Dictionary of Music - Birding America

182 hichirikifourth, which are separated by a half tone. On thepiano, it is represented by the white keys from C toA, or in solmization, by the syllables do (or ut), re,mi, fa, sol, la, regardless on which pitch the seriesbegins. This is the so-called natural hexachord; thesoft hexachord is F–G–A–B♭–C–D, and the hardhexachord is G–A–B–C–D–E. The hexachord wasoften used as a cantus firmus (a fixed melody towhich other voice-parts are added), particularly incompositions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.It was used for Masses (by Palestrina and others),madrigals, and, perhaps most notably, for keyboardand other instrumental pieces. An outstandingexample of a keyboard work based on the hexachordis John Bull’s Fantasia on Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. 2 InSERIAL MUSIC, a set of six different pitch classes.Usually the term refers to either the first or the secondset of a twelve-tone series.hichirikihi fiSee under GAGAKU.See HIGH FIDELITY.high fidelity Also, hi fi. The technique of recordingmusic on records, tape, film and of playing itback on phonographs, tape recorders, etc. in a waythat sounds as much as possible like the original performance.The term originated about 1930 and isheard less often today.highlife A West African dance music that firstappeared in the early 1900s and became one of themost popular African styles of the century. Its namecomes from the fact that it was associated with highliving. The music is a blend of African, African-American, and European idoms, from such diversesources as Yoruba songs and Western band music. Itis usually in simple duple meter (any meter in whichthere are two beats per measure, such as 2/4) butis sometimes in 4/4 or, more rarely, in 6/8 meter. It isin strict tempo, the rhythm being provided by claves,castanets, drums, and maracas. The melodies, nearlyalways in the major mode, are catchy songs, withlyrics in various African languages as well asEnglish, and subject matter covering a broad range.hi-hat cymbalsSee under CYMBALS.hillbilly music A somewhat disparaging name forthe COUNTRY MUSIC of the southern AppalachianMountains.Hindemith (hin′də mit), Paul (poul), 1895–1963. A German composer who became one ofthe most influential musical figures of the first halfof the twentieth century. Hindemith left Germanyfor Switzerland and then the United States, andbecame a U.S. citizen. In 1953 he went to Switzerland,where he remained until his death. In morethan forty years as a composer, Hindemith developedvarious styles. His early works, suchas Suite 1922 for piano, reflect his rebellionagainst the nineteenth-century romantic tradition,expressed mainly in his use of dissonant harmonies.Gradually he began to adopt elements ofthe music of earlier periods, particularly the counterpointof the baroque and the polyphony of theRenaissance. Active as a teacher and theorist, Hindemithwas also an excellent violist, and he beganto write for older instruments (such as the violad’amore) and to perform in and direct presentationsof early music. At the same time Hindemithformed new views concerning the composer’splace in society, coming to believe that musicshould be directed to the people who listen to itand perform it, not just to composers and professionalmusicians. He became a leading advocate ofGEBRAUCHSMUSIK, and during the 1920s and1930s he wrote many works for soloists and smallensembles to be performed by amateurs and students.Among these are sonatas; chamber worksfor virtually every orchestral instrument, includingthe heckelphone, trombone, and double bass; achildren’s opera Wir bauen eine Stadt (“We AreBuilding a City”); compositions for amateur musicians(Music to Sing or Play, op. 45); and numerousinstructional pieces and exercises for violin,piano, and other instruments. Hindemith’s compositionsare noted for their use of counterpoint,which differs from conventional types in beinghighly dissonant. His major works include theoperas Cardillac, Mathis der Maler (“Matthias thePainter”) and Hin und Zurück (“There and Back”);the song cycle Das Marienleben (“The Life ofMary”); a symphony based on Mathis der Maler;