We offer a simple catalog with explanations of some of the various musical, historical and geographical terms used in the texts of the booklets that are included with our CDs.

This is not intended to be a music dictionary, but rather it has the purpose of providing a service to our customers, and helping disseminate the classical music written by Argentine composers facilitating its understanding.

A-B-A-B-A: Structure of a music composition with different sections. In this case the movement consists of the alternation of two sections (A and B).    

Adagio: Slow movement that can be placed, based on its speed, between the largo and the andante.

Aleatory music: It refers to works or parts thereof, in which chance and/or the performer’s improvisation play a major role.

Allegro (It.): Joyful. In music this indication is more a reference to speed than to mood. This means to say that music with the indication Allegro will not necessarily express joy.

Andante (It.): It indicates a moderate movement, as if walking.

Animato (It.):Animated, moved.

Arizaga, Rodolfo Bernardo: Composer, critic and musicographer, born in Buenos Aires, July 11, 1926 and died in Escobar, Province of Buenos Aires, May 12, 1985.

Atonalism: Movement that denies the existence of tonal centers such as those that dominated between the 17 and 19th Century, and disregards the principles of consonance and dissonance.

B-A-C-H: In the German system, musical notes are designated with letters. A represents La, B is Si minor, C is Do, D is Re and so forth. H designates Si. This means that the name BACH forms the sequence of sounds Si Minor – La – Do - Si. Many authors, even J. S. Bach himself, have developed works based on those four sounds.
 
Baguala: Ancient three-tone song of the Argentine North-West. It is usually sung to a caja accompaniment.

Bailecito: Dance for couples with a lively rhythm. In Argentina it is common in the North-West. It originated in Peru, where in turn, it was derived from ancient European picaresque dances.

Baroque: In music, it is the period roughly comprised between the 17th Century and the first half of the 18th Century. It had distinctive characteristics according to the region, i.e. there is French, German or Italian baroque, or even Latin American baroque.

Bartok, Bela: Composer, ethnomusicologist and pianist, born in Nagyszentmiklós, Hungary [currently Sinnicolau Mare, Roumania], March 25, 1881 and died in New York, U.S.A., September 26, 1945.

Cadence: Fragment to display the virtuosity of the soloist, located at the end of the first or third movement of a concert, when the orchestra stops performing.

Caja: Percussion instrument (drum), typical of the Northern region of Argentina and performed to accompany pentatonal songs.

Candombe: Popular African dance of the River Plate area.

Canon: Counterpoint procedure, whereby one voice is imitated by one or several others until the end of the piece. Its elements are called antecedent and consequent.
 
Canonical: Melody with the character of a cannon or imitation of voices, composed as a counterpoint.

Carnavalito: Collective dance still existing in the Argentine provinces of Jujuy and Salta.

Chacarera: “…lively and noisy dance. Based on loose couples that dance independently from other couples. It is derived from an ancient generation of European dances that, at the end of the colonial period, were disseminated from Peru to other parts of Latin America” (Carlos Vega, Danzas y Canciones Argentinas, Eugenio Ferrero, Buenos Aires, 1936).

Chase, Gilbert: Music historian and critic, born in Havanna, Cuba, September 4, 1906; died in Chapel Hill, U.S.A., February  22,1992.

Chord: Combination of three or more sounds simultaneously.

Chords in octaves: Any symmetrical grouping of a specific sound at different points of a scale.

Chords with more than four sounds: A chord may have more than four sounds when the instrument used makes it possible. In the case of the violin, having only four strings would make it impossible to play more than four sounds simultaneously. There is a resource that was developed by Ysaÿe: by a very fast and special execution of the sounds the effect of listening almost simultaneously (i.e. like a chord) to more than four sounds is achieved.

Chromatic antecedent: A sort of melodic sound question, characterized by a succession of semi-tones.

Chromatic (language): Chromatic language means that the composer uses an expanded sound palette as compared to the basic seven-sound musical scale.

