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Attacco
Attacco, in music, indicates a short phrase, treated as a point of imitation; and employed, either as the subject of a fugue, as a subordinate element introduced for the purpose of increasing the interest of its development, as a leading feature in a motet, madrigal, full anthem, or other choral composition, or as a means of relieving the monotony of an otherwise too homogeneous part-song. The name comes from the Italian '' attaccare'', "to unite" or "to bind together." A striking instance of an attacco used as the subject of a fugue is J. S. Bach's ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', No. 27.Grove, George; Fuller-Maitland, John Alexander; Pratt, Waldo Selden; and Boyd, Charles Newell; eds. (1906). Grove's dictionary of music and musicians', p.116. Macmillan. . When used merely as an accessory, it almost always represents a fragment of the true subject; as in this passage from "Ye House of Gilead," from Handel's ''Jephtha''. In the madrigal and motet, a new attacco is usually in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subject (music)
In music, a subject is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based. In forms other than the fugue, this may be known as the theme. Characteristics A subject may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found. In contrast to an idea or motif, a subject is usually a complete phrase or period. The ''Encyclopédie Fasquelle'' defines a theme (subject) as " y element, motif, or small musical piece that has given rise to some variation becomes thereby a theme". Thematic changes and processes are often structurally important, and theorists such as Rudolph Reti have created analysis from a purely thematic perspective. Fred Lerdahl describes thematic relations as "associational" and thus outside his cognitive-based generative theory's scope of analysis. In different types of music Music based on a single theme is called 'monothematic', while music based on several themes is ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phrase (music)
In music theory, a phrase ( gr, φράση) is a unit of musical meter that has a complete musical sense of its own, built from figures, motifs, and cells, and combining to form melodies, periods and larger sections. Terms such as ''sentence'' and ''verse'' have been adopted into the vocabulary of music from linguistic syntax. Though the analogy between the musical and the linguistic phrase is often made, still the term "is one of the most ambiguous in music....there is no consistency in applying these terms nor can there be...only with melodies of a very simple type, especially those of some dances, can the terms be used with some consistency." John D. White defines a phrase as "the smallest musical unit that conveys a more or less complete musical thought. Phrases vary in length and are terminated at a point of full or partial repose, which is called a ''cadence''." Edward Cone analyses the "typical musical phrase" as consisting of an "initial downbeat, a period of motio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andamento
Andamento is an Italian musical term used to refer to a fugue subject of above-average length. Definition The term was coined by G.B. Martini in the second volume of his work ''Esemplare, ossia Saggio fondamentale pratico di contrappunto'' (1775), which also featured the terms ''attacco'' and ''soggetto'' to refer to short and average-length fugue themes, respectively. In Martini's definition, a fugue theme of six 4/4 bars could be described as an andamento. The term found limited use outside of Italy, but has been discussed by scholars. Examples * The 'Amen' fugue in Handel's ''Messiah''. * The first fugue subject of Ronald Stevenson Ronald James Stevenson (6 March 1928 – 28 March 2015) was a Scottish composer, pianist, and writer about music. Biography The son of a Scottish father and Welsh mother, Stevenson was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, in 1928. He studied at the ...'s Passacaglia on DSCH. References {{music-theory-stub Musical terminology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (which includes his "Wedding March"), the '' Italian Symphony'', the '' Scottish Symphony'', the oratorio ''St. Paul'', the oratorio ''Elijah'', the overture ''The Hebrides'', the mature Violin Concerto and the String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's ''Songs Without Words'' are his most famous solo piano compositions. Mendelssohn's grandfather was the renowned Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, but Felix was initially raised without religion. He was baptised at the age of seven, becoming a Reformed Christi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wall Callcott
John Wall Callcott (20 November 1766 – 15 May 1821) was an eminent English composer. Callcott was born in Kensington, London. He was a pupil of Haydn, and is celebrated mainly for his glee compositions and catches. In the best known of his catches he ridiculed Sir John Hawkins' ''History of Music''. Although ill-health prevented Callcott from completing his Musical Dictionary, His ''Musical Grammar'' (1806) remained in use throughout the 19th century. His glees number at least 100, of which 8 won prizes. Callcott set lyrics by leading poets of his day, including Thomas Gray, Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Chatterton, Robert Southey and Ossian. They include (selective list): *''O snatch me swift'' for 5 voices SATBarB *''It was a friar of orders grey'' for 3 voices SSB *''In the lonely vale of streams'' for 4 voices SATB *''Ella'' for 4 voices SATB *''Cara, vale!'' for 4 voices SSTB *''Father of Heroes'' (1792) for 5 voices ATTBB *''The Erl-King'' - a setting of Goethe's ''Erlkö ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glee (music)
