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The Medieval Period also known as the Middle Ages or Dark Ages was the period of history that started at the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended when Renaissance period begins.
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Charlemagne contributed mostly to the standardization of church music in Western Europe and making music more regular in church services.
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Treatise with one of the earliest examples of polyphonic music, with a plainchant voice a fourth or fifth below the organal voice.
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Guido Of Arezzo's treatise called Micrologus is important for its knowledge of organum which consists of Gregorian chant and a similar transposed melody.
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These were Northern French musicians and poets during the Middle Ages known for their music about courtly love
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Hildegard of Bingen or Saint Hildegard was a prophet, composer, and poet among many other things and contributions.
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"Our Lady", Leoninus, and Perotinus contributed to the works completed near the Notre Dame Cathedral during this period.
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This treatise introduced the idea of duration/rhythmic value of a note in music.
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One of the leading French composers during the Ars Nova.
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Following the Middle Ages, the Renaissance(rebirth) was the period of philosophy, humanism and an increase in the interest of art and literature started in Italy.
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Innovations: isorhythm, more complex rhythms, lower lines move slower as a foundation.
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Famous composer of secular music during the Ars Nova.
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The first movable type printing system in Europe invented by Johannes Gutenberg.
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One of Josquin's last masses and one of his most famous. It was based on plainsong, and is a paraphrase mass.
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A strophic chorale composed by Martin Luther during the Renaissance with the text from Psalm 46.
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Italian, mostly homophonic a Capella 4 voice Madrigal in duple meter.
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A sacred 6 voice mass composed by Palestrina. This mass was composed towards the end of the Council of Trent which discussed Polyphony in the church, because it could be "intelligible, so this text is balanced.
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A female vocal ensemble founded in the Renaissance court of Ferrara, Italy, that performed difficult Madrigals for the ducal family and noble others.
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Written by Giovanni Gabrieli-Venice, Italy. This is one of the first pieces that requires specific brass instruments and it was a transition into the Baroque period.
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The musical era consisting of terraced dynamics, experimentation, and idiomatic writing.
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An Opera based on the story of Orpheus. This opera has polyphonic music and is the oldest opera, excluding Dafne because it is now lost.
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Handel is the most famous among those who were the front runners of public concerts starting in England. These concerts were charged for admission and especially Handel’s sold out.
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A German born Baroque composer that settled in England. He is very well known for his many operas and he studied at the Royal Academy of Music.
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Bach was a German Baroque organist and composer. He is commonly regarded as the greatest composer of all time, with one of his most famous pieces being “The Well-Tempered Clavier.“
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This is a very famous English opera composed by Henry Purcell. Word painting is used in this opera.
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These are an influential collection of 12 concertos. Vivaldi composed these for specifically stringed instruments.
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These are 6 concertos composed by Bach for an orchestra and soloists as a gift to the Margrave of Brandenburg.
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This treatise created the foundation for harmony. This treatise included 12 tone scales and modern keys.
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Bach’s most famous work. A collection of works that are in all of the 24 keys. It also contains some recycled preludes and fugues.
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The era that served as the transition between Baroque and Classical.
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A self taught Austrian Classical composer that invented the string quartet.
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This Biblical 3 part oratorio by Handel was completed in 1741, but premiered in Dublin in 1742 during Lent. It tells the story of Jesus Christ and goes through the 1) prophecies of the Messiah, 2)the death and resurrection, and 3) the second coming of Christ.
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Recognized as the first black Classical composer. He was also a violinist and conductor of the Fench symphony, Concerts des Amateurs.
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Mozart is a very famous composer from the Viennese Classical period and his name is still very well known today. He made a massive contribution to operas and was a musical prodigy who began performing in public at the mere age of 6.
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The Classical music era with a new focus on clarity, balance, and restraint.
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Beethoven is considered a musical genius. He is a German composer/pianist. In 1816, he went completely deaf.
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These quartets were dedicated to the Grand Duke Paul of Russia. Haydn uses several ways to add in "jokes" to these quartets and keep the audience on their toes.
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This is a concerto written by Mozart, while he was in Vienna, for an orchestra and solo piano(and the first to include clarinet).