Cimaglia-Espinosa, Lía Eutimia Ramona: Pianist, teacher and composer, Buenos Aires, August 31, 1906 / November 1,1998.

Classical (music): Also called learned, erudite or academic music. None of these terms is completely satisfactory. We have chosen the term Classical Music because it is the most widely disseminated one, and the way it is called in German and English. Classical Music refers to music that, owing to its intrinsic values, aspires to reach perennial values. On the other hand, Music of the Classical Period refers to that composed between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th Century.

Coda: Final fragment of a music piece, with its own characteristics / Section concluding, for example, the classical sonata and symphony.

Counterpoint: Overlapping of independent melodic strands.

Counterpoint structure: Order and distribution of the voices with independent melodies and concordant harmony (counterpoint).    

Concertino (It.):A small concert / First violin –or concermaster- in an orchestra.

Consonant and dissonant harmonies: Name given to any combination of sounds that produce a degree of tension (dissonant) and repose (consonant).

Converging and diverging tonalities: When the melodic relation of a tonality becomes associated with another or, on the contrary, differs completely from it. 

Copland, Aaron: Composer, Brooklyn, U.S.A., November 14, 1900 / December 2, 1990.

Crescendo (It.): Indicates the progressive increase of sound intensity.

De Raco, Antonio: Pianist  and pedagogue, born in Cittanova, Italy, August 21, 1915.

Debussy, Claude Achille : Composer, born in St. Germain-en-Laye, France, August 22, 1862; died in Paris, March 25, 1918.

Diatonical: Musical work or section where the sounds included in it belongs to the seven-sound scales.

Dodecaphonic: Literally, with twelve sounds. It is a composition technique systematized and developed by Austrian Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951), since  1923. In it, the principles differ fundamentally from the music known until then. Basically, it consists of choosing a certain succession of the twelve sounds comprised in the chromatic scale (the twelve piano keys comprised between two sounds with the same name), and taking it as a basis for the development of the whole work, by means of the principles of counterpoint and transpositions.

Elegy: Lyrical work that evokes a tragic event or a deceased person. By extension, in music it is applied to a passage with a lyrical and spiritual character.

Expressionism: Considered one of the artistic vanguards of the early 20th. Century, it was characterized by an exacerbation of the artist’s inner expressions, exteriorized by deforming reality and seeking to cause a violent impact on the receiver. In music one model of expressionism is the work of Arnold Schönberg. 

Fantasy: An imaginary force and representation of the ideal world. In music it refers to a free-form creation, in which the A-B-A pattern and improvisation are frequently used. During the baroque period it was used as a prelude.

Folklore: “The unwritten literature (stories, proverbs and songs) of a culture”. Webster’s Online Dictionnary, The Rosetta Edition.

Fugato (It.): Passage in the style of a fugue. Fugue: form of imitative counterpoint.

Fugue: Vocal or instrumental piece, developed based on certain polyphonic and structural principles. The most famous ones were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

Group of Six:  They had the idea of adopting an innovative spirit, taking Erik Satie as their model. These composers sought to leave behind the Wagnerian sentimentality and pathetism of the romantics, and attempted to find creative spontaneity and simplicity, with the incorporation of elements of popular music such as jazz and fox-trot. 

Gato: “... old Creole dance ... agile, funny, gentle ... of animated and lively movements”. Definition by Argentine musicologist Carlos Vega, who traced it back to Peru and Mexico.

Harmonies and counterpoints: When the composer resorts to a combination of sounds, either grouped in blocks (harmony), or in an open form or associating the melodies in an independent manner (counterpoint). 

Harris, Johanna (Duffey, Beula): Pianist, teacher and composer born in Ottawa, Canada in 1912. Died June 5, 1995.

Hindemith, Paul: Composer, orchestra conductor and violinist, born in Hanau, Germany, November 16, 1895. Died in Frankfurt, December 28, 1963.

