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Africa (Saint-Saëns)
''Africa'', Opus number, Op. 89, is a Fantasia (music), fantasia for piano and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns. Composed in 1891 during a stay in Egypt, this Piano concerto, concertante piece is marked by its mosaic-like structure and interplay of various themes, blending African musical elements with European Musical composition, compositional techniques. Written during a period of personal grief following his mother's death, Saint-Saëns dedicated ''Africa'' to the pianist Marie-Aimée Roger-Miclos, to whom he had pledged a new composition. The work is held in a single Movement (music), movement and calls for outstanding technical virtuosity, agility, and a certain lightness of touch from the soloist, also reflecting Saint-Saëns's own formidable pianistic skill. The premiere on 25 October 1891 was met with great acclaim, and subsequent performances took place around the globe, Saint-Saëns even considering it a signature work. History Following the loss of his mother i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia (music)
A fantasia (; also English: ''fantasy'', ''fancy'', ''fantazy'', ''phantasy'', , ''Phantasie'', ) is a musical composition with roots in improvisation. The fantasia, like the impromptu, seldom follows the textbook rules of any strict musical form. History The term was first applied to music during the 16th century, at first to refer to the imaginative musical "''idea''" rather than to a particular compositional genre. Its earliest use as a title was in German keyboard manuscripts from before 1520, and by 1536 is found in printed tablatures from Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. From the outset, the fantasia had the sense of "the play of imaginative invention", particularly in lute or vihuela composers such as Francesco Canova da Milano and Luis de Milán. Its form and style consequently ranges from the freely improvisatory to the strictly contrapuntal, and also encompasses more or less standard sectional forms. One of the most important composers in the development of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texture (music)
In music, texture is how the tempo and the melodic and harmonic materials are combined in a musical composition, determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece. The texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness, and range, or width, between lowest and highest pitches, in relative terms as well as more specifically distinguished according to the number of voices, or parts, and the relationship between these voices (see Common types below). For example, a thick texture contains many 'layers' of instruments. One of these layers could be a string section or another brass. The thickness also is changed by the amount and the richness of the instruments playing the piece. The thickness varies from light to thick. A piece's texture may be changed by the number and character of parts playing at once, the timbre of the instruments or voices playing these parts and the harmony, tempo, and rhythms used. The types categorized by number and relationship of parts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counterpoint
In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ''punctus contra punctum'' meaning "point against point", i.e. "note against note". John Rahn describes counterpoint as follows: Counterpoint has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradition, strongly developing during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period, especially in the Baroque period. In Western pedagogy, counterpoint is taught through a system of species (see below). There are several different forms of counterpoint, including imitative counterpoint and free counterpoint. Imitative counterpoint involves the repetition of a main melodic idea across different vocal parts, with or without variation. Compositions written in free counterpoint often incorporate non-traditional harmonies and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Key (music)
In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and its corresponding '' chords'', also called a ''tonic'' or ''tonic chord'', which provides a subjective sense of arrival and rest. The tonic also has a unique relationship to the other pitches of the same key, their corresponding chords, and pitches and chords outside the key. Notes and chords other than the tonic in a piece create varying degrees of tension, resolved when the tonic note or chord returns. The key may be in the major mode, minor mode, or one of several other modes. Musicians assume major when this is not specified; for example, "this piece is in C" implies that the key of the piece is C major. Popular songs and classical music from the common practice period are usually in a single key; longer pieces in the classical repe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest. Treatment of a chord as the tonic for less than a phrase is considered tonicization. Requirements *Harmonic: quasi- tonic, modulating dominant, pivot chordForte (1979), p. 267. * Melodic: recognizable segment of the scale of the quasi-tonic or strategically placed leading-tone *Metric and rhythmic: quasi-tonic and modulating dominant on metrically accented beats, prominent pivot chord The quasi-tonic is the tonic of the new key established by the modulation. The modulating dominant is the dominant of the quasi-tonic. The pivot chord is a predominant to the modulating dominant and a chord common to both the keys of the tonic and the quasi-tonic. For example, in a modulation to the dominant, ii/V–V/V–V co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syncopation
