CHANT.
|
|
|
Gregorian chant
|
The repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT used in the Roman Catholic Church.
|
|
|
Byzantine chant
|
The repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT used in the Byzantine RITE and in the modern Greek Orthodox Church.
|
|
|
Old Roman chant
|
A repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT preserved in eleventh- and twelfth-century manuscripts from Rome representing a local tradition; a near relative of GREGORIAN CHANT.
|
|
|
echos
|
(Greek; pl. echoi) One of the eight MODES associated with BYZANTINE CHANT.
|
|
|
centonization
|
(from Latin cento, "patchwork") A process of composing a new MELODY by combining standard MOTIVES and formulas, used in BYZANTINE CHANT.
|
|
|
Ambrosian chant
|
A repertory of ecclesiastical CHANT used in Milan.
|
|
|
notation
|
A system for writing down musical sounds, or the process of writing down music. The principal notation systems of European music use a staff of lines and signs that define the pitch, duration, and other qualities of sound.
|
|
|
neume
|
A sign used in NOTATION of CHANT to indicate a certain number of NOTES and general MELODIC direction (in early forms of notation) or particular pitches (in later forms).
|
|
|
heighted neumes
|
In an early form of NOTATION, NEUMES arranged so that their relative height indicated higher or lower pitch. Also called DIASTEMATIC neumes.
|
|
|
diastematic neumes
|
Having to do with INTERVALS. In diastematic motion, the voice moves between sustained pitches separated by discrete intervals; in diastematic NOTATION, the approximate intervals are indicated by relative height (see HEIGHTED NEUMES).
|
|
|
musica mundana
|
(Latin, 'music of the universe,' 'human music,' and 'instrumental music') Three kinds of music identified by Boethius (ca. 480-ca. 524), respectively the 'music' or numerical relationships governing the movement of stars, planets, and the seasons; the 'music' that harmonizes the human body and soul and their parts; and audible music produced by voices or instruments.
|
|
|
musica humana
|
(Latin, 'music of the universe,' 'human music,' and 'instrumental music') Three kinds of music identified by Boethius (ca. 480-ca. 524), respectively the 'music' or numerical relationships governing the movement of stars, planets, and the seasons; the 'music' that harmonizes the human body and soul and their parts; and audible music produced by voices or instruments.
|
|
|
musica instrumentalis
|
(Latin, 'music of the universe,' 'human music,' and 'instrumental music') Three kinds of music identified by Boethius (ca. 480-ca. 524), respectively the 'music' or numerical relationships governing the movement of stars, planets, and the seasons; the 'music' that harmonizes the human body and soul and their parts; and audible music produced by voices or instruments.
|
|
|
mode
|
(1) A SCALE or MELODY type, identified by the particular INTERVALLIC relationships among the NOTES in the mode. (2) In particular, one of the eight scale or melody types recognized by church musicians and theorists beginning in the Middle Ages, distinguished from one another by the arrangement of WHOLE TONES and SEMITONES around the FINAL, by the RANGE relative to the final, and by the position of the TENOR or RECITING TONE. (3) RHYTHMIC MODE. See also MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION.
|
|
|
final
|
The main NOTE in a MODE; the normal closing note of a CHANT in that mode.
|
|
|
range
|
A span of NOTES, as in the range of a MELODY or of a MODE.
|
|
|
tenor
|
(from Latin tenere, "to hold") (1) In a MODE or CHANT, the RECITING TONE. (2) In POLYPHONY of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the voice part that has the chant or other borrowed MELODY, often in long-held NOTES. (3) Male voice of a relatively high range.
|
|
|
authentic mode
|
A MODE (2) in which the RANGE normally extends from a STEP below the FINAL to an octave above it. See also PLAGAL MODE.
|
|
|
plagal mode
|
A MODE (2) in a which the RANGE normally extends from a fourth (or fifth) below the FINAL to a fifth or sixth above it. See also AUTHENTIC MODE.
|
|
|
reciting tone
|
(also called TENOR) The second most important NOTE in a MODE (after the FINAL), often emphasized in CHANT and used for reciting text in a PSALM TONE.
|
|
|
solmization
|
A method of assigning syllables to STEPS in a SCALE, used to make it easier to identify and sing the WHOLE TONES and SEMITONES in a MELODY.
