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Aria
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, or they can be stand-alone concert arias. The term was originally used to refer to any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. Etymology The Italian term ''aria'', which derives from the Greek ἀήρ and Latin ''aer'' (air), first appeared in relation to music in the 14th century when it simply signified a manner or style of singing or playing. By the end of the 16th century, the term 'aria' refers to an instrumental form (cf. Santino Garsi da Parma lute works, ('Aria del Gran Duca'). By the early 16th century, it was in common use as meaning a simple setting of strophe, strophi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamerlano - Bajazet-Aria
''Tamerlano'' (Tamerlane, HWV 18) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostino Piovene's ''Tamerlano'' together with another libretto entitled ''Bajazet'' after Nicolas Pradon's ''Tamerlan, ou La Mort de Bajazet''. The opera was staged by the Royal Academy of Music (1719), Royal Academy of Music in the King's Theatre at the Haymarket, London. History and context The German-born Handel, after spending some of his early career composing operas and other pieces in Italy, settled in London, where in 1711 he had brought Italian opera for the first time with his opera ''Rinaldo (opera), Rinaldo''. A tremendous success, ''Rinaldo'' created a craze in London for Italian opera seria, a form focused overwhelmingly on solo arias for the star virtuoso singers. In 1719, Handel was appointed Kapellmeister, music director of an organisation called the Royal Academy of Music (unconnected with the present da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concert Aria
A concert aria is normally an aria or operatic scene (''scena'') composed for singer and orchestra, written specifically for performance in concert rather than as part of an opera. Concert arias have often been composed for particular singers, the composer always bearing that singer's voice and skill in mind when composing the work. The term also refers to insertion arias for operas, that is those that were written as additions to the score after its initial completion or as possible substitutions for other arias. These are sometimes performed in concerts because they are no longer required for their original purpose, though they were not, strictly speaking, composed for performance in concert. The concert arias of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart most frequently performed today, but there are many examples by other composers, such as: *"Son qual nave ch'agitata" by Riccardo Broschi (written for the famous castrato Farinelli) *"Ermina" by Juan Arriaga *" Ah! perfido" by Ludwig van Beetho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Da Capo Aria
The da capo aria () is a musical form for arias that was prevalent in the Baroque era. It is sung by a soloist with the accompaniment of instruments, often a small orchestra. The da capo aria is very common in the musical genres of opera and oratorio. According to Randel, a number of Baroque composers (he lists Scarlatti, Hasse, Handel, Porpora, Leo, and Vinci) composed more than a thousand da capo arias during their careers.Randel (2003:54) Form A da capo aria is in ternary form, meaning it is composed of three sections. The first section is a complete song with accompaniment, ending in the tonic key, and could in principle be sung by itself. The second section contrasts with the first in its musical key, texture, mood, and sometimes also tempo. The third section was usually not written out by the composer, who would instead simply note the instruction "da capo" (Italian for "from the head") - meaning from the beginning, i.e., the first section is to be repeated. The text ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (voice Type)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4). Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' (comical bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (deep bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German '' Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classifications tend to describe roles rather than singers: it is rare for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretto, librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, Theatrical scenery, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conducting, conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of Western culture#Music, Western classical music, and Italian tradition in particular. Originally understood as an sung-through, entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include :Opera genres, numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters (e.g. soloists), and arias. However, opera is musical theatre, and typically involves significant theatrical spectacle, including sets, props, and costuming, as well as staged interactions between characters. In oratorio, there is generally minimal staging, with the chorus often assuming a more central dramatic role, and the work is typically presented as a concert piece – though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas, and operas are not infrequently presented in concert form. A particularly important difference between opera and oratorio is in the typical subject matter of the text. An opera libretto may deal with any conceivable dramatic subject (e.g. history, mythology, Richard Nixon, Anna Nicole Smith an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Seria
