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Past Paper 2011

1. What is the distinction between the Ordinary and the Proper of the Mass?
The Ordinary (the texts sung at each service), and the Proper (those which change
to the season or saint being celebrated).
Ordinary:
Kyrie elesion
Gloria in excelsis
Sandctus and Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Proper:
Introit
Gradual or Alleluia
Alleluia or Tract
Offertory
Communion

These chants suggest performance by different groups of people. The Introits


and Communions may have been sung by a choir, whereas the Graduals,
Alleluias and Tracts (sung between Readings), together with the Offertories,
are melodically the most ornate part of the repertory for the Mass, and were
perhaps intended to be sung by soloists or by a small group.
Apart from these two main groups of sung pieces, other parts of the service
are also chanted to simple inflexions: the prayers, the readings and the
Eucharistic Prayer.
The Lords Prayer is always sung to a simple melody

2. In an isorhythmic motet, what is the talea, and how does it relate to the color?
Isorhythm

A structural feature of the Ars Nova motet, consisting of a single rhythmic


phrase pattern repeated, usually in the tenor, throughout the composition
A medieval principle of construction which was used most often in motets

This construction of based on a repeating rhythmic pattern in one or more of


the voices
A technique for musical organisation in 14th/15th centuries in which the tenor
repeats a certain pattern of pitches (the color) and a certain rhythmic pattern
(the talea).
The color and talea may be different lengths
Used commonly in the motet, also used in some mass settings, for example in
Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume Machaut

Isorhythmic Motet
A form of motet of the medieval and early Renaissance eras that is based on a
repeating pattern found in one or more of the voices. The tenor is normally the voice
with the repeating rhythmic structure.
Talea and Color

Method of constructing tenors, in which a repeated pitch-succession


borrowed from a chant was coordinated with a repeated succession of
duration, opened up new possibilities for intellectual tours de force that
were mined extensively in the 14th century, when the motet went under
major growth
The abstractly conceived pitch-succession was called the color by 14th
century theorists
The abstractly conceived rhythm pattern, especially when it went beyond
the simple modal ordines found in these early examples, was called the
talea
Talea literally means measuring rod in Latin
It is also related etymologically to the Sanskrit word tala, by which Indian
musicians refer to the fixed, cyclically repeated beat-pattern underlying the
complex improvised surfaced rhythms in a musical performance.

3. Which of the following are a) stringed instruments b) wind instruments c) keyboard


instruments? Harpsichord, Cornett, Viol, Clavichord, Theorbo, Crumhorn, Violone
Glossary of Medival, Renaissance &Baroque Musical Instruments

Instrument

Definition

Archlute

A Lute with two pegboxes


STRING INSTRUMENT

Bagpipe

WIND INSTRUMENT

Bandora

A wire strung, plucked instrument. One of


the continuo instruments in a mixed
consort.
STRING INSTRUMENT
A large cittern with extra bass strings like
the theorbo. STRING INSTRUMENT

Ceterone

Chittarone

A large bass lute developed in Italy in the


16th Century. STRING INSTRUMENT

Citole

A wire strung, plucked instrument,


medieval form of the Renaissance cittern.
STRING INSTRUMENT

Cittern

A small, wire strung, quill plucked


STRING INSTRUMENT. 15TH Century

Course

A set of one to three strings tuned and


played as one, 16th to 18th century
plucked instruments. STRING
INSTRUMENT
A 17th century double-reed woodwind
instrument of cylindrical bore. WIND
INSTRUMENT

Courtaut, Courtaud

Crumhorn, Krumhorn

A wind-cap, double-reed woodwind


instrument, 16th/17th centuries. WIND
INSTRUMENT

Curtlal, Dulcian

A double-reed WIND INSTRUMENT,


ancestor of the bassoon. Mid 16th century

Duct Flute

WIND INSTRUMENT

Hurdy-Gurdy

A viol shaped STRING INSTRUMENT,


contains melody and drone strings

Jews Harp, Jaws Harp

A mouth resonating PERCUSSION


INSTRUMENT

Kamanja, Kamanche

Persian bowed spike fiddle. STRING


INSTRUMENT

Kithara

Plucked STRING INSTURMENT, larger


and heavier than the lyre

Lira da Braccio

A bowed STRING INSTRUMENT.


