·A French overture is a piece in tertiary form with a slow A section and a quicker B section
·An Italian overture has three movements
·Have no musical connection to the opera or oratorio played after
Intermezzo
- Comic scenes between acts
- Eventually developed into full scale Opera Buffa
·Giovanni Battista Pergolesi known for intermezzo
The Aria
·Vocal solo with instrumental accompaniment
·Dramatic Soliloquy
·Da capo aria – the common ABA form; permitted uniqueness with detail
Libretto
·The text of the opera
·Lyrics sung by opera performers
Opera Buffa
·Opera Buffa – comic/jesting drama and music; a full length work with 6+ singers
·Often accompanied by continuo, or keyboard alone
·Arias in galant style with repeated short phrases
·Made to entertain and portray the conflicts of common people
Later Comic Opera
·Serious plots began to appear as well
·Finales contained all characters with a climax in which all participated; composers had to follow changing action and maintain musical coherence
·Periodic phrasing, tuneful melodies, simple harmonies, simplea accompaniment, direct expression, emotional fluidity, etc all characterize Italian comic opera
Opera Seria
·serious opera – dramatic; conflicts of human passions; tragic endings were rare
·three acts consist of alternating recitatives (developing action, sometimes with accompaniment) and arias (dramatic soliloquy)
·high voices used
·made to entertain and portray the conflicts of royalty and nobility
·known as court opera and it was made to please members of the court
Opera in Other Languages
·Different forms in different countries; middle and lower class
·Written in national tongue with national musical idioms
·Reflected the demand for simple, clear, natural singing and encouraged the growth of separate traditions of opera
·Opera comique – French opera with popular tunes and spoken dialogue, but eventually became more like Italian opera
·Ballad opera – English opera with spoken dialogue and borrowed tunes (folk), but like opera comique began to compose original music (ex. The Beggars Opera by John Gay)
·Singspiel – singing play aka German opera with spoken dialogue, musical numbers and comic plot
·Theme
oAn existing musical melody, bass line, or harmony
·Variations (CHECK THIS)
o16th century invention
oWas not dance music
oTakes a theme and varies it numerous times
·Sonata-Allegro (CHECK THIS)
oCan be written for any instrument
oUsually for piano or orchestra accompaniment
·Sonatina
oA short sonata
·Sonata
oAlso called “first movement” form according to Grout
oAABA
oSlow introduction before the exposition is not uncommon
o“AA”- Exposition
o“B”-Development which modulates through keys
o“A”- Recapitulation: motives and themes are restated but in a different key
oThere may be a coda that restates the one or more themes
·Concerto (CHECK THIS)
oTwo contrasting instruments together in a piece
oThree different types of concerti
§Orchestral Concerto-Emphasized the first violin and bass
§Concerto Grosso (Born in the Baroque)- put the small ensemble against the large ensemble
§Solo Concerto- contrasted a single instrument with a large ensemble
·Symphony(CHECK THIS)
oA work in three or four movements
§First movement-a sonata
§Second Movement- usually slow and had any form
§Third Movement- faster and commonly a minuet and trio but not always
§Fourth Movement- still faster and usually in rondo form
oPrimarily homophonic
oNo division between orchestra and soloist
·String Trio
o1 violin, 1 viola, 1 cello
·String Quartet
o2 violins, a viola, and a cello
oThe first violin carries most of the melody
oThe cello is the bass part
oThe other two fill out the texture of the piece
oComposers wrote quartets in which musicians exchanged short motives
·Divertimento
oWritten to be background music
oMulti-movement piece for an Orchestra or other winds and strings
·Oratorio
oSimilar to an opera but sacred
oWere not staged, or did not move around
oNo costumes
oUsually a narrator is present
oChorus could take various roles
·Mass
oA sacred structure used for ages and still prevalent in the classical era
·Strophic Form
oRepeats verse and chorus with same notes, different text
·Etudes
oA work made for amateurs to help them improve
By Sachin Sharma, Liz Swarthout, Katherine Liu, Hanna Astephen
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