Born: January 17, 1659, FlorenceDied: October 26, 1733, Florence (age 74)
glossary
Air [Fr], Air [E], Ayre [E], Aire, Aria [I]—Song. Traditionally indicates a piece of melodic or vocal nature as opposed to one of dance-like character (i.e. in form or rhythm). An aria typically refers to a formalized song within an opera context for one or more voice
allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
assai—very much. Intensifies the direction of its neighboring words, e.g. "allegro assai", very fast
capriccio, caprice, capriccioso, capricieux, capricieuse—a short character piece, typically in a humorous, fanciful, or playful manner. The concept juxtaposes the improvisatory free-form fantasy against the more formal, "serious" and logically "worked-out" sonata forms.Within a caprice, the range of expression may well include the serious and dark as well as demanding extraordinary technical skills such as a prelude or etude.
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
gigue, jig, giga, gigg—A lively dance (of English origin); often the finale of a Baroque suite. Compound meters exhibit both duple and triple meter rhythms.
giusto—just, right, strict, exact, true
largo—slow, solemn, sustained.slower than lento. faster than grave
opus [L], opera[pl], Op., Opp, WoO, Op. posth—work, as in a work of art. For unique identification, publishers/composers often assign an "opus number", abbreviated as "Op." (e.g. Op. 1). A range of works by opus number, uses the plural "opp." (e.g. "Opp. 1-3"). A single opus number may refer to a collection of works (e.g. a set of quartets) giving rise to designations like "Op. 1, No. 4". For misc. works without opus numbers, "WoO" is often used (e.g."Without Opus"). Posthumously assigned numbers may use "Op. posth". Opus numbers may not precisely reflect chronology (publication vs. composition), can be erroneous, sparse or duplicative. Thus, the works of some historically important composers may use separate catalog numbers (e.g. Bach, Haydn, Schubert). See wiki
Polonaise [F], Polonese [I], Polacca [I], Polaca, alla polacca, Polones—a dance of Polish origin in a moderate triple meter (3/4) typically with a characteristic rhythm (subdivisions of the beat with a flourish in the 2nd half of the 1st beat) and an energetic momentum.
soggetto, soggetti (pl)—a musical subject or theme; typically used for contrapuntal writing such as a fugue and may well imply a relatively short subject.
sonata, sonate, suonato—a complicated term. Originally, "sounded" rather than "sung" (sonar vs. cantar), e.g. instrumental music. According to historical period, sonata began to imply a formal plan of movements as well as the structure within a single movement, e.g. sonata form. In general usage as a work title, it designates a multi-movement piece for solo or duo instruments with one of the instruments enjoying a feature role.
staccato [I]—detached, disconnected, light (the opposite of legato)
tempo, tempi [pl]—speed or pace at which music progresses. Traditional classic music typically uses standard Italian words to designate the tempo, e.g. Allegro or adagio. Metronome markings provide precise numerical speeds. Tempo selection during performance is a complex artistic choice informed by composer's markings, performance tradition, technical limitations and interpretation.