Vocal Works

28. Song

Songs may be folk songs, or romances, or songs written by classical composers, for which there is no special name.

The German word lieder [`li:dq] is used to denote songs of a lyrical type composed in the 19^th century by such composers as Brahms, Schubert and Schumann. It is used only in the plural form given here.

madrigal

Madrigals are part-songs, that is, songs to be sung in parts for unaccompanied voices, written mainly in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

aria

arias from operas are sometimes performed at concert, although they are not complete works.

Choral works: cantata, oratorio, requiem

29. Use of on with names of instruments

We say: to play the piano/guitar/violin with no preposition but: to play sth on the piano/guitar/violin.

e.g. She plays the piano (very well).

She played some Strauss waltzes on the piano.

Some Common Musical Terms Note, Music, score

30. Note corresponds to нота in such sentences as:

e.g. She couldn’t reach the top note.

He played a lot of wrong notes.

However, note is not used in the plural to mean notes printed on sheets of paper, like the Russian ноты. This is sheet music, or simply music.

e.g. The soloist hardly looked at his music.

He played from music/without music.

music in this sense also occurs in the expression to read music.

e.g. I can’t read music.

This can be contrasted with to have an ear for music, where music is used in its more usual sense.

Score is used to denote the copy where all the parts (партии) are shown, especially with reference to orchestral music.

e.g. The conductor hardly looked at the score.

It corresponds to партитура.

Score may also be used of the music itself, not simply its written form:

e.g. a beautiful score

31. Musical notes are designated by letters in Britain:

A B C D E F G

These correspond to the system used in other countries as follows:

C	do(h)		G	so(l)
D	re		A	la
E	mi		B	ti
F	fa		C	do(h)

The right-hand columns show the system which is called in English tonic solfa (сольфеджио). In Britain it is used mainly in teaching singing.

32. key

This word can denote one of the parts that you press on a musical instrument to make it produce sounds:

e.g. piano keys

As a musical term, it denotes a set of musical notes that are based on one particular note (тональность):

e.g. a major/minor key, in the key of D sharp

этюд (в тональности) ми минор – an etude in (the key of) E minor

соната соль мажор - a sonata in G (major)

ноктюрн фа диез минор – a nocturne in (the key of) F sharp minor

фантазия ля бемоль мажор – a fantasia in (the key of) A flat major

NB: | is the written symbol for a flat

# is the written symbol for a sharp