|
|
|
hexachord
|
(from Greek, 'six strings') (1) A set of six pitches. (2) In medieval and RENAISSANCE SOLMIZATION, the six NOTES represented by the syllables ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, which could be transposed to three positions: the 'natural' hexachord, C-D-E-F-G-A; the "hard" hexachord, G-A-B-C-D-E; and the 'soft' hexachord, F-G-A-B-C-D. (3) In TWELVE-TONE theory, the first six or last six notes in the ROW.
|
|
|
mutation
|
In SOLMIZATION, the process of changing from one HEXACHORD to another.
|
|
|
church calendar
|
In a Christian RITE, the schedule of days commemorating special events, individuals, or times of year.
|
|
|
Mass
|
from Latin missa, 'dismissed') (1) The most important service in the Roman church. (2) A musical work setting the texts of the ORDINARY of the Mass, typically KYRIE, GLORIA, CREDO, SANCTUS, and AGNUS DEI. In this book, as in common usage, the church service is capitalized (the Mass), but a musical setting of the Mass Ordinary is not (a mass).
|
|
|
Proper
|
(from Latin proprium, 'particular' or 'appropriate') Texts of the MASS that are assigned to a particular day in the CHURCH CALENDAR.
|
|
|
Ordinary
|
(from Latin ordinarium, 'usual') Texts of the MASS that remain the same on most or all days of the CHURCH CALENDAR, although the tunes may change.
|
|
|
Introit
|
(from Latin introitus, 'entrance') First item in the MASS PROPER, originally sung for the entrance procession, comprising an ANTIPHON, PSALM verse, Lesser DOXOLOGY, and reprise of the ANTIPHON.
|
|
|
Kyrie
|
(Greek, "Lord") One of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, based on a BYZANTINE litany.
|
|
|
Gloria
|
(Latin, 'Glory') Second of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, a praise formula also known as the Greater DOXOLOGY.
|
|
|
Gradual
|
(from Latin gradus, 'stairstep') Item in the MASS PROPER, sung after the Epistle reading, comprising a RESPOND and VERSE. CHANT graduals are normally MELISMATIC in style and sung in a RESPONSORIAL manner, one or more soloists alternating with the CHOIR.
|
|
|
Alleluia
|
Item from the MASS PROPER, sung just before the Gospel reading, comprising a RESPOND to the text 'Alleluia,' a verse, and a repetition of the respond. CHANT alleluias are normally MELISMATIC in style and sung in a RESPONSORIAL manner, one or more soloists alternating with the CHOIR.
|
|
|
Credo
|
(Latin, 'I believe') Third of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, a creed or statement of faith.
|
|
|
Tract
|
(from Latin tractus, 'drawn out') Item in the MASS PROPER that replaces the ALLELUIA on certain days in Lent, comprising a series of PSALM VERSES.
|
|
|
sequence
|
(from Latin sequentia, 'something that follows') (1) A category of Latin CHANT that follows the ALLELUIA in some MASSES. (2) Restatement of a pattern, either MELODIC or HARMONIC, on successive or different pitch levels.
|
|
|
Offertory
|
Item in the MASS PROPER, sung while the COMMUNION is prepared, comprising a RESPOND without VERSES.
|
|
|
Sanctus
|
(Latin, 'Holy') One of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, based in part on Isaiah 6:3.
|
|
|
Agnus Dei
|
(Latin, 'Lamb of God') Fifth of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, based on a litany.
|
|
|
Communion
|
Item in the MASS PROPER, originally sung during communion, comprising an ANTIPHON without verses.
|
|
|
Office
|
(from Latin officium, 'obligation' or "ceremony") A series of eight prayer services of the Roman church, celebrated daily at specified times, especially in monasteries and convents; also, any one of those services.
|
|
|
antiphon
|
(1) A LITURGICAL CHANT that precedes and follows a PSALM or CANTICLE in the OFFICE. (2) In the MASS, a chant originally associated with ANTIPHONAL PSALMODY; specifically, the COMMUNION and the first and final portion of the INTROIT.
|
|
|
responsory
|
RESPONSORIAL CHANT used in the OFFICE. Matins includes nine Great Responsories, and several other Office services include a Short Responsory.
