The Middle Ages 476 CE – Early Fifteenth Century

Part 1: The Middle Ages: 476 CE–Early Fifteenth Century 1. Medieval courts used the arts primarily as a means of __________. a) educating their young in the schools b) exploring religious and political debates c) projecting their cultural power and impressing subjects and visitors d) funding their budgets through public shows and concerts 2. The earliest chant manuscripts show __________. a) simple symbols above the texts, indicating motion of the pitch up or down b) carefully notated rhythms c) indications of which instruments should play the harmonies d) no indication of pitch whatsoever 3. In Hildegard’s Play of Virtues, Satan does not sing, but __________. a) pantomimes his part b) shouts his lines c) plays the pan pipes d) is heard offstage playing the viol 4. Gregorian Chant is named after Pope Gregory I, who __________. a) organized a group of composers to write a new set of plainchant melodies b) had his name put on the first printed edition of the Gregorian Chant hymnal c) was said to have written the bulk of the standard chants, according to later legend d) wrote the harmonies and instrumental parts for all of the chants 5. A melismatic setting is __________. a) music chanted on nonsense syllables b) text set to one note per syllable c) music sung on the syllable “la” d) text set to more than one note per syllable 6. Hildegard’s Play of Virtues is __________. a) a comedy b) a dramatized Mass c) a dramatized allegory of good versus evil d) based upon the writings of Charlemagne 7. Which of the following statements is true of the rhythmic approach used in the Middle Ages when performing plainchant? a) It was always performed with free rhythm. b) It was always performed with measured rhythm. c) It was always performed with modal rhythm. d) No one knows exactly how it was performed. 1 8. In Hildegard’s play, Satan is like __________. a) Peter Pan in Neverland b) Gollum in Lord of the Rings c) Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series d) Darth Vader in Star Wars 9. Which term refers to a musical setting in which each syllable receives its own note? a) free b) modal c) syllabic d) melismatic 10. The texture in Hildegard’s play was __________. a) monophonic, allowing performers to project the text with great clarity b) homophonic, causing the text to be lost in the harmony c) heterophonic, making Satan appear even more frightening d) very different from the texture of the Gregorian chant 11. The opening of the excerpt “Soul, Penitent” from Hildegard’s Play of Virtues is in which mode? a) Dorian, beginning and cadencing on the note D b) Mixolydian, beginning and cadencing on the note E c) Phrygian, beginning and cadencing on the note F d) Lydian, beginning and cadencing on the note G 12. Hildegard wrote her Play of Virtues to be performed __________. a) at the Council of Trent b) by a traveling troupe of minnesingers c) in her own convent by her fellow nuns d) at a gathering of archbishops on All Saints Day 13. The texture of Gregorian Chant during the Middle Ages was chiefly __________. a) monophonic b) homophonic c) polyphonic d) heterophonic 14. Hildegard entered the Benedictine convent at what age? a) 17 b) 7 c) 42 d) 2 15. In addition composing music, Hildegard __________. a) served as an archbishop for the Catholic Church b) created the first book of European horticulture c) experienced visions and directed the life of a thriving convent d) wrote a treatise on the German language 2 16. In her letter to the church authorities, Hildegard defended the practice of music by __________. a) using references from the book of Psalm b) referring to the biblical prophet Isaiah c) discouraging the use of Gregorian chant in worship d) pointing to the use of music by pagan religions 17. An important female composer of the Middle Ages was __________. a) Alicia de lo Rocha b) Hildegard von (of) Bingen c) Mary Lowell d) Eurydice 18. Plainchant consists of __________. a) one instrument playing alone b) several voices and instruments with harmony c) readings by Pope Gregory I d) a melody sung alone or by a group in unison 19. Which of the following is true of Gregorian chant? a) It obscured the meaning of the words. b) It used only the major and minor scales. c) The melodies tend to move stepwise with a narrow range of pitches. d) It is polyphonic in texture. 20. In Hildegard’s play, the Penitent Soul is like __________. a) Gaston in Beauty and the Beast b) Frodo in Lord of the Rings c) Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series d) the droids in Star Wars 21. What is the melodic contour of many of Hildegard’s phrases? a) a doubly-inverted-arc contour b) an upward leap, then a descent through a series of steps c) a downward leap, then an ascent through a series of steps d) ascend gradually to the reciting tone 22. Which of the following is a character in Hildegard’s Play of Virtues? a) Jealousy b) God c) the Prophet d) Humility 23. Monophonic chant appears __________. a) in cultures throughout the world and across historical epochs b) only as a relic of musical practices in the Catholic Church c) primarily in secular music of indigenous cultures d) as a new phenomenon during the shift from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance 3 24. What type of chant involves a chorus responding to a solo singer? a) florid b) measured c) responsorial d) laudation 25. Although there is a choir, the texture of the “Caro mea” is monophonic because they sing __________. a) softly b) in unison c) in harmony d) in Latin 26. The Alleluia is an important component of which Catholic church service? a) the Mass b) Vespers c) Compline d) Matins 27. Which of the following is part of the “Propers” of the Mass, which change according to the specific Sunday or feast day? a) Kyrie b) Gloria c) Credo d) Alleluia 28. Who sings the part of the “Caro mea” Alleluia that includes biblical verses? a) the chorus b) only the high voices c) a soloist d) Jesus 29. How does reciting a text and singing it differ? a) Singing lengthens and extends each syllable. b) Reciting allows the text to project across large spaces. c) Singing is much faster. d) Reciting allows speakers to embellish certain words. 