An aria (Italian for air; plural: arie or arias in common usage) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. It is now used almost exclusively to describe a self contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment. Perhaps the most common context for arias is opera; there are also many arias that form movements of oratorios and cantatas. Composers also wrote "concert arias", not part of any larger work, such as "Ah Perfido" by Beethov ...

Including:

• Aria - Media

Read more here: » Aria: Encyclopedia - Aria

A song is a relatively short musical composition for the human voice (possibly accompanied by other musical instruments), which features words (lyrics). It is typically for a solo singer, though may also be a duet, trio, or for more voices (works with more than one voice to a part, however, are considered choral). The words of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they may be religious verses or free prose. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is betwe ...

Including:

• Song - Cultural types
• Song - Art songs
• Song - Popular songs
• Song - Folk songs
• Song - Song forms

Read more here: » Song: Encyclopedia - Song

Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental as it is through the lyrics. From the beginning of the form about 1600, there has been contention whether the music is paramount, or the words, a theme that Richard Strauss took up in his final opera, Capriccio (1942). By contrast, in musical theater an actor's dramatic performanc ...

Including:

• Opera - History
• Opera - Origins
• Opera - Baroque opera
• Opera - Bel canto and Italian nationalism
• Opera - French opera
• Opera - German-language opera
• Opera - Other national operas
• Opera - After Wagner: verismo and modernism
• Opera - Contemporary trends
• Opera - Sociology of opera
• Opera - Development of an opera audience
• Opera - Development of the idea of opera repertory
• Opera - Media

Read more here: » Opera: Encyclopedia - Opera

Opera buffa (comic opera), also known as Commedia per musica (musical comedy), or Dramma giocoso per musica (musical dramatic comedy), is a form of opera. A sub-genre of lyric opera, Opera buffa developed in Naples in Italy in the first half of 18th century, from where it propagated to Rome and northern Italy. Opera buffa - History. In the sequence of musical epochs, this sub-genre follows the development of opera and of the so-called opera seria, which should have ...

Including:

• Opera buffa - History
• Opera buffa - Popularity as a goal

Read more here: » Opera buffa: Encyclopedia - Opera buffa

The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. The "Passion narratives" tell this story in the Gospels. The etymological origins of this meaning of the word lie in the Latin passio that first appears in the 2nd century, precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context. All the other meanings of "passion" have been derived from this one. Passion - Passion narratives. The canonical ...

Including:

• Passion - Passion narratives
• Passion - Instruments of the Passion
• Passion - Meditation device
• Passion - Stations of the Cross
• Passion - Musical settings of Gospel narratives
• Passion - Passion plays
• Passion - External link

Read more here: » Passion: Encyclopedia - Passion

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

Cantata (Italian, 'sung'), a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement. In the 16th century, when all serious music was vocal, the term had no reason to exist, but with the rise of instrumental music in the 17th century cantatas began to exist under that name as soon as the instrumental art was definite enough to be embodied in sonatas. From the middle of the 17th till late in the 18th century a favourite form of Italian chamber music was the cantata for one or two solo voices, ...

Read more here: » Cantata: Encyclopedia - Cantata

Christoph Willibald (von) Gluck (July 2, 1714 – November 15, 1787) was a German composer. He is seen as one of the most important opera composers of the Classical music era, and is particularly remembered for the opera Orfeo ed Euridice, the best known part of which is probably the Dance of the Blessed Spirits, a slow, soft melody for flute and orchestra. Gluck was born in Erasbach, Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, Germany to a forester in the service of a nobleman. He studied music and philosophy in Prague from the age of eighteen ...

Read more here: » Christoph Willibald Gluck: Encyclopedia - Christoph Willibald Gluck

Carmen is a French opera by Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Meilhac and Halévy, based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was premiered at the Opéra Comique of Paris on March 3, 1875. For a year after its premiere, it was considered a failure; denounced by critics as 'immoral' and 'superficial'. Today, it is one of the world's most popular operas^Including:

• Carmen - History
• Carmen - Synopsis
• Carmen - Act I
• Carmen - Act II
• Carmen - Act III
• Carmen - Act IV
• Carmen - Dramatic Elements
• Carmen - Musical Elements
• Carmen - Dialogue versus Recitative
• Carmen - Characters
• Carmen - Musical Pieces
• Carmen - Recordings
• Carmen - Adaptations
• Carmen - Fantasies
• Carmen - Film
• Carmen - Other
• Carmen - Media
• Carmen - Notes

Read more here: » Carmen: Encyclopedia - Carmen

The reading of the Passion during Holy Week dates back to the 4th century. It began to be intoned (rather than just spoken) in the Middle Ages, at least as early at the 8th century. 9th-century manuscripts have "litterae significativae" indicating interpretive chant, and later manuscript begin to specify exact notes to be sung. By the 1200s different singers were used for different characters in the narrative, a practice which became fairly universal by the 15th century, when polyphonic settings of the turba passages began to appear also. (Turba, while literally meaning "crowd," is used in this case to mean a ...