|
|
|
canticle
|
HYMN-like or PSALM-like passage from a part of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms.
|
|
|
responsorial
|
Pertaining to a manner of performing CHANT in which a soloist alternates with a group.
|
|
|
antiphonal
|
Adjective describing a manner of performance in which two or more groups alternate.
|
|
|
direct
|
Pertaining to a manner of performing CHANT without alternation between groups (see ANTIPHONAL) or between soloist and group (see RESPONSORIAL).
|
|
|
syllabic
|
Having (or tending to have) one NOTE sung to each syllable of text.
|
|
|
neumatic
|
In CHANT, having about one to six NOTES (or one NEUME) sung to each syllable of text.
|
|
|
melismatic
|
Of a MELODY, having many MELISMAS.
|
|
|
recitation formula
|
In CHANT, a simple outline MELODY used for a variety of texts.
|
|
|
psalm tone
|
A MELODIC formula for singing PSALMS in the OFFICE. There is one psalm tone for each MODE.
|
|
|
intonation
|
The first NOTES of a CHANT, sung by a soloist to establish the pitch for the CHOIR, which joins the soloist to continue the chant.
|
|
|
mediant
|
In a PSALM TONE, the CADENCE that marks the middle of the PSALM verse.
|
|
|
termination
|
In a PSALM TONE, the CADENCE that marks the end of the PSALM VERSE.
|
|
|
Lesser Doxology
|
A formula of praise to the Trinity. Two FORMS are used in GREGORIAN CHANT: the Greater Doxology, or GLORIA, and the Lesser Doxology, used with PSALMS, INTROITS, and other chants.
|
|
|
cantor
|
In Jewish synagogue music, the main solo singer. In the medieval Christian church, the leader of the CHOIR.
|
|
|
strophic
|
Of a poem, consisting of two or more stanzas that are equivalent in form and can each be sung to the same MELODY; of a vocal work, consisting of a strophic poem set to the same music for each stanza.
|
|
|
Psalmody
|
The singing of PSALMS.
|
|
|
respond
|
The first part of a RESPONSORIAL CHANT, appearing before and sometimes repeated after the PSALM verse.
|
|
|
jubilus
|
(Latin) In CHANT, an effusive MELISMA, particularly the melisma on "-ia" in an ALLELUIA.
|
|
|
cycle
|
A group of related works, comprising MOVEMENTS of a single larger entity. Examples include cycles of CHANTS for the MASS ORDINARY, consisting of one setting each of the KYRIE, GLORIA, SANCTUS, and AGNUS DEI (and sometimes also Ite, missa est); the POLYPHONIC MASS cycle of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries; and the SONG CYCLE of the nineteenth century.
|
|
|
trope
|
Addition to an existing CHANT, consisting of (1) words and MELODY; (2) a MELISMA; or (3) words only, set to an existing melisma or other melody.
|
|
|
liturgical drama
|
Dialogue on a sacred subject, set to music and usually performed with action, and linked to the LITURGY.
|
|
|
versus
|
(Latin, 'verse') A type of Latin sacred song, either MONOPHONIC or POLYPHONIC, setting a rhymed, rhythmic poem.
|
|
|
conductus
|
A serious medieval song, MONOPHONIC or POLYPHONIC, setting a rhymed, rhythmic Latin poem.
|
|
|
goliard songs
|
Medieval Latin songs associated with the goliards, who were wandering students and clerics.
|
|
|
chanson de geste
|
(French, 'song of deeds') Type of medieval French epic recounting the deeds of national heroes, sung to MELODIC formulas.
|
|
|
bard
|
Medieval poet-singer, especially of epics.
|
|
|
Jongleur
|
(French) Itinerant medieval musician or street entertainer.
|
|
|
minstrel
|
(from Latin minister, 'servant') Thirteenth-century traveling musician, some of whom were also employed at a court or city.
|
|
|
troubadour
|
(from Occitan trobar, 'to compose a song') A poet-composer of southern France who wrote MONOPHONIC songs in Occitan (langue d'oc) in the twelfth or thirteenth century.
|
|
|
trobairitz
|
(from Occitan trobar, 'to compose a song') A female TROUBADOUR.
