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Glossary
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Allegro
Used chiefly as musical direction, it indicates a
quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be
faster than allegretto but slower than presto.
Andantino
An indication to play with a slow, moderate
tempo. Andantino is slightly faster than ‘andante’
but slower than ‘moderato’.
Cadenza
An extended solo passage, usually placed near the
end of a piece, which is either improvised by the
performer or written out by the composer.
Historically, cadenzas provided soloists with a
chance for virtuoso display, and allowed
composers a way to generate momentum before
the end of the composition.
Concerto
Like many musical terminologies, the word
‘concerto’ differs in its meaning across musical
history. The Classical form to which these notes
refer used the following basic structure: a first
movement, usually composed in sonata form (see
below), a slower, quieter second movement, and a
third faster and more virtuosic movement to end
the piece.
Contrapuntal
Since the Renaissance period in European music,
much music which is considered contrapuntal has
been written in imitative counterpoint. This is
where two or more voices enter at different times,
and (especially when entering) each voice repeats
some version of the same melodic element.
Courante
A dance of Italian origin marked by quick
running steps. A courante is performed in quick
triple time or in a mixture of 3⁄2 and 6⁄4 time.
Fugue
From the Latin meaning flight –the fugue is a
composition written for several independent
parts. It begins with the main theme after which
the other parts are gradually introduced, build
and are layered on ‘top’ of one another.
Minuet
French dance, originally from Poitou, introduced
at the court of Louis XIV in 1650. It became
popular during the 17th and 18th cent. In 3–4
meter and moderate tempo, the minuet was
performed by open couples who made graceful
and precise glides and steps. The minuet left a
refined but definite imprint on music; it is found
in the operatic sinfonias of Alessandro Scarlatti
and appears frequently as a movement in the
symphonies and sonatas of Haydn and Mozart.
Molto
The word Molto means much or very, so ‘allegro
molto’ would mean ‘to play very fast’.
Moto Perpetuo
Literally translated as ‘perpetual motion’. Moto
Perpetuo is a term used to describe rapidly
executed and persistently maintained figuration.
Movement
A separate section of a larger composition.
Opus number
A number assigned to an individual composition
or set of compositions in order to help identify
works.
Oratorio
An extended musical setting of a sacred text
made up of dramatic, narrative and
contemplative elements. Except for a greater
emphasis on the chorus throughout much of its
history, the musical forms and styles of the
oratorio tend to approximate to those of opera in
any given period, and the normal manner of
performance is that of a concert (without scenery,
costumes or action). The oratorio was most
extensively cultivated in the 18th and 19th
centuries.
Overture
An instrumental composition planned especially
as an introduction to an extended work, such as
an opera or oratorio. The earliest Italian opera
overtures were simply pieces of orchestral music
and were called ‘sinfonie’. Later the overture
begun to foreshadow the themes and melodic
strands of the subsequent larger work and in the
19th and 20th Centuries, the overture became a
potpourri of the work’s proceeding tunes, played
as a teaser.
Presto
This Italian tempo marking means ‘very fast,’
approximately 168 - 200 beats per minute.
Scherzo
A vigorous, light, or playful composition,
developed from the minuet, with a contrastive
middle section.
Symphony
An extended musical composition in Western
classical music, scored almost always for
orchestra. Many symphonies are tonal works in
four movements, which is often described by
music theorists as the structure of a classical
symphony, although many symphonies by the
acknowledged classical masters of the form,
Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and
Ludwig van Beethoven do not conform to this
model.