Ancient & Medieval
This was an ancient Greek string instrument (a large lyre)
What is a Kithara?
In chant, this is an effusive melisma, particularly the melisma on 'ia' in an Alleluia. It's where the rest of the choir joins the soloist.
What is the jubilus?
In Notre Dame polyphony, this is a self-contained section of an organum that closes with a cadence.
What is a clausula?
This is the first word or words of a voice part, used to create a compound title to identify a motet.
What is the incipit?
This proclamation, established religious tolerance in the Roman Empire. This tolerance directly led to the establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
What is the Edict of Milan?
This is the portion of the Catholic Mass whose text does NOT change.
What is the Ordinary?
This school of thought around the 13th century sought to reconcile classical thought (e.g. Greek philosophy) with the teachings of Christianity.
What is Scholasticism?
This is the broader umbrella term which encompasses Parallel, oblique, and free organum (but not Aquitanian).
What is discantus?
This type of music is paired with psalms, written in a specific mode, and connected to a specific day of the calendar year. It is often heard immediately preceding and immediately following a psalm tone. There are about 1,250 of them.
What is an antiphon?
This music theorist divided music into three types: musica mundana, musica humana, and musica instrumentalis?
This is a polyphonic composition for 1-4 voices, setting a Latin text which is sacred or serious, but not from the liturgy.
What is a conductus?
These 8 scales were used for classifying chants. There were four called 'authentic,' each of which was paired with a corresponding 'plagal' which shared the same final.
What are the church modes?
This was a group of ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. They did not believe in music for its own sake, but thought music could inspire divine thoughts.
Who were the Church Fathers?
This is the METHOD developed by Guido d'Arezzo of assigning syllables to steps in a scale. It is used to make it easier to identify and sing the whole tones and semitones in a melody.
What is solmization?
This is a type of music with multiple simultaneous voices. It was a way to trope a chant, and could be parallel, oblique, free, or Aquitanian.
What is organum?
This type of composition was a clausula that had been freed from its larger mass setting. Its tenor line was renamed the 'cantus firmus.'
What is the motet?
These were nine formulas for chanting psalms. They consisted of the intonation, reciting tone, mediant, reciting tone, and termination.
What were psalm tones?
This was a form of altering a chant. One could add new words and music, could add just words, or could add just music.
What is troping?
This is the approximate number of notes regularly heard on a single syllable in neumatic compositions.
What are 2-7?
This is the term for a style of performance in which a soloist alternates with a chorus.
What is responsorial?