mazurka
a fast dance of Polish origins in triple meter with an accent on the second beat
exposition
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
serialism
music in which some important component-pitch, dynamics, rhythm, comes in a continually repeating series, see 12 note compositions
through composed
a term used to describe music that exhibits no obvious repetitions or overt musical form from beginning to end
minimalism
a style of modern music that takes a very small amount of musical material and repeats it over and over to form a composition
idee fixe
literally a “fixed idea,” but more specifically an obsessive musical theme as first used in Hector Berlioz’s Symphonies fantastique
polytonal
the simultaneous sounding of two keys or tonalities
prepared piano
a piano outfitted with screws, bolts, washers, erasers, and bits of felt and plastic to transform the instrument from a melodic one to a percussive one
absolute music
instrumental music free of a text or any pre-existing program
musique concrete
music in which the composer works directly with sounds recorded on magnetic tape, not with musical notation and performers
scherzo
Italian for “joke”, a rapid, jovial work in triple meter often used in place of the minuet as the third movement in a string quartet or symphony
nocturne
a slow, introspective type of music, usually for piano, with rich harmonies and poignant dissonances intending to convey the mysteries of the night
atonal
music without tonality, music without a key center, most often associated with the 20th century avant-garde style of Arnold Schoenberg
12 tone music
a method of composing music, devised by Arnold Schoenberg, that has each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale sound in a fixed, regularly recurring order
Polymeric
two or more rhythms sounding simultaneously
Double stop
a technique applied to string instruments in which two strings are pressed down and played simultaneously instead of just one
Etude
a short one-movement composition designed to improve one aspect of a performer’s technique
Bel canto
Italian for “beautiful singing,” a style of singing and a type of Italian opera developed in the 19th century that features the beautiful tone and brilliant technique of the human voice
Lied
German for “song,” the genre of art song, for voice and piano accompaniment, that originated in Germany ca. 1800
Whole tone scale
a 6 note scale each pitch of which is a whole tone away from the next
Sprechstimme
German for “speech voice,” a singer declaims, rather than sings, a text at only approximate pitch levels
Octave displacement
a process used in construction a melody whereby a simple, nearby interval is made more distant, and the melodic line more disjunct, by placing the next note up or down an octave
Chromaticism
the frequent presence in melodies and chords of intervals only a half step apart in a scale, the use of notes not part of the diatonic major or minor pattern
Pentatonic scale
a 5 note scale found often in folk music and non western music
Neo classicism
a movement in 20th century music that seeks to return to the musical forms and aesthetics of the Baroque and Classical periods
Cadenza
a showy passage for the soloist appearing near the end of the movement in a concerto; it usually incorporates rapid runs, arpeggios, and snippets of previously heard themes into a fantasy like improvisation
Chamber music
music, usually instrumental music, preformed in a small concert hall or private residence with just one performer on each part
Opus
Latin for “work,” the term adopted by composers to enumerate and identify their compositions