Joseph Haydn summary

Piano, a keyboard musical instrument having wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated from a keyboard. The standard modern piano contains 88 keys and has a compass of seven full octaves plus a few keys. The vibration of the strings is transmitted to a soundboard by means

Passion music, musical setting of the suffering and Crucifixion of Christ, based either on biblical texts or poetic elaborations. Dating from the 4th century onward, they range from unaccompanied plainsong to compositions for soloists, chorus, and orchestra. In the medieval Passion the deacon sang

Oratorio, a large-scale musical composition on a sacred or semisacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra. An oratorio’s text is usually based on scripture, and the narration necessary to move from scene to scene is supplied by recitatives sung by various voices to prepare the way for

Sonata, type of musical composition, usually for a solo instrument or a small instrumental ensemble, that typically consists of two to four movements, or sections, each in a related key but with a unique musical character. Deriving from the past participle of the Italian verb sonare, “to sound,”