FA on Music Theory Print

Fado

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The word fado possibly comes from the Latin word fatum (“fate”, “death” or “utterance” ). The word is linked to the music genre itself, although both meanings are approximately the same in the two languages. Nevertheless, many songs play on the double meaning, such as the Amália Rodrigues song “Com que voz”, which includes the lyric “Com que voz chorarei meu triste fado” (“With what voice should I lament my sad fate/sing my sad fado?”). Perhaps shedding light on fadista are the Proto-Celtic *wātis (prophet, poet; see Proto-Celtic language), the English-Latin vates (Celtic bard, prophet, philosopher), and the Old French fatiste (poet), evolving to the Middle French fatiste (actor in a medieval mystery play).

Fakanau

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Form#

Male dancers performed around a circle, in a sitting position with arms, hands and upper body gestures, and all of them singing. An old dance master, at the center of the circle, kept the rhythm. In Niutao, however, the dances were performed in standing or kneeling positions. or beckonings. Faster than the fakaseasea and modern fatele, the dance was performed for entertainment and for ceremonies conducted in the faleaitu. However, the Fakanau would be performed in fragments during the night rather than just one dance. The content of the dances has been described as “incantations in fishing, a kind of dramatic monologue — calling to the fish, pleading, charming, even abusing — as moods are acted out.”

Fakaseasea

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Tuvaluan dance music#

Dancing songs are the most common type of traditional Tuvaluan songs. Older style dancing songs were known to be performed while sitting, kneeling or standing. The two primary traditional dances of Tuvalu are the fakanau (for men) and oga (for women) and the fakaseasea. The modern fatele involves the women on their feet, dancing in lines; with the men facing the dancers, sitting on the floor beating the time with their hands on the mats or on wooden boxes, such as tea chests.

Famo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

As a very popular form of music in Lesotho, famo consists of male or female singing and ululations. Instrumental support comes from an accordion, a drum and a bass. Songs often refer to urban life, and female singers can use their singing to challenge their male counterparts.

History#

The introduction of Basotho migrant labour from Lesotho into South African mines in the 1920s led to the development of famo. It originated in the setolotolo bow songs that the menfolk would sing as they walked along, alternating between the bow to fill in the chorus and the voice as the lead part. With the introduction of European instruments, the korosetina (concertina) and koriana (accordion) were adopted. The concertina was initially favoured as it could be played whilst singing and was easily carried but the accordion was eventually favoured for its bigger sound which was better for dancing. The music and singing combination of famo was performed in the shebeens where the workers drank and chatted and also down in the mines whilst they toiled. The name famo came from the phrase ho re famo, to flare the nostrils or to throw up one’s garments. The dancing girls who had followed the men to South Africa and entertained them in the shebeens perfected a dance with their short skirts that allowed them to artfully flick up the skirt, exposing their naked rear. The performers were careful not to wear underwear. In 1963 reforms to South African regulations meant the repatriation of thousands of women and famo performers and shebeen danceers were forced back to Lesotho. This encouraged the creation of ensembles that were rounded out by a drummer. The moropa drum they used was a 20-litre tar can topped by a piece of inner tube as the drumhead, with manyenenyene, metal bottle tops or jangles, to provide a jingling alternative to the thump of the drum. The drumsticks themselves were made from slices of tire. Since the 1920s music companies had been looking for African music they could commercialise. What turned the music of the shebeens into a national music for the Basotho was the rise of major recording personalities amongst the famo ensembles.

Fandango

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The earliest fandango melody is found in the anonymous “Libro de diferentes cifras de guitarra” from 1705, and the earliest description of the dance itself is found in a 1712 letter by Martín Martí, a Spanish priest. The fandango’s first sighting in a theatrical work was in Francisco de Leefadeal’s entremés “El novio de la aldeana” staged in Seville, ca. 1720. By the late 18th century it had become fashionable among the aristocracy and was often included in tonadillas, zarzuelas, ballets and operas, not only in Spain, but also elsewhere in Europe. Widely varying claims have been made about the origin of fandango: its relation to the jabera, the soleá, and the petenera; to the Andalusian malagueña, granadina, murciana and rondeña; to the canario and gitano; to the jota aragonesa.

Fanfare

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The word has been traced to a 15th-century Spanish root, (“vaunting”). Though the word may be onomatopoeic, it is also possible that it is derived from the Arabic word (“trumpets”). The word is first found in 1546 in French, and in English in 1605, but it was not until the 19th century that it acquired its present meaning of a brief ceremonial flourish for brass. Indeed, an alternative term for the fanfare is “flourish”, as in the ruffles and flourishes played by military bands in the US to announce the arrival of the president, a general, or other high-ranking dignitary. “In the England of Shakespeare’s time”, fanfares “were often known as flourishes and sometimes as ’tuckets’ " (a word related to toccata).