|
|
|
trouvere
|
(from Old French trover, 'to compose a song') A poet-composer of northern France who wrote MONOPHONIC songs in Old French (langue d'oil) in the twelfth or thirteenth century.
|
|
|
chansonnier
|
(French, 'songbook') Manuscript collection of secular songs with French words; used both for collections of MONOPHONIC TROUBADOUR and TROUVeRE songs and for collections of POLYPHONIC songs.
|
|
|
refrain
|
In a song, a recurring line (or lines) of text, usually set to a recurring MELODY.
|
|
|
fine amour
|
(French, 'refined love'; pronounced FEEN ah-MOOR; fin' amors in Occitan; also called courtly love) An idealized love for an unattainable woman who is admired from a distance. Chief subject of the TROUBADOURS and TROUVeRES.
|
|
|
courtly love
|
(French, 'refined love'; pronounced FEEN ah-MOOR; fin' amors in Occitan; also called courtly love) An idealized love for an unattainable woman who is admired from a distance. Chief subject of the TROUBADOURS and TROUVeRES.
|
|
|
rondeau
|
(pl. rondeaux) (1) French FORME FIXE with a single stanza and the musical FORM ABaAabAB, with capital letters indicating lines of REFRAIN and lowercase letters indicating new text set to music from the refrain. (2) FORM in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century instrumental music in which a repeated STRAIN alternates with other strains, as in the pattern AABACA.
|
|
|
Minnesinger
|
(German, 'singer of love'; also pl.) A poet-composer of medieval Germany who wrote MONOPHONIC songs, particularly about love, in Middle High German.
|
|
|
Minnelieder
|
(German, 'love songs') Songs of the MINNESINGER.
|
|
|
bar form
|
Song FORM in which the first section of MELODY is sung twice with different texts (the two STOLLEN) and the remainder (the ABGESANG) is sung once.
|
|
|
Stollen
|
Song FORM in which the first section of MELODY is sung twice with different texts (the two STOLLEN) and the remainder (the ABGESANG) is sung once.
|
|
|
Abgesang
|
(pronounced AHP-ge-zong) Song FORM in which the first section of MELODY is sung twice with different texts (the two STOLLEN) and the remainder (the ABGESANG) is sung once.
|
|
|
lauda
|
(from Latin laudare, 'to praise') Italian devotional song.
|
|
|
cantiga
|
Medieval MONOPHONIC song in Spanish or Portuguese.
|
|
|
vielle
|
Medieval bowed string instrument, early form of the fiddle and predecessor of the VIOLIN and VIOL.
|
|
|
hurdy-gurdy
|
An instrument with MELODY and DRONE strings, bowed by a rotating wheel turned with a crank, with levers worked by a keyboard to change the pitch on the melody string(s).
|
|
|
psaltery
|
A plucked string instrument whose strings are attached to a frame over a wooden sounding board.
|
|
|
transverse flute
|
Flute blown across a hole in the side of the pipe and held to one side of the player; used for medieval, RENAISSANCE, and BAROQUE forms of the flute to distinguish it from the RECORDER, which is blown in one end and held in front.
|
|
|
shawm
|
Double reed instrument, similar to the oboe, used in the medieval, RENAISSANCE, and BAROQUE PERIODS.
|
|
|
pipe and tabor
|
Two instruments played by one player, respectively a high whistle fingered with one hand and a small drum beaten with a stick or mallet.
|
|
|
portative organ
|
Medieval or RENAISSANCE organ small enough to be carried, played by one hand while the other worked the bellows.
|
|
|
positive organ
|
Organ from the medieval through BAROQUE PERIODS that was small enough to be moved, usually placed on a table.
|
|
|
carole
|
Medieval circle or line dance, or the MONOPHONIC song that accompanied it.
|
|
|
estampie
|
Medieval instrumental DANCE that features a series of sections, each played twice with two different endings, OUVERT and CLOS.
|
|
|
open
|
(French, ouvert and clos) In an ESTAMPIE, BALLADE, or other medieval form, two different endings for a repeated section. The first ('open') closes on a pitch other than the FINAL, and the second ('closed') ends with a full CADENCE on the final.
|
|
|
closed
|
(French, ouvert and clos) In an ESTAMPIE, BALLADE, or other medieval form, two different endings for a repeated section. The first ('open') closes on a pitch other than the FINAL, and the second ('closed') ends with a full CADENCE on the final.