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One of Mozart's operas which premiered in Prague, and is recognized as one of the greatest operas of all time. The librettist was Lorenzo Da Ponte.
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Haydn composed these symphonies after going to London and these are to this day considered one of his best accomplishments.
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Franz Schubert was an Austrian Classical/Romantic composer.
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This orchestral work by Beethoven contains a very famous four note motif. This is also one of the most famous Classical works.
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This poem was written by Goethe and put to music by many composers, however Schubert's composition is the most famous.
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Opera written by Gioachino Rossini inspired by Le Barbier de Séville .
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Schubert's triple meter Romantic composition was started in 1822. There are several theories about why this is unfinished.
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This is the last symphony composed by Beethoven to the poem of Ode to Joy.
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A Romantic Symphony composed by the French composer, Hector Berlioz. It tells the dramatic story of an artist's self destruction.
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This song by Chopin resembles the Polish folk dance known as the Mazurka.
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This piano piece by Schumann consists of 21 pieces, inspired by the festival called Carnaval.
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This piano suite is based off of the twelve months of the year, each month possessing its own style and character.
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This love song was written by Clara while she was pregnant. The poem is by Friedrich Rückert.
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An important contribution to the symphony orchestra by Hector Berlioz.
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Mendelssohn's concerto contains three movements and is his last large orchestral work and remains popular to this day.
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This three act Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi was based on the play La Dame aux camélias.
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This piano piece was written after Gottschalk went to Puerto Rico, influenced after the music he heard there.
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This is a three act opera by Wagner was first performed in Germany.
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The first version of this opera was rejected by the Maryinsky Opera, so it has different versions with a love interest.
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This opera by Georges Bizet is a story of a seductive woman named Carmen who seduces Jose.
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This collection of musical dramas by Wagner first premiered at the first festival in Bayreuth.
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This symphony has four movements and is known for being quite abstract for its' time.
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This symphony contains a movement based on the Frere Jacques melody. It is also considered hectic and alarming to some listeners at the time.
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The Nutcracker ballet premiered the week before Christmas in Russia and is Tchaikovsky's most famous work.
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This symphony is based off of Native and African American music Dvorak heard.
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This orchestral piece/poem was inspired by a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé. It uses the whole tone scale and a lot of chromaticism.
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This ragtime piece composed by Scott Joplin includes syncopation and is considered a dance song.
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Known as the national anthem of Finland, this orchestral piece was written when Finland was wanting to be independent from Russia.
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This opera by Puccini is three parts (used to be 2) and is a love story of a Japanese girl and an American man.
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This atonal song cycle is a speech-like piece that is very expressionistic.
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Also known as The Rite of Spring, this famous work caused a riot at the premiere because of how avant-garde it was.
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This 12-tone minuet resembles earlier Baroque dance pieces.
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This piece composed by Gershwin was a blues type piece for piano and jazz band.
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This famous jazz piece was recorded on gramophone in Chicago. It featured trumpet, guitar, clarinet, banjo, piano, and trombone.
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This symphony is a response to his Lady Macbeth opera that he wrote before. This symphony is unique in sound and style.
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Prokofiev wrote cantata music for orchestra and chorus for the very successful film Alexander Nevsky.
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This jazz piece included a walking bass line and an improvised melody. It was based off of I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin.
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This piece was inspired by the Book of Revelation written by John. It premiered in 1941 at a prisoner of war camp where Messiaen was captured and living.
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This piece was a commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and is Bartok's most famous work.
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This ballet is a commission from Martha Graham to Copland. He also arranged this piece as an orchestral suite.
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This is a silent composition by John Cage, where the performer does not actually play their instrument, but allows the natural occurring sounds to be the music for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
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This piece of electronic music created a brand new sound than what was heard previously. Varese is mostly known for his experimentation of sound equipment in music.
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This modal jazz album by Davis (Columbia Records) is considered to be the best Jazz album of all time.
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This Avant Garde string piece was inspired by the disturbing realities of the Vietnam War.
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This piece is known as one of the most difficult pieces to play on the violin. It was deemed "unplayable" as it stretches the hands to uncomfortable lengths.
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This piece with minimalist elements was composed for a summer festival.