MUS 121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Henry Purcell, Castrato, Aria
24 Feb 2017
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● Musical Periods
○ Medieval:
■ 476-1450
○ Renaissance:
■ 1450-1600
○ Baroque:
■ 1600-1750
○ Classical:
■ 1750-1800
○ Romantic:
■ 1800-1900
○ 20/21st Century
● Baroque Opera
○ What is an opera?
■ Theatrical play with music
■ Props, actors, etc.
○ Libretto
■ Lyrics of the opera
■ What the actors are singing
○ Recitative
■ Type of song that represents the dialogue
■ No meter, no beat
■ Natural inflection of voice, how we talk to each other
○ Aria
■ “Big song”
■ Has beat, pulse
■ Not conversation, everyday song
○ Chorus
■ “Commentator of the opera”
■ Keeps story moving on
○ Women Performers
■ Prevalence of women participation rose through opera
○ Castrati (Castrato)
■ Men whose voices never dropped
■ Common in operas
○ Dido and Aeneas
■ Written by Henry Purcell
● English, 1659-1695
■ Based off of a Greek tragedy
■ Storyline:
● Dido is a widowed queen
● Aeneas is Trojan soldier
● Shipped off to find new land
● Aeneas has shipwreck on to Dido’s land
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