Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Music for Secondary education

Characteristics of Baroque Music

The Baroque period was very different from the Renaissance. The first excerpt began with a deep bass line; the name of this type of bass line is basso continuo or continuous bass.

In the second excerpt, the music aims to create contrasts. The name of this musical style is stile concitato. The third excerpt gives a sensation of movement accompanied by a very mechanical rhythm, using a regular and marked pulse. The concept of meter appears, referring to the sequence of strong and weak beats that structure rhythm.

Secular and Sacred Vocal Music

Secular Vocal Music

Georg Friedrich Handel is an important Baroque composer. The opera is a very important vocal music genre which appeared in the Baroque, defined as musical...

Essential Literary Terms and Definitions

• Allegory: A story or poem in which moral lessons are conveyed through the actions of fictional characters that serve as symbols.
• Alliteration: The repetition of the same initial sound or sounds in two or more word groups.
• Anapest: A three-syllable foot in poetry having two unaccented syllables (short beats) followed by one accented syllable (long beat).
• Aside: Something spoken by an actor to or for the audience, supposedly not heard by others on stage.
• Ballad: A simple poem that tells a story and is adapted for singing.
• Blank Verse: Poetry lacking rhyme, especially verses having five stressed syllables.
• Cacophony: A harsh sound or mixture of sounds.
• Caesura: A break or pause in a line of poetry.
• Catharsis: The

Baroque Music: Characteristics and Forms

• Contrast: tempo, dynamics, timbre
• Ornamented melodic parts
• Basso continuo
• Textures: accompanied melodies and counterpoint
• Composers tried to express the affections.
• New musical forms: Concerto, suite, fugue
• Music stars: Castrati

Opera Elements

• Overture: instrumental introduction
• Aria
• Recitative
• Interludes: instrumental sections between different parts of the opera

Opera Seria

• Plots based on mythological and heroic topics, written in Italian language.
• For the aristocracy.
• It used castrati.
• "Rinaldo" (1711) - Handel

Opera Buffa

• Plots based on daily life.
• The characters are closer to the audience.
• Written in the main language of each country.
• "La serva padrona" (1733) - Pergolesi

Religious Music Forms

Cantata

• Vocal composition
• Instrumental

Renaissance (15th and 16th Centuries)

Period characterized by the recovery of classical ideals (beauty, proportion, symmetry) in various art disciplines (architecture, sculpture). Works of art from ancient Greece and Rome were taken as models.

Renaissance Music

There were no ancient musical examples because we do not conserve any ancient Greek or Roman scores. The most characteristic feature is the improvement of polyphony. The music from this period adopts some of the ancient ideals:

1. Ideals of beauty, proportion, and symmetry.
2. Music must express and imitate the meaning of the lyrics.

Humanism

A new way of thinking that promotes the complete development of the human being through the studies of art and sciences. Leonardo Da Vinci is a key figure.

Printing

Metric Concepts

• Prose: Always write forward.
• Verse: Writing with a certain measure, often structured in lines and stanzas.
• Narrative: Storytelling.
• Lyric: Expressing feelings.

How to Work with Verses

Analysis of the Form

Lines

• Measuring Lines
  • Separate Syllables: Each syllable has only one vowel sound.
  • License Application Metrics:
    • Sinalefa: Union of the last syllable of a word ending in a vowel with the first syllable of the next word beginning with a vowel.
    • Syneresis: Similar to sinalefa, but occurs within a word. A syllable with a vowel sound meets the following if it starts with a vowel to form a single syllable.
    • Umlauts: Two points are placed on top of an *i* or *u* to indicate that a diphthong should be counted as two syllables.
  • Rules for the implementation

Classicism

In the twentieth century, technological advances such as radio, television, and the internet have encouraged the dissemination of all types of music.

The Evolution of Music Technology

Music has evolved steadily through the following milestones:

• 1877: Edison Phonograph records sound.
• 1887: The gramophone is created, utilizing electricity.
• 1939: The invention of magnetic tape leads to the turntable.
• 1980s: The CD emerges.
• 21st Century: The birth of MP3, MP4, and MP5 formats.

Sound Recording and Playback Formats

• Analog Sound: Reproduction of signals similar to the original source.
• Digital Sound: Uses computers to encode the signal into a numerical code.

Digital Music Capabilities

1. Inputting musical notes.
2. Manipulating sound quality.
3. Changing instrumentation.

Characteristics of Romantic Music

General Features

• Modern orchestra size and appearance.
• Development and prominence of brass instruments.
• Music independent of external function (absolute music).
• Use of non-classical forms.
• Prominence of the piano (often called the "century of the piano").
• Increased use of chromaticism.

Key Musical Forms

• Symphonic Poem: A descriptive piece for orchestra.
• Lied: Voice with piano accompaniment.

Lied: Vocal Music Form and Structure

• Definition: A consistent form involving setting a poem to music for singer and piano.
• Structure: ABA.
• Key Creator: Franz Schubert.
• Common Topics: Love, death, and nature.
• Example: La Trucha (The Trout) by Schubert.

19th Century Opera

Opera evolved significantly, occupying a prominent place in the nineteenth...

Goya's Life and Turbulent Times

Francisco Goya spent most of his life in Madrid. He also lived through the contradictions of the Spanish Enlightenment, experiencing the benefits of the liberalization measures enacted by Joseph Bonaparte. He also witnessed the creation of the Constitution of Cadiz (1812) and the loss of the Spanish colonies (1824). The return of Fernando VII unleashed persecution against liberals and those who had collaborated with the 'intruder' king. In 1820, the Riego revolt offered hope to Spanish liberals, and the Constitution of Cadiz was reinstated, but the intervention of the 'Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis' sent by the Holy Alliance led to the restoration of Fernando VII's absolute power and the beginning of a period...

The Dance in the Baroque Era

The Development of Baroque Ballet

Ballet, evolving within the French court, began its golden era with the creation of the ballet de cour. This form was a result of the collaboration of great artists, often under the patronage of the king's dance company. Many composers of instrumental music also created pieces intended for dance.

Key Baroque Dance Forms

• Allemanda: Of German origin, a quiet dance in binary rhythm with a short initial upbeat.
• Courante: A fast dance in ternary rhythm.
• Bourrée: A French round dance, fast-paced and in binary rhythm.
• Chaconne: A dance of Spanish origin, often sung, quiet, and in ternary rhythm.
• Zarabanda (Sarabande): A solemn dance of Spanish origin, in slow ternary rhythm.
• Giga (Jig): A fast