Oratorio Overture
Define the term oratorio – the 3 things that make it an oratorio.
Sacred text. Can also be from Mythology, though not as often.
Not staged.
Performed in an oratory (Italian for “prayer hall”).
What is the purpose of ornamentation?
Heighten the text, show off performers virtuosity (opera), support the musical affect/mood.
What musical genre is closest to oratorio?
Opera
A cello-like instrument that is played upright between the legs but has no pin?
Viola da gamba.
What profession did Handel study before music?
Law.
What and When is The Council of Trent?
1545. Basically it’s the Catholic response to the Protestant challenges to Catholic doctrine.
What are the 2 essential Baroque ornaments?
Messa di voce and trill
What is the difference between Oratorio Latino and Oratorio Vulgare?
The language.
Latin vs Italian.
An instrument that resembles today’s piano and makes sounds by plucking strings?
Harpsichord
What are the 3 countries Handel lived?
Germany, Italy, England.
For our discussions, what was one of the main purposes of the Council of Trent?
Making text intelligible and immediate (not latin, but in the vernacular)
Separating the sacred from the secular – challenges nudity in visual art
What is a prepared trill?
Starts from above the note.
Who was the first composer who wrote German Historia, a precursor to oratorio?
Heinrich Schùtz
A continuo instrument that loosely resembles a guitar?
Theorbo
What genre of music did Handel invent?
English Oratorio
Who inaugurated in Rome a special order, the “oratorani” and established a building called “oratorio”?
Pope Phillip Neri
Define the word appoggiatura.
To lean.
Who wrote what is considered the first masterpiece of Oratorio Latino “Jepthe”?
Giaccomo Carissimi
What is the element of oratorio or opera that serves to tell the story or deliver dialog?
Recitative
Handel was born in the same year as what other composer?
J.S. Bach
Oratorio librettos were in what 2 languages?
Latin and Italian.
Is vibrato an ornament? Yes or No? and How?
Yes.
But stratight tone is not a default.
They are both used to heighten or emphasize a word, phrase, or cadence.
Define the difference between Dramatic and Narrative-Dramatic oratorio form?
Plot revealed through the characters, story telling.
Plot revealed through a narrator telling the story.
What is the difference between Baroque pitch and modern pitch?
A=415 or A=440. Basically a ½ step higher today.
Where is Handel buried?
Westminster Abbey in London.