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60 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
rubato
(Italian for “robbed”musical notation, an expression mark indicating that the performer may take, or steal, great liberties with the tempo [CD 6/4 3:24–3:53]
canon
Standard repertoire
character piece
a brief instrumental work seeking to capture a single mood; a genre much favored by composers of the Romantic era
chromatic harmony
constructing chords on the five additional notes within the twelve–note scale, giving more color to the harmony
virtuoso
an instrumental performer or singer possessing extraordinary technical facility
Lied (pl. Lieder)
the genre of art song, for voice and piano accompaniment, that originated in Germany around 1800
art song
an accompanied song or ayre with artistic aspirations
modified strophic form
strophic form in which the music is modified briefly to accommodate a particularly expressive word or phrase in the text
Schubertiad
a social gathering for music and poetry that featured the songs and piano music of Franz Schubert
song cycle
a collection of several songs united by a common textual theme or literary idea
strophic form
a musical form often used in setting a strophic, or stanzaic, text, such as a hymn or carol; the music is repeated anew for each successive strophe
through–composed
a term used to describe music that exhibits no obvious repetitions or overt musical form from beginning to end
col legno
(Italian for “with the wood”) an instruction to string players to strike the strings of the instrument not with the horsehair of the bow, but with the wood of it
Dies irae
a Gregorian chant composed in the thirteenth century and used as the central portion of the Requiem Mass of the Catholic Church
idée fixe
literally a “fixed idea,” but more specifically an obsessive musical theme as first used in Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique
absolute music
instrumental music free of a text or any pre–existing program
ballet
An art form that uses dance and music, along with costumes and scenery, to tell a story and display emotions through expressive gestures and movement
ballet music
Music composed for a ballet
celesta
A small percussive keyboard instrument using hammers to strike metal bars, thereby producing a bright, bell–like sound
concert overture
a one–movement work of programmatic content originally intended for the concert hall, and not designed to precede an opera or play
cornet
a brass instrument that looks like a short trumpet; it has a more mellow tone than the trumpet and is most often used in military bands
diminution
a reduction, usually by half, of all the rhythmic durations in a melody
double counterpoint
counterpoint with two themes that can reverse position, the top theme moving to the bottom and the bottom to the top (also called invertible counterpoint)
dramatic overture
a one–movement work, usually in sonata–allegro form, that encapsulates in music the essential dramatic events of an opera or play; many are performed today at concerts without the opera or play
English horn
an alto oboe, pitched at the interval a fifth below the oboe, much favored by composers of the Romantic era
ophicleide
a low brass instrument originating in military bands about the time of the French Revolution; the precursor of the tuba
program music
a piece of instrumental music, usually for symphony orchestra, that seeks to recreate in sound the events and emotions portrayed in some extra–musical source: a story, a play, an historical event, an encounter with nature, or even a painting
program symphony
a symphony with the usual three, four, or five movements in which the individual movements together tell a tale or depict a succession of specific events or scenes
tone (symphonic) poem
a one–movement work for orchestra of the Romantic era that gives musical expression to the emotions and events associated with a story, play, political occurrence, personal experience, or encounter with nature
cross–stringing
overlaying the lowest–sounding strings across those of the middle register thereby producing a richer, more homogenous sound
etude
a short one–movement composition designed to improve one aspect of a performer’s technique
Lisztomania
term for the mass hysteria that swept over crowds attending Liszt’s recitals
mazurka
a fast dance of Polish origins in triple meter with an accent on the second beat
nocturne
a slow, introspective type of music, usually for piano, with rich harmonies and poignant dissonances intending to convey the mysteries of the night
recital
a concert of chamber music, usually for a solo performer
soft pedal
the left pedal on the piano that, when depressed, shifts the position of the hammers relative to the strings, reducing the dynamic level
sustaining pedal
the right–most pedal on the piano; when it is depressed, all dampers are removed from the strings, allowing them to vibrate freely
bel canto
a style of singing and a type of Italian opera developed in the nineteenth century that features the beautiful tone and brilliant technique of the human voice
recitativo accompagnato
recitative accompanied by the orchestra instead of merely the harpsichord; the opposite of secco recitative
cabaletta
the concluding fast aria of any two– or three–section operatic scene; a useful mechanism to get the principals off the stage
diva
Italian for “goddess,” she is a celebrated female opera singer
prima donna
the leading female singer in an opera
Risorgimento
the name given to the political movement that promoted the liberation and unification of Italy in the mid–nineteenth century
scena
a scenic plan in Italian opera involving a succession of separate elements such as a slow aria, a recitative, and a fast concluding aria
Gesamtkunstwerk
an art form that involves music poetry, drama, and scenic design, often used in reference to Richard Wagner’s music dramas
Liebestod
the famous aria sung by the expiring Isolde at the end of Richard Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde
Ring cycle
a cycle of four interconnected music dramas by Richard Wagner that collectively tell the tale of a Germanic legend
Bayreuth Festival
an opera house in the town of Bayreuth, Germany, constructed exclusively for the music dramas of Richard Wagner
leitmotif
a brief, distinctive unit of music designed to represent a character, object, or idea; a term applied to the motives in the music dramas of Richard Wagner
music drama
a term used for the mature operas of Richard Wagner
verismo opera
the Italian word for realistic opera
flamenco
a genre of Spanish song and dance, with guitar accompaniment, that originated in southern–most Spain and exhibits non–Western, possibly Arab–influenced, scales
Habanera
an Afro–Cuban dance–song that came to prominence in the nineteenth century, marked by a repeating bass and a repeating, syncopated rhythm
realistic opera
opera that treats issues of everyday life in a realistic way; afflictions of the lower classes in particular are presented on stage for all to see
musical nationalism
the musical expression of ethnic and linguistic distinctions through the use of such indigenous folk elements as folksongs, native scales, dance rhythms, and local instrumental sounds as well as through the use of national subjects for program music or opera
pentatonic scale
a five–note scale found often in folk music and non–Western music
Russian Five
a group of young composers (Borodin, Cui, Balakirev, Rimsky–Korsakov, and Musorgsky) centered in St. Petersburg, whose aim it was to write purely Russian music free of European influence
absolute music
instrumental music free of a text or any pre–existing program
double stops
Technique in which a violinist holds (stops) two and sometimes more strings simultaneously, and sweeps across them with the bow
orchestral song (orchestral Lied)
a genre of music emerging in the nineteenth century in which the voice is accompanied not merely by a piano but by a full orchestra