|
The
Christmas Oratorio
Take
the quiz. Click the link below for the answers.
1)
An oratorio is:
a) a chocolate cookie with white cream in the middle
b) a long dramatic work which is sung and accompaniment by an orchestra,
but not acted out
c) a long dramatic vocal work which is acted out and accompanied
by an orchestra
d) none of the above
2)
The Christmas Oratorio is not entirely an appropriate name because:
a) it's really several separate pieces
b) it's not really about Christmas
c) it wasn't performed at or around Christmas
3)
The text for the Christmas Oratorio:
a) is a collection of poetry written by Bach just for this piece
b) comes entirely from the Bible
c) is taken in part from the German translation of the Bible, and
is part poetry
d) there is no text
4)
The Christmas Oratorio is divided into:
a) six parts to be performed at six different hours on Christmas
Day
b) six parts, each to be performed on six different days between
Christmas and the Epiphany
c) however many sections the conductor wishes
5)
The Christmas Oratorio was written
a) over a long period of time and in different locations
b) over a period of about two years in Leipzig
c) in a short three-week burst of energy when Bach was on a ski
vacation
d) by Bach's sons
6)
The Christmas Oratorio:
a) uses the same soloists and instruments for each cantata
b) uses the same soloists but different instruments for each cantata
c) uses different soloists but the same instruments for each cantata
d) uses different combinations of soloists, choir, and instruments
for each cantata
7)
The Christmas Oratorio is normally performed:
a) in Germany
b) in German *
c) when there's snow on the ground
d) only on recordings, never live
8)
In the Christmas Oratorio the shepherds are:
a) never mentioned
b) not available, because it's Christmas vacation
c) the focus of two of the cantatas *
d) represented by the tenor solo
9)
All the cantatas in the Christmas Oratorio:
a) have the same number of movements
b) have a different number of movements
c) sound the same
d) are performed simultaneously
10)
Which answer is correct?
a) No section of the Christmas Oratorio is actually intended to
be performed on Christmas Day.
b) Bach never called this work the Christmas Oratorio.
c) All of Bach's family, which included many musicians, participated
in the world premiere of this piece.
d) At the end of each cantata, the orchestra was expected to distribute
gifts to the congregation, along the lines of the festival of Hanukkah.
11)
Chorales were written:
a) by Martin Luther for the priests and ministers to show off their
singing abilities
b) by Luther and others so that the congregation would have something
easy to sing
c) by Bach and were very, very complicated
d) for cowboys to round up the horses at night
12)
In chorales, a fermata indicates:
a) a long, held note
b) the group of instruments which play the bass
c) a place to stop
d) a place to breathe
13)
Bach:
a) wrote all the chorales himself
b) harmonized familiar chorales
c) used only one chorale in the entire Christmas Oratorio
d) used nothing but chorales in the Christmas Oratorio
14)
Chorales were originally always written:
a) in Pennsylvania Dutch
b) in Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church
c) in German, the language of most Lutherans in Bach's day
d) at the dinnertable
15)
Bach's chorale settings in the Christmas Oratorio:
a) can be explained as 14 completely different and original settings
b) can be described in one of three ways
c) should be sung at night
d) are all the same
16)
The melody in a chorale:
a) is almost always sung in German, but the other parts might be
in English
b) usually drifts aimlessly from one voice to the next, like sheep
in a field
c) is almost always sung and/or played by the sopranos or soprano
instruments
d) none of the above
17)
Many of Bach's chorale settings in the Christmas Oratorio:
a) use a traditional, 4-part setting in the choir, with a busy orchestral
accompaniment
b) use a traditional, 4-part setting in the orchestra, with a busy
choral accompaniment
c) have no words, just easy-to-follow long notes
d) were not written by Bach
18)
The largest group of chorales in the Christmas Oratorio are:
a) it's a trick question; there really aren't any chorales
b) sung only by soloists
c) sung as lullabys
d) those which use a traditional, 4-part setting and probably allowed
the congregation to sing
19)
Many chorales were sung:
a) as fast as possible
b) by a pre-recorded choir
c) by a soloist
d) at a slow tempo
20)
The last chorale in the Christmas Oratorio is:
a) redundant
b) the most complicated
c) heard in the middle of cantata number 4
d) "Get Along Little Doggies"
Click
here to see the answers.
<<back
to part 1
©
2003 Carol Traupman-Carr
|
