Glossary for the Baroque Period

Church modes Scales containing seven tones with an eighth tone duplicating the first an octave higher, but with different patterns of whole and half steps from major and minor scales; used in medieval, Renaissance, and twentieth-century music and in folk music.

Clavichord Baroque keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by means of brass blades striking strings, capable of making gradual dynamic changes, but within a narrow volume range.

Dissonance Tone combination that is unstable and tense.

Ground bass (basso ostinato, figured bass) Variation form in which a musical idea in the bass is repeated over and over while the melodies above it constantly change; common in baroque music.

Harpsichord Keyboard instrument, widely used from about 1500 to 1775, whose sound is produced by plectra which pluck its wire strings. The harpsichord has been revived during the twentieth century.

Homophonic texture Term describing music in which one main melody is accompanied by chords.

Imitation Presentation of a melodic idea by one voice or instrument that is immediately followed by its restatement by another voice or instrument, as in a round.

Improvisation Creation of music at the same time as it is performed.

Minor key Music based on a minor scale.

Minor scale Series of seven tones within an octave, with an eighth tone repeating the first tone an octave higher, composed of a specific pattern of whole and half steps; the half step between the second and third tones is characteristic.

Movement Piece that sounds fairly complete and independent but is part of a larger composition.

Opera Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition employing vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery.

Organ (pipe organ) Keyboard instrument with many sets of pipes controlled from two or more keyboards, including a pedal keyboard played by the organist's feet. The keys control valves from which air is blown across or through openings in the pipes. (The electric organ is an electronic instrument that is sometimes designed to imitate the sound of a pipe organ.)

Polyphonic texture Performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest at the same time.

Recorder Family of woodwind instruments whose sound is produced by blowing into a "whistle" mouthpiece, usually made of wood or plastic.

Repetition Reiteration of a phrase, section, or entire movement, often used to create a sense of unity.

Terraced dynamics Abrupt alternation between loud and soft dynamic levels; characteristic of baroque music.

Word painting Musical representation of specific poetic images—for example, a falling melodic line to accompany the word descending—often found in Renaissance and baroque music.

Music in Baroque Society

Contrast Striking differences of pitch, dynamics, rhythm, and tempo that provide variety and change of mood.

Opera Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition employing vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery.

The Concerto Grosso and Ritornello Form

Concerto grosso Composition for several instrumental soloists and small orchestra; common in late baroque music.

Contrast Striking differences of pitch, dynamics, rhythm, and tempo that provide variety and change of mood.

Ground bass (basso ostinato) Variation form in which a musical idea in the bass is repeated over and over while the melodies above it constantly change; common in baroque music.

Ritornello In Italian, refrain; a repeated section of music usually played by the full orchestra, or tutti, in baroque compositions.

Ritornello form Compositional form usually used in the baroque concerto grosso, in which the tutti plays a ritornello, or refrain, alternating with one or more soloists playing new material.

Trill Musical ornament consisting of the rapid alternation of two tones that are a whole or half step apart.

Tutti In Italian, all; the full orchestra, or a large group of musicians contrasted with a smaller group; often heard in baroque music.

The Fugue

Answer Second presentation of the subject in a fugue, usually in the dominant scale.

Augmentation Variation of a fugue subject in which the original time values of the subject are lengthened.

Countersubject In a fugue, a melodic idea that accompanies the subject fairly constantly.

Diminution Variation of a fugue subject in which the original time values of the subject are shortened.

Episode Transitional section in a fugue between presentations of the subject, which offers either new material or fragments of the subject or countersubject.

Fugue Polyphonic composition based on one main theme, or subject.

Imitation Presentation of a melodic idea by one voice or instrument that is immediately followed by its restatement by another voice or instrument, as in a round.

Inversion Variation of a fugue subject in which each interval of the subject is reversed in direction.

Pedal point (organ point) Single tone, usually in the bass, which is held while the other voices produce a series of changing harmonies against it; often found in fugues.

Prelude (1) Short piece usually serving to introduce a fugue or other composition; a short piece for piano. (2) See overture.

Retrograde Variation of a fugue subject in which the subject is presented by beginning with its last note and proceeding backward to the first.

Stretto Compositional procedure used in fugues, in which a subject is imitated before it is completed; one voice tries to catch the other.

Subject Theme of a fugue.

The Elements of Opera

Alto (contralto) Female voice of low range.

Aria Song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, usually expressing an emotional state through its outpouring of melody; found in operas, oratorios, and cantatas.

Bass (1) Male voice of low range.

Conductor Leader of a performing group of musicians.

Librettist Dramatist who writes the libretto, or text, of an opera.

Libretto Text of an opera.

Opera Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition employing vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery.

Overture (prelude) Short musical composition, purely orchestral, which opens an opera and sets the overall dramatic mood. Orchestral introductions to later acts of an opera are called preludes.

Prelude (1) Short piece usually serving to introduce a fugue or other composition; a short piece for piano. (2) See overture.

Prompter Person who gives cues and reminds singers of their words or pitches during an opera performance. The prompter is located in a box just over the edge of center stage, which conceals him or her from the audience.

Soprano Female voice of high range.

Tenor Male voice of high range.

Voice categories of opera Voice ranges which include coloratura soprano, lyric soprano, dramatic soprano, lyric tenor, dramatic tenor, basso buffo, and basso profundo, among others.

Opera in the Baroque

Accompanied Recitative Speechlike melody that is sung by a solo voice accompanied by the orchestra.

Aria Song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, usually expressing an emotional state through its outpouring of melody; found in operas, oratorios, and cantatas.

Camerata In Italian, fellowship or society; a group of nobles, poets, and composers who began to meet regularly in Florence around 1575 and whose musical discussions prepared the way for the beginning of opera.

Castrato Male singer castrated before puberty to retain a high voice range; the most important category of vocal soloists in opera during the baroque period.

Da capo From the beginning; an indication usually meaning that the opening section of a piece is to be repeated after the middle section.

Da capo aria Aria in A B A form; after the B section, the term da capo is written; this means from the beginning and indicates a repetition of the opening A section.

Dissonance Tone combination that is unstable and tense.

Embellishments Ornamental tones that are either improvised by the performer or indicated in the music by signs or notes in small print.

Opera Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition employing vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery.

Recitative Vocal line in an opera, oratorio, or cantata that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech, often serving to lead into an aria.

Secco recitative Speechlike melody that is sung by a solo voice accompanied only by a basso continuo.