Opening and Elements, The Middle Ages, Renaissance
Exam Study Guide
To prepare for this first test you have been given the following
challenges:
In order for you to be successful on the first exam you need to know the
right questions to ask yourself. The
most difficult task is to know what questions to apply to the listening examples. What follows here are a few questions for
you to consider for each listening examples and then a list of terms from the
lectures, text, and web assignments for you to be familiar with. I will take the majority of my questions from
the material listed below.
First let’s look at the listening examples. There are twelve of them. If you have not listened to them to this
point, you have a challenge and time is running short.
We will now go through them and ask questions that you can answer by
reading your text, checking your notes,
and listening to the music.
There are general questions that you should ask first.
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
Who wrote this work?
What musical period did he work?
What is the purpose of the work?
Listen to each section and identify what instruments Mr. Britten is
emphasizing in those sections.
What form is this work?
Gregorian Chant, Organum, and Motet.
Gregorian Chant: Kyrie
Specifically where does the text come from?
What part of the Mass does this text fit? (proper or ordinary)
What particular date on the religious calendar does this chant get
performed?
Is this chant antiphonal or responsorial
Is this chant syllabic, neumatic,
or melismatic?
What do the terms above mean?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Organum: Gaude Maria Virgo
When was this example written?
Where might this example have been written and what is the name of the
school that grew out of this tradition?
Who was the famous composer who helped to develop this style?
What musical texture is this piece? Monophonic, polyphonic or
homophonic?
In which voice do you find the original chant melody? Upper or Lower?
What is the musical term for the original chant melody?
How far does this example take you through the original text of “Haec
Dies?”
What can you surmise about the length of this chant?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Motet: Acun se sont loe/A Dieu/Super te
What is a motet?
When was this composed?
How many voices are present?
How many texts are present?
What texture is this piece?
Is this a sacred or secular motet?
In which voice do you find the original chant melody?
To whom is this motet’s text dedicated?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Alleluia: O virga mediatrix: Hildegard Von Bingen
What is the genre of this work?
Mass part, religious play, prayer, motet?
Is this chant syllabic, neumatic, or melismatic?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
What type of service would this have been used
Ce fut en Mai by Moniot D’Arras
Is this a secular or sacred song?
Who would have sung this song?
Where would this song have been sung? (Castle Hall, street, church)
Is this song through composed
or strophic?
What is the difference in rhythm between this example and the Gregorian
Chant Haec Dies?
What is this song about?
What is the French name for this type of piece?
Where in
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Puis qu’en oubli
When was this piece composed?
What genre is this piece?
What “formes fixes” did this work fall under?
What are the ‘formes fixes.”
What is this song about?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Does this piece come from the early or late part of its compositional
era?
Who wrote this work?
Royal estampie No. 4
What was the purpose for this piece?
What are the instruments that are in your recording? Make sure you view
these instrument on our website.
What texture is this piece?
What is a drone?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Du Fay: L’homme arme’ Mass Kyrie
Is the Kyrie section of the mass from the proper or the ordinary divisions?
What language is
the Kyrie portion of the mass?
What song is the
basis of this Mass movement?
What is the name of
the “original voice” of such a setting?
What does the text
mean in English?
For what purpose
was this Mass probably written?
Why are each of the
sections of text repeated thrice?
Which of the three
sections of this text are considered the most personal plea?
What texture is
this piece?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
Josquin Des Prez: Ave Maria…virgo serena
What is the genre of this work?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
To whom is this work dedicated?
What texture is this work?
Where during the
Mass would this work be performed?
What compositional
technique is employed in this work?
What is different
in the sound of this work from that of the Dufay Kyrie?
Palestrina Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria
When was this work published?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance
What is notable about the composer?
How many main sections is this text divided?
What is the music texture?
What is the name of the introduction sung by the priest or the cantor?
How many voice parts are written into this piece?
Is this movement a part of the ordinary
or proper of the MASS?
What event in church history elevated this composer’s career?
