cabaletta In the operatic scene structure developed by Gioachino Rossini in the early nineteenth century, the last part of an ARIA or ENSEMBLE, which was lively and brilliant and expressed active feelings, such as joy or despair. See also CANTABILE and TEMPO DI MEZZO.
cabaret Type of nightclub, first introduced in nineteenth-century Paris, that offered serious or comic sketches, dances, songs, and poetry.
caccia (Italian, "hunt"; pronounced CAH-cha; pl. cacce) Fourteenth-century Italian FORM featuring two voices in CANON over a free untexted TENOR.
cadence MELODIC or HARMONIC succession that closes a musical PHRASE, PERIOD, section, or COMPOSITION.
cadenza (Italian, "cadence") Highly embellished passage, often IMPROVISED, at an important CADENCE, usually occurring just before the end of a piece or section.
café-concert Type of dining establishment, prominent in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Paris, that combined the food and drink of a café with musical entertainment, usually songs on sentimental, comic, or political topics.
call and response Alternation of short PHRASES between a leader and a group; used especially for music in the African-American tradition.
cambiata (Italian, "changed") Figure in sixteenth-century POLYPHONY in which a voice skips down from a DISSONANCE to a CONSONANCE instead of resolving by STEP, then moves to the expected NOTE of resolution.
Camerata (Italian, "circle" or "association") Circle of intellectuals and amateurs of the arts that met in Florence, Italy, in the 1570s and 1580s.
canon (Latin, "rule") (1) Rule for performing music, particularly for deriving more than one voice from a single line of notated music, as when several voices sing the same MELODY, entering at certain intervals of time or singing at different speeds simultaneously. (2) COMPOSITION in which the voices enter successively at determined pitch and time intervals, all performing the same MELODY.
cantabile (Italian, "songlike") (1) Songful, lyrical, in a songlike style. (2) In the operatic scene structure developed by Gioachino Rossini in the early nineteenth century, the first section of an ARIA or ENSEMBLE, somewhat slow and expressing a relatively calm mood. See also CABELETTA and TEMPO DI MEZZO.
cantata (Italian, "to be sung") (1) In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a vocal chamber work with CONTINUO, usually for solo voice, consisting of several sections or MOVEMENTS that include RECITATIVES and ARIAS and setting a lyrical or quasi-dramatic text. (2) Form of Lutheran church music in the eighteenth century, combining poetic texts with texts drawn from CHORALES or the Bible, and including RECITATIVES, ARIAS, chorale settings, and usually one or more CHORUSES. (3) In later eras, a work for soloists, CHORUS, and ORCHESTRA in several MOVEMENTS but smaller than an ORATORIO.
canticle HYMN-like or PSALM-like passage from a part of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms.
cantiga Medieval MONOPHONIC song in Spanish or Portuguese.
cantilena (Latin, "song") POLYPHONIC song not based on a CANTUS FIRMUS; used especially for polyphonic songs by English composers of the late thirteenth through early fifteenth centuries.
cantillation Chanting of a sacred text by a solo singer, particularly in the Jewish synagogue.
cantional style (from Latin cantionale, "songbook") Manner of setting CHORALES in CHORDAL HOMOPHONY with the MELODY in the highest voice.
cantor In Jewish synagogue music, the main solo singer. In the medieval Christian church, the leader of the CHOIR.
cantus (Latin, "melody") In POLYPHONY of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, the highest voice, especially the texted voice in a polyphonic song.
cantus firmus (Latin, "fixed melody") An existing MELODY, often taken from a GREGORIAN CHANT, on which a new POLYPHONIC work is based; used especially for MELODIES presented in long NOTES.
cantus-firmus mass POLYPHONIC MASS in which the same CANTUS FIRMUS is used in each MOVEMENT, normally in the TENOR.
cantus-firmus/imitation mass POLYPHONIC MASS in which each MOVEMENT is based on the same polyphonic work, using that work's TENOR (sometimes the SUPERIUS) as a CANTUS FIRMUS, normally in the tenor, and borrowing some elements from the other voices of the model to use in the other voices of the mass.
cantus-firmus variations Instrumental GENRE of the late 1500s and early 1600s, comprising a set of VARIATIONS in which the MELODY repeats with little change but is surrounded by different CONTRAPUNTAL material in each variation.