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to about 1770. The term itself was rarely used at the time and only attained common usage once ''opera seria'' was becoming unfashionable and beginning to be viewed as something of a historical genre. The popular rival to ''opera seria'' was ''opera buffa,'' the 'comic' opera that took its cue from the improvisatory commedia dell'arte. An opera seria had a historical or Biblical subject, whereas an opera buffa had a contemporary subject. Italian ''opera seria'' (invariably to Italian libretto, libretti) was produced not only in Italy but almost throughout Europe, and beyond (see Opera in Latin America, Opera in Cuba e. g.). Among the main centres in Europe were the Royal court, court operas based in Warsaw (since 1628), Bavarian State Opera, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornament (music)
In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes—typically, added notes—that are not essential to carry the overall line of the melody (or harmony), but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line (or harmony), provide added interest and variety, and give the performer the opportunity to add expressiveness to a song or piece. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central, main note. There are many types of ornaments, ranging from the addition of a single, short grace note before a main note to the performance of a virtuosic and flamboyant trill. The amount of ornamentation in a piece of music can vary from quite extensive (it was often extensive in the Baroque period, from 1600 to 1750) to relatively little or even none. The word ''agrément'' is used specifically to indicate the French Baroque style of ornamentation. Improvised vs. written In the Baroque period, it was common for performers to improvise ornamentation on a given melo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rondo
The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "couplets"). Some possible patterns include: Musical_form#Labeling_procedures, ABACA, ABACAB, ABACBA, or ABACABA (with the letter 'A' representing the refrain). The rondo form emerged in the Baroque music, Baroque period and became increasingly popular during the Classical period (music), Classical period. The earliest examples of compositions employing rondo form are found within Italian operatic arias and choruses from the first years of the 17th century. These examples use a multi-couplet rondo or "chain rondo" (ABACAD) known as the Italian rondo. Rondo form, also known in English by its French spelling rondeau, should not be confused with the unrelated but similarly-named Formes fixes, forme fixe Rondeau (forme fixe), rondeau, a 14th- an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air (music)
An air (; also ''air'' in French language, French) is a song-like vocal or instrumental Music, composition. The term can also be applied to the interchangeable Melody, melodies of Folk music, folk songs and Ballad, ballads. It is a variant of the musical song form often referred to (in opera, cantata and oratorio) as aria. English lute ayres Lute airs were first produced in the royal court of England toward the end of the 16th century and enjoyed considerable popularity until the 1620s. Probably based on Italian monody and French ''air de cour'', they were solo songs, occasionally with more (usually three) parts, accompanied on a lute.G. J. Buelow, ''History of Baroque Music: Music in the 17th and First Half of the 18th Centuries'', Indiana University Press, 2004 (p. 306). Their popularity began with the publication of John Dowland's (1563–1626) ''First Booke of Songs or Ayres'' (1597). His most famous airs include "Come Again (Dowland), Come again", "Flow, my tears", "I saw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bravura
In classical music a bravura is a style of both music and its performance intended to show off the skill of a performer. John Alexander Fuller-Maitland, ''A dictionary of music and musicians (A.D. 1450-1889)'p. 271-272/ref> Commonly, it is a virtuosic passage performed as a solo, and often in a cadenza. The term implies "effect for effect's sake", therefore, while many pieces of Beethoven do require a high skill, they are not described as "bravura". Fuller-Maitland suggests the following arias as examples of bravura: "Let the bright Seraphim" from '' Samson'', " Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (Act II of ''The Magic Flute'') and "Non più mesta" from '' La Cenerentola''. Musical terms "allegro di bravura" and "con bravura" indicate boldness, fire and brilliance. The term "bravura" also refers to daring performance in ballet, e.g., in reference of the ''pas de deux'' from '' Le Corsaire''. Lynn Garafola describes the Russian ballet school of Marius Petipa Mari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass-baritone
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the title role in '' Der fliegende Holländer'', Wotan/Der Wanderer in the '' Ring Cycle'' and Hans Sachs in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. Wagner labelled these roles as ''Hoher Bass'' ("high bass")—see fach for more details. The bass-baritone voice is distinguished by two attributes. First, it must be capable of singing comfortably in a baritonal tessitura. Secondly, however, it needs to have the ripely resonant lower range typically associated with the bass voice. For example, the role of Wotan in '' Die Walküre'' covers the range from F2 (the F at the bottom of the bass clef) to F4 (the F above middle C), but only infrequently descends beyond C3 (the C below middle C). Bass-baritones are typically divi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
