monophomic melody with a freely flowing unmeasured vocal line, lacking harmony or counterpoint; liturgical chant of the roman catholic church- aka plainchant or plainsong.- avoids wide leaps musical speech- has no phrase structure. chants fall into 3 classes- syllabic- one note to each sylable, neumatic- 5-6 notes, melismatic- long groups of notes. at first chnts were handed down through oral tradition- created neumes- symbols to help singers remember the different melodies. used modes- or varieties of scale parretns
Pope Gregory the Great
590-604 - rought the Gregorian chant to the catholic church- early music of the christian church shaped by Greek hebrew Syrian in order to assemble the ever growing body of music into an organized liturgy
hildegard of bingen
nun- took vows at 14. experienced visions- able to tell the future. became head of her community and founded her own convent in Germany. powerful religious figures sought her advice- known for her scientific and medical writings. wrote musical poetry and music- symphony of harmony of celestial revelations- her style is highly original similar to a Gregorian chant. music had brilliant imagery. wrote alleluia- a responsorial- ABA structure sung mono phonically to a conjunct. her musical signatures an occasional upward leap of faith that gives the line a soaring feeling alternates between neumatic and melismatic
genre- plainchant, responsirial, opens melismatic then numismatic, in praise of the virgin mary- poet Hildegard of bingen, for the feast of the virgin Mary, conjunct movements with a few leaps, range of 9 notes over an octave. climaxes at "holy flesh" "beautiful flower""chastity"
1450-1600- era of exploration scientific inquiry, art an secularization- artists insired by ancient Greece and Rome- musicians worked in churches and cities and courts- golden age of a capella- features a fuller more constant sound - fixed preexisting melody word painting cantus firmus- first came to flower in italy
vocal work without instrumental accompaniment. 16th century golden age of a capella. - most church music written for a capella performances
making the music reflect the meaning of the words- was much favored in secular music. monteverdi used in his work
language of the country- rather tan in Latin. in Renaissance masses. with the rise of Renaissance polyphony in ordinary masses- daily- five movements of ordinary mass- kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus, angus dei- all sung in vernacular
mass for the dead sung at funerals and memorial services most important of the masses for special services. comes form the verse grant them eternal rest, o lord. always sung "dies Irae, or days of wrath" an evocation of the last judgment.
most important secular genre of renaissance- aristocraticform of poetry and music that flourished at hte italian courst. consists of short poem of lyric or reflective character. often usuing emotional words- weeing dying, love, desire, protrays vivid panorama of renaissance thought and feeling. used instruments that substituted or duplicated voices. first period of hte madrigal composers concern was to gave pleasure to the preformers midle phase- art form in which words and music were clearly linked. final phase- went into baroque era- becme the direct expression of hte composers musical personality and feelings- vivid depiction of emotional wrds in music- fair phyllis
in Venice- impressive line of choir masters and organists came up with a new grandiose style. the chief characteristic was polychoral singing - has two or three choirs that answer each other antiphonally making an echo effect or sang together- suggest groups singing in alteration and then toegther. reached its high point in Giovanni gabrieli- first composer to specify withch instruments should play and also mark dynaimics with the music. eventually lead to the dawning of a new era the opulent and dramatic baroque era.
performance suggest groups singing in alteration and then together. reached its high point with giovanni gabrieli
veniecian composer exploited the possibilites of multiple choirs often accompanied by organs strings and wind instruments. he was the first composer to specify wih instruments should play and also to mark dynamics in the music.
1600-1750 time of changes in polotics science and arts. time of religious wars protestants vs catholics. colonization of hte new world. rise of middle class with music making centered in the home church and the universities. music served religion through the singing of psalms
interest shifted form texture of polyphony to one in wich a single melody stood out. called monody meaning :one song: it is a solo song with instrumental accompainment. first cultivated by a groupf of florentine writers and muscians aka camerata they were aristoctatic humanists who wanted to resurrect the musical dramatic are of ancient greece. thy named monody "the expressive style:- lead to the invention of opera
a bass part written out in full and accompanied by numbers to indicate the chords to be played- has figured bass. often employed two instrumentalists for the accompainment. one played hte bass line on the cello or bassoon and theo other filled the harmonies with a harpsichord organ or lute. thereby providing a coundation over whih a vocal or instrumental melody could unfold
tuning system that allowed instruments to play in any key, each tone equal distance from each other (major/minor tonality)
the well tempered clavier
johann sebastian bach wrote in every one of the twelve major and twelve minor keys. well tempered lavier is a two volume key board collection each containing 24 preludes and fugues or one in every possible key. bach's most important keyboard work.
