Dictionary of Music - Birding America

48 Boyce, WilliamLEGATO; LEGNO, COL; LOURÉ; MARTELÉ; PIQUÉ; PON-TICELLO, SUL; PUNTA D′ARCO, A; SAUTILLÉ; SLUR;SPICCATO; STACCATO; STEG, AM; STRASCINANDO;TALON, AU; TASTIERA, SULLA; TREMOLO. See alsoDOUBLE STOPPING; PIZZICATO; PORTAMENTO; STOP-PING; TRIPLE STOPPING; VIBRATO.)Boyce (bois), William, 1710–1779. An Englishcomposer and organist who edited a three-volumecollection of Anglican church music by manyimportant composers (Cathedral Music, published1760–1778). Boyce himself wrote both religiousmusic and incidental music for plays, as well assonatas, overtures, organ voluntaries, and eight shortsymphonies.boy soprano See SOPRANO, def. 2.brace In keyboard music, a bracket connectingtwo or more staves to show that they are to be read(and played) together (see A in the accompanyingillustration). A similar sign (B in the accompanyingillustration) is the accolade, which is used with thesame meaning for chamber music and choral music,and in orchestral scores to connect the staves forinstruments of the same family (woodwinds, brass,percussion, etc.).fig. 35 p/u from p. 51Brahms (brämz), Johannes (yō hän′əs),1833–1897. A German composer, one of the outstandingfigures in nineteenth-century music. Bornin Hamburg, Brahms became an accomplishedpianist as a child, and by the age of twenty hadbecome the accompanist for Eduard Reményi, anoted violinist of the time. During this period hebegan a lifelong friendship with Robert and ClaraSchumann, who later did much to publicizeBrahms’s music. Another close friend was the violinistJoseph Joachim, for whom Brahms wrote hisonly violin concerto. In 1863 Brahms settled inVienna, Austria, which remained his permanenthome until his death.Brahms carried on the classical tradition ofMozart and Beethoven, particularly in followingstrict rules of musical construction. However, hismusic is even more notable for its expressive, songlikemelodies and original use of rhythms. The newromantic trends of the nineteenth century, on theother hand, which tried to free music from rigidforms, were represented by the music of Liszt andWagner, and throughout Brahms’s lifetime his supportersand those of Liszt and Wagner formed twostrongly opposed camps.Brahms composed in nearly every musical formexcept opera and theater music. His major orchestralworks include four symphonies (written during thelast decade of his life), two piano concertos, the ViolinConcerto, a Double Concerto for violin and cello,numerous Hungarian Dances, two frequently playedconcert overtures (Academic Festival and Tragic),and the well-known Variations on a Theme byHaydn. His outstanding choral works are Eindeutsches Requiem (“A German Requiem”), Rhapsodiefor alto, men’s chorus, and orchestra (“AltoRhapsody”), and Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”).In addition, Brahms wrote a large number ofpieces for piano, which include Variations on aTheme by Paganini; sonatas for piano, violin, celloand clarinet; a clarinet quintet; piano trios, pianoquartets, and a piano quintet; three exceptionallyfine string quartets; and hundreds of lieder, some ofwhich rank among the finest of their kind.branle (bräN′l ə ) French. Also, brawl. A sixteenth-centurydance popular in France, England,Italy, and elsewhere. It was performed with swayingmovements, and was often accompanied by singing.There were many varieties of branle, some in duplemeter (any meter in which there are two basic beatsper measure, such as 2/2 or 2/4), and others in triplemeter (with three basic beats, such as 3/8 or 3/4).The branle was sometimes used as a movement ineighteenth-century instrumental suites.brass band See BAND, def. 4.brass instruments A family of metal instrumentsthat have cup-shaped or funnel-shapedmouthpieces. Together with the woodwinds, the