Cantata: A short oratorio with either a sacred or secular subject, performed by either solo singers or chorus and orchestra.

Chromatic: Refers to notes not in the defined scale; not diatonic, or outside the key scheme; scale comprised of half-steps and including all twelve pitches of an octave.

Concert Overture: Orchestral composition that opens an opera, oratorio, or play.

Dissonance: A chord that sounds restless and unstable, usually resolved to justify the sound for the listening ear. Opposite consonance.

Dynamics: The different levels of volume in music, such as piano and forte.

Grand Opera: An epic or historical work in four to five acts, performed with a large orchestra; a work to be performed at the Paris Opéra; a composition using dramatic musical resources.

Incidental Music: Music written to accompany, or in connection with, a play. May be vocal or instrumental music, performed at the beginning, in-between acts, or as background music.

Intermezzo (Character Piece): "In the middle." An interlude of a short orchestral composition inserted into an opera; a short, small-scale, and independent piano piece with a light character.

Lieder ("songs"): Sing. Lied. German solo vocal composition with piano accompaniment, using a poem as its text.

Lyric Opera: A combination of all opera types.

Mazurka: Traditional Polish dance in triple time, with characteristic dotted rhythms and an accent on the second beat. Geared toward the aristocracy.

Music Drama: "Gesamtkunstwerk." A unified and dramatic work of art, combining all art forms. Developed by Romantic composer Richard Wagner.

Opéra Comique: French comic opera containing light-hearted subjects and spoken dialogue. Used serious or tragic events for storyline in the 19th century.

Oratorio: A sacred musical composition for solo vocalists, chorus, and orchestra. Performed without scenery or costumes and emphasizing narration; secular works also scored for a combination of solo singers, chorus, and orchestra.

Part-Song: An unaccompanied secular song written for several vocal parts, or male, female, or mixed chorus.

Polonaise: National Polish dance or ceremonial procession in triple meter and moderate tempo; an instrumental piece, originally used to accompany the Polish dance.

Prelude: A short piece written for the keyboard instrument, often played in an improvisatory style.

Program Music: Instrumental composition depicting nonmusical ideas, concerning literary ideas, or telling a story.

Singspiel: German song-play, or a type of opera with spoken dialogue, using a comic or light subject.

Song Cycle: Set of songs grouped together in a certain order according to a unified theme. Associated with the 19th-century German lied.

Tempo: The speed at which a musical composition is performed.

Tone Poem (Symphonic Poem): Orchestral work with one movement and music that is accompanied by a poetic and narrative text.

Waltz: Dance in 3/4 time, becoming popular toward the end of the 18th century.


Suggested Listening

Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, Unfinished
Frédéric Chopin: Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat Major, Op. 53, Heroic
Robert Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2
Franz Liszt: Transcendental Etude No. 8, Wild Hunt
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Richard Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries from the opera, Die Walküre
Giuseppe Verdi: Un die felice from Act I of the opera, La Traviata


More Information

To learn more about the Romantic Period click on the link below!

A Brief History of Music: The Romantic Era