In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur". It is the correlation of at least two sets of time intervals. Syncopation is used in many musical styles, such as electronic dance music. According to music producer Rick Snoman, “All dance music makes use of syncopation, and it’s often a vital element that helps tie the whole track together”. Syncopation can also occur when a strong harmony is simultaneous with a weak Beat (music), beat, for instance, when a 7th chord, 7th-chord is played on the second beat of a measure or a dominant chord is played at the fourth beat of a measure. The latter occurs frequently in tonal cadences for 18th- and early-19th-century music and is the usual conclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaoui People
The Chaoui people or ''Shawyia'' (, ) are a Berber ethnic group native to the Aurès region in northeastern Algeria. They call themselves ''Išawiyen''/''Icawiyen'' (pronounced ) and speak the Shawiya language. They are the second largest Tell Atlas Berber-speaking ethnicity, alongside the Kabyles and Chenouas. Etymology According to de Slane, translator of the books of Ibn Khaldun, the term Chaoui/Shawi means "shepherd" and designates the Zenata Berbers. History Historically, the Aurès Mountains served as a refuge for Berber peoples, forming a base of resistance against the Roman Empire, the Vandals, the Byzantine Empire and Arabs. The patriarch of Berbers is believed to have been ''Madghacen'', the common ancestor of the Zenata and of the Botri as well. Ibn Khaldun identified the Zenata as Berbers. Modern historians rank this Berber region within the group of Numidians and Gaetuli or the much more ancient Meshwesh, Maesulians and Mazaxes, from whom the Zenata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahara
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" is derived from , a broken plural form of ( ), meaning "desert". The desert covers much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt and the Sudan. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plains. To the south it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and the Sudan (region), Sudan region of sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biskra
Biskra () is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about from Algiers, southwest of Batna, Algeria, Batna and north of Touggourt. It is nicknamed "The Queen of the Zibans", "The Door of the Desert" or "The Saharan Nice" because of its location at the beginning of Sahara, the Sahara Desert. Due to its geographical location, its climate and natural resources, particularly farming, Biskra has always been a crossroad between the cities in the north and south. It has seen the passage of several civilizations, from Ancient Rome, the Romans and the Arabs to the French. In 1844, Biskra became a French garrison, which saw fighting during rebellions in 1849 and 1871. Currently the city of Biskra has 28 neighborhoods, including the three principal neighborhoods of Korra, City 60 Logements, and Equipment Zones. It is in the southern part of the Algerian rail system, and has become a popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza, (from , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist(s), usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display. During this time the accompaniment will rest, or sustain a note or chord. Thus an improvised cadenza is indicated in written notation by a fermata in all parts. A cadenza will usually occur over either the final or penultimate note in a piece, the lead-in (), or the final or penultimate note in an important subsection of a piece. A cadenza can also be found before a final coda or ritornello. Origin Initially, cadenzas were more simple and structured - a performer would add small embellishments such as trills to the end of cadences. These small embellishments of the early cadenza did not affect meter. However, as the improvised embellishments continued, they became longer and more thought out. This made way for the 'composed' cade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andalusi Nubah
Andalusī nūbah (نوبة أندلسيّة), also transliterated nūba, nūbā, or nouba (pl. nūbāt), or in its classical Arabic form, nawba, nawbah, or nōbah, is a music genre found in the North African Maghrib states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya but, as the name indicates, it has its origins in Andalusi music. The name replaced the older use of '' sawt'' and originated from the musician waiting behind a curtain to be told it was his turn or ''nawbah'' by the ''sattar'' or curtain man. The North African cities have inherited a particularly Andalusian musical style of Granada. The term ''gharnati'' (Granadan) in Morocco designates a distinct musical style from "Tarab Al Ala" originating in Córdoba and Valencia, according to the authors Rachid Aous and Mohammed Habib Samrakandi in the latter's book ''Musiques d'Algérie''. Form, texts, and performance According to tradition, there were initially 24 nubat, one for each hour of the day. Each nuba must have a durati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
