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Masterpieces of Western Music

Humanities W1123 · Prof. Michael Thaddeus

The Franco-Flemish School: Dufay, Ockeghem, Josquin


GLOSSARY

IMITATION: counterpoint in which voices enter, one by one, with roughly the same melody [SG]

STRICT imitation or CANON: imitation where the repetition is exact [SG]

ISORHYTHMIC: of a piece which (imperceptibly) repeats an intricate rhythm several times [SG]

MOTET: religious (but not liturgical) piece for several unaccompanied voices

APOSTROPHE: a direct address to another person

METER: the grouping of rhythmic beats into larger units [SG], e.g. duple meter (groups of two) [SG], triple meter (groups of three) [SG]

RONDEAU: Renaissance secular form with a repeated refrain

CADENCE: the last few (say two) notes, or chords, of a musical phrase [SG]

PARODY: in the Renaissance, an elaborate work based on a pre-existing melody

MOTIVE: a short melodic segment whose patterns of rhythm and pitch constantly recur

SEQUENCE: a brief passage repeated at higher and higher (or lower and lower) pitches [SG]

PAIRED IMITATION: imitation by pairs of voices (i.e. duets)

POINT OF IMITATION: a motive with which several imitating voices enter

HOMOPHONY: music with all voices having the same rhythm (as opposed to polyphony) [SG]

SONG: a short piece on a secular text for a solo voice

STROPHIC: of a song where different verses are sung to the same music [SG]