Music Appreciation 3.8-3.12

When and where was Henry Purcell born?

• 1659 in London, England

• 1716 in York, England

• 1706 in London, England

• 1645 in York, England

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is important because it is one of the greatest operas to treat the ______ in an unparalleled way.

• Italian language

• English language

• recitative

• singers

The ground bass pattern may be as short as ______ notes or as long as ______ measures.

• four; eight

• two; four

• eight; four

• six; six

The descending ground bass, which is repeated eleven times in this aria, most probably denotes which of the following?

• Dido's grief

• The chorus of witches

• Aeneas's journey

• Belinda's grief

Select all the statements that describe the cantata.

• It was an important genre in the baroque period.

• It is a vocal work without instrumental accompaniment.

• It is another term for opera.

• It is a work for one or more voices with instruments.

Select all the positions that the English composer Henry Purcell held in his life.

• Choirboy in the Chapel Royal

• Harpsichord musician at the court of King Louis XIV

• Music director to Cardinal Ottoboni in Rome

• Organist of Westminster Abbey

Much of Purcell's music includes ______, which the next generation of composers did not fully appreciate.

• chords

• language

• repetition

• dissonances

What is another term for ground bass?

• Basso continuo

• Recitative

• Double bass

• Basso ostinato

Why did Purcell add dances to his opera Dido and Aeneas?

• Because English audiences loved to dance

• Because the principal of the school where it was performed was a dancer

• To give work to dancers

• As an innovation since no opera composer had included dance before

Select all the statements that apply to the early baroque Italian cantata.

• It dealt with Biblical texts.

• It dealt with love and ancient mythology.

• It was a sacred genre.

• It was a secular genre.