Classical Lingo???

Question

Whats the difference between symphonies, sonatas, concerto, prelude, requiem ect.what do all these things mean?

Answer 1

Mostly the difference is form.

As Sonata is a specific musica form, and the term denotes how the keys and themes relate to each other in that piece.

A concerto is one instrument, or group of instruments being featured with an orchestra (kind of like a soloist)

A prelude is usually a short piece with no specific form that sets a mood before another piece.

A symphony is a musical form that USUALLY have four movements - I - often a sonata with the important memorable theme of the piece; II - a slower lyrical piece with more gentle melodies; III - a dance form - often a minuet; IV - a virtousic type ending where the composer tries to pull the stops. Often, mvys I and IV are in sonoata form

Requiem is a piece for the dead. Kind of like a musical tribute or eulogy.

Answer 2

I'll try to make it simple, okay?

1. Symphony

A body of work that usually consists of a three movement at its simplest, and five movements at its most complex, meant for orchestra. A symphony has a main theme that runs around these movements in different forms. Usually there are no hidden meanings in a symphony, but some symphonies have nicknames because maybe the composer was influenced by it, e.g Mendelssohn's Scottish and Italian Symphonies, which are both replete with Scottish and Italian tunes. Sometimes the symphony has a meaning. This is referred to as programmatic symphony. An excellent example is Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in five movements, which basically tells a story of an artist who was besotted with a woman, but finally gets dragged into a nightmare.

2. Sonata

A short body of work consisting of three movements, often composed for a solo instrument or a duet of instruments. Think of it as a smaller version of symphony. Often composed to show off the brilliance of a soloist. This does not have a conductor, and thus no two pieces (and performances) are alike.

3. Concerto

Ditto as above. The length of a concerto is often decided by the composer - or maybe how much ideas he/she has. The main difference between a symphony and a concerto is that a concerto mainly shows off the technical ability of the soloist rather than the orchestra.

4. Prelude

In classical era, preludes mean an introductory piece to the main piece. However, Romantic Era composer Chopin broke the rule by writing 24 Preludes, published in 1839. Publishers were faced with a strange beast. Preludes to what? So, the alternate definition of a prelude might be a small piece not connected to any other works. Which is the direct opposite of its original definition.

5. Requiem

Mass for the Dead. The 'title' requiem comes from the first word uttered in the mass, which is 'Requiem æternam dona eis...' It means rest. Composers liked doing musical settings for the mass because it has a wide spectrum of emotions, i.e. anger, sadness, despair, even joy. Most of the well-known requiems are however dark and brooding in character. The most famous being Mozart's Requiem with its dark Kyrie and apocalyptic Dies Irae. Verdi's Requiem is also dark, particularly the earth- (and ear-)shattering Dies Irae. However, not all requiems are all sad and angry. Faure's Requiem is a gentle reminder to us all that yes, we will die, but it doesn't have to be so dramatic. It's full of sweet melodies and lulling themes.

You will encounter even stranger beasts later on. Can you imagine a Concerto for Orchestra? Sounds impossible, but Bartok wrote one.

Answer 3

A sonata is a piece--most often in three movements (seperate sections) usually written for a solo instrument with piano, or for piano alone. Usually there's a fast movement, a slow movement, then another fast movement. Thus you'll often hear "violin sonata", or "piano sonata", etc.--each denoting the instrument which is featured in that sonata.

A symphony is like a sonata, except it's written for an orchestra, and most often has 4 movements--the extra movement (usually the 3rd) is often a dance, or a joke-like movement though it can have fewer or more (Mahler's 3rd symphony has 6 movements). Usually symphonies are just instrumental, but some composers--especially Beethoven and Mahler, have added singing to sections of their symphonies.

A concerto is like a sonata, except it's accompanied by orchestra rather than piano.

A prelude is an introductory piece--usually to an opera or ballet.

A requiem is a mass for the dead. It is usually based on the traditional Catholic liturgy (Latin text), but some composers have used other texts--like Brahms, who used verses from the Bible. A requiem is most often written for orchestra, chorus, and solo singers. There's usually one movement for each section of the text. There are also masses which are not requiems, that are very similar, but have a different set of words.

Answer 4

Symphony - usually a four movement work (but not always - see Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, various Mahler symphonies, Sibelius 7th for example), usually for orchestra only (but can include voices, Beethoven's Choral, Mahler again). The first movement is usually in sonata form - ( very simply introduction, first subject, second subject, development, recapitulation, coda) Orchestration can vary wildly.

Sonatas - named after sonata form (see symphony) A piece, usually, but not always, in 3 movements, For solo instrument - piano, violin, organ, guitar etc, and for two instruments, usually piano and another.

Concerto. Piece for orchestra and one or more solo instruments, usually in three movements, often designed to show off the virtuosity of the soloist(s)

Prelude. Either another name for an 'overture' which opens an opera or incidental music to a play. Or a short piece, usually for piano. Composers often wrote preludes in all 24 (or 48) keys. Most famous are Bach's 48 preludes and fugues ('The Well Tempered Clavier' - temper referring to keys not mood!)

Requiem. A choral and/or soloists and/or intrumental/orchestral setting of 'the ordinary' of the Roman Catholic mass for the dead - although others have been written - Benjamin Britten's 'War Requiem' is a fine example, which either use or incorporate other words.

As you can see from the exceptions I have given these can only be very simple explanations and you should do more reading in depth if you are interested.

Answer 5

I will simplify two answers for you :

The symphony is a work in three or four movements played by a whole orchestra.

The concerto is similar but features one (or two) instruments as the "lead" instument. So a violin concerto will have a solo violinist standing out in front of the orchestra with the conductor.