Western Music History Flashcards
7 cards from real BM or BMus Bachelor of Music practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Western Music History flashcards as text
Which medieval theorist wrote 'Micrologus,' one of the earliest treatises on polyphony and counterpoint?
Answer: Guido of Arezzo
Guido of Arezzo wrote 'Micrologus' around 1025–1026, covering chant, modes, and early polyphonic practice.
The 'Ars Subtilior' style of the late 14th century is best characterized by which feature?
Answer: Extreme rhythmic complexity and notational experimentation
Ars Subtilior, centered in southern France and northern Italy, pushed rhythmic complexity and notation to unprecedented extremes.
Which Baroque composer served as Kapellmeister at the Dresden court and was renowned for his opera 'Dafne' (1627)?
Answer: Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz's 'Dafne' (1627) is considered the first German opera, though the music is now lost.
The 'doctrine of affections' (Affektenlehre) in Baroque music held that music should:
Answer: Express a single unified emotion throughout a movement
Baroque Affektenlehre taught that each piece or movement should embody and arouse one specific affect or emotion.
Christoph Willibald Gluck's 'reform operas' of the 1760s aimed to correct which perceived flaw in opera seria?
Answer: Virtuosic singing that overshadowed dramatic truth
Gluck's reforms, articulated in his preface to 'Alceste' (1769), sought to subordinate music to poetry and restore dramatic simplicity over vocal display.
Which term describes the formal plan of a Classical-era minuet movement: Minuet–Trio–Minuet?
Answer: Rounded ternary (ABA) form
The minuet and trio movement follows an ABA ternary plan, with the opening minuet returning da capo after the contrasting trio.
Hector Berlioz's 'Symphonie fantastique' introduced the concept of the 'idée fixe,' which refers to:
Answer: A recurring melodic theme representing a person or idea across all movements
The idée fixe is a melody representing the beloved that transforms in character across the symphony's five movements.