canzona (canzon) (Italian, "song") (1) Sixteenth-century Italian GENRE, an instrumental work adapted from a CHANSON or composed in a similar style. (2) In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, an instrumental work in several contrasting sections, of which the first and some of the others are in IMITATIVE COUNTERPOINT.
canzonetta, canzonet (Italian, "little song") Sixteenth-century Italian (and later English) song GENRE in a simple, mostly HOMOPHONIC style. Diminutive of CANZONA.
capriccio (Italian, "whim") (1) In the BAROQUE PERIOD, a FUGAL piece in continuous IMITATIVE COUNTERPOINT. (2) In the nineteenth century, a short COMPOSITION in free FORM, usually for PIANO.
carol English song, usually on a religious subject, with several stanzas and a BURDEN, or REFRAIN. From the fifteenth century on, most carols are POLYPHONIC.
carole Medieval circle or line dance, or the MONOPHONIC song that accompanied it.
castrati (sing. castrato) Male singers who were castrated before puberty to preserve their high vocal RANGE, prominent in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, especially in OPERA.
catch English GENRE of CANON, usually with a humorous or ribald text.
cauda (Latin, "tail"; pl. caudae) MELISMATIC passage in a POLYPHONIC CONDUCTUS.
centonization (from Latin cento, "patchwork") A process of composing a new MELODY by combining standard MOTIVES and formulas, used in BYZANTINE CHANT.
chacona (Italian, ciaccona) A vivacious dance-song imported from Latin America into Spain and then into Italy, popular during the seventeenth century
chaconne (or ciaccona) BAROQUE GENRE derived from the CHACONA, consisting of VARIATIONS over a BASSO CONTINUO.
chamber sonata See SONATA DA CAMERA.
chance Approach to composing music pioneered by John Cage, in which some of the decisions normally made by the composer are instead determined through random procedures, such as tossing coins. Chance differs from INDETERMINACY but shares with it the result that the sounds in the music do not convey an intention and are therefore to be experienced only as pure sound.
chanson (French, "song"; pronounced shanh-SONH) Secular song with French words; used especially for POLYPHONIC songs of the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries.
chanson de geste (French, "song of deeds") Type of medieval French epic recounting the deeds of national heroes, sung to MELODIC formulas.
chansonnier (French, "songbook") Manuscript collection of secular songs with French words; used both for collections of MONOPHONIC TROUBADOUR and TROUVèRE songs and for collections of POLYPHONIC songs.
chant (1) Unison unaccompanied song, particularly that of the Latin LITURGY (also called PLAINCHANT). (2) The repertory of unaccompanied liturgical songs of a particular RITE.
chant dialect One of the repertories of ecclesiastical CHANT, including GREGORIAN, BYZANTINE, AMBROSIAN, and OLD ROMAN CHANT.
chapel A group of salaried musicians and clerics employed by a ruler, nobleman, church official, or other patron, who officiate at and furnish music for religious services.
character piece A piece of CHARACTERISTIC MUSIC, especially one for PIANO.
characteristic (or descriptive) music Instrumental music that depicts or suggests a mood, personality, or scene, usually indicated in its title.
charts In postwar POPULAR MUSIC, weekly rankings of songs by sales or other measures of popularity.
choir A group of singers who perform together, singing either in unison or in parts. Used especially for the group that sings in a religious service.
choral society Amateur CHORUS whose members sing for their own enjoyment and may pay dues to purchase music, pay the CONDUCTOR, and meet other expenses.
chorale (pronounced ko-RAL) STROPHIC HYMN in the Lutheran tradition, intended to be sung by the congregation.
chorale motet CHORALE setting in the style of a sixteenth-century MOTET.
chorale prelude Relatively short setting for organ of a CHORALE MELODY, used as an introduction for congregational singing or as an interlude in a Lutheran church service.
chorale variations A set of VARIATIONS on a CHORALE MELODY.
chord Three or more simultaneous NOTES heard as a single entity. In TONAL music, three or more notes that can be arranged as a succession of thirds, such as a TRIAD.
