Music Mid Term

The approximate dates of the Baroque period are:

1600-1750.

Which of the following does NOT characterize the Baroque era?

an age of freedom and democracy

John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem expressing the views of:

Protestantism

Which best describes how Baroque musicians made a living?

as servants to royalty or nobility as members of the church as employees of a free city

The Baroque period witnessed a new style of music, which featured a single vocal melody with accompaniment. This was known as:

monody

The introduction of monody in music represented a major shift in texture from:

polyphonic to homophonic.

The group of early Baroque writers, artists, and musicians whose aim was to resurrect the musical drama of ancient Greece was known as:

the Florentine Camerata.

The ideas and music of the Florentine Camerata led the way directly toward:

the development of opera.

Which two instruments would most likely have played the basso continuo in the Baroque era?

cello and harpsichord

The Baroque technique of placing numerals, indicating the harmony required, above or below the bass notes, is called:

figured bass.

The primary tonality used during the Baroque was:

major-minor.

A system of slightly adjusting the tuning of intervals within the octave, thus making it possible to play in every major and minor key, was called:

equal temperament

All of the following characterize Baroque musical style EXCEPT:

harmonies built on the early church modes.

Which best describes the relentless beat and regular accent of later Baroque music?

vigorous rhythm

The artificially created male soprano or alto who dominated opera was known as:

the castrato.

The Baroque performance practice where musicians embellished the melodies was called:

improvisation.

Women’s roles in Baroque music:

expanded into professional performance careers including opera

A drama that is sung is called:

a madrigal.

The vocal style in opera that imitates the natural inflections of speech is called:

madrigal.

It was through the musical innovations of the _____ that opera was born.

Florentine Camerata

A highly emotional song in an opera is called:

an aria.

The orchestral introduction heard at the beginning of an opera is called:

an overture.

The text of an opera is called:

the libretto.

Who is best viewed as the first master of opera?

Monteverdi

The earliest operas took their plots from:

Greek mythology.

The English type of entertainment combining music, poetry, and dance was called:

masque.

The greatest native English composer of the Baroque was:

Henry Purcell.

Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas was composed for:

a girl’s school production.

On which epic poem was Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas based?

Virgil’s The Aeneid

Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aenaes is composed:

over a ground bass.

The sacred cantata was an integral part of the:

Lutheran church.

The chorale is a type of hymn tune created by:

Martin Luther.

The chorale tune A Mighty Fortress Is Our God was:

written by Martin Luther.

The opening movement of Bach’s cantata A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is best described as:

a chorale fugue.

Which does NOT characterize an oratorio?

elaborate scenery

George Frideric Handel was considered a master of:

the oratorio.

Late in life, Handel turned his efforts from the opera to:

the oratorio.

Handel’s Messiah is:

an oratorio.

The famous choral climax in Part II of Handel’s Messiah is:

"Hallelujah Chorus."

The first era of Western music in which instrumental music was as important as vocal music was the:

Baroque era.

The Baroque era witnessed the appearance of the:

solo concerto. concerto grosso.

The instrumental form based on the contrast of two dissimilar masses of sound is called:

the concerto.

The solo concerto is:

an instrumental work, usually in three movements, that features one performer supported by an accompanying group of instruments.

Who was the greatest and most prolific Italian composer of concertos?

Vivaldi

Vivaldi lived and worked in:

Venice.

Which of the following is a well known set of concertos by Vivaldi?

The Four Seasons

The solo instrument in Spring from The Four Seasons is:

the violin.

The opening movement of Spring from The Four Seasons features _____

ritornello form.

Who composed the Brandenburg Concertos?

Bach

Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos comprise _____ separate concertos.

six

The accompanying group in a concerto grosso is called:

the ripieno.

The solo group in a concerto grosso is called:

the concertino

Which of the following dance types was NOT standard in a Baroque suite?

tarantella

A gigue is best described as:

a lively sextuple-meter dance.

What is the form of the individual movements in a suite?

binary

Water Music by Handel is best described as a:

suite.

Handel’s Water Music opens with a:

French overture.

During his lifetime, Bach held the position of:

-cantor of St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig. -court organist and chamber musician to the duke of Weimar. -court musician to the prince of Anhalt-Cthen.

Bach was most famous in his day as a performer on:

the organ.

In the field of keyboard music, Bach’s most important collection was:

The Well Tempered Clavier.

Which of the following is a set of forty eight preludes and fugues by Bach?

The Well Tempered Clavier

Which was NOT an important keyboard instrument in the Baroque?

the piano

A keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by quills is:

the harpsichord.

The harpsichord is different from the piano because:

it usually has two keyboards, rather than one. its strings are plucked, rather than struck. it is not capable of a wide dynamic range.

What is a toccata?

an improvisatory, virtuosic keyboard work

A chorale prelude:

is a work for organ. introduces the chorale to be sung by the congregation. displays the virtuosity of the organist.

The _____ is a keyboard form based on the principle of voices imitating each other.

fugue

What is the principal element of a fugue?

counterpoint

In a fugue, the areas of relaxation where the subject is not heard are called:

episodes.

After the fugue subject is stated, the second entrance of the subject is called the:

answer.

Of the following, which is NOT a contrapuntal device that alters the original theme?

prelude

In a fugue, the technique of stating the theme in faster rhythmic values is called:

diminution.

The opening section of a fugue, in which all voices introduce the subject successively, is called the:

exposition.

How many preludes and fugues are contained in the two Well Tempered Clavier volumes?

48

Bach’s last demonstration of contrapuntal mastery was:

The Art of Fugue.

How many voices, or individual lines, are there in Bach’s Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue?

four

In which voice is the subject first heard in Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue?

the second to top voice, or alto

Amateur music making at home was popular during the Baroque era. T/F

True

The new Baroque style of vocal music for one singer with instrumental accompaniment was known as monophony. T/F

False

During the Baroque era, some boy singers were castrated to preserve the high register of their voices, allowing them to sing high pitched operatic roles. T/F

True

Handel wrote his oratorio Messiah over a period of four years. T/F

False

The "Hallelujah Chorus" is the climax of the Easter section of Messiah. T/F

True

The Baroque period was the first in which instrumental music was comparable in importance to vocal music. T/F

True

Baroque composers, like their Renaissance counterparts, generally did not specify instrumentation. T/F

False

Today, Baroque music is played exclusively on modern instruments. T/F

False

Antonio Vivaldi became known as "the red priest" because of his fanatical religious beliefs. T/F

False

Vivaldi lived in Venice, where he taught music at a girls’ school. T/F

True

Vivaldi’s solo concertos typically had four movements. T/F

False

Handel’s Water Music was performed without continuo instruments when played outdoors. T/F

True

The Hornpipe from Handel’s Water Music is in A-B-A form. T/F

True

Johann Sebastian Bach lived a short, unhappy life and had no children. T/F

False

During his lifetime, Johann Sebastian Bach was primarily known as a great organist. T/F

True

The three main keyboard instruments of the Baroque were the harpsichord, organ, and piano. T/F

False

The strings of a harpsichord are plucked by quills. T/F

True

The clavichord was a popular instrument for the home. T/F

True

The prelude originated in improvisation on keyboard instruments. T/F

True

Bach’s chorale prelude A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is based on a well known Lutheran chorale tune. T/F

True

A fugue is a form exclusively for solo keyboard performance. T/F

False

A fugue is a contrapuntal composition in which a single subject is the focal point, thus unifying the work. T/F

True

At the beginning of a fugue, the countersubject is stated alone. T/F

False