Dictionary of Music - Birding America

360 salon musicorchestration, and his use of instruments oftenreveals a delightful sense of humor. His worksinclude, besides those mentioned, three symphonies,concertos (piano, violin, cello), chamber music,choral works, and songs.salon music Music composed for or performedin a salon, a gathering of artists and intellectuals ina private home, often held on a regular basis. Thepractice of holding salons was popular among theupper classes in nineteenth-century Europe. Themusic on such occasions consisted mostly ofworks for solo piano, voice and piano, and occasionallysmall chamber ensembles. Today the term“salon music” is often used disparagingly forworks of slight quality, oversentimental songs, andthe like. The American equivalent, parlor music(and parlor songs), performed in middle-classhomes, carries both this implication and that ofamateurism.salsa (säl′sä) Spanish: “sauce.” A lively Latindance music, originating in Puerto Rico and Cubaand popular in the United States since the late1960s. Originally a name that Cuban musicians usedmuch as Americans used “swing,” it came to refer toa fusion of SON vocals, jazz improvisation and voicings,Cuban rhythms, rock chord sequences, and,often, electronic instruments such as synthesizers.The lyrics, generally improvised, combine bittersweetromance and sharp social and political comment.saltando (säl tän′dô) Italian.tä′tô). Same as SAUTILLÉ.Also, saltato (sälsaltarello (säl′′tä rel′ô) Italian. A lively dancethat originated in Italy during the Renaissance orearlier (fourteenth century). During the sixteenthcentury the saltarello came to be used as the secondof a pair of dances, at first being a slow, statelydance, at first usually a pavane and later a passamezzo.The saltarello was very similar to anotherdance used in such pairs, the GALLIARD, but it probablywas performed somewhat less vigorously.Although examples of the early saltarello are in variousmeters, the sixteenth-century dance is nearlyalways in triple meter (any meter in which there arethree basic beats per measure, such as 3/4 or 3/8).samba (säm′bä) Spanish, Portuguese. A LatinAmerican dance in lively tempo and 2/4 meter witha highly syncopated rhythm (accents on unexpectedbeats). It became popular as a ballroom dance in theUnited States in the 1940s. Although usually dancedby couples, in Brazil the samba is sometimes performedas a round dance (with the dancers forming acircle).samisenAnother spelling for SHAMISEN.sampling Also, digital sampling. The process ofusing a computer that digitizes and stores sounds,such as those of an instrument or of real-life sounds,like running water, to manipulate the sounds electronically.The sound, originally a sound wave, isconverted to an electrical wave by a microphone. Itsamplitude is measured at regular intervals, and eachsuch measurement is called a sample (although theentire sampled sound also is called a sample). Thesampled electric voltages are converted to numbersby an analog-to-digital converter (or ADC), and thenumbers are stored in memory. The numbers canthen be converted into sound by the same methodused by a digital SYNTHESIZER, that is a digital-toanalogconverter changes them to voltages, a filtersmooths the rough edges, and an amplifier andspeaker system convert the electric current intosound. Sampling enables such techniques as incorporatingprerecorded material in a new compositionand is widely used in rock and other kinds of popularmusic. A common technique for building a sampledcomposition begins with a drumbeat or bassline, adds piano or guitar for the melody, sprinkles inother elements (organ, triangle, etc.), and ends withvocals. See also VIRTUAL ORCHESTRA.Sanctus (sang k′too s) Latin: “holy.” The fourthsection of the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Mass(see MASS). It is also part of the Anglican Communionservice (see SERVICE).sanft (zänft) German.softly and smoothly.A direction to perform