Page 293 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

prima donna the leading female singer in an opera
Primitivism a style that attempts to capture the unadorned lines, raw energy, and elemental truth of non-Western art and apply it to a Modernist context
program music a piece of instrumental music, usually for symphony orchestra, that seeks to recreate in sound the events and emotions portrayed in some extra-musical source: a story, a play, an historical event, an encounter with nature, or even a painting
program symphony a symphony with the usual three, four, or five movements in which the individual movements together tell a tale or depict a succession of specific events or scenes
ragtime an early type of jazz emerging in the 1890s and characterized by a steady bass and a syncopated, jazzy melody
realistic opera opera that treats issues of everyday life in a realistic way; afflictions of the lower classes in particular are presented on stage for all to see
recapitulation in sonata–allegro form, the return to the first theme and the tonic key following the development
recital a concert of chamber music, usually for a solo performer
recitative musically heightened speech, often used in an opera, oratorio, or cantata to report dramatic action and advance the plot; often made up of rapidly repeating notes followed by one or two long notes at the ends of phrases
recitativo accompagnato recitative accompanied by the orchestra instead of merely the harpsichord; the opposite of simple recitative
rest the absence of sound in music, signaled in the score by a special sign; also, the sign or symbol that indicates a rest
retransition the end of the development section where the tonality often becomes stabilized on the dominant in preparation for the return of the tonic (and first theme) at the beginning of the recapitulation
rhythm the organization of time in music, dividing up long spans of time into smaller, more easily comprehended units; gives shape to the profile of the melody
Ring cycle a cycle of four interconnected music dramas by Richard Wagner that collectively tell the tale of a Germanic legend
ritard a progressive slowing down of the beat (and hence the tempo) in a portion of a composition
ritornello form a musical form in which all or part of the main theme (the ritornello) is played repeatedly by the tutti, with each statement separated by a virtuosic solo section played by the concertino
rondo form classical form with at least three statements of the refrain (A) and at least two contrasting sections (at least
B and C); placement of the refrain creates symmetrical patterns such as ABACA, ABACABA, or even ABACADA
rubato (Italian for “robbed”) in musical notation, an expression mark indicating that the performer may take, or steal, great liberties with the tempo
Russian Five a group of young composers (Borodin, Cui, Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Musorgsky) centered in St. Petersburg, whose aim it was to write purely Russian music free of European influence
Salzburg mountain town in Austria, birthplace of Mozart
sampling extracting a small portion of pre- recorded music and then mechanically repeating it over and over as a musical backdrop to the text of a rap song
scale an arrangement of pitches that ascends and descends in a fixed and unvarying pattern
scherzo a rapid, jovial work in triple meter often used in place of the minuet as the third movement in a string quartet or symphony
Schubertiad a social gathering for music and poetry that featured the songs and piano music of Franz Schubert
scratching manipulating the needles of one or more turntables, scratching on the vinyl of the record while other prerecorded sounds loop continually in the background
Second Viennese School three composers—Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern—who decided to take high-art music into a new atonal and, ultimately, twelve-tone style
serenade an instrumental work for a small ensemble originally intended as a light entertainment in the evening
serialmusic musicinwhichsomeimportant component—pitch, dynamics, rhythm— comes in a continually repeating series
seventh chord a chord spanning seven letter names and constructed by superimposing three thirds
sharp musical symbol that raises a pitch by a half step
shawm a double-reed woodwind instrument of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance; the precursor of the oboe
simple recitative recitative that is accompanied only by the basso continuo
sinfonia a one-movement orchestral work in three sections (fast-slow-fast) that originated in Italy as an overture to seventeenth century operas
Singspiel (German for “singing play”) a musical comedy originating in Germany with spoken dialogue, tuneful songs, and topical humor
Sistine Chapel the pope’s private chapel within his Vatican apartments
snare drum a small drum consisting of a metal cylinder covered with a skin or sheet of plastic that, when played with sticks, produces the “rat-ta-tat” sound familiar from marching bands
soft pedal the left pedal on the piano that, when depressed, shifts the position of the hammers relative to the strings, reducing the dynamic level
solo concerto a concerto in which an orchestra and a single performer in turn present and develop the musical material in the spirit of harmonious competition
sonata originally “something sounded” on an instrument as opposed to “something sung” (a “cantata”); later a multi-movement work for solo instrument, or instrument with keyboard accompaniment
sonata–allegro form a dramatic musical form of the Classical and Romantic periods involving an exposition, development, and recapitulation, with optional introduction and coda
song cycle a collection of several songs united by a common textual theme or literary idea
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