Midterm Exam Notes
Musicians date the Baroque period from about ___ to ___.
1600, 1750
The first book printed in America (in 1640) was a psalter, the
Bay Psalm Book
The great artist Michelangelo died in 1564 on the same day that the scientific man of reason, ____________, was born.
Galileo
Seventeenth-century painters shared with contemporary scientists a fascination with the properties and effects of
light
During the Baroque period, composers developed the _____ system, in which every note of the major or minor scale bears a specific relationship to every other note.
tonal
Opera
dramatic vocal work blending visual, literary, and musical arts
Passion
works based on the events leading to the crucifixion of Christ
oratorio
dramatic vocal work based on a religious subject
cantata
multimovement dramatic vocal work on a religious or secular subject
aria
songlike vocal piece with orchestral accompanime6unt
Monteverdi composed
L’Orfeo
Bach composed
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major
Handel composed
Messiah
Purcell composed
Dido and Aeneas
The composer who suggested that the old and new styles represented the “first” and “second” practices of music was
Claudio Monteverdi
The text of an opera is called a(n)
libretto
All of the following are characteristics of a recitative except
the melody of a recitative reflects unnatural vocal inflections.
_________ was the first composer to realize the successful music drama requires a skillful blending of the literary, visual, and the lively arts.
George Frederic Handel
The term ___________ is Italian for “beautiful singing”.
bel canto
Another name for a virtuoso female singer is a
prima donna
The Baroque composer, ____, was born in Germany, spent considerable time in Italy, and eventually became a British citizen.
Handel
Although the oratorio shares many characteristics with the opera, its most important difference is its
religious subject matter
The world’s best-known and best-loved oratorio is Handel’s
Messiah
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote several large choral works based upon the events leading to the crucifixion of Christ called
Passions
Bach wrote nearly 200 dramatic religious vocal works called ____, which are short oratorios.
toccatas
Most of J. S. Bach’s cantatas (ex. “Wachet Auf”) are based on a familiar ____ tune.
chorale
Henry Purcell wrote pieces which revealed his mastery of ground bass. What is ground bass?
the art of composing a piece over a bass ostinato
suite
collection of stylized dances
toccata
rhapsodic, virsuosic keyboard form
fugue
imitative polyphonic composition
sonata
multimovement Baroque composition for one or more solo instruments accompanied by continuo
prelude
short independent or introductory piece for keyboard
terraced dynamics
abrupt changes in dynamic level
ritomello
thematic section played by an orchestra that begins a concerto movement and divides its solo sections
bass continuo
supporting bass line of a Baroque composition
figured bass
system of musical shorthand by which composers indicated intervals above the bass line
One of Bach’s greatest legacies was a set of 2 volumes of 24 preludes and fugues called the _______, which included one prelude and fugue in each major and minor key.
Well-Tempered Clavier
The short sets of stylized dance pieces for lute or keyboard popular during the Renaissance were expanded in the Baroque to multimovement works called
suites
What types of instruments were made by the Stradivari and Guarneri families?
violins
The most prolific composer of Baroque concertos, including solo concertos as well as concerto grossi, was
Vivaldi
In the early fifteenth century, _____ became the center of business and cultural activity in Europe.
Florence, Italy
The Protestant Reformation erupted in Germany in 1517 when ______ brought to public attention ninety-five articles of complaint against the church.
Martin Luther
The Renaissance period is known as the Golden Age of
polyphony
chorale
characteristic religious song introduced by Martin Luther
hymn
strophic religious song for congregational singing
psalm tune
tuneful setting of a psalm suitable for congregational singing
motet
religious vocal composition that is through-composed and polyphonic
strophic form
two or more stanzas set to the same music
imitative polyphony
technique in which each phrase of a composition is addressed by all the voices, which enter successively in imitation of each other.
The form of a Renaissance motet is
through-composed
The use of musical devices to dramatize descriptive words or phrases is called word
painting
The Netherlands composer, ____, was considered by his contemporaries to be the greatest composer who ever lived.
Josquin des Prez
_____, known as the “Prince of Music”, was a late Renaissance composer whose conservative church music reflectd the values of the Council of Trent.