the rise of opera saw the development of the vocal tenique castrato- male singer is castrated during boyhood to preserve the soprano or alto register of his coice for hte rest of his life. result- agile voice of enoumous range powered by breath control unrivaled by most singers today. combined the lung power of a mile with the brilliance fo the female upper register. today they are usually sung in lower register by a tenor or baritone or in original register by a countertenor or a woman singer
large scale drama that is sung. combines the resources of vial and instrumental music- soloists ensembles choris orchestra and ballet. with poetry and drama acting and panto,one scneery and costumes. the plot and action are generally advanced through a kind of declamation or speech aka recitiaitve. opera contain ensemble numbers- duets. trios, quattets, the orchestra supporst the action of the opera.
operatic solo; a song sung by one person in an opera or oratorio. releases amelody emtional tension accumulatied in action. a song usually of high emotional nature. it is waht audiences wait for, what they cheer, what they remember. is tunefull can be sung out of context ex a cd.
plot and action are generally advancedd through a kind of musical declamation or speech - recitative. grew out of the earlies monodies of hte florentine cameratea imitates the natural infletions of speech. its movement is shaped to the rhythm of hte langage. rarley presents a musical line. characterixed by a patter and :talky: repetition of the same note, as well as rapid question- adn anser dialogue that builds tension. two stlyes: secco- accompanied by continuo instruments and moves in freedom, and accompagnato- accompanied by the orchestra and moves evenly. revitative mogives way at lyric moments to the aira.
opera composer works with librettist who writes the text of the work, using dramatic insight to create characters and the story line. libretto- the text or script of hte opera- must be devised to give the composer the opprotunity to write music for hte diverse numbers- traditional features- recitatives, arias, ebsembles, choruses, interludes
composed orfeo, arianna- graced royal weddings. - was the girst great master of the new genre- baroque opera. in his operas the innocations of hte florentine camerata reached artistic maturity and the dramatic spirit of the baroque found its true representation. his earlies work derived from the plots of greek mythology- the coronation of poppea. then he turned to history- he used an orchestra of diverse intsruments. when opera became more of an enertament peice he used myre standerdized ensembles with strings at the core. is late operas have powerful emotions that find expression in recitatives arias, choruses, and passages in te arioso style.- between aria and recitative. with him italian opera took on the basic shape the love duetbecame tan esseutial operetic feature- portrayal of human passions
dido and aeneas
written by henry purcell. based on an episode in virgil's aeneid. since baroque audiences knew the story Nahum Tate could compress the plot and suggest rather than fill the details. aeneas and his men are shipwrecked at Carthage on the northern shore of aftirc. dido the Carthaginian queen falls in love with him and he loves her. aeneas cannot forget that the gods have commanded him to contunue his journey until he reaches italy- he is destined to be the founder of rome. he leaves- breaking his heart and the queens. dido devides her fate- eeath- in teh moving recitative. dido" death unfolds over a five measure ground bass or ostinato- repeated idea. opera- characters- queen of carthage (soprano) aneas-hero(baritone)- belinda- didos maid-(soprano)-sorceress-spirit-witches. has a free flowing recitative triple meter A-A-B-B B- section begins remember me
de capo aria
a ternary A-B-A form that rings back the first seciton with embellishments improvised by the soloist
ground bass/ ostinato
a repeated idea- like in dido and aeneas- the part when dido dies- there is a five measure ground bas or ostinatio that descends along the chromatic scale. always symbolic of grief in baroque music.
hymn tune specifically associated with german protestantism. serve as battle humns of the reformation. martic luther required the the congregation participate in the service. luther and his reformers created the frst chorales by adaptiong melodies from gregorian chant, secular art music, and even ppular tunes. originally sung in unisn- soon written in four-part harmony ad sung by the choir. they greatly srrengthened the trend toward the clear-cut melody supporded by chords. in church services chorales were the unifying thread. its strength reflected the faith of a nation. it nourished centuries of german music and came to full flower in bach's work
luther and his reformers created the frst chorales by adaptiong melodies from gregorian chant, secular art music, and even ppular tunes. originally sung in unisn- soon written in four-part harmony ad sung by the choir. they greatly srrengthened the trend toward the clear-cut melody supporded by chords. in church services chorales were the unifying thread. its strength reflected the faith of a nation. it nourished centuries of german music and came to full flower in bach's work
polyphnic- for instruments- organ- one or more themes are developed by imitative counterpont tocatta- touch peice- thing row row row you boat. has one theme- subject written for chiors, bands or keyboards(harpsichord)
handel's halleluliah chorus. may be written for a group of instruments, for a full chorus or a solo instrument. its several lines are called voices- in vocal fuges- each voice is sounded by a different preformer or gorup oof performers
short organ piece based on the embellishment of a chorale tune was central to bach's religious work- that almost always featured the organ
one of the great baroque vocal forms descended form the religious play with music of hte counter reformation. - the first oratorios were sacred operas- large scale dramatic genre with a religious or biblical text preformed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, not staged or costumed. had help from a narrator in a series of recitatives and arias. handel's oratorios make him a master of- htis vocal form- very long 2 hours
George Fredric Handel
rinaldo- his first opera and julius caesar his most famous opera seria(serious italian opera) he turned to oratoria- now write messiah- showed old testement imagery. leaned toward diatonic music. melodies rich in expression rose and fell in great strides where the voices inteweave. sworet more than 40 operas that tell of heroes and adventures. oratorios dras that protray modern barowie he made the chorus the center of the drama.
