authentic performance

Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685–28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together almost all of the strands of the baroque style and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new musical forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust and dazzling contrapuntal technique, a seemingly effortless control of harmonic and motivic organisation from the smallest to the largest scales, and the adaptation of rhyt ...

Including:

• Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Style
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Media
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia - Johann Sebastian Bach

Ancient music is music that developed in literate cultures, replacing prehistoric music. The development of writing took place in different time periods in different geographic areas. The first examples of structured linear writing have been found in the lower Danube Valley and date from around 5000 BCE. The first examples of Sumerian writing in Mesopotamia date from around 4000 BCE. So this is when the era of ancient music began. In Europe it ended in 476 CE, and was followed by the Early music era of European classical mus ...

Including:

• Ancient music - The Harps of Ur
• Ancient music - Harps from Syria and Egypt

Read more here: » Ancient music: Encyclopedia - Ancient music

Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco (May 4, 1655 - January 27, 1732) was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano. Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life. The available source materials on Cristofori's life include his birth and death records, two wills, the bills he submitted to his employers, and a single interview done by Scipione Maffei. From the latter, we have both Maffei's notes and the published journal article. Cristofori was born in Padua in the Republic ...

Including:

• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Life
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - The first appearance of the piano
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Later life
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Cristofori's pianos
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Design
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Tonal quality
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - The initial reception of the piano
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Surviving instruments
• Bartolomeo Cristofori - Assessments of Cristofori

Read more here: » Bartolomeo Cristofori: Encyclopedia - Bartolomeo Cristofori

In music, a bow is a device pulled across the strings of a string instrument in order to make them vibrate and emit sound. In vernacular speech the bow is called a fiddlestick. Bow music - Materials. A bow consists of a length of wood with some other material stretched between its ends. The type of bow used to play the violin and related instruments has many hairs stretched between its ends, but bows used in other cultures often stretch a single piece of string between the ends of the wood.

• Bow music - Materials
• Bow music - Bowing
• Bow music - History
• Bow music - Origin
• Bow music - The modern bow
• Bow music - Historical bows
• Bow music - Other types of bow

Read more here: » Bow music: Encyclopedia - Bow music

The six Brandenburg concertos (BWV 1046–1051) by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of instrumental works presented by Bach to the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721, but probably composed earlier. Brandenburg concertos - History. By 1721, Bach's third year as Kapellmeister at Anhalt-Cöthen, he was becoming restless and began looking for career opportunities outside the small town. As the story commonly goes, on March 24, he assembled these six concertos (which had almost certainly been performed at Cö ...

Including:

• Brandenburg concertos - History
• Brandenburg concertos - The concertos: orchestral versus chamber music
• Brandenburg concertos - The individual concertos
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #1 in F major
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #2 in F major
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G major
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #4 in G major
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #5 in D major
• Brandenburg concertos - Brandenburg Concerto #6 in B flat major
• Brandenburg concertos - Other

Read more here: » Brandenburg concertos: Encyclopedia - Brandenburg concertos

A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. The piano produces sound by striking metal strings with felt hammers. These vibrations are amplified by transmission to a soundboard by a bridge. The word piano is a shortened form of the word "pianoforte", which is seldom used except in formal language. It is derived from the original Italian name for the instrument, clavicembalo col pia ...

Including:

• Piano - Early history
• Piano - Development of the modern piano
• Piano - History and musical performance
• Piano - The modern piano
• Piano - Types
• Piano - Keyboard
• Piano - Pedals
• Piano - Materials
• Piano - Care and maintenance
• Piano - Role of the piano
• Piano - Related lists
• Piano - Other types of pianos
• Piano - Related instruments

Read more here: » Piano: Encyclopedia - Piano

An orchestra is a musical ensemble used most often in classical music. A small orchestra is called a chamber orchestra. A full size orchestra may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra"; these prefixes do not indicate any difference either to the instrumental content or role of the orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different orchestras based in the same city (for instance, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra). A symphony orchestra will usuall ...

Including:

• Orchestra - History of the orchestra
• Orchestra - A conductorless orchestra
• Orchestra - Other meanings
• Orchestra - Sources

Read more here: » Orchestra: Encyclopedia - Orchestra

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 is the last complete symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, it includes part of the ode An die Freude ("Ode To Joy") by Friedrich Schiller, as text sung by soloists and a chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer using the human voice on the same level with instruments in a symphony. The symphony may be the best known of all works of European classical music, and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces, composed wh ...

Including:

• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - History
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Writing of the symphony
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Premiere
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Music
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Naming
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Score
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Movements
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - First movement
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Second movement
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Third movement
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Fourth movement
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Text of fourth movement
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Trivia
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Performing the symphony
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Ninth Symphony in the 20th century
• Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Media

Read more here: » Symphony No. 9 Beethoven: Encyclopedia - Symphony No. 9 Beethoven

A double-dotted note is a note with two small dots written after it. Its duration is 1 3/4 times its basic note value. The double-dotted note is used less frequently than the dotted note. Typically, as in the example below, it is followed by a note whose duration is one-quarter the length of the basic note value, completing the next higher note value. Example 2 is a fragment of the second movement of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, Opus 74, No. 2, a theme and variations. The first note is double-dotted. Haydn's theme was adapted for piano by an unknown composer; the adapted versio ...

