Music - Genres of Art Music

Genres of Western Classical Music 

Solo Recital 

A musical performance highlighting: 
* a single performer 
        (e.g. piano recital - Ständchen (Schubert/Liszt))
* a performer accompanied by a pianist 
        (e.g. violin recital - Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod))
        (e.g. aria - Komm, lieber Mai (Mozart))
* a performance of the works of a single composer 
        (e.g. Chopin on his 200th birthday)

Duet or duo recital

A duet has 2 performers, most often 2 singers or pianists:
* "piano duet" or "piano four hands": 2 pianists on 1 piano 
        (e.g. Schubert's Marches Militaires)
* "piano duo": 2 pianists on separate pianos
        (e.g. Mozart's Sonata K.448)
* others: 
        (e.g. Fauré's Fantaisie flute-harp duo)

In Renaissance music, a duet specifically intended as a teaching tool, to be performed by teacher and student, was called a bicinium.

Concerto 

* usually one solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra
        (e.g. Mozart's Piano Concerto No.21)
* usually has 3 movements (fast, slow, fast)


A sonata also has 3 movements (fast, slow, fast).

Symphony   

* an extended musical composition generally scored for orchestra
* many symphonies have 4 movements (fast, slow, a minuet/scherzo, fast), usually at least 1
        (e.g. Beethoven's Symphony No.2)

Symphonic poem   

- aka tone poem

* usually 1 movement in which the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting ... is illustrated
        (e.g. Sibelius's Finlandia)
* first applied by Liszt to his 13 works in this vein

Overture

* originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera

        (e.g. Prelude to Bizet's Carmen)
* Beethoven and Mendelssohn began to use the term to refer to independent instrumental works
        (e.g. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture)

Suite

* an ordered set of instrumental/concert band pieces
* they may be extracts from a ballet (Nutcracker Suite) incidental music to a play (L'Arlésienne Suites) opera film (Lieutenant Kije Suite) entirely original movements (Holberg Suite, The Planets).

* In the Baroque era the suite was more precisely defined, with the pieces unified by key, and consisting of dances usually preceded by a prelude or overture. The suite was also known as Suite de danses, Ordre (the term favored by François Couperin) or Partita. 
* In the 18th century, the term may refer to the entire suite (J.S. Bach's orchestral suites)

Missa   

A form of sacred musical composition, it is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music
* mostly in Latin for the Catholics
* also written in the languages of non-Catholic countries 
        (e.g. English for the Church of England)
* can be a cappella, or can be accompanied
* many later Masses were never intended for an actual mass

Requiem or Requiem Mass 

- aka Mass of/for the dead (Latin: Missa defunctorum / pro defunctis)
A Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons
* It is frequently celebrated in the context of a funeral.
* The Mass and its settings draw their name from the introit of the liturgy (e.g. Mozart's Requiem)

Operatic Singing

* Singing onstage, without operatic stage set-up or acting  (e.g. Muzzeta's Waltz in Puccini's La bohème)

Glossary of musical terminology 

Harmony

Harmony is the result of combining musical notes, played simultaneously to form a chord. Some chords sound dissonant (e.g. C-D, C-B), others harmonious/consonant.

In conventional tonal music, certain phrases end in “cadences”, whose common examples are:

* the perfect cadence, which sounds conclusive

* the imperfect cadence, which sounds inconclusive and demands some kind of continuation

* the plagal, which sounds serious and final and is often used for the “Amen” of a hymn.

Musical form

The two basic forms are binary (A-B) and ternary (A-B-A). 

Variants of these have the following format types:

Six format types

(1) sonata form ([optional introduction,] exposition, development, recapitulation [,optional coda])
(2) ternary form (presentation, digression, re-presentation; A-B-A)
(3) theme & variations
(4) rondo  (e.g. Mozart's Rondo for piano & orchestra)
(5) fugue (flee/chase; a theme repeated at different pitches; see Art of Fugue; e.g. Art of Fugue)
(6) ostinato (obstinate; i.e. a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout; e.g. Ravel's Boléro)

typically used format types	tempo	symphony / string quartet   (4 movements:  fast-slow-slow-fast)	concerto / sonata   (3 movements: fast-slow-fast)
(1) sonata allegro form	fast	Mvt. 1, Finale	Mvt. 1, Finale
(2) ternary form	slow	Mvt. 2, Mvt. 3 (minuet/scherzo)	Mvt. 2
(3) theme & variations	slow	Mvt. 2	Mvt. 2
(4) rondo	slow	Mvt. 2	Mvt. 2
(3) theme & variations	fast	Finale	Finale
(4) rondo	fast	Finale	Finale
(5) fugue	fast	Finale	Finale
(6) ostinato	fast	Finale	Finale

Tempo   

From slowest to fastest:

• Larghissimo – very, very slow (19 BPM and under)
• Grave – slow and solemn (20–40 BPM)
• Lento – slowly (40–45 BPM)
• Largo – broadly (45–50 BPM)
• Larghetto – rather broadly (50–55 BPM)
• Adagio – slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (55–65 BPM)
• Adagietto – rather slow (65–69 BPM)
• Andantino – slightly slower than andante (although in some cases faster) (78–83 BPM)
• Andante – at a walking pace (84–90 BPM) (about the heart rate at an average walking speed)
• Andante moderato – between andante and moderato  (90–100 BPM)
• Marcia moderato – moderately, in the manner of a march (83–85 BPM)
• Moderato – moderately (100–112 BPM)
• Allegro Moderato - moderately fast (112-116)
• Allegretto – close to but not quite allegro (116–120 BPM)
• Allegro – fast, quickly, and bright (120–160 BPM) (molto allegro is in the allegro range)
• Vivace – lively and fast (132–140 BPM)
• Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (140–150 BPM)
• Allegrissimo (or Allegro Vivace) – very fast (168–177 BPM)
• Presto – extremely fast (180–200 BPM)
• Prestissimo – even faster than Presto (200 BPM and over)

Dynamics

• Pianissimo (pp) -- Very quietly
• Piano (p) -- Quietly
• Mezzo piano (mp) -- Moderately quietly
• Mezzo forte (mf) -- Moderately loudly
• Forte (f) -- Loudly
• Fortissimo (ff) -- Very loudly 

 

Source: Wikipedia