Hypoeolic (mode): One of the plagal modes corresponding to the ancient ecclesiastical modes on which the European musical system was based, before the use of the major-minor tonal relation system.

Impressionist elements: Technical composition resources related to the French school of the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century (Fauré, d’Indy, Debussy, Ravel, etc.).    

Impromptu: Literally, improvised work. In music it designates a piece that due to its apparent spontaneity seems to be an improvisation.

Indoamerican music: Term applied to classical Latin American music that is (or purports to be) inspired in the elements of native American music. The first works of this trend are found in the second half of the 19th Century. Some of the more representative Latin American composers are: Pascual De Rogatis, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Silvestre Revueltas, Héctor Iglesias Villoud, Enrique Casella and more recently Alberto Ginastera and Esteban Benzecry.

Intervalic mirrors: Composition system systematized and employed by Juan Carlos Zorzi (1936/1999) in his works.

Islamey: Fantasie Orientale, work for piano written in 1869 by Russian composer Mily Balakirev (1837-1910).

Kantor (Ger.): Music conductor or teacher.

Legato: Literally, linked.

Leitmotiv: Thread or link that is repeated throughout a piece of music, specially in lyrical theater.    

Lied (Ger.): Means song. With a free structure, it had its apogee in the 19th Century.

Luthier: Builder of instruments, generally string instruments.

Lyric: Singable.

Malambo: Individual male dance of skill, traditional to the peasant and gauchos of Argentina and Uruguay. It consists of a series of “mudanzas”, figures made by stamping or sliding the feet on the floor, accompanied by a guitar.

Microtonal system: Musical system based on subdivisions smaller than one tone. The first attempts at investigating this system are attributed to Mexican composer and violinist Julián Carrillo (1875-1965), who even built special instruments to perform such music, astounding the American and European musical milieu. In Europe, one of the most outstanding representatives of this system was Czech composer Alois Hába (1893-1973).

Microtonic melismatic ornament: Ornament: decoration of a melodic line. Melismatic: from melisma, singing several notes on the same sylable. Microtonic: music employing scales with more sounds that those in the chromatic scale.

Milonga: Traditional criollo rural song / Popular dance of the River Plate area, linked to tango and habanera.

Modulated imitation: Method whereby the sound emulation between instruments is presented with short phrases in different tonalities.

Movement: Section of a musical work that possesses its own autonomy and closed structure. Although normally movements are usually separated, there are no few examples in which the sections are continuous.

Music Americanism: Term applied to Latin American academic music inspired in American native musical elements. The first works of this trend can be found in the second half of the 19th. Century.

Native folk culture: Denomination comprising all the cultural scientific knowledge or tradition of a certain people or region.

Neo-baroque: It is applied to musical works that utilize elements that are characteristic of the Baroque style intermingled with the musical language of the 20th Century.

Neoclassicism: In music, an esthetics that was in fashion in the 20th Century, approximately from the 1920s until the middle of the century. Neoclassical composers included in their music certain structural elements of the musical compositions of the end of the 18th Century. We find models of the genre in works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev.

Neo-expressionism: Readoption of Expressionism, as a reaction to Impressionism. Favors the production of works with objectivity, without taking into account emotional aspects.

1900 Generation: In the words of Rodolfo Arizaga: “This Generation -divided into two groups: transition and assertion, respectively-, shows the first positive fruits in the field of lyric and symphonic creation and gives birth to the chamber song, with  a clearly nationalist style that explores popular rhythms and melodies, without reaching the point of monopolyzing this period’s musical production, which frequently presents abundant attempts to channel the most developed European orientations.” Translation into English of excerpt from Enciclopedia de la música argentina, Buenos Aires, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, 1971, p. 21.

Nocturnal: From nocturne, composition for piano which invention is attributed to Irishman John Field (1782-1837).

Ostinato (It.): Obstinate. Repeated.

Pala-pala (dance of the crow): Traditional Argentine dance, for independent couples and with a picaresque style.

