Dictionary of Music - Birding America

6 afterbeatafterbeat Any beats of a measure following theDOWNBEAT. In jazz and rock the accents often fall onthe second and fourth beats of a measure, rather thanon the downbeat. Also see UPBEAT.after-danceSee NACHTANZ.agilmente (ä′′jēl men′te) Italian.perform lightly and smoothly.A direction toagitato (ä′′jē tä′tô) Italian. A direction to performin a restless, excited manner.Agnus Dei (än′yoo — s dā′ē) Latin: “Lamb of God.”1 The last section of the musical part of the Ordinaryof the Roman Catholic MASS. 2 A part of the AnglicanCommunion service.agogic (ə goj′ik) accentSee under ACCENT.agrément (A grā mäN′) French. A term used forany of a number of ORNAMENTS used in Frenchmusic of the seventeenth century, which came to begenerally adopted in all Western (European andAmerican) music. Agréments are indicated by specialsigns or, occasionally, by small notes.aguinaldo (ä gwē näl′dō) Spanish. A VenezuelanChristmas carol. The melodies, often syncopated,are in 2/4 or 6/8 meter, accented by percussion andstrings.A instrument See under A.air 1 A simple tune or melody, used either in asong for one or more voices, or in an instrumentalpiece. 2 Another spelling of AYRE, def. 1. 3 Also,ayre, aria. One of the optional movements of theseventeenth- and eighteenth-century suite (seeSUITE, def. 1). A well-known example is the secondmovement of Bach’s Suite no. 3 in D (for orchestra),familiar in an arrangement by August Wilhelmj forviolin solo with piano accompaniment entitled Airon the G String. 4 A French word for song. Frenchoperas and ballets of the seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies sometimes included an air, either for voiceor for instruments, to accompany dancing.air column The air enclosed in the tube (body) ofa wind instrument. It is the vibrations of the air columnthat produce the instrument’s sound, and thedimensions of the column that determine the pitchand tone quality of the sound. See also AEROPHONE;BORE.air de cour (er′′ də koor′) pl. airs de cour (er′′də koor′) French: “court air.” A short song of severalstanzas, sometimes with a refrain, usually foreither one voice accompanied by lute or severalvoices without accompaniment. Such songs werewritten chiefly in France during the late sixteenthand seventeenth centuries, often to please the king orbe performed at court.al, à la For Italian and French musical termsbeginning with al or à la, such as al fine or à la fin,see under the next word (FINE; FIN).Albéniz (äl bā′nēth, al bā′nis), Isaac (ē′säk),1860–1909. A Spanish composer and pianistwho is remembered chiefly for works that reflectthe rhythms and styles of Spanish folk music. Hismost famous piece is Iberia, a suite for piano. Achild prodigy, Albéniz studied in various cities ofEurope; among his teachers was the composerFranz Liszt. Albéniz wrote a great many compositions,but most of his life he had to continue to giveconcerts in order to support himself. In addition topiano music, he wrote a number of operas andnumerous songs.Alberti (äl bâr′tē) bass A regular pattern of brokenchords (chords whose notes are played one afteranother instead of together) played as an accompanimentby the left hand in piano and other keyboardmusic. The device is named for Domenico Alberti(1710–c. 1740), an Italian composer who used thepattern often but did not actually invent it. Theaccompanying example is from a piano sonata byMozart.fig. 3 p/u from p. 6