|
|
|
polyphony
|
Music or musical TEXTURE consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent MELODY. See also COUNTERPOINT.
|
|
|
organum
|
(Latin; pronounced OR-guh-num) (1) One of several styles of early POLYPHONY from the ninth through thirteenth centuries, involving the addition of one or more voices to an existing CHANT. (2) A piece, whether IMPROVISED or written, in one of those styles, in which one voice is drawn from a CHANT. The plural is organa.
|
|
|
conductus
|
A serious medieval song, MONOPHONIC or POLYPHONIC, setting a rhymed, rhythmic Latin poem.
|
|
|
motet
|
(from French mot, 'word') POLYPHONIC vocal COMPOSITION; the specific meaning changes over time. The earliest motets add a text to an existing DISCANT CLAUSULA. Thirteenth-century motets feature one or more voices, each with its own sacred or secular text in Latin or French, above a TENOR drawn from CHANT or other MELODY. Most fourteenth- and some fifteenth-century motets feature ISORHYTHM and may include a CONTRATENOR. From the fifteenth century on, any polyphonic setting of a Latin text (other than a MASS) could be called a motet; from the sixteenth century on, the term was also applied to sacred compositions in other languages.
|
|
|
counterpoint
|
The combination of two or more simultaneous MELODIC lines according to a set of rules.
|
|
|
harmony
|
Aspect of music that pertains to simultaneous combinations of NOTES, the INTERVALS and CHORDS that result, and the correct succession of chords.
|
|
|
notation
|
A system for writing down musical sounds, or the process of writing down music. The principal notation systems of European music use a staff of lines and signs that define the pitch, duration, and other qualities of sound.
|
|
|
composition
|
The act or process of creating new pieces of music, or a piece that results from this process and is substantially similar each time it is performed; usually distinguished from IMPROVISATION and performance.
|
|
|
drone
|
NOTE or notes sustained throughout an entire piece or section.
|
|
|
organum
|
(Latin; pronounced OR-guh-num) (1) One of several styles of early POLYPHONY from the ninth through thirteenth centuries, involving the addition of one or more voices to an existing CHANT. (2) A piece, whether IMPROVISED or written, in one of those styles, in which one voice is drawn from a CHANT. The plural is organa.
|
|
|
parallel organum
|
Type of POLYPHONY in which an added voice moves in exact parallel to a CHANT, normally a perfect fifth below it. Either voice may be doubled at the octave.
|
|
|
principal voice
|
(Latin, vox principalis) In an ORGANUM, the original CHANT MELODY.
|
|
|
organal voice
|
(Latin, vox organalis) In an ORGANUM, the voice that is added above or below the original CHANT MELODY.
|
|
|
mixed parallel and oblique organum
|
Early form of ORGANUM that combines parallel motion with oblique motion (in which the ORGANAL VOICE remains on the same NOTE while the PRINCIPAL VOICE moves) in order to avoid tritones.
|
|
|
free organum
|
Style of ORGANUM in which the ORGANAL voice moves in a free mixture of contrary, oblique, parallel, and similar motion against the CHANT (and usually above it).
|
|
|
Aquitanian polyphony
|
Style of POLYPHONY from the twelfth century, encompassing both DISCANT and FLORID ORGANUM.
|
|
|
Discant
|
(Latin, "singing apart") (1) Twelfth-century style of POLYPHONY in which the upper voice or voices have about one to three NOTES for each note of the lower voice. (2) TREBLE part.
|
|
|
florid organum
|
Twelfth-century style of two-voice POLYPHONY in which the lower voice sustains relatively long NOTES while the upper voice sings note-groups of varying length above each note of the lower voice.
|
|
|
tenor
|
(from Latin tenere, 'to hold') (1) In a MODE or CHANT, the RECITING TONE. (2) In POLYPHONY of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the voice part that has the chant or other borrowed MELODY, often in long-held NOTES. (3) Male voice of a relatively high range.
|
|
|
score notation
|
A type of NOTATION in which the different voices or parts are aligned vertically to show how they are coordinated with each other.
|
|
|
ligature
|
NEUME-like noteshape used to indicate a short RHYTHMIC pattern in twelfth- to sixteenth-century NOTATION.
