Music Composition Forms

Oratorio

• A large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists that tells a religious or contemplative story through music
• Typically performed without staging, costumes, or acting, distinguishing it from operas
• Narrative often based on religious or biblical themes, divided into movements, including arias, recitatives, and choruses

Suite

• A collection of musical pieces or movements that are usually related stylistically or thematically and played in a sequence

Stylized Dance

• A form of dance that emphasizes a specific, often formalized or artistic style
• Involves deliberate, structured movements that are distinct from everyday, natural movements
• Found in various genres and cultural contexts, including classical ballet, traditional folk dances, and contemporary dance forms

Fugue

• Begins with an exposition, where the subject is introduced and played or sung in all the voices or parts
• Typically written in four standard voices: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass
• Each voice starts with the subject at a time dictated in the music, while the first voice continues with new material
• Imitation is continued through all the voices, with the exposition ending when all voices complete the initial subject
• May be repeated in a different order of voices or continue with less weighted entrances at varying lengths known as episodes
• Episodes provide a little relaxation or relief from the early regimented systematic polyphony of the exposition
• In longer fugues, episodes are followed by a section in another key with continued overlapping of the subject, which can repeat until returning to the original key

Oratorio

• A large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists that tells a religious or contemplative story through music
• Typically performed without staging, costumes, or acting, distinguishing it from operas
• Narrative often based on religious or biblical themes, divided into movements, including arias, recitatives, and choruses

Suite

• A collection of musical pieces or movements that are usually related stylistically or thematically and played in a sequence

Stylized Dance

• A form of dance that emphasizes a specific, often formalized or artistic style
• Involves deliberate, structured movements that are distinct from everyday, natural movements
• Found in various genres and cultural contexts, including classical ballet, traditional folk dances, and contemporary dance forms

Fugue

• Begins with an exposition, where the subject is introduced and played or sung in all the voices or parts
• Typically written in four standard voices: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass
• Each voice starts with the subject at a time dictated in the music, while the first voice continues with new material
• Imitation is continued through all the voices, with the exposition ending when all voices complete the initial subject
• May be repeated in a different order of voices or continue with less weighted entrances at varying lengths known as episodes
• Episodes provide a little relaxation or relief from the early regimented systematic polyphony of the exposition
• In longer fugues, episodes are followed by a section in another key with continued overlapping of the subject, which can repeat until returning to the original key