Shaped like a violin. 15th/16th centuries

Lute

STRING INSTRUMENT

Lyre, Lira

STRING INSTUMENT, very popular in


GRECO-Roman times

Natural Horn, Slide trumpet

BRASS INSTRUMENT, lacks valves and


keys and produces tones only in the
harmonic series

Pandora, Pandoura

A Greco-Roman lute. STRING


INSTRUMENT

Pipa

Short necked Lute of China. STRING


INSTRUMENT

Pipe and Tabor

A duck flute. WIND INSTRUMENT

Psaltry

A plucked Zither of medieval Europe.


STRING INSTRUMENT

Qanun

A plucked Zither of the Middle East.


STRING INSTRUMENT

Rebec

STRING INSTRUMENT. 13th century

Recorder

WIND INSTRUMENT

Sackbut

BRASS INSTRUMENT

Sordun

Early form of bassoon. WIND


INSTRUMENT

Theorbo

A large, 6 course bass lute. STRING


INSTRUMENT

Vihuela

A larger, waisted STRING INSTRUMENT


of Medieval and Renaissance Spain

Viol

STRING INSTRUMENTS

Violone

In 16th century it referred to any viol.


STRING INSTRUMENT

Zither

Any class of STRING INSTRUMENTS in


which the strings are stretched over and
run the length of the body that resonates

5. What is a Lhomme arm Mass?


History

One of the most important achievements in sacred music of the Early


Renaissance was the development of the cyclic mass, a setting of the
ordinary of the mass in which different sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus
and Ite Missa Est, were unified musically.
This unity came from the use of the same cantus firmus for each section of
the Mass.
In its earliest incarnation the cantus firmus came from particular sement of
plainchant
Later composers began to use secular songs and melodies of their own
invention
The way they used these melodies also changed over time: works from the
Early Renaissance tend to use the cantus firmus as a scaffolding, confining it

to a specific voice part, while composers of the Later Renaissance tend to


treat the cantus firmus as a repository of musical motives
Dufays Missa LHomme Arme is one of the earliet of the nearly 50 cyclic
Masses that use the popular secular song LHomme Arme as its cantus
firmus.

Things to NOTE

How nicely Dufay exploits the similarities between the ABA forms of both the
Kyrie and LHomme Arme melody.
The first line of LHomme Arme is the cantus firmus of the first Kyrie, the
second line, the Christe and the third line, the return of the Kyrie
The work is clearly in an early Renaissance style
As befits the style there is little to no imitation between the individual
polyphonic voices, long melismas in the vocal line and a general lack of
coordination between text and music
The words stretched out over long melismas and the text is nearly
incomprehensible
Dufay and other composers of the Early Renaissance tend to place more
importance on contrapuntal (horizontal) relationship of the individual voices
than on the harmonic relations (the vertical relations) between the individual
voices
In the other movements of the Missa LHomme Arme, Dufay uses both more
esoteric

4. The following is a quotation from a poem by Martin le Franc (c. 1410-1461).


They took all the guise
of the English and follow Dunstable
and thereby marvellous pleasingness
makes their music joyous and remarkable.

a) Name one of the composers to which he is referring.