Palestrina
Chorales were _______ in form.
strophic
The Calvinists created the _____ for their worship music.
psalmn tune
Many of the Masses composed by Josquin des Prez and his contemporaries were based upon secular tunes.
true
recorder
end-blown wind instrument
consort
ensemble of several members of the same instrument family
clavichord
keyboard instrument capable of producing subtle changes in volume
viol
popular bowed instrument
lute
plucked string instrument
The madrigal was like the motet in all the following ways except
both had religious texts
The following are all significant differences between the motet and the madrigal except
the madrigal was written in Latin
The madrigal originated in Italy but soon became very popular in
England
Until the middle of the 16th century, the high-pitched madrigal lines were sung by
male sopranos
The madrigal, like the motet, was mostly polyphonic in texture and through-composed in form.
true
Renaissance composers were concerned only with setting religious texts to music for worship services and did not appreciate instrumental music.
false
tone
a specific pitch
pitch
highness or lowness of sound
frequency
the rate of vibration
dynamic level
loudness or softness of a sound
interval
distance between two tones
Many Western musicians define music as
organized sound
Which of the following are the basic elements of music?
rhythm, melody, harmony, and timbre
A faster rate of vibration causes a higher pitch, and a slower rate of vibration causes a lower pitch.
true
The term piano means a soft level of volume.
true
beat
the pulse of a piece
rhythm
the arrangement of long and short sounds
tempo
the speed at which a piece is performed
rest
a symbol indicating the cessation of sound
bar (measure)
a unit containing a certain number of beats
The ____________ is an instrument that helps composers indicate the tempo of a composition.
metronome
Meter refers to the organization of rhythm into
metrical patterns of strong and weak beats
Duple meter has _____ beats per measure.
two
Triple meter has ____ beats per measure.
three
In metered music, tones may occur on, before, or after the beats.
true
A melody consists of one or more parts that are called:
phrases
The stopping points that “punctuate” melodic phrases are called
cadences
A melody is sometimes referred to as a
tune
A short melodic idea that sounds fragmentary is a
motive
A melody with a songlike character is
lyrical
A melody is a succession of tones logically conceived so as to make musical sense.
true
The most commonly used scales in Western music are major and minor.
true
texture
manner in which melodic lines are used in music
monophony
one unaccompanied melodic line
polyphony
combination of two or more simultaneous melodic lines
homophony
melodic line accompanied by chordal harmony
When two or more simultaneous pitches create a sense of tension and drive, they are said to be:
dissonant
Three or more pitches sounding simultaneously to form a whole comprise a
chord
When two or more simultaneous pitches create a sense of stability or rest, they are said to be
consonant
A round is an example of _____ texture.
polyphonic
A hymn sung with accompaniment is an example of ______ texture.
homophonic
low female voice
contralto or alto
high female voice
soprano
medium female voice
mezzosoprano
low male voice
bass
medium male voice
baritone
high male voice
tenor
The quality of sound that is characteristic of a particular voice, instrument, or ensemble is called its
timbre
The four families of instruments within an orchestra are the
strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion
The instruments in the string family may be played in any of the following ways except
by blowing into the soundhole
The woodwind family includes the piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, ____, and bassoon.
clarinet
Included in the brass family are the trumpet, ____, trombone, and tuba.
french horn
Compared to the harpsichord, the piano allows the performer to play
with a wider range of dynamic levels
Percussion instruments that produce definite pitches include the timpani, the chimes, and mallet instruments such as the
xylophone
The “king of instruments” is the
pipe organ
An electronic instrument that can produce an unlimited variety of sounds as well as modify sounds produced by other sources is the
synthesizer
As Western art music has evolved, all of the following has been true except
the process of change and development has been illogical and random.
The Medieval Era is referred to as the Dark Ages because
it was a chaotic period of social and political unrest
The Medieval period was devoid of art and music.
false
Twelfth-century churches in the ______ architectural style raised incredibly delicate walls and towering spires toward heaven.
gothic
The most common subject matter for Medieval art is
religious subjects
After the fall of Rome in the fifth century A.D., the ________ became the only effective unifying force in the Western world.
christian church
unison
several voices singing the same pitch
drone
a sustained or repeated note
canon
polyphonic composition in which the voices perform the same melody, starting at different times
a cappella
unaccompanied group singing
Gregorian chant was usually sung in ____ , so that all of the voices sang the same melody at the same time unaccompanied by instruments.
unison
In the sixth century A.D., _______ collected, organized, and codified the chants for use by the Christian churches in the Western world.
Pope Gregory
The rhythm in Gregorian chant is usually
free and flexible
Although Gregorian chant forms the starting point for the Western tradition of art music, it was originally intended to enhance worship rather than to entertain listeners.
true
syllabic
one syllable of text for each note of music
melismatic
one syllable of text for several notes of music
mass
main Catholic worship service
proper
appropriate only at certain times
ordinary
appropriate any time
liturgy
words spoken during worship service
The “English sound” refers to music
that often sounds more modern due to the use of modes that sound major and minor.
Abbess Hildegard of Bingen was
a 12th century composer of sacred song and chant
During the Middle Ages, instruments were used to
all of the above
During the 14th century all of the following took place except
Hildegard of Bingen began creating original compositions for performance in her covenant.
The first complete setting of the entire Ordinary of the Mass by one composer is thought to be the Missa Notre Dame, by ______, a 14th century poet and musician.
Guillaume de Machaut
Midterm Exam Notes. (2017, Aug 28). Retrieved from https://artscolumbia.org/midterm-exam-notes-8168/