Born: March 7, 1875, Ciboure, Basses-PyrénéesDied: December 28, 1937, Paris (age 62)
glossary
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
brio [I], con brio, brioso—vigor, vigorously, with fire
canzona [I, F], canzone [I], canzon [I], canzoni [pl]—song; a type of instrumental music from the 16th and 17th centuries originally derived from polyphony song or "chanson." For solo or instrumental ensemble, the multi-part canzona featured elements of fugue and variation and eventually gave over to the early Baroque sonata.
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
con [I,S]—with
e [It]—and
finale [I], final [F]—The final movement, sometimes explicitly titled thus
giocoso, giocando, con gioco, giojoso—humorous, jocose, merry joking
quartet, quatuor [F], quartett [G], quartetto [I], cuarteto [S]—ensemble or work for four players the most important examples being the string quartet and the piano quartet
recitative [I], recitativo, récitative [F], récitatif, récit, rezitativ [G]—vocal style that imitates speech: reciting (speaking) rather than singing; a passage for solo instrument
string quartet, Streichquartett [G], quatuor à cordes [F], quartetto d'archi [I], quartetto di cordi [I], cuarteto de cuerda [S], vonósnégyes [H]—an ensemble as well as music written for that ensemble comprising 2 violins, viola and cello. This is one of the essential genres / forms / ensembles of chamber music and arguably a critical "core" of "classical" music. Explore the string quartet.