RCM HISTORY 9 EXAM 2025
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Absolute Music - ANS Instrumental music without extramusical associations (e.g. sonatas,
allegrettos, menuets, rondos)
The "Affections" - ANS Baroque philosophy that was inspired by the Greeks and the Romans.
In Baroque music, this refers to a single effect that is projected throughout a composition.
(overarching Baroque element)
Answer - ANS The second statement of the main theme of a fugue in a dominant key. (e.g.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Aria - ANS A solo song with accompaniment that is highly emotional and virtuous. Used in
operas, oratorios, and cantatas. (e.g. Messiah, Handel)
Art Song - ANS A musical setting of a poem for solo voice, usually with piano
accompaniment. (Erlkonig, Schubert)
Atonality - ANS The tonal absence of any tonal centre.
Ballet - ANS A highly stylized type of dance that often interprets a story.
Baroque - ANS From the Portuguese word, barroco, meaning 'irregularly shaped or
misshapen pearl.' Baroque refers to the art, architecture, and music of the 17th and 18th
century.
1 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
,Basso Continuo - ANS Baroque performance practice that involves two performers providing
harmonic framework; one person plays the bass and another realizing the harmonies from the
bass. (Overarching Baroque element)
Binary Form - ANS Two part form. A || B ||
Chamber Music - ANS Music for a small ensemble, usually performed without a conductor.
There is one player per part. ("Emperor" Quartet, Haydn)
Changing Meter - ANS The shift of metrical groupings that is manifested through changes of
time signature.
Choreography - ANS The art of designing the dance steps and movements in a ballet.
Chromatic Harmony - ANS The extensive use of notes outside the prevailing key signature.
(Overarching Romantic element)
Classicism - ANS Refers to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, which adheres to
symmetry, balance, and proportion. (overarching Classical element)
Clavier - ANS A German word for keyboard instruments other than the organ. (e.g. Prelude
and Fugue in B flat Major)
Coda - ANS A concluding section that reaffirms the tonic key. (e.g. Overarching Classical
element)
Col Legno - ANS A novel string effect where players tap on the strings with the wooden parts
of their bows. (Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz)
2 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Concerto - ANS A popular instrumental genre in the Baroque era. Has three movements,
employed in ritornello form, and showcases the virtuosity of the soloist(s). (e.g. The Four
Seasons, Vivaldi)
Counterpoint - ANS Combination of two or more independent melodic lines. (Prelude and
Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Countersubject - ANS A recurring countermelody that accompanies the entries of the subject
and answer. (Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Cyclical Structure - ANS Material heard in one movement recurs in later movements to
create structural unity. (Symphony Number 5 in C minor, Beethoven)
Da Capo Aria - ANS An aria employing a ternary structure. (e.g. Messiah, Handel)
Development - ANS The second section of the sonata form, where themes from the
exposition are manipulated. This section includes modulations and increased harmonic tension.
Dies Irae - ANS A monophonic chant melody dating from late Middle Ages drawn from the
Roman Catholic Requiem. (Symphony Fantastique, Berlioz)
Durchkomponiert - ANS A song structure that does not repeat entire sections of music, thus
allowing the music to reveal the meaning of text. (Erlkonig, Schubert)
Episode - ANS A passage within a fugue where neither subject nor answer is present;
frequently sequential. (Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
3 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Absolute Music - ANS Instrumental music without extramusical associations (e.g. sonatas,
allegrettos, menuets, rondos)
The "Affections" - ANS Baroque philosophy that was inspired by the Greeks and the Romans.
In Baroque music, this refers to a single effect that is projected throughout a composition.
(overarching Baroque element)
Answer - ANS The second statement of the main theme of a fugue in a dominant key. (e.g.
Prelude and Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Aria - ANS A solo song with accompaniment that is highly emotional and virtuous. Used in
operas, oratorios, and cantatas. (e.g. Messiah, Handel)
Art Song - ANS A musical setting of a poem for solo voice, usually with piano
accompaniment. (Erlkonig, Schubert)
Atonality - ANS The tonal absence of any tonal centre.
Ballet - ANS A highly stylized type of dance that often interprets a story.
Baroque - ANS From the Portuguese word, barroco, meaning 'irregularly shaped or
misshapen pearl.' Baroque refers to the art, architecture, and music of the 17th and 18th
century.
1 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
,Basso Continuo - ANS Baroque performance practice that involves two performers providing
harmonic framework; one person plays the bass and another realizing the harmonies from the
bass. (Overarching Baroque element)
Binary Form - ANS Two part form. A || B ||
Chamber Music - ANS Music for a small ensemble, usually performed without a conductor.
There is one player per part. ("Emperor" Quartet, Haydn)
Changing Meter - ANS The shift of metrical groupings that is manifested through changes of
time signature.
Choreography - ANS The art of designing the dance steps and movements in a ballet.
Chromatic Harmony - ANS The extensive use of notes outside the prevailing key signature.
(Overarching Romantic element)
Classicism - ANS Refers to the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, which adheres to
symmetry, balance, and proportion. (overarching Classical element)
Clavier - ANS A German word for keyboard instruments other than the organ. (e.g. Prelude
and Fugue in B flat Major)
Coda - ANS A concluding section that reaffirms the tonic key. (e.g. Overarching Classical
element)
Col Legno - ANS A novel string effect where players tap on the strings with the wooden parts
of their bows. (Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz)
2 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Concerto - ANS A popular instrumental genre in the Baroque era. Has three movements,
employed in ritornello form, and showcases the virtuosity of the soloist(s). (e.g. The Four
Seasons, Vivaldi)
Counterpoint - ANS Combination of two or more independent melodic lines. (Prelude and
Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Countersubject - ANS A recurring countermelody that accompanies the entries of the subject
and answer. (Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
Cyclical Structure - ANS Material heard in one movement recurs in later movements to
create structural unity. (Symphony Number 5 in C minor, Beethoven)
Da Capo Aria - ANS An aria employing a ternary structure. (e.g. Messiah, Handel)
Development - ANS The second section of the sonata form, where themes from the
exposition are manipulated. This section includes modulations and increased harmonic tension.
Dies Irae - ANS A monophonic chant melody dating from late Middle Ages drawn from the
Roman Catholic Requiem. (Symphony Fantastique, Berlioz)
Durchkomponiert - ANS A song structure that does not repeat entire sections of music, thus
allowing the music to reveal the meaning of text. (Erlkonig, Schubert)
Episode - ANS A passage within a fugue where neither subject nor answer is present;
frequently sequential. (Fugue in B flat Major, Bach)
3 Copyright ©2025 SIRJOEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