Fantasia (musical form)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The term was first applied to music during the 16th century, at first to refer to the imaginative musical “idea” rather than to a particular compositional genre. Its earliest use as a title was in German keyboard manuscripts from before 1520, and by 1536 is found in printed tablatures from Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. From the outset, the fantasia had the sense of “the play of imaginative invention”, particularly in lute or vihuela composers such as Francesco Canova da Milano and Luis de Milán. Its form and style consequently ranges from the freely improvisatory to the strictly contrapuntal, and also encompasses more or less standard sectional forms. One of the most important composers in the development of the fantasia was Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. His greatest work in this style is the fantasia cromatica (a specific form called “chromatic fantasia”), which in many ways forms a link between the Renaissance and the Baroque.

Fantasy podcast

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Genre#

As of 2021, The longest running fantasy podcast is PodCastle, which has been actively releasing content since 2007. The most common subgenre of fantasy podcasts is high fantasy, however, other subgenres include urban fantasy, modern fantasy, and dark fantasy.

Science fiction and fantasy podcasts#

The content of fantasy podcasts often overlaps with science fiction podcasts. These two genres are often grouped together under the label science fiction and fantasy podcasts, which is sometimes shortened to sci-fi/fantasy podcasts or simply SFF. Some examples of podcasts that cover both science fiction and fantasy topics include SFF Yeah!, The SFF Audio Podcast, and Sword & Laser.

Farruca

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Name and etymology#

The word farruca is related to farruco, a term used in Andalusia with several meanings. Some sources state that farruco was used in Andalusia to refer to people from Galicia or Asturias, especially migrants from northern Spain. This interpretation is sometimes invoked to explain the bold, austere or defiant character associated with the dance, but it is not universally accepted. The feminine form farruca may also refer, in the traditional letra, to a Galician woman. One of the best-known farruca verses begins with the image of “una farruca en Galicia” crying bitterly for the death of a farruco who played the bagpipes. This imagery has contributed to the association between the palo and Galicia.

Fashwave

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristic#

Visually, fashwave is defined by a striking retrofuturistic aesthetic that closely mirrors the vaporwave/synthwave art style. Common motifs include neon grids extending toward a horizon, 1980s-style digital sunsets, outrun sci-fi cityscapes, chrome text and vaporwave’s signature glitchy VHS tape effects. These are often juxtaposed or overlaid with explicit fascist iconography. Commonly the Black Sun (Sonnenrad) symbols, stylized Iron Crosses and other Nazi emblems, images of Hitler, Mussolini or other historical fascist leaders, and slogans like “Blood and Soil”. or other digital audio workstations, without much professional polish.

Fasıl

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Şarkı#

A şarkı is an art song in Ottoman classical music which forms one of the movements of a fasıl (suite). It is performed with an usul (metric structure). This kind of song is rarely performed today. In modern Turkish, şarkı is the common word for any song, Turkish or foreign.

History#

Starting from the 19th century, the şarkı form began to occupy a more prominent place in musical sections. In the second half of this century, particularly being popularized by Hacı Ârif Bey, it became a dominant form, leading to the gradual neglect of other classical forms over time.

Fatele

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The traditional fatele#

The traditional fatele was performed in the sitting or kneeling position by five or six young unmarried women, who while singing, moved their arms, hand and upper body; the men and women act as the chorus. The most popular form of Tuvaluan dance music in the modern era is the fatele, which is influenced by European melody and harmony and is competitive, with each island divided into two sides. Lyricism is an important part of the fatele tradition, which begins with the older men singing a song in a meeting hall (maneapa), then gradually repeating it louder and quicker as the others join in; they also use empty cabin cracker cans or wooden boxes, such as tea chests to beat the rhythm.

Fauxbourdon

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

In its simplest form, fauxbourdon consists of the cantus firmus and two other parts a sixth and a perfect fourth below. To prevent monotony, or create a cadence, the lowest voice sometimes jumps down to the octave, and any of the accompanying voices may have minor embellishments. Usually just a small part of a composition employs the fauxbourdon technique.

Hymn singing#

In a hymn, the term is sometimes used when the congregation sings in parallel octaves, with some singers singing a descant over the melody, but the term was historically used to indicate an arrangement of the tune in four parts with the melody in the tenor voice, such as those composed by sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English composers including John Dowland, Giles Farnaby, and Thomas Ravenscroft.