• Pre-concert 
  Lecture Series

• Musical
  Glossary
• Spring 
  Lecture Series

• Meno mosso

  Less quickly

• Minuet

  French dance in triple meter normally in ABA form, the B section being a contrasting trio form, and often found in Baroque suites

• Moderato

  Moderately

• Molto

  Very, much

• Motive, Motif

  The shortest melodic and/or rhythmic figure that is intelligible and self-existent; motives are derivative of themes and may be as short as two notes

• Non assai

  Not very

• Non tanto e con fuoco

  Indication to play not too much but with fire, fury

• Obbligato

  An independent accompanying melodic part to the main melody; also known as a countermelody

• Ostinato

  Repetition of a musical phrase or rhythm throughout the duration of a section or an entire composition

• Partita

  A solo instrumental composition, the partita developed from a variation into a collection of pieces

• Pedal Point

  In harmony, a long sustained note usually occurring in the bass with changing harmonies above it

• Piu mosso

  More quickly

• Pizzicato

  A technique by which the strings are plucked rather than bowed

• Polyphony

  Musical texture in which two or more independent voices or instruments are contrapuntally intertwined

• Polytonal

  The simultaneous use of two or more independent keys

• Prelude

  An introductory piece preceding a fugue, suite, opera, or another substantial musical composition

• Presto

  Very fast

• Quasi maestoso

  As if majestic and stately

• Quasi minuetto

  As if a minuet

• Recapitulation

  The last section of Sonata form, following the exposition and development, in which the initial thematic material is repeated, more or less in its original form

• Recitative

  Declamatory vocal style of speech-like, free rhythmic form to represent dialogue in contrast to the sung style of arias

• Rhapsody

  A one movement episodic work featuring a diverse range of moods, color, and tonality combined with a sense of improvisation

• Ritornello

  A reappearing passage in Baroque compositions typically found in chamber works, vocal pieces, and concerti; similar to tutti

• Rondo

  A compositional style in which one section intermittently returns between contrasting sections;

  e.g., ABACAD, A being the recurring theme; also known as the refrain theme

• Sarabande

  Slow Baroque dance in triple meter that emphasizes the second beat with dragging dance steps and alternating tied rhythms, typically the third movement of a Baroque suite

• Scherzo

  Translated as “joke”: scherzos are written in ¾ meter and AB form, the B section assuming the form of a trio, and use elements of surprise typically replacing the minuet as the third movement in larger compositions.

• Semi-Tone, Half Tone

  In Western music, the smallest interval between two notes

• Semplice

  Simple

• Sequence

  The repetition of a short musical passage at a higher or lower pitch, or in the case of a harmonic sequence, in a series of chords

• Sforzando

  Musical indication that a note or chord is accented or played in a forceful manner

• Siciliano

  Pastoral in character, a Baroque movement embodying the form of a slow jig with a characteristic dotted rhythm

• Sonata Form

  At its most basic, a type of music construction prominent in the Classical and Romantic periods, typically consisting of three sections—Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation, occasionally followed by a coda

• Sonatina

  From sonatine, a sonatina is the elementary version of a sonata designed for teaching, often more basic in form and lighter in character

• Sostenuto

  Sustained; indication of a slightly slower tempo and instructions to smoothly sustain notes to their full value

• staccato

  Form of musical articulation, signifying an unconnected note, which is separated or detached from its neighbors by a silence.

• Stretto

  In a fugue, the imitation of the subject theme in close succession

• Strophic

  A simple song form in which the same music accompanies each stanza, occasionally with minor variations

• Suite

  A set of pieces, usually dances in a respective key for solo or orchestra, the five typical movements consisting of the: Overture, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue

• Sul ponticello

  ‘On the bridge’: instruction to bow close to the bridge to produce a thin, glassy sound

• Symphony

  At its most basic form, the typical four-movement orchestral work consists of: opening movement, slow movement, minuet or scherzo, and finale

• Syncopation

  Rhythmic device that gives the feeling of lively and irregular rhythm by changing the emphasis from strong beats to weak beats

• Tarantella

  A Neapolitan dance in 6/8 time

• Tempo giusto

  Strict tempo or in exact time

• Toccata

  Virtuosic keyboard composition written in an improvisatory style utilizing chord and running passages, occasionally includes imitative or fugal

• Tonal center

  A centralized pitch to which all pitches have a specific relationship with in a movement, section, or work of music

• Tonic

  The first scale note of a key and its tonal center

• Tremolo

  A musical effect of shaking or trembling created by rapid back-and-forth bow strokes or rapid alternation of two notes

• Tres anime

  Animated and lively

• Trill

  An ornamentation of a more or less rapid alternation of a note with the note or semitone above or below it

• Vivace

  Quick and lively

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