|
|
|
long
|
In medieval and RENAISSANCE systems of RHYTHMIC NOTATION, a NOTE equal to two or three BREVES.
|
|
|
breve
|
(from Latin brevis, 'short') In medieval and RENAISSANCE systems of RHYTHMIC NOTATION, a NOTE that is normally equal to half or a third of a LONG.
|
|
|
rhythmic modes
|
System of six durational patterns (for example, mode 1, long-short) used in POLYPHONY of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, used as the basis of the rhythmic NOTATION of the Notre Dame composers.
|
|
|
tempus
|
(Latin, 'time'; pl. tempora) In medieval systems of NOTATION, the basic time unit. See also MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION.
|
|
|
clausula
|
(Latin, 'clause,' pl. clausulae) In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, a self-contained section of an ORGANUM that closes with a CADENCE.
|
|
|
substitute clausula
|
In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, a new CLAUSULA (usually in DISCANT style) designed to replace the original polyphonic setting of a particular segment of a CHANT.
|
|
|
organum duplum
|
In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, an ORGANUM in two voices.
|
|
|
triplum
|
(from Latin triplus, 'triple') (1) In POLYPHONY of the late twelfth through fourteenth centuries, third voice from the bottom in a three- or four-voice TEXTURE, added to a TENOR and DUPLUM. (2) In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, an ORGANUM in three voices.
|
|
|
quadruplum
|
(Latin, 'quadruple') (1) In POLYPHONY of the late twelfth through fourteenth centuries, fourth voice from the bottom in a four-voice TEXTURE, added to a TENOR, DUPLUM, and TRIPLUM. (2) In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, an ORGANUM in four voices.
|
|
|
duplum
|
(from Latin duplus, 'double') In POLYPHONY of the late twelfth through fourteenth centuries, second voice from the bottom in a four-voice TEXTURE, above the TENOR.
|
|
|
triplum
|
(from Latin triplus, 'triple') (1) In POLYPHONY of the late twelfth through fourteenth centuries, third voice from the bottom in a three- or four-voice TEXTURE, added to a TENOR and DUPLUM. (2) In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, an ORGANUM in three voices.
|
|
|
cauda
|
(Latin, 'tail'; pl. caudae) MELISMATIC passage in a POLYPHONIC CONDUCTUS.
|
|
|
motet
|
(from French mot, 'word') POLYPHONIC vocal COMPOSITION; the specific meaning changes over time. The earliest motets add a text to an existing DISCANT CLAUSULA. Thirteenth-century motets feature one or more voices, each with its own sacred or secular text in Latin or French, above a TENOR drawn from CHANT or other MELODY. Most fourteenth- and some fifteenth-century motets feature ISORHYTHM and may include a CONTRATENOR. From the fifteenth century on, any polyphonic setting of a Latin text (other than a MASS) could be called a motet; from the sixteenth century on, the term was also applied to sacred compositions in other languages.
|
|
|
double motet
|
Thirteenth-century MOTET in three voices, with different texts in the DUPLUM and TRIPLUM.
|
|
|
triple motet
|
Thirteenth-century MOTET in four voices, with a different text in each voice above the TENOR.
|
|
|
cantus firmus
|
(Latin, 'fixed melody') An existing MELODY, often taken from a GREGORIAN CHANT, on which a new POLYPHONIC work is based; used especially for MELODIES presented in long NOTES.
|
|
|
Franconian notation
|
System of NOTATION described by Franco of Cologne around 1280, using noteshapes to indicate durations.
|
|
|
perfection
|
(1) What we all strive for. (2) In medieval systems of NOTATION, a unit of duration equal to three TEMPORA, akin to a MEASURE of three beats.
|
|
|
rondellus
|
Technique in medieval English POLYPHONY in which two or three PHRASES of music, first heard simultaneously in different voices, are each sung in turn by each of the voices.
|
|
|
rota
|
FORM of medieval English POLYPHONY in which two or more voices sing the same MELODY, entering at different times and repeating the melody until all stop together. See CANON.
|
|
|
isorhythm
|
(from Greek iso-, 'equal,' and rhythm) Repetition in a voice part (usually the TENOR) of an extended pattern of durations throughout a section or an entire COMPOSITION.
