Glossary
Key terms to help our listeners better understand the classical music jargon often used by our hosts.
A
A cappella: group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment
Accompaniment: music played to support or enhance a soloist or group
Adagio: at a slow tempo
Allegro: at a brisk tempo
Alto: the lowest female singing voice; the second highest part of a musical texture
Andante: at a moderately slow tempo
Aria: an accompanied, elaborate melody sung by a solo voice
Atonality: music that does not conform to a particular key
B
Baritone: a male voice that falls between bass and tenor
Bass: the lowest male singing voice
Beat: the steady, repeating pulse in music
C
Cadence: a progression of chords that provides musical punctuation at the end of a musical phrase
Cadenza: an intricate, often difficult part of a piece that is performed by a soloist near the end of the piece
Cantata: a musical composition that is sung
Cavatina: A simple song or melody, properly one without a second part or repeat; an air.
Chord: three or more pitches sounded simultaneously
Concerto: a piece for soloists and orchestra containing three contrasting movements
Concerto grosso: a musical composition for a group of solo instruments accompanied by orchestra, primarily from the Baroque era
D
Dynamics: the loudness or softness of the music
E
Ensemble: a group of musicians who perform together
F
Fanfare: a short piece, often played by trumpets
Finale: the last piece or movement of a performance
H
Harmonic progression: a series of chord changes that form the harmony of a piece
Harmony: the simultaneous sounding of tones forming chords that are pleasing to the ear
Hymn: a religious song or poem
I
Idyll: an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene [from literature]
Improvisation: something created without preparation
Interlude: a musical composition inserted between two parts of a longer composition
Intermezzo: a musical composition coming between major sections of a larger musical composition
K
Key: a group of pitches, or a scale that the melody and chords of a musical composition are derived from
L
Largo: at a very slow tempo
Libretto: the text for a musical work, such as an opera
M
Maestro: meaning “master” or “teacher”; often a composer, conductor, or teacher of music
Meter: the division of beats in a bar; defined by the top number in a time signature
Moderato: at a moderate tempo
Modulation: the process of changing fro one key to another
Motif/Motive: a recurring musical idea
Movement: a distinct structural unit of a musical composition
O
Opera: a drama that is sung
Oratorio: a large musical composition for both voices and instruments; often dramatic but lacking costumes, scenery, and action.
Ornamentation: musical embellishments that are not necessary for the melody, but serve as decoration for the line
Overture: an instrumental composition played as an introduction to an extended musical composition
P
Passacaglia: a composition in slow triple time with variations over a ground bass
Pavane: Music for a stately dance dating from the 16th century
Phrase: a series of musical notes that sounds complete even when played apart from the main composition
Pitch: how high or low a note is
Prelude: a short musical composition played before a larger musical composition
Q
Quartet: a musical composition for four voices or instruments; an ensemble consisting of four voices or instruments
R
Recitative: a vocal style imitating speech used for dialogue or narrative in operas or oratorios
Ricercar: an elaborate instrumental composition in fugal or canonic style of the 16th to 18th centuries
Rhythm: repeated pattern of sounds or movement
S
Scherzo: a quick and lively musical composition
Score: the written or printed notation of a musical composition
Sonata (Sonata form): a long piece of music, typically played by one or more instrumentalist; contains two or more parts
Soprano: the highest female singing voice
Stylistic periods in music:
- Medieval (Middle Ages): 500-1450
- Renaissance: 1450-1600
- Baroque: 1600-1750
- Rococo: 1690-1765
- Early Classical: 1720-1765
- Classical: 1750-1820
- Romantic: 1820-1900
- Impressionist: 1890-1910
- Expressionist: 1910-1920
- Twentieth Century: 1900-2000
Suite: a collection of short musical pieces that are played in order
Symphony: an extensive musical composition for orchestra
T
Tenor: the highest male singing voice
Tempo: the pace/speed at which a piece of music is played
Theme: a recognizable melody/idea upon which a musical composition is based
Timbre: the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch and intensity
Tonality: the principle of organizing music around a central note
Trio: a musical composition for three instruments/voices; a musical ensemble consisting of three musicians
V
Variation: a musical technique in which music is repeated in altered forms
Vivace: WDAV’s sustaining donors; bringing life
W
Word Painting: a musical technique in which music reflects the literal meaning of a song