In 1440, French poet Martin Le Franc lauded two composers, Dufay and
Binchois, whose beautiful melodies and new practice of making lively
consonance made their music better than that of all their predecessors in
France
He attributed the marvellous pleasingness of their music to the adoption of
what he called contenance angloise (English guise or quality) and their
emulation of English composer John Dunstable
A generation Johannes Tinctoris looked back to the 3 composers as the
founders of a new art
The influence of English music on Continental composers in the early 15 th
century has become a central theme of music history of this era, alongside the

development of new international style of polyphony and of polyphonic mass


cycle, both indebted to English influence
Contenance angloise
This consisted of the frequent use of harmonic thirds an sixths, often in
parallel motion, resulting in pervasive consonance with few dissonances
Other common features include preference for relatively simple melodies,
regular phrasing, primarily syllabic text-setting, and homorhythmic textures

6. Give TWO ways in which the English Reformation had an effect on music.
The Reformation

When the 16th century began, Christians were united from Poland to Spain
and from Italy to Scotland, all shared allegiance with Rome
Midcentury, this changed
European society was disrupted by the Protestant Reformation, as central and
western Europe entered a century of religious wars
Sacred music was affected
Leader of the Reformation wanted to involve worshippers more directly,
through congregational singing and services presented in the vernacular
rather than in Latin
These changes led to new types of religious music in each branch of
Protestantism
Includes the chorale and chorale settings in the Lutheran Service in the
Anglican church
The Catholic Church also took reforms, but continued to use Gregorian chant
and polyphonic masses and motets in styles that extended the tradition of
Josquins generation
3 main branches of the Reformation
o Lutheran movement, led by Martin Luther, Northern Germany and
Scandinavia
o Calvinist movement led by Jean Calvin, spread from Switzerland and
the Low Countries to France and Britain
o Church of England, organised by King Henry VIII for political reasons
but ultimately influenced by Reformation ideals

7. In what way does Palestrina's Pope Marcellus Mass fit into the spirit of
Renaissance humanism and the concerns of the Council of Trent?

According to a legend already circulation soon after his death,


Palestrina saved Polyphony from condemnation by the Council of
Trent by composing a six-voice mass that was reverent in spirit and
did not obscure the words
The work in question was Pope Marcellus Mass
After the Council of Trent ordered changes in the liturgy, Palestrina
and a colleague were commissioned to revise the official chant
books to conform to the new liturgy and purge the chants of
barisms, obscurities, contrarieties, and superfluities

8. What is a Galliard?
Renaissance musicians often grouped dances in pairs or threes
A favourite combination was a slow dance in duple meter followed by a fast
one in triple meter on the same tune
The music of the second dance being a variation of the first
The Pavan and the Galliard are one such pair, was a favourite in 16 th century
France and England
The Pavan was a stately dance in three repeated strains (AABBCC)
The more lively Galliard follows the same form with a variant of the melody

9. But let them be assured concerning consonances and dissonances that there
is a different way of considering them from that already determined, which
defends the modern manner of composition with the assent of reason and of
the senses
a. Who is the author?

b. To whom is he responding?

This passage is written by Monteverdi in response to Artusis criticism of


Monteverdis Madrigals, to be precise 9 short passages from 2 of his
Madrigals.

10. What was the Florentine Camerata?


Also known as the Camerata de Bardi, was a group of humanists, musicians,
poets and intellectuals in Late Renaissance Florence

Gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de Bardi to discuss and


guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama
After their first meeting in 1573, activity of Camerata peaked between 1577
and 1582
While propounding a revival in Greek dramatic style the Cameratas musical
experiments led to the development of the stile recitativo
In the way it facilitated the composition of dramatic music and the
development of music and the development of opera

11.What was significant about the opening of the Teatro San Cassiano in 1637?

Venice
First public opera house when it opened in 1637
Until then musical theatre depended on individual aristocratic or ecclesiastical
patrons, but now it was presented for and supported in part by the paying
public
Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, opened as the last new theatre of the
century

12.What form is used by Vivaldi in the outer movements of his concertos?


