Musical Genres

One often hears symphonies, sonatas, and operas referred to as “forms” of music. Actually this is loose terminology, best avoided in the interests of clarity, because symphonies and other works can be composed in completely different standardized forms. Thus, the last movement of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 95 is in rondo form, whereas the last movement of Hector Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony follows no standard form whatsoever.

The best term for these general categories or kinds of music is genre (jáhn-ruh), borrowed from French. A genre can be defined by its text (a madrigal has Italian verses of a specific kind), or by its function (a Mass is written for a Roman Catholic service), or by the performing forces (a quartet is for four singers or instrumentalists). The main genres of Western music taken up in Listen are listed below.

Early Music Genres page
Gregorian chant genres:
antiphon 47
sequence 48
hymn 61
organum 52
motet 54, 72
chanson 55, 68
mass 63
madrigal 72
pavan, galliard 74

The Main Musical Genres page
Baroque concerto 115
concerto grosso 115
suite 91, 132
oratorio 141
church cantata 145
symphony 161
sonata 181
Classical concerto 183
string quartet 187
lied 233
song cycle 237
concert overture 248
program symphony 249
symphonic poem 279
opera 83, 135
subtypes of opera:
opera seria 137
opera buffa 189
music drama 266