Pathos (Gr.): Refers to the psychological or spiritual suffering of the human genre.

Pedal: It designates a constant sound that accompanies the musical discourse. The name probably stems from the sustained sounds, present in the works for organ of the baroque or even older that are played using the instrument’s pedals. In fact, in German, pedal notes are called “organ points” (Orgelpunkt).

Pentatonic (pentaphonic) scale: Five sounds per octave, without semitones / Scale containing five sounds, as opposed to the more commonly employed heptaphone scale, which includes seven.

Pentatonic music: Music based on five-sound scales, characteristic of native American peoples.

Phrasing: Manner in which a musical phrase is played. The basis for a good phrasing results from the harmony and the shape of the work, although the performer’s intuition also comes into play.

Piazzolla, Astor Pantaleón: Composer, concertina performer and conductor, born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, March 11, 1921. Died in Buenos Aires, July 4, 1992.

Pizzicato (It.): Pinched. It refers to the technique of picking the strings with the fingers instead of using the bow.

Polarization: The term refers to an extremely contrasting presentation and treatment of musical themes. 

Polyphonic: Literally, many sounds. A musical fragment is said to be polyphonic when two or more melodies sound simultaneously and, in turn, are autonomous. The reverse of polyphony is homophony, i.e. a melody that predominates over an accompaniment without autonomy or a melody without accompaniment.

Polytonic: From polytonicity: simultaneous use of two or more tonalities.

Portamento (It.): Porting, carriage. It is an audible link between two consecutive sounds. It means that the intermediate notes are slightly heard during the upward or downward path between those sounds.

Postromantic (language): It is applied to the musical production of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, using esthetic and technical elements that are characteristic of musical romanticism.

Prelude: from the Latin pre -before- and ludere -play-, in the sense of playing an instrument. Originally it referred to an instrumental piece, generally for the keyboard that served to introduce the tonality and exercise the fingers before another more arduous piece. In the 19th Century it acquired other meanings, such as designating orchestra pieces presented at the beginning of a lyrical work or representing a type of character piece.

Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeievich: Composer and pianist, born in Sontsovka, Ukrania, April 23, 1891. Died in Moscow, March 5, 1953.

Puna: Quechua word meaning “highlands of the Andean Cordillera”. Andean lands corresponding to the high parts of the Andean range and to the plateaus located between 3,000 and 4,000 meters above sea level (Larousse).

Quarter (tone): In the tempered twelve-sound system, the smallest distance between each of these is, by convention, equal to a half tone. Music conceived using quarter tones makes possible a four-part division between sounds. 

Quena: Vertical ethnic flute with a notch, used in the traditional rural criollo and Indian music of Argentina and Southern Latin America.

Renovation Group (Grupo Renovación): Created in 1929 by brothers José María (1892-1964) and  Juan  José Castro (1895-1968), Gilardo Gilardi (1889-1963), Juan Carlos Paz (1897-1972) and Jacobo Ficher (1896-1978), to be later joined by Luis Gianneo and Honorio Siccardi (1897-1963). Their objective was to renew the Argentine music scene, not necessarily adhering to a defined style.

Reprise: Recapitulation or return of one of the base themes of a musical composition.

Rhapsody (from Gr. Rhapsōdia): Literally, to weave songs. In music, it designates a musical work or a time in it when the musical elements, themes or melodies overlap without elaborate links.

Rhythmic design: Motif scheme or cell characterized by a certain combination of signs (in music they are called figures or values) that represent the duration of sounds. 

Rondo: Musical form with a rapid movement, characterized by the periodic repetition of the theme.

Rubato (It.): Robbed. It refers to a way of playing, in which the performer makes slight changes in speed related to the feelings expressed by the work. The expression “robbed” has the following explanation: when the performer makes a rubato the speed is accelerated or time is robbed to the bar written in the score. The implicit principle of a good rubato imply that, later, the performer has to return the “stolen” time by decreasing the speed in order to compensate for the previous acceleration and thus avoid distorting the work. A correct rubato poses one of the greatest difficulties for a good performance.

