Dictionary of Music - Birding America

clavichord 81BACH TRUMPET.) Also, such a part itself. 2 The specialtechnique for playing such parts. 3 The middleregister of the clarinet.classic Also, classicist, classicism. A generalterm for the style of music written between about1785 and 1820 by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.Some authorities also include the music of Schubert,whereas others hold that it, along withBeethoven’s later works, belongs more to the styleof the period of romanticism. (For other classiccomposers, see the accompanying chart.) Thechief characteristics of classicism in music are elegance,formality, and restraint, as opposed to theemphasis on expressing individual feelings that isassociated with romantic music. On the whole,instrumental music was more important than vocalmusic in the classic period. The favorite formswere the overture, divertimento, and theme andvariations, and the various types associated withthe SONATA—the concerto, the symphony, and variouskinds of chamber music (trio, quartet, quintet,etc.). The instruments for the most part were thoseof the PRECLASSIC period just preceding, theorchestra being largely that of the MANNHEIMSCHOOL. One major change was the piano’sreplacement of the harpsichord, clavichord, andorgan as the favorite keyboard instrument. (Themusic written for piano reflected to some extentthe heritage of the GALLANT STYLE.) Except inchamber works, the musical texture tended to consistof a single line of melody, carried in the toppart (treble, soprano), accompanied by harmony(chords) in the other voice-parts; in quarters, quintets,and other chamber music, the different voicepartswere more nearly equal in importance,although the texture was seldom truly contrapuntal(see COUNTERPOINT). Despite the greater importanceof instrumental music, some very fine vocalmusic was written, particularly Haydn’s oratoriosand Masses and Mozart’s operas.classical music A term sometimes used to distinguishserious or art music from popular and folkmusic. The distinction tends to be arbitrary, and theterm itself is too vague to be useful. See also CLAS-SIC; SERIOUS MUSIC.clausula (klô′ zhə lə) pl. clausulae (klô′ zhə lā)Latin. In the compositions of the late twelfth andearly thirteenth centuries called organa (seeORGANUM), a brief section in regular rhythm thatis based on a melisma (section with several notesto a single syllable of the text) taken from Gregorianchant. Clausulae thus do not have a full textbut are sung to only one or two words, or even to asingle syllable. Later, in the course of the thirteenthcentury, Perotin and other composers wroteclausulae to be substituted for sections in alreadyexisting organa. Sometimes a text was added to theupper voice-part of a clausula, and this practicegave rise to a new and very important musicalform, the motet, whose name comes from theFrench mot, meaning “word.” See also ARS ANTI-QUA; MOTET.clave (klä′ve) Spanish.clavecin (klAV saN′).SICHORD.See under SON.The French word for HARP-claveciniste (klAV sē nēst′) French. 1 A harpsichordplayer. 2 A composer of harpsichord music.claves (klä′vās) Spanish. A percussion instrumentconsisting of a pair of hardwood sticks, eight to teninches long. The player holds one stick in one hand,which is cupped to create more resonance, andstrikes it with the second stick, held in the otherhand. Claves are used mainly in Latin Americanmusic.clavicembalo (klä′′vē chem′bä lô).word for HARPSICHORD.An Italianclavichord (klav′ ə kôrd′′). A stringed keyboardinstrument that was widely used from the sixteenththrough the eighteenth centuries and was revived inthe twentieth century for playing old music. Theclavichord is shaped like a rectangular box, with akeyboard set into one of the long sides. The stringsare stretched lengthwise, parallel to the keyboard. Atthe back end of each key is a brass tangent (a smallblade). When the player presses down on a key, thetangent rises and strikes a string, causing it to