Music Notation and Terminology Part 12

_Dolente_ } _Doloroso_ } plaintively or sorrowfully.

_Espressivo_--expressively.

_Grandioso_--grandly, pompously.

_Grazioso_--gracefully.

_Giocoso_--humorously, (cf. jocose).

_Giojoso_--joyfully, (cf. joyous).

_Lacrimando_, _lacrimoso_--sorrowfully.

_Legato_--smoothly.

_Leggiero_--lightly.

_Leggierissimo_--most lightly; almost a staccato.

_Lusingando_--caressingly, coaxingly, tenderly.

_Maesta_, _maestoso_--majestically.

_Martellando_, _martellato_--strongly accented, (lit.--hammered).

_Marziale_--martial--war-like.

_Mesto_--pensively.

_Mezzo voce_--with half voice.

_Misterioso_--mysteriously.

_Parlando_--well accented or enunciated; applied to melody playing. (The word parlando means literally-speaking.)

_Pastorale_--in simple and unaffected style, (lit.--pastoral, rural).

_Pomposo_--pompously.

_Precipitoso_--precipitously.

_Recitativo_--well enunciated. (This meaning applies only in instrumental music in which a melody is to stand out above the accompaniment. For def. of recitative in vocal music, see p.

78.)

_Risoluto_--firmly, resolutely.

_Scherzando_, _scherzoso_, etc.--jokingly. These terms are derived from the word _scherzo_ meaning _a musical joke_.

_Semplice_--simply.

_Sempre marcatissimo_--always well marked, _i.e._, strongly accented.

_Sentimento_--with sentiment.

_Solenne_--solemn.

_Sotto voce_--in subdued voice.

_Spiritoso_--with spirit.

_Strepitoso_--precipitously.

_Tranquillo_--tranquilly.

_Tristamente_--sadly.

131. Many other terms are encountered which on their face sometimes seem to be quite formidable, but which yield readily to a.n.a.lysis. Thus _e.g._, _crescendo poco a poco al forte ed un pochettino accelerando_, is seen to mean merely--"increase gradually to _forte_ and accelerate a very little bit." A liberal application of common sense will aid greatly in the interpretation of such expressions.

CHAPTER XIV

TERMS RELATING TO FORMS AND STYLES

132. A _form_ in music is a specific arrangement of the various parts of a composition resulting in a structure so characteristic that it is easily recognized by the ear. Thus _e.g._, although every fugue is different from all other fugues in actual material, yet the arrangement of the various parts is so characteristic that no one who knows the _fugue form_ has any doubt as to what kind of a composition he is hearing whenever a fugue is played. The word _form_ is therefore seen to be somewhat synonymous with the word _plan_ as used in architecture; it is the structure or design underlying music. Examples of form are the canon, the fugue, the sonata, etc.

Speaking broadly we may say that _form_ in any art consists in the placing together of certain parts in such relations of proportion and symmetry as to make a unified whole. In music this implies unity of tonality and of general rhythmic effect, as well as unity in the grouping of the various parts of the work (phrases, periods, movements) so as to weld them into one whole, giving the impression of completeness to the hearer.

133. The primal _basis of form_ is the repet.i.tion of some characteristic effect, and the problem of the composer is to bring about these repet.i.tions in such a way that the ear will recognize them as being the same material and will nevertheless not grow weary of them. This is accomplished by varying the material (cf. thematic development), by introducing contrasting material, and by choice of key.

134. The student should note at the outset of this topic the _difference in meaning between_ the terms _form_ and _style_: A _form_ is a plan for building a certain definite kind of composition, but a _style_ is merely a manner of writing. Thus _e.g._, the _fugue_ is a _form_--_i.e._, it is a plan, which although capable of variation in details, is yet carried out fairly definitely in every case; but _counterpoint_ is merely a _style_ or manner of writing (just as Gothic architecture is a style of building), which may be cast into any one of several _forms_.

135. The material found in the following sections is an attempt to explain in simple language certain terms relating to _forms_ and _styles_ which are in common use; in many cases the definition is too meagre to give anything but a very general idea, but it is hoped that the student will at least be set to thinking and that he will eventually be led to a more detailed and scholarly study of the subject. (The article "Form" and the separate articles under each term here defined, as found in Grove's Dictionary, are especially recommended. For examples of the various forms described, see also Mason and Surette--"The Appreciation of Music," Supplementary Volume.)

136. In a very general way there may be said to be _two styles of musical composition_, the monophonic (or h.o.m.ophonic)--the one-voiced--and the polyphonic--the many voiced. The polyphonic[32]

style antedates the monophonic historically.

[Footnote 32: Polyphonic music flourished from 1000 A.D. to about 1750 A.D., the culmination of the polyphonic period being reached in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and the later writers have used the monophonic style more than the polyphonic, although a combination of the two is often found, as _e.g._, in the later works of Beethoven.]

137. In _monophonic music_ there is one voice which has a p.r.o.nounced melody, the other voices (if present) supporting this melody as a harmonic (and often rhythmic) background. An example of this is the ordinary hymn-tune with its melody in the highest part, and with three other voices forming a "four-part harmony." The sonata, symphony, opera, modern piano piece, etc., are also largely _monophonic_, though polyphonic pa.s.sages by way of contrast are often to be found.

138. In _polyphonic music_ each voice is to a certain extent melodically interesting, and the "harmony" is the result of combining several melodies in such a way as to give a pleasing effect, instead of treating a melody by adding chords as an accompaniment or support. Counterpoint, canon, round, fugue, etc., are all _polyphonic_ in style. The word _contrapuntal_ is often used synonymously with _polyphonic_.

(Sections 139 to 143 relate especially to terms describing polyphonic music.)

139. _Counterpoint_ is the art of adding one or more parts or melodies to a given melody, the latter being known as the "cantus firmus," or subject. It may therefore be broadly defined as "the art of combining melodies."