basso ostinato
a bass line that insistently repeats, note for note
cantata
“something sung” as opposed to a sonata, which was “something sounded” on an instrument
chamber cantata
vocal chamber music of early Baroque; select private audiences; solo voice alternating recitative and aria with basso continuo and a few instruments
chaconne/passacaglia
originally separate and distinct bass melodies; during the 17th c. came to mean almost any repeating bass pattern of short duration
concerted madrigal
madrigal in the early Baroque concertato style with strong contrasts in textures and timbres involving voices and instruments
concerted motet
motet in the early Baroque concertato style with strong contrasts in textures and timbres involving voices and instruments
cori spezzati
music for two, three, or four choirs placed in different parts of a building
Kapellmeister
chief of music at court; the German equivalent of maestro di cappella (chapel master) in Italy
lament bass
a descending tetrachordal basso ostinato employed during the Baroque era as a musical signifier of grief
stile concertato
Baroque music of grand scale and strong contrasts between voices and instruments, instrumental ensembles, choral groups, or soloist(s) and choir
stile concitato
“agitated style” particularly suited to warlike music; Monteverdi used term for a style he created; more direct and insistent than previous martial music
Giovanni Gabrielli
early Baroque composer at St. Mark’s in Venice; polychoral, concerted, “surround-sound” compostitions; first to indicate dynamics in a score
Barbara Strozzi
early 17th c. Venetian composer of early chamber cantatas; over 100 works mostly for solo sporano (or castrato) and basso continuo
Heinrich Schutz
early 17th c. German composer; helped bring Italian innovations (stile concertato, stile rappresentativo, etc.) to Germany; Kapellmeister at Dresden
St. Mark’s Basilica
the “birthplace” of a sacred polychoral, surround-sound compositional style made possible through presence of multiple choir lofts
cappella pontificia sistina
the pope’s private vocal ensemble as it came to be called in the early seventeenth century and that sang in the Sistine Chapel
colossal Baroque
style of large-scale sacred music employing multiple choirs of voices and instruments; sung in largest churches in Rome, Venice, Vienna, and Salzburg
da capo aria
vocal piece with two sections; repeat of the first (ABA); reprise not written out; inscription meaning “take it from the head;” reprise more ornamented
falsobordonne
improvisatory technique used by church singers resulting in series of root position chords; originated in Spain and Italy around 1480
oratorio
musical setting of a dramatic text; originally in Latin or Italian; often stories from Old Testament; in essence an unstaged sacred opera
oratory
a prayer hall set aside just for praying, preaching, and devotional singing
organ Mass
a Mass in which an organ alternates with, or entirely replaces, the choir
organ verset
an independent organ section in an alternatim organ Mass; a short piece that replaces a liturgical item otherwise sung by the choir
ricercar (17th c.)
a tightly organized, monothematic organ composition perfected by Frescobaldi that influenced the later fugal writing of J.S. Bach
ritornello
a distinctive musical theme, most often instrumental, which repeatedly returns during a composition (somewhat similar to a refrain)
stile antico
the name given to the conservative music emanating from the papal chapel in the seventeenth century
tonal answer
a following voice that imitates the subject at the interval of a fifth above or fourth below; modifies the subject so as to keep the music in the home tonality
Girolamo Frescobaldi
foremost organist in Rome during first half of the 17th c.; 1635 collection of organ Mass music entitled “Fiori musicali” (Musical Flowers)
Alessandro Scarlatti
prolific Italian Baroque composer of 600 cantatas, 100 operas, and 30 oratorios; helped develop and standardize the da-capo aria form
Giacomo Carissimi
17th c. Italian composer known best for his Old Testament oratorios (Jonah, David & Goliath, Jephte); director of music at the German College in Rome
binary form
a structure consisting of two parts, the first moving to a closely related key and the second beginning in that new key but soon returning to the tonic
cadenza
a technically demanding, rhapsodic, improvisatory passage for a soloist near the end of a movement
clarino
the very high register of the trumpet; playing in this register was a special technique of Baroque trumpeters that was exploited by Baroque composers
concetino
the small group of solo performers in a concerto grosso
concerto
a purely instrumental piece for ensemble in which one or more soloists both complement and compete with a full orchestra
concerto grosso
a concerto in which a larger body of performers, the full orchestr, contrasts with a smaller group of soloists
da camera
(of the chamber) a seventeenth-century designation for music that was not intended primarily for the church
da chiesa
(of the church) a seventeenth century designation for music that was intended primarily for the church
