Deck 9: Prelude: The Late Baroque Period

Question 1

Baroque composers were likely to think of themselves as:

A) artists striving for self-expression.
B) virtuoso performers capable of amazing the ordinary person.
C) craftspeople creating a product on demand.
D) undesirables constantly moving from town to town looking for employment.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

An instrument from the Baroque period that has been revived is the:

A) harpsichord.
B) clarinet.
C) piano.
D) violin.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Who are the two most important composers of the late Baroque period?

A) Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann
B) Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach
C) George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi
D) Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The three main institutions in which Baroque composers could make a living were the:

A) church, the tavern, and the concert hall.
B) church, the opera house, and the court.
C) court, the university, and musical journals.
D) opera house, the theater, and the concert hall.

Question 5

Who was the leading monarch in the Age of Absolutism?

A) Elizabeth I of England
B) Cosimo de' Medici of Florence
C) King Phillip of Spain
D) Louis XIV of France

Question 6

In the early eighteenth century,court musicians had a better sense of new musical trends than church musicians because:

A) they were required to travel with their employers.
B) they studied composition with their employers.
C) they periodically took time to refine their skills.
D) they studied past compositional techniques.

Question 7

Which is true of the Baroque treatment of rhythm?

A) There are no bar lines, so meter is not important.
B) The beat tends to be unsteady and unpredictable.
C) Certain instruments, such as the harpsichord, emphasize a clear, steady beat and meter.
D) The harmonic rhythm tends to be unsteady and unpredictable.

Question 8

Which characteristic of Baroque theater made it appealing to Baroque audiences and composers of opera?

A) the deep, quiet spirituality
B) the slapstick comedy
C) the display of strong emotions
D) the realistic, down-to-earth topics and characters

Question 9

Which best describes the dualism found in Baroque art and music?

A) recitative versus aria
B) pomp and extravagance versus system and calculation
C) church music versus secular music
D) systematic extravagance versus calculated pomp

Question 10

Opera arose around the year:

A) 1600.
B) 1603.
C) 1637.
D) 1650.

Question 11

The Baroque Period spanned the years:

A) 1200-1450.
B) 1400-1550.
C) 1600-1750.
D) 1700-1800.

Question 12

Baroque dynamics generally:

A) change with the harmonic rhythm.
B) get gradually louder and softer throughout a movement.
C) stay the same throughout a movement.
D) get louder and softer according to the emotions of the performer.

Question 13

Which is true of music in the Age of Absolutism?

A) Monarchs had no control over music.
B) Music functioned at least partly to flatter the nobility who paid for it.
C) Absolutely no emotional display was allowed in Baroque music.
D) Only emotion mattered in music; control was not important.

Question 14

Which best describes rhythm in the Baroque era?

A) It became less regular.
B) It became more regular.
C) Bar lines disappeared.
D) Meters changed frequently and often were unidentifiable.

Question 15

The purpose of art in the Age of Absolutism was:

A) to share personal feelings with the general populace.
B) to demonstrate scientific absolutes.
C) to impress and overwhelm.
D) to protest the influence of the church.

Question 16

Historians might speak of the Baroque period as the:

A) Age of Absolutism.
B) ars nova.
C) Age of Classicism.
D) Age of Literature.

Question 17

Baroque music is often very adaptable and changeable with regard to which musical element?

A) rhythm
B) texture
C) harmony
D) tone color

Question 18

A tendency in Baroque music to change chords at every measure or some set interval is called a:

A) marching bass.
B) harmonic rhythm.
C) ground bass.
D) continuo.

Question 19

Which best describes the musical depiction of emotion in the late Baroque era?

A) Emotions were expressed freely and naturally.
B) A piece of music was performed differently each time; the performer expressed what he or she felt at the moment.
C) Emotional display was kept at a minimum, as a reaction to the Renaissance musical style.
D) Emotions were scientifically categorized, and musical expression of emotions was systematized into techniques and devices.

Question 20

Much of the Baroque music heard today is from the late Baroque era,which spanned the years:

A) 1600-1750.
B) 1700-1750.
C) 1750-1850.
D) 1650-1750.

Question 21

Explain the impact of improved tuning on composers in the Baroque era.

Question 22

In Baroque music,the continuo,or basso continuo,is the:

A) lowest voice part in polyphonic vocal music.
B) lowest instrument in the orchestra that plays continuously.
C) chordal instrument.
D) bass part that is linked to a series of chords.