|
|
|
Ars Nova
|
(Latin, 'new art') Style of POLYPHONY from fourteenth-century France, distinguished from earlier styles by a new system of rhythmic NOTATION that allowed duple or triple division of NOTE values, SYNCOPATION, and great rhythmic flexibility.
|
|
|
minim
|
In ARS NOVA and RENAISSANCE systems of rhythmic NOTATION, a NOTE that is equal to half or a third of a SEMIBREVE.
|
|
|
mensuration signs
|
In ARS NOVA and RENAISSANCE systems of rhythmic NOTATION, signs that indicate which combination of time and prolation to use (see MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION). The predecessors of TIME SIGNATURES.
|
|
|
talea
|
(Latin, 'cutting'; pronounced TAH-lay-ah) In an ISORHYTHMIC COMPOSITION, an extended rhythmic pattern repeated one or more times, usually in the TENOR. Compare COLOR.
|
|
|
color
|
(Latin rhetorical term for ornament, particularly repetition, pronounced KOH-lor) In an ISORHYTHMIC COMPOSITION, a repeated MELODIC pattern, as opposed to the repeating rhythmic pattern (the TALEA).
|
|
|
mode
|
(1) A SCALE or MELODY type, identified by the particular INTERVALLIC relationships among the NOTES in the mode. (2) In particular, one of the eight scale or melody types recognized by church musicians and theorists beginning in the Middle Ages, distinguished from one another by the arrangement of WHOLE TONES and SEMITONES around the FINAL, by the RANGE relative to the final, and by the position of the TENOR or RECITING TONE. (3) RHYTHMIC MODE. See also MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION.
|
|
|
time signature
|
Sign or numerical proportion, such as 3/4, placed at the beginning of a piece, section, or MEASURE to indicated the METER.
|
|
|
prolation
|
(Latin modus, tempus, prolatio) The three levels of rhythmic DIVISION in ARS NOVA NOTATION. Mode is the division of LONGS into BREVES; time the division of breves into SEMIBREVES; and prolation the division of semibreves into MINIMS.
|
|
|
perfect
|
(or major) division In medieval and RENAISSANCE NOTATION, a division of a NOTE value into three (rather than two) of the next smaller unit. See MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION.
|
|
|
major scale
|
DIATONIC succession of NOTES with a major third and major seventh above the TONIC.
|
|
|
imperfect (or minor) division
|
In medieval and RENAISSANCE NOTATION, a division of a NOTE value into two of the next smaller units (rather than three). See MODE, TIME, AND PROLATION.
|
|
|
minor scale
|
DIATONIC SCALE that begins with a WHOLE STEP and HALF STEP, forming a minor third above the TONIC. The sixth and seventh above the tonic are also minor in the natural minor scale but one or both may be raised.
|
|
|
hocket
|
(French hoquet, 'hiccup') In thirteenth- and fourteenth-century POLYPHONY, the device of alternating rapidly between two voices, each resting while the other sings, as if a single MELODY is split between them; or, a COMPOSITION based on this device.
|
|
|
contratenor
|
(Latin, 'against the tenor') In fourteenth- and fifteenth-century POLYPHONY, voice composed after or in conjunction with the TENOR and in about the same RANGE, helping to form the HARMONIC foundation.
|
|
|
virelai
|
French FORME FIXE in the pattern A bba A bba A bba A, in which a REFRAIN (A) alternates with stanzas with the musical FORM bba, the a using the same music as the refrain.
|
|
|
formes fixes
|
(French, 'fixed forms'; pronounced form FEEX) Schemes of poetic and musical repetition, each featuring a REFRAIN, used in late medieval and fifteenth-century French CHANSONS; in particular, the BALLADE, RONDEAU, and VIRELAI.
|
|
|
chanson
|
(French, 'song'; pronounced shanh-SONH) Secular song with French words; used especially for POLYPHONIC songs of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries.
|
|
|
treble-dominated style
|
Style common in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in which the main MELODY is in the CANTUS, the upper voice carrying the text, supported by a slower-moving TENOR and CONTRATENOR.
|
|
|
treble
|
(French, 'triple') (1) A high voice or a part written for high voice, especially the highest part in three-part POLYPHONY of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. (2) Pertaining to the highest voice.
