What is a contrapuntal texture in music?

What is a contrapuntal texture in music?

At its most basic, contrapuntal music is that which contains nearly independent melodies that are each given equal value. Rather than a single melody that is given more weight than the harmony, contrapuntal music introduces multiple melodies that are equally important.

What is the difference between contrapuntal and counterpoint in music?

When there is more than one independent melodic line happening at the same time in a piece of music, we say that the music is contrapuntal. The independent melodic lines are called counterpoint. If there is one melodic line accompanied only by rhythm, or drones, or only by chords, there is no counterpoint.

What is the difference between contrapuntal and polyphonic?

Counterpoint means “point against point” or “note against note” and it generally implies two independent voices moving together. Polyphonic means “many sounds” or “many voices” moving independently together.

Is classical music contrapuntal?

This counterpoint in turn was tempered by the Classical style and musical forms. For example, although combined melodic lines are heard as counterpoint, together they can also be heard as a series of harmonies. In this way they form unified phrases in the homophonic style.

What is contrapuntal form?

canon: a contrapuntal form in two or more (voice or instrumental) parts in which the melody is introduced by one part and then repeated by the next before each previous part has finished (i.e., such that overlapping of parts occurs).

What is contrapuntal interplay?

The interplay of agreement and disagreement between the various factors of the musical texture constitutes the contrapuntal element in music.” This account mirrors the almost mystical formulation of Franchino Gaffurio, the fifteenth-century music theorist, for whom harmony could be defined as discordia concors, ” …

What is contrapuntal in jazz music?

Whether used in a solo piano, duo, or trio setting, this contrapuntal technique involves forsaking chordal accompaniment in the left hand and playing independent, moving lines instead. In the cases of Lennie Tristano and Dave McKenna, the left hand plays pure walking bass lines while the right improvises freely.

What is another word for contrapuntal?

In this page you can discover 14 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for contrapuntal, like: fugal, improvisatory, polyphonic, monophonic, chordal, declamatory, virtuosic, rhapsodic, homophonic, sonority and rhythmic.

Are oratorios sacred or secular?

An Opera and Oratorio tells a story or libretto that the composer then creates music to accompany it. The main difference between an Opera and an Oratorio is that the story of an Opera is secular meaning anything not sacred, and the story of an Oratorio is Sacred.

What does sonata mean in music?

You see, a sonata is a piece, usually in several movements, that has a certain basic musical form; and when that form is used in a piece for a solo instrument, like a piano, or violin or flute, or a solo instrument with piano accompaniment, the piece is called a sonata. A symphony is merely a sonata for orchestra.

What is contrapuntal technique?

In the language of music theory, counterpoint is a compositional technique in which two or more melodic lines (or “voices”) complement one another but act independently. The term comes from the Latin punctus contra punctum, which means “point against point.” Composers use counterpoint to create polyphonic music.

Is polyphonic the same as contrapuntal?

Polyphonic music has parts that weave in and out of each other. Polyphonic music is also sometimes called contrapuntal music. Polyphonic music may contain an element of imitation , where one voice or instrument copies what has just been played by another (think of a “round” like London’s Burning.)

What does the term ‘contrapuntal sound’ mean?

Polyphonic music, however, consists of independent parts of equal value, that is, no one part is more dominant than the other. This is what is known as contrapuntal, or counterpoint music. To put it simply (and in the context of film), the music contradicts the images.

What is counterpoint in music?

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between voices that are harmonically interdependent ( polyphony ) yet independent in rhythm and contour.

What is the meaning of contrapuntal?

contrapuntal – relating to or characteristic of or according to the rules of counterpoint; “contrapuntal base”. 2. contrapuntal – having two or more independent but harmonically related melodic parts sounding together.