A glee is a type of English part song composed during the Late Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic periods, that is to say, the Georgian era. The respectable and artistic character of glees contrasts with the bawdiness of the many catches which continued to be composed and sung well into the early years of the 19th century. The use of the countertenor voice on the upper part(s) in glees composed for men's voices, and on the Alto part(s) in those for mixed voices, is a particular characteristic of the form (the most famous exponent, known for his elegant ornamentation, was William Knyvett) and serves to distinguish glees from other male voice partsongs, which usually lack countrapuntal writing and have the top part taken by a tenor. This gives them a highest note around a major third below that of men's voice glees. Some care is required in interpreting the intended voicing of glees in contemporary editions, due to the gradual replacement, taking place at this time, of the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jephtha (Handel)
''Jephtha'' ( HWV 70) is an oratorio (1751) by George Frideric Handel with an English language libretto by the Rev. Thomas Morell, based on the story of Jephtha in Judges (Chapter 11) and ''Jephthes, sive Votum'' (''Jeptha, or the Vow'') (1554) by George Buchanan. Whilst writing ''Jephtha'', Handel was increasingly troubled by his gradual loss of sight, and this proved to be his last oratorio. In the autograph score, at the end of the chorus "How dark, O Lord, are thy decrees" he wrote "Reached here on 13 February 1751, unable to go on owing to weakening of the sight of my left eye." The story revolves around Jephtha's rash promise to the Almighty that if he is victorious, he will sacrifice the first creature he meets on his return. He is met by his beloved daughter Iphis. However, an angel intervenes to stop the sacrifice, and Iphis only needs to dedicate her life to the Lord. This is an unusual interpretation of the Bible story, although one which has been current since the Mid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian opera to its highest development, creating the genres of English oratorio and organ concerto, and introducing a new style into English church music. He is consistently recognized as one of the greatest composers of his age. Handel started three commercial opera companies to supply the English nobility with Italian opera. In 1737, he had a physical break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Well-Tempered Clavier
''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time, ''clavier'', meaning keyboard, referred to a variety of instruments, most typically the harpsichord or clavichord, but not excluding the organ. The modern German spelling for the collection is ' (WTK; ). Bach gave the title ' to a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 keys, major and minor, dated 1722, composed "for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study". Some 20 years later, Bach compiled a second book of the same kind (24 pairs of preludes and fugues), which became known as ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', Part Two (in German: ''Zweyter Theil'', modern spelling: ''Zweiter Teil''). Modern editions usually refer to both parts as ''The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I'' (WTC I) and ''The Well-Tempered C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imitation (music)
In music, imitation is the repetition of a melody in a polyphonic texture shortly after its first appearance in a different voice. The melody may vary through transposition, inversion, or otherwise, but retain its original character. The intervals and rhythms of an imitation may be exact or modified; imitation occurs at varying distances relative to the first occurrence, and phrases may begin with voices in imitation before they freely go their own ways. Imitation helps provide unity to a composition and is used in forms such as the fugue and canon. Definitions When a phrase recurs exactly as before (except perhaps transposed), it is called strict imitation. A round is thus an example of strict imitation. Repetition is defined as the repetition of a phrase or melody often with variations in key, rhythm, and voice. Different authors define imitation somewhat differently: The point of imitation, "marks the beginning of a series of imitative entries in a contrapuntal c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian (language)
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 million people (2022), Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland (Ticino and the Grisons), San Marino, and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria (Croatia and Slovenia). Italian is also spoken by large immigrant and expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia.Ethnologue report for language code:ita (Italy) – Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
