Music History and Repertoire
What the exam tests
History and repertoire questions span the Medieval through contemporary periods, asking you to place composers, genres, and works in style periods and to recognize defining characteristics.
Concepts to master
- Medieval: Gregorian chant, organum, motet; monophonic to early polyphony.
- Renaissance: imitative polyphony, madrigal, mass, motet; Josquin, Palestrina.
- Baroque: basso continuo, terraced dynamics, ritornello, fugue, concerto grosso; Bach, Handel, Vivaldi.
- Classical: sonata form, symphony, string quartet, balanced phrasing; Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
- Romantic: expanded orchestra, program music, chromatic harmony, lieder; Schubert, Chopin, Wagner, Brahms.
- 20th/21st century: atonality, serialism, neoclassicism, minimalism, electronic music; Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Reich.
Traps
Questions often misdate genres (the concerto grosso is Baroque, not Classical) or misattribute works. Watch for program music vs. absolute music, and for confusing serialism (Schoenberg) with minimalism (Reich, Glass).
Worked example
A question asks which period the ritornello form belongs to. Rule: ritornello is a Baroque concerto device in which a recurring tutti theme alternates with solo episodes. Answer: Baroque.
Rule of thumb
When dating a style, anchor to genre markers: continuo → Baroque; sonata form → Classical; expanded chromatic harmony → Romantic; serialism → 20th century.