Classical Speak

Listed below are some terms you might come across while you are learning about classical music.

Adagio – Very slow

Allegro – Quick and lively

Andante – Walking speed

Ballets – Full-scale choreographed dance works, usually accompanied by a full orchestra. Ballets are very lovely. In reality, it’s a bunch of really skinny girls and buff guys dancing around in circles and leaping through the air to beautiful music.

Chamber Music - Pieces written for small ensembles with 2-10 players. It is called chamber music because it’s designed to be played at one’s home among friends.

Chamber Orchestra – a smaller group of musicians (15-35) players

Concerto – A three-movement work for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. In the concerto, there are sections where the orchestra stops playing and the soloist shows off his/her stuff...this is called a cadenza.

Movement – classical pieces are often divided up in to sections...each section is called a movement. There are fast movements, slow movements and medium speed movements.

Opera – The following components are needed for an opera - an orchestra (usually under the stage in what’s called the “orchestra pit”), a chorus (backup singers), scenery and soloists (star singers). Operas are large-scale plays that have been set to music. A soloist’s song is called an aria. The storylines are often complicated and laced with intrigue. There are plenty of villains, heroes and heartbreaks. To complicate things further, operas are often sung in a foreign language (the text of an opera is called the libretto). Sometimes, if you are really lucky, operas have subtitles at the theater so that you can follow along. If you are not sure there are going to be subtitles, it’s best to read a full synopsis of the opera before the evening of the performance. If you don’t, chances are that you will get completely miss the story line and which will lead to a long, dull night. There is rarely spoken dialogue in opera...everything is usually sung. Operas are pretty long, hence the saying “Life is short, opera is long.”

Orchestration – The assignment of notes (melodic lines and harmony) to a specific instrument or group of instruments. Orchestration can also describe the amount of players, hence thick orchestration (a lot of players) or thin orchestration (a few players).

Overtures – Kick off pieces...mostly for operas, but they can also stand alone as complete pieces. They typically run 5-7 minutes.

Presto – Extremely fast

Repertoire – The piece

Standard Repertoire – Classical pieces that are beloved and often performed

Soloist – the star of the evening

Sonata – A three-movement piece written for piano or another instrument accompanied by the piano. For example there are piano sonatas and there are bassoon sonatas for bassoon and piano.

String Quartets – A group of two violins, a viola and a cello that plays chamber music

Symphony – This can be a little confusing...the word symphony means two things: 1.) a musical ensemble of people (generally around 50 members) consisting of string, wind, brass and percussion players. 2.) A musical form that usually has four separate parts called movements.

Tempo - The speed of a piece

Vivace – Really fast

Woodwind Quintets – A group consisting of a flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and french horn that plays chamber music