handel. completion of bible verses from the old and new testement in 3 parts. first part - christmas section- relates to christ and his birth. second- easter- his suffering death and spread of his word. third-redemption- of the world through faith. he wrote mainly for strings and contiuo, oboes and basoons. it opens with french overture- consists of a slow sober intro followed by an allegro in imitative style. A-B-A form. the climax comes at the close of the second part, the easter section with hte "hallulujah choris- the emphasis on the key word "halluljuah" is memorable. oratorio in three parts
organ, harpsichord, clavichord
organ- used in church and in home- had pire transparent timbre. multiple keyboards made it soft and loud
harpsichord- differed from piano in 2 ways: strings plucked by quills rather than struck with hammers 2 the pressure of the fingers on teh keys varied the tone only slightly making subtle nuances but not the pianos loud and and soft.
clavichord- fav instrument of the home- very soft gently produced by the action of the metal tangent or lever taht put pressure on the string.
most qidley cultivated form of chamber music in baroque. many church sonatas ended with one or more dancelike movements- while other chamber sonatas opened with an impressive intro movement in church sonata style. written for 1-6/8 instruments. the favorite was two violins and continuo- a trio sonata. some baroque composters wrote sonatas for naccompanied instruments- bach. scarletti- 550 sonatas for solo harpsichord
sonata da chiesa/ church sonata
more serious in tone and more contraptual in texture- movements slow-fast-slow-fast
two violins and continuo- refers to the number of parts vs the number of players. the two ciolins, the baso continuo often embloyed two performers- a cellist(bassoon player) to play the bass lie and the harpsichord player or organist to realixe the harmonies inducated buy the figures
concerto for solo instruments and an accompanying instrumental group lent instlef to experiments in conority and virtuoso playing especiall around vivaldi. violin was featured most- had three movements- allegro-adagio-allegro
the opposition between small group of instruments the concertino- and a larger group the tutti. bach showed this in his six brandenburg concertos. this itanlian style spread thorughout eurppe influenced bach and handel. vivaldi was the most famous and prolific
the four seasons
antonio vivaldi- father of hte concerto a group of violin concertos. applies imagery to instrumental music. in spring- la primavera- the mood are evoked, the poem is a sonnet whos first two quatrains are thorughout the first movement, an allegro in E minor- the solo violin is accompanied by an orchestra consisting of strings
the image of birds calls takes shape in staccato notes- has retornello or refrain
second movement- evokes the image of "in a pleasant flowery meadow
programmatic concerto for solo violin. distinctive timbre of baroque period string instruments- picturalization of spring- based on birds, babbling brooks
virtuousity of solo violin part- fast running scales and trills- recurring theme- ritornello- represents spring.
Music that describes a nonmusical subject, like a story, object, or scene, through the use of musical effects- sued in concertos- four seasons- vivaldi
group of dances usually in the same key with each peice in binary form A-A-B-B or ternary form A-B-A. the standard dances are german-allemande, french courante-triple meter, spanish sarabande- triple meter, english gugue
a musical form consisting of two units (A and B) constructed to balance and complement each other. A-B
Three-part (A-B-A) form based on a statement (A), contrast or departure (B), and repetition (A). Also three-part form.
22 numbers preformed without continup instruments outdoor preformance. opens with a french overture andhas minuets, bourrees, hornpipes. fanfare in trumpets. handel's work. genre- dance suite- orchestra(2 trumpets, 2horns, basoon, strings, and continuo. movements- allegro, alla hornpipe, minuet, lentement, bourree. A-B-A form alternates between stings/ woodwins and brass. ascending melody with leaps and trills.
chorale prelude/ chorale varation
a body of instrumental works. developed in which organ virtuosity of hte higest level was combined with inspired improv.
contrapuntal composition in whcih a single theme pervades the entire fabric entering in one voice and then another. based on imitation- its main theme the subject constitutes the unifying idea. the focal point of interest.
main theme of the gfugue0 s stated alone at the beginign in one of the voices- refered to by te range in whcih it sounds- soprano, alto, tenor, or bass it is then imitated in another voice0 theis is the anwer. the exposotion is at the end. polyphonic. written form chiors bands and keyboards(harpsichord