Composers
Vocab
Vocab
Vocab
Voice Types
100

This composer was ordained as a Priest, taught at a girls school where they taught the arts. His most famous piece is "The Four Seasons"

Who is Vivaldi?

100

Comic operas with a light-hearted storyline that often have happy endings.

What is opera buffa?

100

Considered the first great opera.

What is Orfeo (L'Orfeo)?

100

The text of an opera.

What is a libretto?

100

The highest female singing voice.

What is the soprano?

200

This composer wrote music at an extraordinary rate. He was a master at counterpoint and the fugue.

Who is Bach?

200

A keyboard instrument invented at the end of the Baroque era whose original name meant "soft-loud" in Italian.

What is the piano?

200

A single piece of vocal music used for congregational singing in religious services that is easy to sing and remember.

What is a chorale?

200

Operas with serious content and plots. They often end in tragedy.

What is Opera Seria?

200

The highest male singing voice.

What is the countertenor?

300

This composers was a master of Italian Opera and the English oratorio. His most renowned oratorio is The Messiah.

Who is Handel? 

300

A drama sung to an orchestral accompaniment, with staging, acting, and scenery.

What is an opera?

300

A composition for instrumental soloist/s and orchestra, usually in three movements: fast, slow, fast.

What is a concerto?

300

A composition in several movements for one to eight instruments.

What is a sonata?

300

The middle singing voice type for women.

What is the mezzo-soprano?

400

This composer is considered one of the greatest English composers. He is buried underneath the organ of Westminster Abbey.

Who is Purcell?

400

A polyphonic composition based on one central theme, called a "subject."

What is a fugue?
400

A large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra with no acting, scenery, or costumes. Although the text is sacred, it is not usually intended for use in worship.

What is an oratorio?

400

A musical setting of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus based on the accounts taken from The New Testament.

What is a passion?

400

The most common adult male voice.

What is the tenor?

500

This composer comes from the early Baroque era. He wrote the first great opera, L'Orfeo.

Who is Monteverdi?

500

The intellectual and philosophical movement of the 17th and 18th century.

What is the Age of Enlightenment?

500

A work for voices and instruments that is not staged, can vary in ensemble size, and may be secular or sacred.

What is a cantata?

500

An academic society of nobles, poets, and composers who met in the late 1500s for musical discussions.

What is the camerata?

500

The lowest male singing voice.

What is the bass?