MUS 121 Final Exam – Accurate Answers To All
Questions
What is a cantata?
A. A stage-play that involves music (mostly singing) and also uses stage
scenery, costumes, and acting
B. An often dramatic musical work for solo voice or choir with instrumental
accompaniment (like a small orchestra). Similar to an opera but shorter and
has no costumes, stage props, or acting
C. An often dramatic musical work for solo voice or choir with instrumental
accompaniment (ike a small orchestra). It is similar to an opera but solely
focuses on teaching a religious le ✔️Ans - B. An often dramatic musical
work for solo voice or choir with instrumental accompaniment (like a small
orchestra). Similar to an opera but shorter and has no costumes, stage props,
or acting
True or false? Cantatas can be sacred or secular. ✔️Ans - True
What is J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata about?
A. A young girl who is addicted to coffee and her father who desperately tries
to free her of this addiction
B. A sacred cantata that focuses on the glory of God
C. A father and son who ride swiftly through the woods at night on horseback
as they try to escape the cruel Elf King, the hoarder of the world's coffee
D. Claudio Monteverdi, the first soldier to bring coffee to Germany. The
cantata discusses his coffee-making adventures and how it led to the c ✔️Ans
- A. A young girl who is addicted to coffee and her father who desperately
tries to free her of this addiction
George Frederic Handel's Messiah is a/an
A. Opera
B. Cantata
C. Oratorio
D. Symphony
E. Madrigal ✔️Ans - C. Oratorio
Handel's Messiah focuses on what subject?
,A. A young, coffee-addicted girl and her father who tries to free her of her
addiction
B. The life of Jesus from the Bible
C. A soldier who crashes on the shores of a widowed queen and the growth of
their romantic relationship
D. The story of a father attempting to save his son from the quickly
approaching Elf King ✔️Ans - B. The life of Jesus from the Bible
What do we call a multi-movement work where each movement is based on a
particular popular dance? It is composed for a solo instrument and commonly
found in the baroque period.
A. Opera
B. Oratorio
C. Fugue
D. Suite
E. Sonata ✔️Ans - D. Suite
A ______ is a musical work where the main melody (the subject) is developed
polyphonically. After the initial melody is heard, that same melody enters a
few seconds later but at a different note-level. This process continues until all
layers of melodies have entered and a complicated web of sound has been
created.
A. Suite
B. Fugue
C. Symphony
D. Sonata
E. Madrigal ✔️Ans - B. Fugue
What is improvisation as it relates to music?
A. The ability to sight-read notes immediately from a printed page
B. The art of playing composed music completely from memory
C. Music that is created by the performer during the moment of performance
D. The secondary melody in a fugue ✔️Ans - C. Music that is created by the
performer during the moment of performance
Johan Sebastian Bach lived during what musical period?
A. Medieval
B. Renaissance
C. Baroque
, D. Classical
E. Romantic ✔️Ans - C. Baroque
The main melody of a fugue is called the
A. Subject
B. Prelude
C. Toccata
D. Exposition ✔️Ans - A. Subject
True or false? The exposition in a fugue includes the first statement of the
subject only. ✔️Ans - False
True or false? Later in the baroque, royals and other wealthy families hired
orchestras to provide music. ✔️Ans - True
Which of the following is NOT one of the dances commonly present in a
baroque suite?
A. Fantasia
B. Allemande
C. Gigue
D. Sarabande ✔️Ans - A. Fantasia
Which of these statements is true?
A. By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music has gradually equaled or
surpassed vocal music in popularity
B. By the end of the baroque era, dance music had surpassed sacred music in
popularity
C. At the beginning of the baroque era, J.S. Bach established the French
overture
D. During the baroque era, the madrigal emerged as a prominent vocal form
✔️Ans - A. By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music has gradually
equaled or surpassed vocal music in popularity
True or false? The countersubject of a fugue appears only at the very end of
the piece. ✔️Ans - False
A toccata keyboard is characterized by
A. Many scale passages, rapid runs and trills, and massive chords
B. Introducing another piece of music
Questions
What is a cantata?