Look at sheet on Vivaldi Concerto

13. Name THREE sacred choral works by Johann Sebastian Bach

Mass in B Minor
Cantata No.147 Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben
Magnificat, for 5 voices, in D major
St. John Passion
St. Matthew Passion

14. What was Handels most important innovation in his oratorios?


History

1730s, Handel devised a new genre: the English Oratorio


The Italian Oratorio was essentially an opera on a sacred subject, presented
in a concert in a religious building
Handel had written such a work La Resurrezione (The Resurrection, 1708)
Rome.

In his English Oratorios, he continued aspects of the Italian tradition by setting


dialogue in recitative and lyrical verses in arias
The arias resemble opera arias in form, style, the nature of musical ideas,
techniques for expressing the affections

The Innovation

Handels most important innovation was his use of chorus


Italian oratorios had at most a few ensembles
Handels experience with choral music led him to give the chorus much more
prominence
He was especially influenced by the English choral tradition, which he
absorbed and extended in his Chandos Anthems and works for the Chapel
Royal
Thus, in his oratorios, the chorus makes a crucial contribution
In his choruses, Handel is a dramatist, a master of effects
He wrote for chorus in a style simpler and less consistently contrapuntal than
Bachs
He alternated passages in open fugal texture with solid blocks of harmony
and often set a melodic line in sustained notes against one in quicker rhythm
First Oratorio in English was Esther also listen to Saul

16. Which composer do we associate with Eszterhza?


Esterhaza is a palace. At the Esterhazy court, Haydn passed early 30 years in
circumstances ideal for his development as a composer.

17. Identify THREE ways in which Beethoven's symphonies differ from those by
Haydn and Mozart. Make mention of specific symphonies by Beethoven in your
answer.

19. Who composed the unfinished Symphony?


Schubert

Originally planned as a four-movement work in B minor

After a brief introductory subject played the strings without accompaniment,


the first movement presents a songlike melody
It is quite different from the typical first themes of his predecessors and less
easily fragments into motives for symphonic development
Second theme, is a relaxed, graceful melody in the style of the Landler, and
Austrian country dance
These 2 themes share 3 rhythmic ideas, which dominate the extensions that
follow each theme.
Instead of centering the development section and coda on these 2 themes, as
Haydn and Beethoven might have done, Schubert focuses on the introductory
subject
Listen to Symphony in C Major

20. What is a leitmotiv?

Wagnerian principle.
In an opera or music drama, a motive, theme or musical idea associated
with a person, thing, mood, or idea, which returns in original or altered
form throughout

21. How might Brahms be considered conservative in his style of composing?

By the early 1860s he had already become identified with a conservative view
of music, chiefly as a result of his signing a manifesto which deplored the
Neue Zeitschrifts support of the views of Liszt and Wagner
He thus became tarred with a brush in a misleading way since his
conservatism was more apparent than real
Made an offer to conduct in Vienna much more appealing as Vienna was the
centre of traditionalism

22. Which composer is most closely associated with Ragtime


Scott Joplin 1868-1917

20. What is Gesamtkunstwerk?

German, total artwork or collective artwork. Term coined by Richard Wagner


for a dramatic work in which poetry, scenic design, staging, action, and music
all work together toward one artistic expression

21. Name ONE opera by Verdi.


Aida, Nabucco

22. What are THREE influences on Debussys work?

Was greatly influenced by poetry


Debussy based his Prelude a Laprs midi dun faune Prelude to Afternoon
of a Faun (1891-94) on a symbolist poem by Mallarm
Impressionist composer
Characteristics of his style seem to accurately reflect the spirit of ethereal
paintings by Monet Impression, Sunrise (1874)
The colourful harmonies suggests Debussy was guided simply by what he
found nice to listen to rather than conforming to traditional harmonic rules
Was fond of unusual scale patterns, pentatonic scales, whole tone and
Medieval church modes

Wagner

Debussy visited Wagners opera house in 1888


Was exposed to the music of Wagner started a lifelong fascination with
Wagners music
Debussy realises the importance of chromatic mediants from Wagners music
Though the extroverted emotions in Wagners music would not be something
that Debussy perused, many of Wagners theory and opinions of opera
poured into Debussys only opera and considered to be his greatest work
Pellas et Mlisand

