A quodlibet is a piece of music combining several different melodies in counterpoint, usually popular tunes, and often in a light-hearted or humorous manner. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony The term is from the Latin meaning: "whatever" (literally a compound word of quod (what) libet (pleases)". Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. There are three main types of quodlibet. The catalogue quodlibet consists of a free setting of catalogue poetry (usually humorous lists of loosely related items); in the successive quodlibet one voice has short musical and textual quotations while the other voices provide homophonic accompaniment; and in the simultaneous quodlibet, two or more pre-existing melodies are combined. In Music, homophony (hoʊˈmɒfəni from Greek "homófonos" where ομοιο = the same and φωνή = a sound tone is a texture in which two or more In Music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with a soloist or ensemble, often known as the Lead, in a Supporting manner ^[1] (The simultaneous quodlibet may be considered a historical antecedent to the modern-day musical mashup. A mashup or bootleg (also mash up and mash-up) is a song or composition created from the combination of the music from one song with the A cappella )

History

The origins of the quodlibet can be traced to the 15th century, when the practice of combining folk tunes was popular. ^[2] Wolfgang Schmeltzl first used the term in a specifically musical context in 1544. ^[3] An early exponent of the genre was 16th century composer Ludwig Senfl (c. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Ludwig Senfl (born around 1486 died between December 2, 1542 and August 10, 1543) was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance 1492-1555), whose ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies in the cantus firmus quodlibet resulted in works such as Ach Elselein/Es taget, a piece noted for its symbolism rather than its humor. In Music, a cantus firmus ("fixed song" is a pre-existing Melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. ^[4]. Even earlier we can find another example in Francisco de Peñalosa's (c. Francisco de Peñalosa (c 1470 &ndash April 1, 1528) was a Spanish composer of the early Renaissance. 1470 - 1528) "Por las sierras de Madrid", from his "Cancionero musical de palacio". However, it was Praetorius who in 1618 provided the first systematic definition of the quodlibet as "a mixture of diverse elements quoted from sacred and secular compositions" in book 3 of his Syntagma musicum. During the Renaissance, a composer's ability to juxtapose several pre-existing melodies, as in the cantus firmus quodlibet, was considered the ultimate mastery of counterpoint. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere In Music, a cantus firmus ("fixed song" is a pre-existing Melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony ^[5]

The quodlibet took on additional functions between the beginning and middle of the 19th Century, when it became known as the potpourri and the musical switch. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In these forms, the quodlibet would often feature between a half a dozen and 50 or more consecutive "quotations;" the often distinct incongruity between words and music served as a potent source of parody and entertainment. ^[6] In the 20th Century, the quodlibet remained a genre in which well-known tunes or texts (or both) were quoted, either simultaneously or in succession, generally for humorous effect. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on ^[7]

Examples

A famous example of a quodlibet is at the end of Bach's Goldberg Variations. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 are a set of 30 variations for Harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach. Another example is Gallimathias Musicum, a 17 part quodlibet composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was about 10 years old. A fine modern example is the 'Quodlibet on Welsh Nursery Rhymes' by the distinguished Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott.

More serious quodlibets are in the masses of Jacob Obrecht, which sometimes combine popular tunes, plainsong and original music. For other uses see Mass (disambiguation The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that Jacob Obrecht (1457/1458 &ndash late July 1505 was a Dutch composer of the Renaissance. For the band see " Plainsong (band " For the song on The Cure's 1989 album see " Disintegration "

A song for four soloists and basso continuo by J. A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer Musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords and Nonchord tones in relation S. Bach, called the "Wedding Quodlibet" or just "Quodlibet" (BWV 524), is not a quodlibet by the above definition, but a ten-minute procession of nonsense, dumb jokes, puns, obscure cultural references, word games, and parody of other songs. The Quodlibet or Wedding Quodlibet, BWV 524 is a lighthearted composition by Johann Sebastian Bach which today exists only in fragmentary form BWV is also the SIL code for the Language Bahau River Kenyah spoken in Borneo. At points the music imitates a chaconne and a fugue, and the music sometimes deliberately "mixes up" the choral lines. In Music, a chaconne (ʃaˈkɔn Italian: ciaccona) is a Musical form whose primary formal feature involves variation on a repeated In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred It is unlike any of Bach's other works, and a few scholars doubt it was written by Bach.

An independent variant of the quodlibet named Ensalada developed during the 16th century in Spain.

The Grateful Dead concert favorite The Other One is a medley that includes the song Quodlibet for Tenderfeet. The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Deadheads will recognize the lyrics "The other day they waited. . . ")

Peter Schickele's "Quodlibet for Small Orchestra" and "Unbegun Symphony" are amusing examples of this form, particularly for those slightly more versed in Western art music. Johann Peter Schickele (born July 17 1935) is an American Composer, musical educator and parodist, best known for his comedy music

The well known pianist Glenn Gould came up with a Quodlibet including the Star-Spangled Banner and God Save the King/Queen [1]. Glenn Herbert Gould At a young age he reportedly behaved differently from typical children at the piano he would strike single notes and listen to their long decay " The Star-Spangled Banner " is the National anthem of the United States of America "God Save the Queen", or "God Save the King", is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms It is the National According to his own account, Gould came up with this Quodlibet while taking a bath.

At the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, a quodlibet containing the mournful theme of Padmé's funeral and the Imperial March can be heard as Darth Vader and the Emperor look out at the Death Star under construction. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 Space opera Film written and directed by George Lucas. " The Imperial March ( Darth Vader 's Theme " is a Musical theme present in the Star Wars films

A progressive rock band from New Jersey known as the Age of Reason wrote an instrumental composition known as "Quodlibet". It opens with a church organ solo which segues into a 16th note bass guitar/hammond organ riff. Various themes are explored before the song ends with a rousing symphonic gong.

The word also refers to a mode of academic debate or oral examination (usually theological) in which any question could be posed extemporaneously. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Quodlibet debates were popular in Western culture through the thirteenth century (1200s) and are still in use today in Tibetan Buddhist theological training.

References

1. ^ Stanley Sadie and Alison Latham (Eds. ), "Quodlibet," The Norton/Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music (New York: W. W. Norton, 1988), p. 608.
2. ^ Vincent J. Picerno, "Quodlibet," Dictionary of Musical Terms (Brooklyn, NY: Haskell House Publishers, 1976), p. 304.
3. ^ Maria Rika Maniates with Peter Branscombe/Richard Freedman, "Quodlibet," 2007, Grove Music Online, Online (December 18 2007).
4. ^ Maria Rika Maniates with Peter Branscombe/Richard Freedman, "Quodlibet," 2007, Grove Music Online, Online (December 18 2007).
5. ^ Maria Rika Maniates with Peter Branscombe/Richard Freedman, "Quodlibet," 2007, Grove Music Online, Online (December 18 2007).
6. ^ Maria Rika Maniates with Peter Branscombe/Richard Freedman, "Quodlibet," 2007, Grove Music Online, Online (December 19 2007).
7. ^ Alison Latham (Ed. ), "Quodlibet," The Oxford Companion to Music (London: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 1022.

See also

• Mashup (music)
• Musical Parody
• Potpourri (music)
• Medley (music)