chorus (1) Group of singers who perform together, usually with several singers on each part. (2) A MOVEMENT or passage for such a group in an ORATORIO, OPERA, or other multimovement work. (3) The REFRAIN of a POPULAR SONG. (4) In JAZZ, a statement of the HARMONIC PROGRESSION of the opening tune, over which one or more instruments play variants or new musical ideas.
chromatic (from Greek chroma, "color") (1) In ancient Greek music, adjective describing a TETRACHORD comprising a minor third and two SEMITONES, or a MELODY that uses such tetrachords. (2) Adjective describing a melody that uses two or more successive semitones in the same direction, a SCALE consisting exclusively of semitones, an INTERVAL or CHORD that draws NOTES from more than one DIATONIC scale, or music that uses many such melodies or chords.
chromatic saturation The appearance of all twelve PITCH-CLASSES within a segment of music.
chromaticism The use of many NOTES from the CHROMATIC SCALE in a passage or piece.
church calendar In a Christian RITE, the schedule of days commemorating special events, individuals, or times of year.
church sonata See SONATA DA CHIESA.
ciaccona See CHACONA.
Classic period In music history, the era from about 1730 to about 1815, between and overlapping the BAROQUE and ROMANTIC PERIODS.
classical music (1) Common term for ART MUSIC of all PERIODS, as distinct from POPULAR MUSIC or FOLK MUSIC. (2) Music in the tradition of the repertoire of musical masterworks that formed in the nineteenth century, including lesser works in the same GENRES (such as OPERA, ORATORIO, SYMPHONY, SONATA, STRING QUARTET, and ART SONG) or for the same performing forces and newly composed works intended as part of the same tradition. (3) Music in the CLASSIC PERIOD.
classical style Musical idiom of the eighteenth century, generally characterized by an emphasis on MELODY over relatively light accompaniment; simple, clearly articulated harmonic plans; PERIODIC phrasing; clearly delineated FORMS based on contrast between THEMES, between KEYS, between stable and unstable passages, and between sections with different functions; and contrasts of mood, style, and figuration within MOVEMENTS as well as between them.
clausula (Latin, "clause," pl. clausulae) In NOTRE DAME POLYPHONY, a self-contained section of an ORGANUM that closes with a CADENCE.
clavecin French term for HARPSICHORD. A person who performs on or composes works for the clavecin is known as a clavecinist.
clavichord Keyboard instrument popular between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. The loudness, which depends on the force with which a brass blade strikes the strings, is under the direct control of the player.
clos See OPEN AND CLOSED ENDINGS.
coda (Italian, "tail") A supplementary ending to a COMPOSITION or MOVEMENT; a concluding section that lies outside the FORM as usually described. .
collage Work or passage that uses multiple QUOTATIONS without following a standard procedure for doing so, such as QUODLIBET or medley.
collegium musicum An association of amateurs, popular during the BAROQUE PERIOD, who gathered to play and sing together for their own pleasure. Today, an ensemble of university students that performs early music.
color (Latin rhetorical term for ornament, particularly repetition, pronounced KOH-lor) In an ISORHYTHMIC COMPOSITION, a repeated MELODIC pattern, as opposed to the repeating rhythmic pattern (the TALEA).
coloratura Florid vocal ORNAMENTATION.
Communion Item in the MASS PROPER, originally sung during communion, comprising an ANTIPHON without verses.
composition The act or process of creating new pieces of music, or a piece that results from this process and is substantially similar each time it is performed; usually distinguished from IMPROVISATION and performance.
concert band Large ENSEMBLE of winds, brass, and percussion instruments that performs seated in concert halls, like an ORCHESTRA.
concert étude See éTUDE
concertato medium (from Italian concertare, "to reach agreement") In seventeenth-century music, the combination of voices with one or more instruments, where the instruments do not simply double the voices but play independent parts.
concerted madrigal Early-seventeenth-century type of MADRIGAL for one or more voices accompanied by BASSO CONTINUO and in some cases by other instruments.
concerto (from Italian concertare, "to reach agreement") (1) In the seventeenth century, ENSEMBLE of instruments or of voices with one or more instruments, or a work for such an ensemble. (2) COMPOSITION in which one or more solo instruments (or instrumental group) contrasts with an ORCHESTRAL ENSEMBLE. See also SOLO CONCERTO, CONCERTO GROSS, and ORCHESTRAL CONCERTO.