Exposition Universelle (or World Expo)

The World Expo brought performances by groups from around the world
Was exposed to all sorts of music
Javanese Gamelan the static harmony within the music
Russian music- sounded exotic to a European ear, use of tritones and tritone
relationships, evident in Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

23. What is characteristic about Weberns music?

Concentrated contrapuntal style in which all elements formed complex


relationships
String Trio Op.20, 1927
Close relationship between each movements formal structure and its row
structure
Symphony Op.21, 1928
Weberns later style- angular, leaping melodies, contrast of muted and
unmated strings, division and subdivision of strings
Breaking up of the essentially contrapuntal texture into thematic scraps which
suggest the influence of Debussy Impressionism
Three Little Pieces

24.Write a paragraph on The Rite of Spring.


Stravinskys distinctive style crystallised in The Rite of Spring. The subject was still
Russian but it now was an imagined fertility ritual set in prehistoric Russia, during
which an adolescent girl is chosen for sacrifice and must dance herself to death.
Although he still borrowed folk melodies, the scenario, choreography, and music
were marked by primitivism, a deliberate representation of the elemental, crude, and
uncultured, and cast aside the sophistication and stylishness of modern life and
trained artistry. The audience were shocked at the premiere, which provoked a
notorious riot. The characteristics of Stravinskys mature idiom can be heard in the
first scene, Danse des adolescents (Dance of the adolescent girls).
18. Identify THREE ways in which Beethoven's symphonies differ from those by
Haydn and Mozart. Make mention of specific symphonies by Beethoven in your
answer.

Beethoven has a constant theme running through his symphonies: e.g. Fate
theme in Beethovens symphony No.5
Beethoven starts his symphonies in new harmonic ways: e.g. Beethovens
Symphony No.1 in C starts with a C7 chord
Mozart and Haydn have small breaks between each movement in their music,
Beethoven did not and continues from 3 to 4 with no break (this had not
previously been done but became popular)
Happens also in Symphony No.5

19. What is unusual harmonically about the opening to this song by Schumann?

Chords are not in root position, lots of chromaticism


The piece is in A major, however it seems as if it is in F# minor because of the
E#.
Also use of A# in an A major piece is unusual

20. Who composed the Symphonie fantastique?

Berlioz
1830
Was always a work in which Berlioz was closely associated with

24. What is unusual about Bergs use of serialism in his Violin Concerto?

Designed the row of the Violin Concerto with 4 interlocking minor and major
triads which permits frequent references to tonal chords while using 12-tone
procedures
Piece includes evocations of a violin tuning its open strings, tonal chord
progressions, Viennese waltzes, a folk song and a Bach chorale
Structure wholly determined by 12 tone procedures

1. Strange as it may seem, however, I was unprepared for the explosion myself.
The reactions of the musicians who came to the orchestra rehearsals were
without intimation of it and the stage spectacle did not appear likely to
precipitate a riot (3%)
a. To which piece does this refer?
The Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky
b. What year did this performance take place?

1913

c. Why do you think it created a riot at its first performance?


It caused a riot as it was the most dissonant, primitive piece that the
audience would have ever heard
Rhythmic barbarism, melodic breakdown, structural breakdown

26. What is meant by the term electro-acoustic?

Term used to describe a broad range of modern classical electronic music


Explores the interaction of natural and electronically generated sounds and
effects
Term electro-acoustic refers to a process that happens in a microphone or
loudspeaker sound is transformed into electrical signals, and then
transformed from electrical form back to sound
This process is central to all electronic music because it turns sound into
something that can be shaped using electronics and computers

Electro-acoustic music grew out of the pioneering work of experimental


electronic composers of the 1940s and 1950s, such as Pierre Schaeffer he
created Musiqu Concrete

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