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Ways of singing
Recitative
A declamatory style of singing in which the main points of the plot in an oratorio, opera or cantata are made to the listener. Listen to this example from the 'Messiah', sung by a baritone and accompanied by a harpsichord.
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Aria
A solo song from an opera or oratorio. It is usually quite long and gives added information to the story, the main points of which are told in recitative. Listen to part of the aria which continues after the excerpt from the ‘Messiah’ given as an example of a recitative. Again there is a baritone soloist, accompanied by a baroque orchestra, with a trumpet obbligato, and some quite long melismatic phrases in the voice part.
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(A performance of an aria from the Scottish Opera production of Puccini's 'Tosca').
A cappella
Unaccompanied part singing, eg a choir performance, in harmony without accompaniment. Here is an excerpt from a late 20th-century work by the English composer, John Taverner. Listen to the unaccompanied singing, a cappella, in slightly different harmonies. Note how the last phrase is repeated with longer note values, which, as Higher students come to recognise, is known as augmentation.
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Strophic
A verse-repeating song with a chorus such as a ballad, such as the bothy ballad which originates in Aberdeenshire. Listen to this example, which is a Scottish ballad.
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Through composed
A piece of music or song which does not have a chorus repeat. Listen to this song, the last of a group from a song cycle. It is slightly recitative in style and musically quotes from previous songs in the group. Listen for the tenor voice, piano accompaniment, and the use of rubato.
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Syllabic music
Music in which each syllable of a word is given one note. Listen to an example from another Scottish ballad.
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Melismatic
Vocal music in which one syllable is sung over a number of notes. Listen to an example.
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Word setting
Setting the words of a poem to music. Listen to an example of a pop song.
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Word painting
When the musical sound helps to describe a word, eg a run on the word ‘shake’ or a descending scale on the word ‘falling’, etc.
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