See also:

Passion, Passion - Passion narratives, Passion - Instruments of the Passion, Passion - Stations of the Cross, Passion - Musical settings of Gospel narratives, Passion - Passion plays, Passion - External link

Read more here: » Passion: Encyclopedia II - Passion - Musical settings of Gospel narratives

He was born at Nuremberg, and most likely had his early education there. Possibly he studied with Hans Leo Hassler, one of the most prominent German composers at the turn of the century, since Hassler was teaching in Nuremberg while Herbst was a student, and there is a close stylistic relationship between the music of the two composers. Herbst became Kapellmeister at Butzbach in 1614, at Darmst ...

See also:

Johann Andreas Herbst, Johann Andreas Herbst - Life, Johann Andreas Herbst - Writings, Johann Andreas Herbst - Musical style and influence, Johann Andreas Herbst - References and further reading, Johann Andreas Herbst - Recording

Read more here: » Johann Andreas Herbst: Encyclopedia II - Johann Andreas Herbst - Life

There are many forms of mor lam. There can be no definitive list as they are not mutually exclusive, while some forms are confined to particular localities or have different names in different regions. Typically the categorisation is by region in Laos and by genre in Isan. The traditional forms of Isan are historically important, but are now rarely heard: lam phi fah (ลำผีฟ้า) — a ritual to propitiate spirits in cases of possession. Musically it derived from lam tang yao; however, it was perf ...

See also:

Mor lam, Mor lam - History, Mor lam - Forms, Mor lam - Performers, Mor lam - Performance, Mor lam - Characteristics, Mor lam - Instruments, Mor lam - Music, Mor lam - Content, Mor lam - Recordings, Mor lam - Notes

Read more here: » Mor lam: Encyclopedia II - Mor lam - Forms

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

The most significant composer of operetta in the German language was the Austrian Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899). His first work in this genre is Indigo und die vierzig Räuber (1871) although it was his third operetta Die Fledermaus (1874) which became the most performed operetta in the world and remained his most popular stage work. In all, he wrote 16 operettas and one opera in his lifetime. Its libretto was based on a comedy written by Offenbach's librettists. In fact, Strauss may have been convinced to write the operetta ...

See also:

Operetta, Operetta - History

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

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

Cavalieri was born in Rome of an aristocratic and musical family. He probably received his early training there, and was working as an organist and music director in the period from 1578 to 1584. In 1588 he moved to Florence, for Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici had hired him as an overseer of artists, craftsmen and musicians; he helped produce the extremely opulent intermedi that the Medici family required for events such as weddings. Count Giovanni de' Bardi, the founder and patron of the Florentine Camerata, also collaborated on these produ ...

See also:

Emilio de' Cavalieri, Emilio de' Cavalieri - Life, Emilio de' Cavalieri - Works, Emilio de' Cavalieri - Sources and Further Reading

Read more here: » Emilio de' Cavalieri: Encyclopedia II - Emilio de' Cavalieri - Life

The Creation is written in three parts, whose musical numbers are given below. As in other oratorios, the larger musical numbers (arias and choruses) are often prefaced with a brief recitative; here, the recitative gives the actual words of Genesis, while the following number elaborates the bare Biblical narrative in verse. The Creation - Part I. Part I celebrates the creation of the primal light, the Earth, the heavenly bodies, bodies of water, weather, and plant life. No. 1a. Die Vorstel ...

See also:

The Creation, The Creation - Composition and premiere, The Creation - Text, The Creation - Musical forces, The Creation - Musical numbers, The Creation - Part I, The Creation - Part II, The Creation - Part III, The Creation - Critical opinions, The Creation - Book

Read more here: » The Creation: Encyclopedia II - The Creation - Musical numbers

Most likely the impetus for writing madrigals came through the influence of Alfonso Ferrabosco, who worked in England in the 1560s and 1570s in Queen Elizabeth's court; he wrote many works in the form, and not only did they prove popular but they inspired some imitation by local composers. The development that caused the explosion of madrigal composition in England, however, was the development of native poetry — especially the sonnet — which was conducive to setting to music in the Italian style. When Nicholas Yonge published Musica ...

See also:

English Madrigal School, English Madrigal School - Style and Characteristics, English Madrigal School - Composers, English Madrigal School - Sources

Read more here: » English Madrigal School: Encyclopedia II - English Madrigal School - Style and Characteristics

Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Naming. The official name is: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, opus 125. The symphony is sometimes referred to as "Choral", pointing to the vocal end of the symphony. Also known as The Symphony of Joy. Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Score. The Ninth Symphony is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in C, A and B flat), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns (in D, E flat, B flat and bass B flat), 2 trumpets (in D, B flat), 3 trombones, 2 timpan ...

See also:

Symphony No. 9 Beethoven, 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 - The Ninth Symphony in popular culture, Symphony No. 9 Beethoven - Media

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

Baroque musical settings of the Passion became common in the later 17th century. Like other oratorio passions, Bach's setting presents the Biblical text of Matthew 26-27 in a relatively simple way, primarily using recitative, while arias and ariosos set newly-written texts which comment on the various events in the Biblical narrative. Two distinctive aspects of Bach's setting spring from Bach’s other church endeavors. One is the double-choir format stems from his own double-choir motets and the many such motets from other composers ...

See also:

Matthäuspassion, Matthäuspassion - Structure of the work, Matthäuspassion - Interpolated texts, Matthäuspassion - Compositional style, Matthäuspassion - History, Matthäuspassion - Links

Read more here: » Matthäuspassion: Encyclopedia II - Matthäuspassion - Structure of the work