Dramma per musica

Dramma per musica (Italian, literally: drama for music, plural: drammi per musica) is a term which was used by dramatists in Italy and elsewhere between the late-17th and mid-19th centuries. In modern times the same meaning of drama for music was conveyed through the Italian Greek-rooted word melodramma (from μέλος = song or music + δρᾶμα = scenic action). Dramma per musica never meant "drama through music", let alone music drama.

A dramma per musica was thus originally (in Italy in the 17th century) a verse drama specifically written for the purpose of being set to music, in other words a libretto for an opera, usually a serious opera (a libretto meant for opera buffa, i.e. comic opera, would have been called a dramma giocoso). By extension, the term came to be used also for the opera or operas which were composed to the libretto, and a variation, dramma in musica, which emphasised the musical element, was sometimes preferred by composers.

In the 18th century, these terms, along with dramma musicale, came to be the most commonly used descriptions for serious Italian operas. Today, these are known as opera seria, a term that was little-used when they were created.

Musica

Musica (Latin), or La Musica (Italian) or Música (Portuguese and Spanish) may refer to:

Latin for "music"

Companies

Ships

Science

Art

Film and theatre

Music

Albums

Aria

An aria ([ˈaːrja]; Italian: air; plural: arie [ˈaːrje], or arias in common usage, diminutive form arietta [aˈrjetta]) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term became used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, sharing features of the operatic arias of their periods.

Origins of the term

The term, which derives from the Greek and Latin 'aer' (air) first appeared in relation to music in the 14th century when it simply signified a manner or style of singing or playing. By the end of the 16th century, the term 'aria' refers to an instrumental form (cf. Santino Garsi da Parma lute works, 'Aria del Gran Duca' ). By the early 16th century it was in common use as meaning a simple setting of strophic poetry; melodic madrigals, free of complex polyphony, were known as madrigale arioso.

C major

The C major scale consists of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps.

Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel minor is C minor.

C major is one of the most common key signatures used in western music. Most transposing instruments playing in their home key are notated in C major; for example, a clarinet in B♭ sounding a B-flat major scale is notated as playing a C major scale. The white keys of the piano correspond to the C major scale. Among brass instruments, the contra-bass tuba is in C. A pedal harp tuned to C major has all of its pedals in the middle position.

Simplicity

C major is often thought of as the simplest key, because there are no sharps and no flats, and beginning piano students' first pieces are usually simple ones in this key; the first scales and arpeggios that students learn are also usually C major. However, going against this common practice, the Polish-French composer Frédéric Chopin regarded this scale as the most difficult to play with complete evenness, and he tended to give it last to his students. He regarded B major as the easiest scale to play on the piano, because the position of the black and white notes best fit the natural positions of the fingers, and so he often had students start with this scale. There are no black keys in the C major scale, thus it doesn't fit the natural positions of the fingers well.

Giovanni Battista

Giovanni Battista, was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries, which in English means "John the Baptist". The French variation is "Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, Gianbattista, Giovambattista, or Giambo. The Genoese nickname was Baciccio, and a common shortening was Giovan Battista, Giobatta or simply G.B.. The people listed below are Italian unless noted otherwise.