International Style
Composers, artists, poets, etc. from a certain country would work in other countries beside their own, inventing an international musical style.
Enlightenment
Main themes include reason, nature, and progress; humanitarian movement; pleasure rather than purpose –> the sense that music was performed for one’s own entertainment rather than for church or concert purposes
Humanitarianism
interested in promoting the welfare of humankind; rulers promoted social reform; rulers had absolute power over their subjects but used it for the betterment of their subjects –> programs to expand education and care for the poor
Galant
French term for music that had song-like melodies, short phrases, frequent cadences, and light accompaniment
–> Originated in Italy
Empfindsam
This style is characterized by surprising turns of harmony, chromaticism, nervous rhythms, and speech-like melodies
–> Originated in Italy
Classic
term for the late 18th century style –> qualities of noble simplicity, balance, forma perfection, diversity within unity, seriousness or wit as appropriate, and freedom from excesses of ornamentation and frills
Periodicity
Characterized by frequent resting points breaking the melodic flow into segments that relate to each other as parts of a larger whole
Oration/Rhetoric
Rhetoric = art of oration
Koch
He wrote “Versuch einer Anleitung zur Composition” which was a guide to melodic composition.
Harmonic Function
Harmony functioned as a way to divide the melody into phrases and periods through weak and strong cadences
Alberti Bass
A broken chord accompaniment that compensated for slower harmonic rhythm
Form & Function
The beginning, middle, and end of a piece had specific functions and therefore created a vey specific form. The music, in a sense, had emphasis, inflections, and pauses to mark te beginning and ends of phrases similar to the way we speak.
Emotional Contrast
The new notion that emotions were not steady states, but were constantly changing made composers introduce contrasting moods in various parts of the movement or within the themes themselves
Opera Buffa
comic opera; plots pertained to the average, everyday person, as it was to be performed in a public theater for the middle class; arias in galant style and in da capo form
Intermezzo
performed between acts of a serious opera; originated in Naples and Venice in 1700 because comic scenes were cut from the serious opera. They replaced the scenes and were still comic
Perfolesi
very original composer who wrote Intermezzos, his most famous one being “La serva padrona”
Opera Seria
serios opera; treated serious subjects without comedy; consisted of 3 acts which alternated recits with arias
Metastasio
he set the standard form for serious opera; his operas were intended to promote morality through entertainment and to present models of merciful and enlightened rulers, in tune with enlightenment thought
Da capo aria
still the favorite; Metastasio wrote 2 stanza aria text which became standard, however, composers shortened the repetition of the 1st section buy omitting the opening ritornello and therefore created “dal segno”
Dal segno aria
means “from the sign” indicated that only part of the 1st section is to be repeated
Hasse
popular opera composer in Europe mid-century; wrote elegant music where he added syncopation and scales for melodic interest and expressivity –> Lombardic rhythms
Lombardic Rhythms
reverse dotted rhythms
War of Buffoons
Quarrel of the comic actors; this dispute was prompted by the presence of Paris in Italian comic opera troupe that for 2 seasons enjoyed sensational success with its performances of opera buffe and intermezzi, including “La serva padrona”