Who can never be sure?
A tone poem by Richard Strauss telling of the adventures of a man, his squire, windmills, and some sheep
What is Don Quixote?
The part of sonata form that often features dissonance, chromaticism, sequencing, and/or fragmentation
What is the development?
First section of a double aria characterized by a slow tempo and lyrical vocal writing
What is cantabile?
Usually a one movement piece for orchestra based on an external text or image
What is a tone poem/ symphonic poem?
A musical segment that represents non-musical things, such as an object, person, or idea
What is Leitmotiv?
A three-act opera by Richard Wagner that features a famous chord many, many times
What is Tristan und Isolde?
Melodic motives that develop and change over the course of the composition; often used by Liszt
What is thematic transformation?
Second section of a double aria characterized by fast tempo and virtuosic vocal writing
What is cabaletta?
"beautiful singing"; style of composition in the first part of the 19th century that values technical perfection and vocal virtuosity
What is bel canto?
Total artwork; includes literary arts, visual arts, musical arts, and architecture
What is Gesamtkunstwerk?
A group of Russian composers whose goal was to create a distinct national sound; these composers were heavily influenced by Glinka
Who are the Mighty Five?
Motivic material is repeated with the dynamic increasing with each repetition
What is a Rossini crescendo?
The section which precedes a double aria characterized by accompanied recitative texture
What is scena?
Spoken text aligned with music, as in Der Freischütz
What is a melodrama?
A set of four full-length operas by Richard Wagner intended to be performed in four successive nights
What is Der Ring des Nibelungen?
A three-act opera by Carl Maria von Weber that features some magic bullets and a deal with the devil; considered to be one of the first German Romantic operas
What is Der Freischütz?
Using a large amount of dissonance, usually to achieve a transition from one section to another
What is chromatic saturation?
A musical structure made up of two parts that is found in Rossini's operatic compositions
What is double aria?
Bass ostinato with melodic variations over top, often in triple meter
What is a chaccone?
A style of writing characterized by a seemingly continuous melody; this is achieved by repetition, octave displacement, orchestration, fragmentation, etc
What is unendliche melodie?
"New Paths"; article published in Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1853 by R. Schumann in which Brahms is introduced to the musical community
What is "Neue Bahnen"?
Similar to thematic transformation; motivic fragment transformed over the course of a composition
What is developing variation?
A passage that interrupts the double aria; this provides a dramatic and musical contrast that leads to the cabaletta
What is tempo di mezzo?
A musical work can reflect the real world; a philosophy that emerges in the second half of the 19th century
What is Weltanschauungsmusik?
The opera house built by Wagner in Germany and dedicated solely to the performance of his works
What is Festspielhaus at Bayreuth?