multiple stops
on a violin (or other bowed string instruments) playing two or more notes simultaneously as chords
ripieno
the larger ensemble (full orchestra) in a concerto grosso
ritornello form
a carefully worked out structure for a concerto grosso, which employs regular reappearances of a recurring melody or refrain
sinfonia
three-section or three-movement instrumental work (generally fast-slow-fast); might preface an opera or stand alone as an independent composition
solo concerto
a concerto composed for only one solo instrument
solo sonata
played by a single melody instrument such as a violin, flute or oboe; usually accompanied in the Baroque era by a basso continuo
sonata
originally “something sounded” on an instrument; opposed to something sung (a “cantata”); later a multimovement work for solo instrument or ensemble
trio sonata
instrumental composition for two treble instruments (usually two violins) and basso continuo
Salomone Rossi
early Baroque Italian (and Jewish) composer; wrote single movement, multi-sectional trio sonatas as well as religious music for use in ghetto synagogues
Archangelo Corelli
Baroque composer/violinist; worked primarily in Rome; standardized mutli-movement trio sonata & binary form; early use of circle of 5ths progressions
Antonio Vivaldi
late Baroque composer/violinist; worked primarily at a girls school (La Pieta) in Venice; wrote over 400 solo and concerto grossos
Giuseppe Torelli
Baroque composer/violinist; worked primarily in Bologna and known today primarily for his trumpet compositions
allemande
usually the first dance in a Baroque suite; a stately dance in 4/4 meter at a moderate tempo with upbeat and gracefully interweaving lines
chorale fantasia
lengthy composition for organ that takes a chorale tune as a point of departure but increasingly gives free rein to the composer’s imagination
chorale prelude
ornamental setting of a pre-existing chorale tune intended to be played on the organ before the singing of the chorale by the full congregation
courante
lively dance in triple meter characterized by metrical ambiguity created by hemiola; one of the four dances typically making up a Baroque dance suite
dance suite
an ordered set of dances for solo instrument or ensemble, all written in the same key and intended to be performed in a single sitting
gigue
fast dance in 6/8 or 12/8; constant eighth-note pulse; galloping sound; sometimes lightly imitative; often used to conclude a suite in the Baroque
minuet
triple-meter dance that was often added movement toward the end of the Baroque dance suite
program music
instrumental music that explicitly embodies extra-musical content
sarabande
slow, stately dance in 3/4 with a strong accent on the second beat; one of four dances typically found within a Baroque dance suite
scordatura
tuning a string instrument to something other than standard tuning
Johann Froberger
Austrian keyboard performer/composer; standardized Baroque dance suite using four principal dances; penchant for composing expressive “laments”
Franz Biber
Bohemian-born virtuoso violinist; Kapellmeister in Salzburg; wrote programmatic violin “Rosary” or “Mystery” sonatas with alternative string tunings
Dieterich Buxtehude
North German organist; associated with Abendmusik concerts in Lubeck; hundreds of organ compositions; JS Bach walked 280 miles to hear him play
Johann Pachelbel
17th c. South German composer trained in Catholic church tradition style; vocal and instrumental music; most famous today for his three-voice canon
air de cour
French term for a simple, strophic song for a single voice or a small group of soloists; used in French Baroque “operas”
ballet de cour
elaborate ballet with songs and choruses at French royal court from the late 16th to 17th c.; court members appeared alongside professional dancers
cantate francaise
virtually identical to the late seventeenth-century Italian chamber cantata except that it set a French rather than an Italian text
divertissement
lavishly choreographed interlude with occasional singing set within French ballet de cour; “entertainment” in an opera or ballet loosely to plot
French overture
instrumental prelude created by Lully in two sections; first slow in duple meter with dotted note values; second fast in triple meter and with light imitation
recitatif ordinaire
style of recitative, developed by French composer Jean- Baptiste Lully, noteworthy for its length, vocal range, and generally dramatic quality
tragedie lyrique
French opera in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which was a fusion of classical French tragedy with traditional French ballet
24 Violons du Roi
group of instrumentalists of the violin family that formed the string core of the French court orchestra under Louis XIV
Jean-Baptiste Lully
the principlal royal composer to Louis XIV; held virtual musical monopoly during lifetime; developed “tragedie lyrique” and French overture
E. J. de la Guerre
French Baroque composer especially known for “cantate francaise” compositions; synthesized both French and Italian styles – “les gouts reunis”