This texture, featuring multiple voices of equal importance moving independently, became a hallmark of Renaissance music.
What is polyphony?
This composer of the Brandenburg Concertos was known for his mastery of counterpoint.
Who is Johann Sebastian Bach?
This Austrian composer wrote Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Who is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
This composer is known for his “Symphonie fantastique.”
Who is Hector Berlioz?
This early 20th-century composer shocked audiences with The Rite of Spring.
Who is Igor Stravinsky?
This invention by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450 helped spread musical ideas more widely.
What is the printing press?
This composer spent much of his career at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and was known for his Gloria and sacred choral works.
Who is Antonio Vivaldi?
The Classical period emphasized clarity, balance, and this type of texture.
What is homophony?
Chopin wrote almost exclusively for this instrument.
What is the piano?
This school of composition, associated with Schoenberg, used a 12-tone system.
What is serialism?
The secular vocal form that flourished in Italy and later England, often set to love poetry, was called this.
What is the madrigal?
This keyboard instrument plucks strings rather than striking them.
What is the harpsichord?
The typical Classical symphony has this many movements.
What is four?
This term describes music that tells a story or paints a picture.
What is program music?
Jazz emerged in this U.S. city in the early 1900s.
What is New Orleans?
This early form of notation used square notes on a four-line staff, inherited from the Medieval era.
What is neumatic notation?
Handel’s Messiah is an example of this large-scale sacred vocal form.
What is an oratorio?
This composer bridged the Classical and Romantic eras with works like his Eroica Symphony.
Who is Ludwig van Beethoven?
Romantic composers like Dvořák and Smetana often incorporated folk music to express this cultural idea.
What is nationalism?
This French composer used whole-tone scales and blurred harmonies in works like Clair de Lune.
Who is Claude Debussy?
This Council (1545–1563) led the Catholic Church to call for clearer text setting in sacred music, influencing composers like Palestrina.
What is the Council of Trent?
This term describes a short repeated bass line that serves as the foundation for variation.
What is a basso ostinato?
The sonata form includes three main sections: exposition, development, and this.
What is recapitulation?
Wagner’s term for a recurring musical idea representing a person or concept.
What is a leitmotif?
This American composer wrote Rollin' Through the 3's, a popular jazz tune.
Who is Evan Robert Baxter?