Question 23

Which phrase best describes Baroque melodies?

A) simple lines
B) symmetrical and graceful
C) complex and appearing in sequences
D) brief motives

Question 24

Which instrument group formed the core of the Baroque orchestra?

A) strings
B) woodwinds
C) brass
D) percussion

Question 25

Alessandro Scarlatti,Antonio Vivaldi,François Couperin,Jean-Philippe Rameau,Domenico Scarlatti,and Georg Philipp Telemann were important composers in the late Baroque period.Name their respective countries of employment.

Question 26

Describe two purposes of opera in the Age of Absolutism.

Question 27

Explain the "divine right of kings" and name a king to whom this right seemed to apply.Relate this concept to the Age of Absolutism.

Question 28

How did composers approach form in the late Baroque era?

Question 29

Define baroque.What is the source of this word? When was the word baroque applied to the music of this period,and in what spirit?

Question 30

Which two instruments would most likely have played the basso continuo in a Baroque composition?

A) flute and violin
B) violin and cello
C) cello and harpsichord
D) lute and violin

Question 31

The orchestra of the court of Louis XIV was called the:

A) "Opera Orchestra of the Sun King."
B) "Twenty-Four Violins of the King."
C) "Royal Festival Orchestra."
D) "Versailles Philharmonic."

Question 32

Describe the extent to which the monarchy of "the Sun King" influenced music,the visual arts,and architecture in his country and elsewhere.

Question 33

The standard texture of much Baroque music is:

A) monophonic.
B) homophonic.
C) non-imitative.
D) polyphonic.

Question 34

How did Baroque composers view the use of emotion in their compositions?

A) They isolated emotions, analyzed them, and portrayed them as consistently as possible.
B) They revealed their own emotions directly in their compositions.
C) They allowed only subtle emotional displays in their work.
D) They left all emotion out of the music, knowing that the performer would provide an emotional rendition of it.

Question 35

Explain how science affected both art and ordinary life in the Baroque era.

Question 36

Describe the types of music and the musical forces demanded in the courts of nobility in the Age of Absolutism.

Question 37

Describe the change in the use of harmony in the late Baroque era.

Question 38

The numerical shorthand below the basso continuo notes indicating the content of the chords to be played is called:

A) ground bass.
B) figured bass.
C) ground figures.
D) concerto grosso.

Question 39

Ornamentation is the practice of:

A) improvising changes in the beat.
B) improvising melodic extras in the music.
C) wearing highly decorative costumes in operas.
D) improvising changes to the words of an aria.

Question 40

Explain the theatrical quality of the Baroque play as it related to and inspired opera of the time.

Question 41

Name the keyboard instruments of the Baroque orchestra.For which type of music was each used?

Question 42

Describe the way a career as a composer was viewed in the Baroque era.

Question 43

Briefly describe the two ways Baroque composers approached and used tone color.

Question 44

Describe the basic Baroque orchestra and explain the difference between this and the festive Baroque orchestra.When might the festive orchestra be called on to play?

Question 45

Briefly describe the early Baroque orchestra as typified in the court of Louis XIV.

Question 46

Characterize the Baroque use of rhythm.Refer to marking time,meter,and harmonic rhythm in your answer.

Question 47

How did Baroque composers and performers use dynamics?

Question 48

What two nonmusical factors were influential in making Baroque forms so clear and regular? In what ways were they influential?

Question 49

Characterize the Baroque depiction of emotion in music.Was it realistic or exaggerated? Explain.

Question 50

Discuss the patronage system that existed in the Baroque era.

Question 51

Is it generally easier to sing typical Baroque melodies or to play them on instruments? Explain.

Question 52

Describe the scientific approach to emotional expression in music in the late Baroque era.

Question 53

Name and describe the three main institutions in which a Baroque composer could make a living.Contrast the probable quality of life of composers in each institution.

Question 54

Define harmonic rhythm.

Question 55

Briefly describe the functions of the left and right hands of a continuo keyboard player.

Question 56

Is Baroque music primarily simple or complex in texture? Describe instances in which Baroque music is polyphonic and ways in which it is homophonic.

Question 57

Define basso continuo.Refer to instrumentation and figured bass in your answer.

Question 58

Characterize Baroque melody.Refer to musical elements such as pitch range,rhythm,ornamentation,length,and use of sequence.

Question 59

Briefly explain the way Baroque harmony is polarized.