Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Music

Secular Vocal Music Composers

Secular vocal music composers still cultivated vocal forms inherited from the Renaissance. Voices weren't presented on top of each other with the same importance anymore; the superior voice was highlighted over the rest of the voices.

Accompanied Monody

This new composition technique was called accompanied monody, and it was part of both vocal and instrumental music. It represented a shift in the horizontal-melodic conception (counterpoint texture) towards a vertical-chordal conception (harmonic texture).

The prominence of a superior melody implied the appearance of a new low voice. It served as harmonic support and was called basso continuo.

• Composers Mentioned: Juan Hidalgo and Mateo Romero

Scenic Music

Tonadilla

A small... Continue reading "Baroque Vocal Music: Monody, Opera, and Sacred Forms" »

Directions

Turning

• Turn right: Girar a la derecha
• Turn left: Girar a la izquierda

Continuing

• Go straight on: Sigue recto
• Past the supermarket: Pasa el supermercado
• Cross the road: Cruza la carretera
• Take the first street on your right: Coge la primera calle a la derecha

Maria Rossi

Personal Information

• Age: 25
• Residence: Milan, Italy
• Marital Status: Married
• Profession: Pop singer (8 years)
• Interests: Music, golf, and painting

Performance

• Song Title: You Alone

Grammar: Future Tense with "Going To"

Affirmative

Example: I am going to swim. She is going to the cinema.

Questions

Example: Are you going to play football? Is Carmen going to have lunch in Burlada?

Negative

Example: I am not going to have lunch today.

Telling Time

On the Hour

• It's 3 o'clock: Son las 3 en punto
• It'

Hey Soul Sister - Train

Song Lyrics

Verse 1

Hey-ay Hey-ay-AY-ay-ay Hey-ay-AY-ay-ay

Your lipstick stains on the front lobe of my left side brains

I knew I wouldn't forget you and so I went and let you blow my mind

Your sweet moonbeam, the smell of you in every single dream I dream

I knew when we collided, you're the one I have decided who's one of a kind

Chorus

Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio stereo?

The way you move ain't fair, you know

Hey soul sister, I don't want to miss a single thing you do

Tonight, Hey-ay Hey-ay-AY-ay-ay Hey-ay-AY-ay-ay

Verse 2

Just in ti-i-i-ime, I'm so glad you have a one-track mind like me

You gave my love direction, a game show love connection we can't deny-i-iii

I'm so obsessed, my heart is bound to beat right... Continue reading "Hey Soul Sister - Train Song Lyrics" »

The Renaissance was an artistic-cultural movement that, from Italy, spread throughout Western Europe from the 15th century. It was the cultural manifestation of a change in the European mentality that went from a theocentric world view, typical of the medieval period, to an anthropocentric one. This change, manifested in the humanist philosophical current, is considered the beginning of the Modern Age.

Principles:

• Anthropocentrism: They rejected theocentric mentality which revolved around God. They believed humans were the centre of the universe.
• Classical antiquity: They studied Greek and Latin texts and were inspired by the philosophers of antiquity.
• Scientific curiosity: They were interested in science and technological progress.

Origin:

During... Continue reading "The Renaissance: A Cultural Movement from Italy to Western Europe" »

The Main Characters of The Phantom of the Opera

Erik: The Phantom of the Opera

Also known as the Angel of Music, Erik is a man who lives in a labyrinth underneath the Paris Opera House. His face was deformed since birth, and he always wears a mask. He is a brilliant architect and musician. He falls in love with Christine Daaé and fights bitterly for her affections. He “haunts” the opera house and demands that its operations be run a certain way.

Christine Daaé

Christine is a Swedish soprano at the Paris Opera House. She is the daughter of a renowned violin player who died when she was young. She worked in the ballet chorus before the Angel of Music (Erik) helped train her voice. She falls in love with both Erik and Raoul, Viscount of Chagny,... Continue reading "Key Characters in The Phantom of the Opera Novel" »

Sound is the sensation we experience when sound waves reach our ears. Noise is usually defined as something that sounds bad. The difference between sound and noise is that the wave of a sound is regular and the wave of a noise is irregular. The apparatus used to measure noise is called a sound level meter. The level of noise is measured in decibels (dB). Silence is the absence of sound or noise. Pitch is the quality of sound which makes a distinction between low and high sounds. Duration is the quality which differentiates between long and short sounds. The dynamic intensity is the quality that distinguishes between loud and soft sounds. Timbre is the quality of sound which indicates who or what is producing it. We often use the word soundtrack... Continue reading "Understanding Sound: The Difference Between Sound and Noise" »

Classical Music

Transformation from the Early Modern Period to the Contemporary Age

Music between 1730 and 1820

The Rest of the Arts

Neo-classicism. 18th Century: The Age of Enlightenment. Music started to get closer to private houses and public concerts.

Classical Composers

• Liberal artists
• Wanted to reach out to new audiences
• Music: human, natural, pleasant for everyone
• Predominated formal clarity and melodic simplicity

Secular Vocal Music

• Most important: Classical Opera
• Opera underwent a change during the Classicism, which made it tend towards naturalness. It eliminates the excess of the Baroque and took the plots and the characters closer to the new audience.
• Opera Seria: Most important composer C.W. Gluck, who laid the foundation of the new opera in

Renaissance Art Masterpieces

Florence and Early Renaissance Innovations

Architecture

• Leon Battista Alberti, West Façade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, 1458-1470
• Michelozzo di Bartolommeo, Palazzo Medici, Florence, 1445
• Michelozzo di Bartolommeo, Interior Court of the Palazzo Medici, Florence, 1445
• Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, Competition Panel for East Doors, Baptistery of Florence Cathedral, 1401-02
• Lorenzo Ghiberti, East Doors, Gates of Paradise, Baptistery of Florence, 1425-52
• Bernardo Rossellino, Tomb of Leonardo Bruni, Santa Croce, Florence, 1444

Painting and Sculpture

• Cimabue, *Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets*, c. 1280-1290
• Giotto di Bondone, *Madonna Enthroned*, c. 1310
• Giotto di Bondone, *Lamentation*