Where did this composer work?
Josquin: Mille regretz
What type of piece is this?
What is this piece based upon?
Describe the texture.
How many voices are present.
Susato: Pavane: Mille regretz
What instruments are playing here?
What is a Pavane?
How would this piece have been used?
Listening Guide 11: Claudio Monteverdi: A un giro sol
When was this work composed?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
What is the genre of this piece?
Is this piece secular or sacred?
What is this piece about?
What compositional technique does this composer use to make the text
come alive in the music?
What is the texture of this work?
Where would this piece be performed?
Listening Guide 12: Farmer: Fair Phyllis
When was this published?
Does this piece come from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance?
What is the genre of this work?
What is the texture of this work?
What is this piece about?
What technique does the composer use to amplify the meaning of certain
words?
What words does the composer amplify with music?
Is this piece sacred or secular?
Where would this piece be performed?
Now that you
have answered a few questions about the listening you should consider knowing
as much as possible about the following terms?
melody
rhythm
harmony
range
shape
conjunct
disjunct
phrase
climax
inconclusive cadence
conclusive cadence
meter
beat
staff
measure
metrical patterns
duple meter
triple meter
quadruple meter
compound relationship
simple relationship
sub-beat
syncopation
polyrhythm
additive meter
non-metric
the rhythm tree (as shown in the appendix of the book)
half note
whole note
quarter note
eighth note
sixteenth note
interval
chord
triad
tonality
major harmony
minor harmony
a tonal
serial music
diatonic
chromatic
consonance
dissonance
monophonic
polyphonic
heterophony
homophonic
counterpoint
imitation
canon
retrograde
retrograde-inversion
inversion
augmentation
diminution
form
ternary
binary
theme and variation
rondo
thematic development
sequence
motive
ostinato
call and response music
grave
largo
adagio
andante
moderato
allegro
presto
molto
meno
poco
non troppo
accelerando
ritardando
a tempo
dynamics
tempo
piano
pianissimo
mezzo piano
forte
fortissimo
mezzo forte
crescendo
decrescendo
pitch
duration
volume
timbre
the levels of active listening
(this term is "molto importante")
soprano
alto
tenor
bass
woodwind
brass
percussion
strings
all of the instruments of the orchestra listed in your reading
All of the
instruments listed on the medieval ages instruments pages
Organ
harpsichord
tracker action organ
chorus
choir
chamber choir
orchestra
wind ensemble
band
jazz band
marching band
musical style
middle ages
Romanesque
gothic
renaissance
baroque
rococo
classical
romantic
post romantic
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus et Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Ordinary of the Mass
Proper of the Mass
The rise of the monasteries
Chanson de Roland
Divine Comedy
Liber Usualis
Divine Offices
Matins
Lauds
Prime
Terce
Sext
None
Vespers
Compline
Gregorian chant
syllabic
Neumatic
melismatic
responsorial chant
antiphonal chant
Organum
Notre Dame organum
discant
clausulae
motet
Leonin
Perotin
Notre Dame
Cantus Firmus
Quadruplum
Triplum
Duplum
Tenor
Bass
Morality Play
Hildegard von Bingen
Jongeleurs
Troubadour
Trouvere
Minnesinger
Alfonso the Wise of Spain
Richard the Lion Hearted
psaltry
dulcimer
vielle
strophic form
Ars Antiqua
Ars Nova
isorhythmic motet
color
talea
carol
rebec
vielle
lute
harp
recorder
shawm
crumhorn
cornetto
sackbutt
slide trumpet
trumpet
organs
clavichord
tabor
tambourine
saltarello
sectional
drone
word painting
mysticism
Dufay
Requiem Mass
Josquin Des Prez
Martin Luther
Giovanni Palestrina
Chanson
Madrigal
Ockeghem
Pavanne
saltarello
goliard
Allemande
Ronde
Musica Transalpina
John Farmer
Test Format:
Your test will
consist of 50 questions over the Listening Assignments and 50 questions over
the