A. A stage-play that involves music (mostly singing) and also uses stage
scenery, costumes, and acting
B. An often dramatic musical work for solo voice or choir with instrumental
accompaniment (like a small orchestra). Similar to an opera but shorter and
has no costumes, stage props, or acting
C. An often dramatic musical work for solo voice or choir with instrumental
accompaniment (ike a small orchestra). It is similar to an opera but solely
focuses on teaching a religious le ✔️Ans - B. An often dramatic musical
work for solo voice or choir with instrumental accompaniment (like a small
orchestra). Similar to an opera but shorter and has no costumes, stage props,
or acting
True or false? Cantatas can be sacred or secular. ✔️Ans - True
What is J.S. Bach's Coffee Cantata about?
A. A young girl who is addicted to coffee and her father who desperately tries
to free her of this addiction
B. A sacred cantata that focuses on the glory of God
C. A father and son who ride swiftly through the woods at night on horseback
as they try to escape the cruel Elf King, the hoarder of the world's coffee
D. Claudio Monteverdi, the first soldier to bring coffee to Germany. The
cantata discusses his coffee-making adventures and how it led to the c ✔️Ans
- A. A young girl who is addicted to coffee and her father who desperately
tries to free her of this addiction
George Frederic Handel's Messiah is a/an
A. Opera
B. Cantata
C. Oratorio
D. Symphony
E. Madrigal ✔️Ans - C. Oratorio
Handel's Messiah focuses on what subject?
,A. A young, coffee-addicted girl and her father who tries to free her of her
addiction
B. The life of Jesus from the Bible
C. A soldier who crashes on the shores of a widowed queen and the growth of
their romantic relationship
D. The story of a father attempting to save his son from the quickly
approaching Elf King ✔️Ans - B. The life of Jesus from the Bible
What do we call a multi-movement work where each movement is based on a
particular popular dance? It is composed for a solo instrument and commonly
found in the baroque period.
A. Opera
B. Oratorio
C. Fugue
D. Suite
E. Sonata ✔️Ans - D. Suite
A ______ is a musical work where the main melody (the subject) is developed
polyphonically. After the initial melody is heard, that same melody enters a
few seconds later but at a different note-level. This process continues until all
layers of melodies have entered and a complicated web of sound has been
created.
A. Suite
B. Fugue
C. Symphony
D. Sonata
E. Madrigal ✔️Ans - B. Fugue
What is improvisation as it relates to music?
A. The ability to sight-read notes immediately from a printed page
B. The art of playing composed music completely from memory
C. Music that is created by the performer during the moment of performance
D. The secondary melody in a fugue ✔️Ans - C. Music that is created by the
performer during the moment of performance
Johan Sebastian Bach lived during what musical period?
A. Medieval
B. Renaissance
C. Baroque
, D. Classical
E. Romantic ✔️Ans - C. Baroque
The main melody of a fugue is called the
A. Subject
B. Prelude
C. Toccata
D. Exposition ✔️Ans - A. Subject
True or false? The exposition in a fugue includes the first statement of the
subject only. ✔️Ans - False
True or false? Later in the baroque, royals and other wealthy families hired
orchestras to provide music. ✔️Ans - True
Which of the following is NOT one of the dances commonly present in a
baroque suite?
A. Fantasia
B. Allemande
C. Gigue
D. Sarabande ✔️Ans - A. Fantasia
Which of these statements is true?
A. By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music has gradually equaled or
surpassed vocal music in popularity
B. By the end of the baroque era, dance music had surpassed sacred music in
popularity
C. At the beginning of the baroque era, J.S. Bach established the French
overture
D. During the baroque era, the madrigal emerged as a prominent vocal form
✔️Ans - A. By the end of the baroque era, instrumental music has gradually
equaled or surpassed vocal music in popularity
True or false? The countersubject of a fugue appears only at the very end of
the piece. ✔️Ans - False
A toccata keyboard is characterized by
A. Many scale passages, rapid runs and trills, and massive chords
B. Introducing another piece of music
