onomatopoetic music
common vocabulary of musical “gestures” that sound out their own meaning: minor for sad; major for happy; musical “sigh,” etc.
part book
a volume that contains the music of one voice part and only one voice part (not a full score)
Penitential Psalms
the seven psalms of the Psalter that are especially remorseful in tone and sung in the rites of the Catholic Church surrounding death and burial
Penitential Psalms
the seven psalms of the Psalter that are especially remorseful in tone and sung in the rites of the Catholic Church surrounding death and burial
recitation tone
a constantly repeating pitch followed by a mediation or a termination; the recitation tone is the heart of the psalm tone
soggetto cavato
cantus firmus melody or motif extracted from the letters of a given name
Josquin des Prez
late 15th/early 16th c. Lowlands composer; recruited and employed by Duke of Ferrara; widespread fame; many false works attributed to him after death
galliard
a fast leaping dance in triple meter especially popular during the Renaissance
intabulation
music notated in performance symbols for solo instruments(lute, keyboard); implies a preexisting polyphonic vocal piece arranged for a single instrument
tablature
written (printed) symbols that direct a performer’s fingers to a specific spot on an instrument
Parisian chanson
(16th c.) French song; rhythm of text begins to determine rhythm of music; generally syllabic; “earthy” subject matters: lovers, drinking scenes, etc.
patter-song technique
the rapid delivery of text on repeated notes; often found in 16th c. Parisian chansons
pavane
slow gliding dance in duple meter performed by couples holding hands; replaced the 15th c. basse danse as the primary slow dance of the court
arcicembalo
a 16th c. harpsichord constructed by Nicola Vicentino; two keyboards, each with three rows of keys; octave divided into 36 microtonal pitches
broken consort
a mixed ensemble of different types of instruments
canzona
freely composed instrumental piece, usually for organ or instrumental ensemble; imitated lively rhythms and light imitative style of the Parisian chanson
consort
an ensemble of instruments all of one family
crumhorn
a capped double-reed wooden instrument with a curving shape; has the range of a tenth and makes a sound like a kazoo
fantasia
instrumental composition; (Renaissance) usually contrapuntal motet-like; (Later) improvisatory in free form; sometimes incorporating preexisting themes
German flute
what is today called the flute (the transverse flute)
hautboys
another name for the shawm; term was in use in England and France in the 16th c.; in England eventually transformed into “oboe”
just tuning
system in which, in addition to ratios required by Pythagorean tuning, the major and minor thirds were also tuned according to strict ratios (5:4 and 6:5)
keyboard tablature
a combination of note symbols (for the fast-moving upper part) and pitch-letter names (for the lower parts)
lute
pear-shaped instrument; six sets of strings; frets created with thin strips of leather wrapped around the fingerboard; most popular instrument in 16th c.
prelude
a preliminary piece, one that comes immediately before and introduces the main musical event
ricercar (16th c.)
instrumental piece, usually for lute or keyboard, similar in style to the imitative motet
temperament
the tuning of intervals in something slightly more or less than strict mathematical ratios
vihuela
a plucked string instrument with a waisted body, and a long pole-neck that serves as a fingerboard; the direct ancestor of the modern classical guitar
viol
six-string instrument fretted and tuned like lute or vihuela; bowed, not plucked; three sizes: treble, tenor, bass; played resting on lap or legs
viola da gamba
Italian name for the bass viol, so called because it was held between each leg
violino
(little viol) original name for the violin
virginal
a diminutive harpsichord possessing a single keyboard with the strings placed at right angles to the keys
alternatim technique
a technique in which the verses of a chant are assigned to alternating performing forces, such as an organ and a choir
chorale
a monophonic spiritual melody or religious folksong of the Lutheran church, what today is called by many Christian denominations a “hymn”
Hofkapelle
group of singers responsible for the religious music at the Hapsburg court of Emperor Maximilian; center of religious and musical life at the court
Lied (pl., Lieder)
(song) a German art song or popular song
musica reservata
text-sensitive music reserved for a small circle of connoisseurs
Psalter
the book of one hundred fifty psalms found in the Old Testament
Reformation
the religious revolution that began as a movement to reform Catholicism and ended with the establishment of Protestantism
Tafelmusik
German name for chamber music, both vocal and instrumental, for the dinner table
Tenorlied
a polyphonic German song in which a preexisting tune is placed in the tenor and two or three other voices enhance it with lightly imitative polyphony
Johann Walter
associate of Martin Luther who set many chorale melodies polyphonically to create a repertory for the trained Lutheran church choirs
Heinrich Isaac
late 15th/early 16th c. Lowlands composer; twenty years with Austrian imperial court of Maximillian I; polyphonic settings of 300+Mass Proper chants
Orlando de Lassus
16th c. Lowlands composer; employed at Court of Munich; most famous composer of his day; vivid, expressive, text-oriented musical style
castrato
an adult male singer who had been castrated as a boy to keep his voice from changing so that it would remain in the soprano or alto register
Council of Trent
16th c. Congress of bishops and cardinals; decisions regarding music insisted that music must never interfere with comprehension of the sacred word
Counter Reformation
the movement that fostered reform in the Roman Church in response to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation
parody technique
when one composer quotes or emulates another by borrowing entire polyphonic sections of an earlier work
point of imitation
a distinctive motive that is sung or played in turn by each voice or instrumental line
prima practica
musical embodiment of Counter-Reformation; traditional style for church music in contrast to the freer writing found in some madrigals of the late 16th c.
rhythmic imitation
process in which each voice in turn sings the same rhythmic motive, but to melodic motives that differ slightly in pitch
Giovanni Palestrina
16th c. Italian composer; his compositions are the model of the carefully controlled, sacred polyphonic style of the Counter Reformation