30. A plainchant singer might emphasize a particular word when singing by __________. a) singing one note per syllable b) using a melisma c) singing the melody on a single pitch d) speeding up the tempo 31. Which portion of the Alleulia text remains the same throughout the year? a) “Caro mea” b) “sanguis meus vere est potus” c) “meam carnem” d) “Alleluia” 4 32. Which of the following is a physiological effect of plainchant? a) increased anxiety b) lower blood pressure c) higher blood pressure d) lower levels of the hormone DHEA 33. Which elements of chant create a sense of well-being and calm? a) the gentle flow of the melodies b) the repetitive rhythms c) the wide range of timbre d) the complex textures 34. Which of the following words would be most likely to receive a melisma in Medieval chant? a) indeed b) and c) for d) blood 35. What is the overall form of the “Caro mea” Alleluia? a) AAB b) ABB c) AABAA d) ABC 36. In “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars,” cadences are identified in the music by a __________. a) rhyme b) harmonic resolution from dominant to tonic c) change from polyphonic to heterophonic texture d) point of arrival, coupled with a pause in the forward motion of the voices 37. Guillaume de Machaut’s “Messe de Nostre Dame” is __________. a) a plainchant setting of the central Christian liturgical service b) the first polyphonic setting of the Mass Ordinary by a single composer c) a song celebrating the wedding feast at Cana in the New Testament d) an example of non-liturgical texts being included in a Christian liturgical service 38. The person who is being addressed by the singer of “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars” is most likely __________. a) ignoring the singer’s pleas b) waiting for a better song from a wealthier suitor c) entranced by the singer’s song d) already married and has no reason to listen to another marriage proposal 5 39. Guillaume de Machaut was appointed a canon at Rheims, meaning he __________. a) became a lawyer for the Church b) joined the staff of the local cathedral c) studied military science d) sang “rounds,” which were pieces based on a melody in canon 40. The form of “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars” is similar to that of __________. a) “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” b) “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” c) “East Side, West Side” d) “The Star-Spangled Banner” 41. How many voices are in “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars”? a) one b) two c) three d) four 42. What is the texture of “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars”? a) heterophonic b) monophonic c) quadrophonic d) polyphonic 43. What is the relationship of the voices in “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars”? a) active upper voice with slower lower voices b) two voices of equal prominence c) unison d) polyphony over a plainchant melody 44. In “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars,” the B section is __________ the A section. a) shorter than b) longer than c) the same length as d) identical to 45. Machaut’s works are known primarily through __________. a) manuscript fragments b) the Squarcialupi Codex c) songbooks copied by traveling musicians d) a set of manuscripts copied under the supervision of the composer himself 46. In addition to being a composer, Machaut was famous for his work as a __________. a) poet b) sculptor c) painter d) politician 6 47. Guillaume de Machaut __________. a) traveled widely throughout northern Europe, working at different courts b) was also a painter c) learned polyphonic techniques from Hildegard of Bingen d) spent his entire career at one cathedral 48. Composers like Jacopo de Bologna, Bernart de Ventadorn, and Oswald von Wolkenstein share with Machaut a strong interest in __________. a) sacred polyphony b) courtly love c) organum d) instrumental music 49. In texts of courtly love, a nobleman admires a woman especially if she __________. a) takes no interest in him b) is already married to another man c) appreciates his musical talent d) is well-educated 50. How many structural cadences occur in “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars”? a) zero b) one c) three d) six 51. What is the form of “No More than One Man Could Count the Stars”? a) AAB b) ABA c) AABA d) ABCA Test Bank The Renaissance: ca. 1425–1600 1. The Renaissance may be described as an age of __________. a) the “rebirth” of Enlightenment-era logic b) war and death c) orchestras touring extensively in Europe d) the “rebirth” of arts and sciences from antiquity 2. The Renaissance was an age of growing confidence in __________. a) the government and group dynamics b) mystical intervention c) industrial technologies d) the powers of human reason and individuality 3. William Byrd was a __________. 7