Definitions
Anthem – a hymn or song of praise, specific to Anglican services in which anthems have a liturgical place in Matins and Evensongs. Anthems normally use texts from the Bible, in particular the Psalms, and are always in English.
Aria – Italian for ‘song’. An expressive or meditative melody for soloist(s) and instrumental accompaniment. Usually in ‘da capo’ form in which the first section is repeated: ABA. The middle section often contrasts in mood with the first section, and the singer is usually expected to add melodic improvisation and ornamentation in the repeat of the first section.
Cantata – a cantata is sacred work for singers (soloists and often chorus) and instrumental accompaniment in several movements.
Chorale – introduced by the religious reformer Martin Luther, chorales are simple hymn tunes which could be sung in church services by the congregation. At first they had only one melodic line and were sung in unison, but this developed into the four-part harmonised chorales which Bach used extensively. The strict rules governing the harmonisation of chorales form the basis of most tonal harmony. The melodies were often based on songs the congregation may already have known (contrafactus).
Chorale fantasy – a style pioneered by Bach, these choral works use the melody line of a chorale tune as a cantus firmus in one voice part while the other voices and instruments have elaborate contrapuntal music weaving throughout the piece. The chorale prelude uses the same idea for organ only.
Oratorio – like a large-scale cantata; a longer piece, usually sacred, for soloists, chorus and orchestra. They often use particular stories from the Bible as their subject, such as Handel’s Solomon and J. S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. They are
considered more dramatic than cantatas, and in some ways are more similar to operas, although they are performed as concert works, i.e. with no acting or costumes.
Mass – composers had been setting the texts of the different sections of the Catholic Mass since the plainsong of the Middle Ages, and in the Baroque period composers set the texts to arias and choruses with instrumental accompaniment. When setting the mass to music, short extracts of the texts are often made into whole movements (such as in Vivaldi’s Gloria, in which only the first four words of the text make up the first movement), using a lot of repetition and long melismas.
Motet – a song of praise set to texts from Latin scriptures. They are usually performed after the offertory in Catholic masses and can be said to be the Catholic version of the Church of England’s anthems.
Passion – the term ‘Passion’ refers specifically to anything relating to the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, and in music is used to settings of the Gospel texts covering the story.
Recitative – from the Italian for ‘reciting’. A sung narrative in a free style prose, using the rhythms of speech. There are two forms of recitative: recitative secco and recitative accompagnato. Secco is only for voice and continuo; accompagnato has instrumental accompaniment (as well as continuo).
Reformation – the time when the Western Church split into Catholicism and Protestantism. Martin Luther was a main catalyst in the move away from the Catholic Church, being of the opinion that Rome was corrupt, went about worship in the wrong way and had become elitist. Luther believed that church services should be conducted in the vernacular (the language of the area) so all people could understand what was happening during the service. This had a huge impact on music: Luther devised chorales which became an important part of German Lutheran services. It also led to the need for sacred music to be written in the vernacular, specifically in Germany and England. In Italy and France, which remained Catholic, the words to sacred music continued to be in Latin, taking on the different compositional styles and fashions through the ages.
