Exercises

1. Explain the meaning of each idiom. Suggest their Russian equivalents.

2. Choose 3–4 items and use them in a situation of your own.

3. Paraphrase the following sentences using the musical idioms you have learned instead of the italics:

1. I’m sorry, but you can’t make him learn this if he doesn’t want to. 2. “His name is Richard Ordergard.” “I’m afraid, it doesn’t seem familiar to me.” 3. I’m leaving because I’m tired of always being in the shadow of the Great Man you think you are, Tony. 4. I thought I’d fall ill after having been caught in the storm yesterday, but I’m quite healthy! 5. “What can yoг say of the man?” “He’s always boasting. I don’t like him very at all.” 6. I’ve heard you saying this for at least five times, honey, so please stop talking about it! 7. As he’d kept a false records of figures in the current accounts, he soon found himself kicked out of the firm with extremely unfavourable letter of recommendation. 8. Don’t you worry, Mrs. Thornsmith. Your little Harry is in perfect condition.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLASSICAL MUSIC

The following brief outline provides an introductory overview of musical history, from Gregorian chant to the present day, picking out the major composers along the way.

Mediaeval (c.1150 – c.1400)

This is the first period where we can begin to be fairly certain as to how a great deal of music which has survived actually sounded. The earliest written secular music dates from the 12^th century troubadours (in the form of virelais, ballades, etc.), but most notated manuscripts are usually connected with the church, and therefore inevitably have a religious basis.

Gregorian chant and plainsong which are monodic (i.e. written as one musical line) gradually developed during the 11^th to 13^th centuries into organum (i.e. 2 or 3 lines moving simultaneously but independently, therefore almost inadvertently representing the beginnings of harmony).

Renaissance (c.1400 – c.1600)

The 15^th century witnessed vastly increased freedoms, most particularly in terms of what is actually perceived as “harmony” and “polyphony” (the simultaneous movement of 2 or 3 interrelated parts). Composers (although they were barely perceived as such) were still almost entirely devoted to choral writing.

The four most influential composers of the 15^th century were Dunstable, Ockenghem, Despres and Dufay.

In the second half of the 16^th century composers gradually moved away from the modal system of harmony (which presupposed the use of the white keys of the keyboard only) towards the organization of their work into major and minor scales, thereby imparting the strong sensation of each piece having a definite tonal center or “key”.

This was also something of a golden period for choral composition as a seemingly endless flow of a capella (unaccompanied) masses, motets, anthems, psalms and madrigals flowed from the pens of the masters of the age. In addition, instrumental music came into its own for the first time, especially keyboard music in the form of fantasias, variations, and dance movements (pavanes, etc.) Composers of particular note include Byrd, Palestrina, Frescobaldi, Gesualdo.