Terms and Definitions – March 1
Additional definitions from Feb.8:
In association with Vivaldi’s Violin concerto, Op.8, No.1
program music – instrumental music that attempts to express or depict one or more non-musical
ideas, images or events
staccato – notes played in a detached fashion
tremolo – the quick and continuous reiteration of a single pitch
Terms for March 1
Chapter 8: pay particular attention to the discussions of characteristic features of Classical style
on pages171 and 178-181
Alberti bass – an accompaniment figure in which the notes of a chord are played in succession
to provide a continual stream of sound
antecedent, consequent – two musical phrases, the second of which is a concluding response to
or resolution of the first
crescendo – a gradual increase in the volume of sound
decrescendo, diminuendo – a gradual decrease in the volume of sound
Chapter 9: Classical Forms
TERNARY FORM
ternary form – a form consisting of three parts, the first and third identical or closely related,
the second contrasting to a greater or lesser degree
-the form is symbolized as ABA
MINUET AND TRIO
minuet – a light, dance-like tune in a moderate tempo
Mozart, A Little Night Music (1787) – Third movement (LG 186; CD 2/6)
serenade – an instrumental work for a small ensemble originally intended as a light
entertainment in the evening
THEME AND VARIATIONS
theme and variations – a musical form in which a theme continually returns but is varied by
changing the notes of the melody, the harmony, the rhythm, or some other feature of the music
Haydn, Symphony No.94 (1791) – Second movement
(LG 196; Intro CD/23)
coda (“tail”) – a final and concluding section of a musical composition
RONDO
rondo – a multisectional form, movement, or composition based on the principle of multiple
recurrence of a theme or section in the tonic key
-the form is symbolized as ABAC ... A
Mouret, Rondeau from Suite de symphonies (1729)
(LG 64; Intro CD/25)
SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM
sonata-allegro form – a dramatic musical form of the Classical and Romantic periods involving
and exposition, development and recapitulation, with optional introduction and coda
-you will need to become familiar with the individual sections of the sonata-allegro form; study
closely the discussion and diagram found on pages 188-190
Mozart, A Little Night Music (1787) – First movement (LG 191; CD 2/5)
FOUR-MOVEMENT STRUCTURE
Movement
Form
Key
I
II
Sonata
Aria or Sonata or
Theme and Variations
Minuet and Trio
Rondo or Sonata
Tonic
Dominant or Subdominant or
Relative minor
Tonic (Trio is sometimes in different key)
Tonic
III
IV