Classical music styles

What are all those styles we listen in classical music works?

• Cantata

  def: cantare - to sing

  A vocal composition accompanied by an instrument

• Cantabile

  def: singable

  A style of playing designed to imitate the human voice

• Concerto

  def: accord or gathering

  Instrumental composition for one or more soloist accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble

  Typical 3 movement structure (1 slow - lento/adagio, 2 fast movements - presto/allegro)

• Étude

  def: study

  Instrumental musical composition (usually short) of considerable difficulty for practicing a particular musical skill

• Fantasia

  A musical composition with roots in the art of improvisation

  Seldom follows rules of a musical form

• Fugue

  Compositional technique in two or more voices built on a subject, introduced at the beginning, it is repeated in different pitches and recurs frequently in the composition

  3 main sections (exposition, development and final entry returning to the tonic key)

• Intermezzo

  A composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities (a play, or movements in a larger musical work)

  Opera intermezzo (comic relief)

  Instrumental intermezzo

• Nocturne

  A musical composition inspired by the night

  A single movement character piece usually written for solo piano

• Prelude

  A short piece of music thought as a preface

• Overture

  Instrumental introduction to an opera, ballet or oratorio

  Romantic era: Independent and self existing instrumental works intended to be played at the head of a programme

• Rhapsody

  One-movement work which is episodic, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, color and tonality

• Scherzo

  A short composition, sometimes movement from a larger work (symphony or sonata)

  Fast moving/humorous

  Replaces the minuet as the 3rd movement (in 4 movement works)

• Serenade

  A musical work delivered in honor of someone or something

• Sonata

  def: suonare - to sound

  Literally: A piece played as opposed to a cantata ( a piece sung)

  After Baroque period: Performed by a solo instrument (most often keyboard)

  Before: Referred to a solo keyboard and another instrument

  In classical era took on increasing importance as a term: Principle of composing large -scale works

  Alongside with fugue its the two fundamental methods of organizing, interpreting and analyzing concert music

• Suite

  An ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces

  Important music form in Baroque era

  Replaced in 18th century by symphony, sonata and concerto and revived by the 19th in a different form

• Symphony

  Extended musical composition written for orchestra

  Four movements usually (first is sonata form)

• Toccata

  def: to touch

  Virtuoso piece of music typically for keyboard instrument or plucked string instrument

  Emphasizing on the dexterity of fingers