See also:

Dotted note, Dotted note - Double dotting, Dotted note - Triple dotting

Read more here: » Dotted note: Encyclopedia II - Dotted note - Double dotting

Medieval music - France: Ars nova. The beginning of the Ars nova is one of the few clean chronological divisions in medieval music, since it corresponds to the publication of the Roman de Fauvel, a huge compilation of poetry and music, in 1310 and 1314. The Roman de Fauvel is a satire on abuses in the medieval church, and is filled with medieval motets, lais, rondeaux and other new secular forms. While most of the music is anonymous, it contains several pieces by Philippe de Vitry, one ...

See also:

Medieval music, Medieval music - Overview, Medieval music - Style and trends, Medieval music - Instruments, Medieval music - Genres, Medieval music - Theory and notation, Medieval music - Early Medieval music -1150, Medieval music - Early chant traditions, Medieval music - Gregorian chant, Medieval music - Early polyphony: organum, Medieval music - Liturgical drama, Medieval music - Goliards, Medieval music - High Medieval music 1150-1300, Medieval music - Ars antiqua, Medieval music - Troubadors and trouvères, Medieval music - Late Medieval music 1300-1400, Medieval music - France: Ars nova, Medieval music - Italy: Trecento, Medieval music - Germany: Geisslerlieder, Medieval music - Mannerism and Ars subtilior, Medieval music - Transitioning to the Renaissance, Medieval music - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Medieval music: Encyclopedia II - Medieval music - Late Medieval music 1300-1400

Historical musicology began as a discipline in the nineteenth century focussing on the contributions of earlier composers. Samuel Wesley played a critical role in the revival of interest in Johann Sebastian Bach through performing, lecturing on and editing his works. Felix Mendelssohn similarly played a critical role in the revival of Bach but as the founder of the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre. Historical musicological scholarship led to the publication of < ...

See also:

Historical musicology, Historical musicology - Early Studies, Historical musicology - Modern Historical Musicology, Historical musicology - Online References, Historical musicology - Other References

Read more here: » Historical musicology: Encyclopedia II - Historical musicology - Modern Historical Musicology

Below is a list of the variations with brief descriptions and some comments by writers and performers. It should be noted that the piece has been played in a wide variety of ways, and there are a range of views on the work, not all of them represented here. The work was composed for a two-manual harpsichord (see musical keyboard). Variations 13, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, and 28 are specified in the score for two manuals, whilst variations 5 and 29 are specified as playable with either one or two. With greater difficulty, the work can nevert ...

See also:

Goldberg Variations, Goldberg Variations - Composition, Goldberg Variations - Form, Goldberg Variations - Reception, Goldberg Variations - The variations, Goldberg Variations - Aria, Goldberg Variations - Variation 1, Goldberg Variations - Variation 2, Goldberg Variations - Variation 3, Goldberg Variations - Variation 4, Goldberg Variations - Variation 5, Goldberg Variations - Variation 6, Goldberg Variations - Variation 7, Goldberg Variations - Variation 8, Goldberg Variations - Variation 9, Goldberg Variations - Variation 10 Fughetta, Goldberg Variations - Variation 11, Goldberg Variations - Variation 12, Goldberg Variations - Variation 13, Goldberg Variations - Variation 14, Goldberg Variations - Variation 15 Andante, Goldberg Variations - Variation 16 Ouverture, Goldberg Variations - Variation 17, Goldberg Variations - Variation 18, Goldberg Variations - Variation 19, Goldberg Variations - Variation 20, Goldberg Variations - Variation 21, Goldberg Variations - Variation 22 Alla breve, Goldberg Variations - Variation 23, Goldberg Variations - Variation 24, Goldberg Variations - Variation 25, Goldberg Variations - Variation 26, Goldberg Variations - Variation 27, Goldberg Variations - Variation 28, Goldberg Variations - Variation 29, Goldberg Variations - Variation 30 Quodlibet, Goldberg Variations - Aria da Capo/Reprise, Goldberg Variations - BWV1087, Goldberg Variations - Modern interpretations and executions, Goldberg Variations - Books, Goldberg Variations - Recordings, Goldberg Variations - Trivia

Read more here: » Goldberg Variations: Encyclopedia II - Goldberg Variations - The variations

A double-dotted note is a note with two small dots written after it. Its duration is 1 3/4 times its basic note value. The double-dotted note is used less frequently than the dotted note. Typically, as in the example below, it is followed by a note whose duration is one-quarter the length of the basic note value, completing the next higher note value. This example is a fragment of the second movement of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet, Opus 74, No. 2, a theme and variations. The first note is doubl ...

See also:

Dotted note, Dotted note - Double dotting, Dotted note - Triple dotting

Read more here: » Dotted note: Encyclopedia II - Dotted note - Double dotting

Fortepiano - Cristofori. What we now call the fortepiano was invented by the harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence around the turn of the 18th century. The first reliable record of a fortepiano appears in the inventory of the Medici family (who were Cristofori's patrons), dated 1700. Cristofori continued to develop the instrument until the 1720's, the time from which the surviv ...