concerto grosso Instrumental work that exploits the contrast in sonority between a small ENSEMBLE of solo instruments (concertino), usually the same forces that appeared in the TRIO SONATA, and a large ENSEMBLE (RIPIENO or concerto grosso).
concitato See STILE CONCITATO.
conductor A person who leads a performance, especially for an ORCHESTRA, BAND, CHORUS, or other large ENSEMBLE, by means of gestures.
conductus A serious medieval song, MONOPHONIC or POLYPHONIC, setting a rhymed, rhythmic Latin poem.
conjunct (1) In ancient Greek music, adjective used to describe the relationship between two TETRACHORDS when the bottom NOTE of one is the same as the top note of the other. (2) Of a MELODY, consisting mostly of STEPS.
conservatory School that specializes in teaching music.
consonance INTERVAL or CHORD that has a stable, harmonious sound. Compare DISSONANCE.
consort English name (current ca. 1575-1700) for a group of instruments, either all of one type (called a full consort), such as a consort of VIOLS, or of different types (called a broken consort).
consort song RENAISSANCE English GENRE of song for voice accompanied by a CONSORT of VIOLS.
contenance angloise (French, "English guise") Characteristic quality of early-fifteenth-century English music, marked by pervasive CONSONANCE with frequent use of HARMONIC thirds and sixths, often in parallel motion.
continuo BASSO CONTINUO.
continuo instruments Instruments used to REALIZE a BASSO CONTINUO, such as HARPSICHORD, organ, LUTE, or THEORBO.
contrafact In JAZZ, a new MELODY composed over a HARMONIC PROGRESSION borrowed from another song.
contrafactum (Latin, "counterfeit"; pl. contrafacta) The practice of replacing the text of a vocal work with a new text while the music remains essentially the same; or the resulting piece.
contrapuntal Employing COUNTERPOINT, or two or more simultaneous MELODIC lines.
contratenor (Latin, "against the tenor") In fourteenth- and fifteenth-century POLYPHONY, voice composed after or in conjunction with the TENOR and in about the same RANGE, helping to form the HARMONIC foundation.
contratenor altus, contratenor bassus (Latin) In fifteenth-century POLYPHONY, CONTRATENOR parts that lie relatively high (ALTUS) or low (BASSUS) in comparison to the TENOR. Often simply written as "altus" or "bassus," these are the ancestors of the vocal ranges ALTO and BASS.
cornett Wind instrument of hollowed-out wood or ivory, with finger holes and a cup mouthpiece, blown like a brass instrument.
counterpoint The combination of two or more simultaneous MELODIC lines according to a set of rules.
country music (also known as country-and-western) A type of POPULAR MUSIC associated primarily with white southerners, that blends elements of FOLK MUSIC, POPULAR SONG, and other traditions.
couplet In a RONDO or seventeenth- or eighteenth-century RONDEAU, one of several PERIODS or passages that alternate with the REFRAIN.
courante A DANCE in BINARY FORM, in triple METER at a moderate tempo and with an upbeat, featured as a standard MOVEMENT of the BAROQUE dance SUITE.
court ballet Seventeenth-century French GENRE, an extensive musical-dramatic work with costumes, scenery, poetry, and dance that featured members of the court as well as professional dancers.
courtly love See FINE AMOUR.
Credo (Latin, "I believe") Third of the five major musical items in the MASS ORDINARY, a creed or statement of faith.
crumhorn RENAISSANCE wind instrument, with a double reed enclosed in a cap so the player's lips do not touch the reed.
cumulative form FORM used by Charles Ives and others in which the principal THEME appears in its entirety only at the end of a work, preceded by its DEVELOPMENT.
cycle A group of related works, comprising MOVEMENTS of a single larger entity. Examples include cycles of CHANTS for the MASS ORDINARY, consisting of one setting each of the KYRIE, GLORIA, SANCTUS, and AGNUS DEI (and sometimes also Ite, missa est); the POLYPHONIC MASS cycle of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries; and the SONG CYCLE of the nineteenth century.
W. W. Norton & Company | Credits | Site Feedback | Technical Support | Print This Page