|
|
|
cantus
|
(Latin, 'melody') In POLYPHONY of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, the highest voice, especially the texted voice in a polyphonic song.
|
|
|
ballade
|
(1) French FORME FIXE, normally in three stanzas, in which each stanza has the musical FORM aab and ends with a REFRAIN. (2) Instrumental piece inspired by the GENRE of narrative poetry.
|
|
|
rondeau
|
(pl. rondeaux) (1) French FORME FIXE with a single stanza and the musical FORM ABaAabAB, with capital letters indicating lines of REFRAIN and lowercase letters indicating new text set to music from the refrain. (2) FORM in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century instrumental music in which a repeated STRAIN alternates with other strains, as in the pattern AABACA.
|
|
|
Ars Subtilior
|
(Latin, 'more subtle art') Style of POLYPHONY from the late fourteenth or very early fifteenth centuries in southern France and northern Italy, distinguished by extreme complexity in rhythm and NOTATION.
|
|
|
Trecento
|
(Italian, short for mille trecento, 'one thousand three hundred'; pronounced treh-CHEN-toh) The 1300s (the fourteenth century), particularly with reference to Italian art, literature, and music of the time.
|
|
|
madrigal
|
(Italian madrigale, 'song in the mother tongue') (1) Fourteenth-century Italian poetic form and its musical setting having two or three stanzas followed by a RITORNELLO. (2) Sixteenth-century Italian poem having any number of lines, each of seven or eleven syllables. (3) POLYPHONIC or CONCERTATO setting of such a poem or of a sonnet or other nonrepetitive VERSE form. (4) English polyphonic work imitating the Italian GENRE.
|
|
|
ritornello
|
(Italian, 'refrain') (1) In a fourteenth-century MADRIGAL, the closing section, in a different METER from the preceding verses. (2) In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century vocal music, instrumental introduction or interlude between sung stanzas. (3) In an ARIA or similar piece, an instrumental passage that recurs several times, like a refrain. Typically, it is played at the beginning, as interludes (often in modified form), and again at the end, and it states the main THEME. (4) In a fast MOVEMENT of a CONCERTO, the recurring thematic material played at the beginning by the full orchestra and repeated, usually in varied form, throughout the movement and at the end.
|
|
|
caccia
|
(Italian, 'hunt'; pronounced CAH-cha; pl. cacce) Fourteenth-century Italian FORM featuring two voices in CANON over a free untexted TENOR.
|
|
|
ballata
|
(from Italian ballare, 'to dance'; pl. ballate) Fourteenth-century Italian song GENRE with the FORM AbbaA, in which A is the ripresa or REFRAIN, and the single stanza consists of two piedi (bb) and a volta (a) sung to the music of the ripresa.
|
|
|
haut
|
(French, 'high'; pronounced OH) In the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, term for loud instruments such as CORNETTS and SACKBUTS. See BAS.
|
|
|
bas
|
(French, "low"; pronounced BAH) In the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, term for soft instruments such as VIELLES and HARPS. See HAUT.
|
|
|
cornett
|
Wind instrument of hollowed-out wood or ivory, with finger holes and a cup mouthpiece, blown like a brass instrument.
|
|
|
stop
|
(1) Mechanism on an organ to turn on or off the sounding of certain sets of pipes. (2) The particular set of pipes controlled by such a mechanism.
|
|
|
musica ficta
|
(Latin, 'feigned music') (1) In early music, NOTES outside the standard GAMUT, which excluded all flatted and sharped notes except B. (2). In POLYPHONY of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, the practice of raising or lowering by a semitone the pitch of a written note, particularly at a CADENCE, for the sake of smoother HARMONY or motion of the parts.
|
|
|
double leading-tone cadence
|
CADENCE popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in which the bottom voice moves down a WHOLE TONE and the upper voices move up a SEMITONE, forming a major third and major sixth expanding to an open fifth and octave.
|
|
|
cadence
|
MELODIC or HARMONIC succession that closes a musical PHRASE, PERIOD, section, or COMPOSITION.
|
|
|
Phrygian cadences
|
CADENCE in which the bottom voice moves down a semitone and upper voices move up a whole tone to form a fifth and octave over the cadential NOTE.
|