Scherzo (It.): Joke. This is the name given in music to a piece -generally belonging to a bigger work- that has a lively and animated character.

Schoenberg, Arnold Franz Walter: Composer, born in Vienna, Austria, September 13, 1874. Died in Los Angeles, July 3, 1951.

[Second] Vienna School: Group formed by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg (1885-1935) and Anton Webern (1883-1945).

Serial music/technique: Music in which the sounds and other composition parameters such as the duration and the timbre are organized.

Singspiel (Ger.): Musical theater piece with spoken dialogue. It had its peak of popularity in the late 18th. and early 19th. Centuries.

Sonata (from It. suonare): To sound. In baroque this was the name given, mainly, to works dedicated to string instruments. As from the 18th Century, this denomination was given to a composition style, not necessarily for strings, related to a structure through which the intent was to achieve a tonal polarization of the themes or musical ideas of a work. In the 20th Century, sonata acquired a broader meaning / Musical form of great importance in instrumental music that originates in the suite. It has three or four movements.

Spicatto (It.): Term applied to string instruments. It is a type of articulation in which the bow -of the violin, viola, cello or bass- is dropped on the string to produce small leaps and short sounds.           

Stravinsky, Igor Feodorovich: Composer, orchestra conductor and pianist, born in Oranienbaum [currently Lomonosov], Russia, June 17,1882. Died in New York, April 6, 1971.

Stravinskyan vitality: The music of Igor Stravinsky is mainly characterized by a very personal exteriorization of a rhythmic drive, that could be termed visceral and primitive. This term makes reference to such a sensation.

Stretta (It.): Narrow. A musical passage where action accelerates and tension mounts in preparation of the conclusion of the fragment.

Studies: Musical work that explores the various technical resources of an instrument. The best known piano studies were composed by Chopin and Liszt.
 
Suite: In its basic form, it is a series of dances. Suites attained their greatest popularity during the baroque period, although the term it is still in used in a wider sense.

Symphonic poem: Free-form orchestral composition based on a literary text or idea.

Syncopation: Extension of a sound from a non accentuated moment of the bar to an accentuated one.

Toccata: Composition for keyboard instrument, known since the 16th Century and characterized by alternating chords with rapid passages in scales, arpeges and ornamental figures.

Tonal center : The convergence point of distension or repose of a section in the musical discourse. 

Tonality: Particular organizational complex of the sounds by means of which it is possible to structure a piece of music based on a central chord. It developed widely in Europe between the 17th and the 19th Centuries. Since the 20th Century, it coexists with polytonality, atonality, pantonality and other systems and resources of the composition system.

Tonal vagueness: It means that a melody has an uncertain development, that at time takes place in an environment with rapidly shifting tonal centers.

Tritone: Distance of three whole tones between two sounds in an ascending or descending order. It produces a characteristic dissonant melodic interval: an augmented fourth. For example, the interval between a C and an F sharp is a tritone, since those two sounds are separated by three whole tones.

Vidala: “Sad song with love lyrics. It also defines an expression with which the lover names his loved one. It came to Argentina from colonial Peru” (Carlos Vega, ibídem).

Vidalita: Lyric folkloric species, common in the northwest of Argentina.

Yaraví: Native tune of a romantic content, characteristic of the Quechua linguistic area of South America.

Zamba: “This is the name of an ancient Peruvian dance ... the primitive Zamba appeared in Argentina about ten years before the Zamacueca, i.e., around 1815 or 1820 .... The dance that currently receives such name in our provinces is not the old Zamba but the Zamacueca” (Las Danzas Populares Argentinas, Instituto Nacional de Musicología “Carlos Vega”, Buenos Aires, 1986 (facsimile edition of the 1952 original one).

Zapateado: Dance of Spanish origin, with a very brisk rhythm, in which the tapping of the shoes imitates the sound of castanets. It extended throughout Latin America.