See also:

Fortepiano, Fortepiano - Construction, Fortepiano - The sound of the fortepiano, Fortepiano - History, Fortepiano - Cristofori, Fortepiano - The early spread of the fortepiano, Fortepiano - Silbermann, Fortepiano - The Viennese school, Fortepiano - The fortepiano in England, Fortepiano - Obsolescence and revival, Fortepiano - Opinions about the fortepiano, Fortepiano - Etymology and usage, Fortepiano - Books

Read more here: » Fortepiano: Encyclopedia II - Fortepiano - History

Piano - Types. Modern pianos come in two basic configurations and several sizes: the grand piano and the upright piano. Grand pianos have the frame and strings placed horizontally, with the strings extending away from the keyboard. This makes the grand piano a large instrument, for which the ideal setting is a spacious room with high ceilings for proper resonance. There are several sizes of grand piano. Manufacturers and models vary, but a rough generalisation distinguishes the "concert grand", (bet ...

See also:

Piano, Piano - Early history, Piano - Development of the modern piano, Piano - History and musical performance, Piano - The modern piano, Piano - Types, Piano - Keyboard, Piano - Pedals, Piano - Materials, Piano - Care and maintenance, Piano - Role of the piano, Piano - Related lists, Piano - Other types of pianos, Piano - Related instruments

Read more here: » Piano: Encyclopedia II - Piano - The modern piano

In the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy the households of nobles had musicians to provide music for dancing and the court, however with the emergence of the theatre, particularly opera, in the early 17th century, music was increasingly written for groups of players in combination: which is the origin of orchestral playing. Opera originated in Italy, and Germany eagerly followed. Dresden, Munich and Hamburg successively built opera houses At the end of the 17th century opera flourished in England under Henry Purcell, and in France under Lully ...

See also:

Orchestra, Orchestra - History of the orchestra, Orchestra - A conductorless orchestra, Orchestra - Other meanings

Read more here: » Orchestra: Encyclopedia II - Orchestra - History of the orchestra

Fipple flutes have a long history: an example of an Iron Age specimen, made from a sheep bone, exists in Leeds City Museum. The true recorders are distinguished from other fipple flutes by having eight finger holes (seven on the front of the instrument and one, for the left hand thumb, on the back) and having a slightly tapered bore, with its widest end at the mouthpiece. It is thought that these instruments evolved in the 14th or 15th century, but this is a matter of some debate, as the evidence is largely from the depiction of instr ...

See also:

Recorder, Recorder - How the instrument is played, Recorder - History, Recorder - Types of Recorder, Recorder - The Social Recorder

Read more here: » Recorder: Encyclopedia II - Recorder - History

Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Composition. The first sketches for the Fifth Symphony date back to 1800 and 1801.[2] Following the completion in 1804 of his 3rd Symphony (the Eroica), Beethoven began to write fragmentary sketches on the "C-minor symphony", which is today known as 'the Fifth'.[3] Work on it continued off and on during four years of tumultuous social and political strife in Vienna. During this time, he also ...

See also:

Symphony No. 5 Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - History, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Composition, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Premiere, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Reception and influence, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Form, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - First movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Second movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Third movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Fourth movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Lore, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The fate motif, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Beethoven's choice of key, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Is the opening motif repeated throughout the symphony?, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Textual questions, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The third movement repeat, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Reassigning bassoon notes to the horns, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Media, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The symphony in popular culture, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Notes and references, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Editions

Read more here: » Symphony No. 5 Beethoven: Encyclopedia II - Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - History

Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years. Johann Sebastian Bach was a member of one of the most extraordinary musical families of all time. For more than 200 years, the Bach family had produced dozens of worthy performers and composers during a period in which the church, local government and the aristocracy provided significant support for professional music making in the German-speaking world, particularly in the eastern electorates of Thuringia and Saxony. Sebastian's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a talented v ...

See also:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography, Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years, Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08, Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17, Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23, Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50, Johann Sebastian Bach - Style, Johann Sebastian Bach - Works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music, Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances, Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions, Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy, Johann Sebastian Bach - Media, Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography

Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Composition. The first sketches for the Fifth Symphony date to back to 1800 and 1801.[2] Following the completion in 1804 of his 3rd Symphony (the Eroica), Beethoven began to write fragmentary sketches on the "C-minor symphony", which is today known as 'the Fifth'.[3] Work on it continued off and on during four years of tumultuous social and political strife in Vienna. During this time, he a ...

See also:

Symphony No. 5 Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - History, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Composition, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Premiere, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Reception and influence, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The fate motif, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Form, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Key, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - First movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Second movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Third movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Fourth movement, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Textual questions, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The third movement repeat, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Reassigning bassoon notes to the horns, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Media, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - The symphony in popular culture, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Notes and references, Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - Editions

Read more here: » Symphony No. 5 Beethoven: Encyclopedia II - Symphony No. 5 Beethoven - History