An Outline of The History of Western Music Grout ... - The Reel Score

a) strophic aria not offered the best framework for setting poems without interfering
with their continuity
b) the composer could repeat the same melody - with perhaps a rhythmic
modification - for each stanza of poetry
(1) popular way to compose a strophic song was to base it on a standard formula
(2) most composers invented their own music for the first strophe of an aria and
then reworked it for subsequent stanzas to make it reflect the changing
stresses & emphases of the text - more important to have the melody and
harmonic elaboration express the sense and feeling of the separate lines of
the poem
3. Short Ground-bass patterns
a) chaconne - a dance-song with a refrain that followed a simple pattern of guitar
chords was probably imported into Spain from Latin America
(1) the Italian varient (ciaccona) reduced the harmonic pattern inot a bass line
(2) was not associated with any particular poetic form
b) passacaglia - originated in Spain as a ritornello - music having a certain pattern of
guitar chords played before and between the strophes of a song
(1) it too evolved into a variety of bass formulas
i) usually in triple meter and minor mode
ii) suitable for supporting instrumental or vocal variations
(2) was not associated with any particular poetic form
c) characteristic of both in the 17th century is the continuous repetition fo a four bar
formula in triple meter and slow tempo
d) the two became confused in the 18th century
F. The Concertato Medium
1. Grew out of the practice of writing out separate parts for voices and instruments - or
different groups of voices & instruments
2. Concerto - diverse & sometimes contrasting forces are brought together in a
harmonious ensemble
a) Concertato madrigal - instruments join with voices on an equal footing
b) Sacred concerto - sacred vocal work with instruments
c) Instrumental concerto - piece for various instruments, sometimes including one or
more soloists and an orchestra with several players to a part
(1) today we think of a concerto mainly as a piece for soloists and orchestra
(2) the older sense was more inclusive - 17th century concerto is not a style but a
mingling of voices with instruments that are playing independent parts
d) Stile concitato (excited style) - used for warlike sentiments and actions
(1) a prolonged rapid reiteration of a single note or series of them
(2) either with quickly spoken syllable in the voice or instrumentally as a
measured string tremolo
G. General Stylistic Trends
1. The musical style of Montverdi and his comtemporaries contained diverse elements -
some dating back to the 16th century & some new
2. Monody & madrigal were combined
3. Formal articulation was achieved through the organization of the bass & the
harmonies it supported - as well as the systematic introduction of ritornellos