through-composed
No recurring sections
Through-composed describes a musical work where the music changes continuously throughout rather than repeating sections or returning to earlier material.
Each verse of a through-composed song gets new music, unlike strophic songs where the same melody repeats.
The term applies especially to art songs and operatic scenes: Schubert's "Erlkönig" is through-composed, with the music following the drama of the text.
Consisting of two parts
- ternaryConsisting of three parts
- rondoRecurring-theme composition
- ariaOperatic solo piece
- recitativeSpeechlike operatic singing
variation · development · song cycle · art song · lied · ballad · anthem · hymn
Theatrical art combining song
- liedTold a falsehood
- art songComposed vocal setting poetry
- cantataVocal work with instruments
- oratorioUnstaged sacred choral work
madrigal · motet · requiem · tone poem · symphonic poem · film score · musical theater · melodrama
Continuing without a stop
- seamlessWithout visible joins
- flowingMoving continuously onward
- unifiedCombined into one
- cohesiveTending to bond
progressive · linear · sustained · unbroken · integrated · evolving · developmental · non-repetitive
Recurring thematic element
- leitmotifRecurring thematic phrase
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- variationChange from a norm
- orchestrationScoring for instrumental ensemble
modulation · counterpoint · harmony · melody · texture · dynamics · phrasing · prosody
binary
Consisting of two parts
recitative · variation · development · song cycle · art song · lied · ballad · anthem · hymn · verse-chorus
opera
Theatrical art combining song
oratorio · madrigal · motet · requiem · tone poem · symphonic poem · film score · musical theater · melodrama · chamber music
uninterrupted
Continuing without a stop
cohesive · progressive · linear · sustained · unbroken · integrated · evolving · developmental · non-repetitive · non-recurring
motif
Recurring thematic element
- leitmotifRecurring thematic phrase
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- variationChange from a norm
orchestration · modulation · counterpoint · harmony · melody · texture · dynamics · phrasing · prosody · declamation
- vocal musicsong, vocals, soprano, tenor, alto
- operaopera, aria, arias, soprano, tenor
- song partsverse, intro, chorus, verse-chorus, outro
- Sung-Through MusicalsLes Miserables, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Miss Saigon
- art songsong cycle, art song, piano accompaniment, German poetry, Ave Maria
- Baroque Vocalaria, cantata, recitative, oratorio, monody
composition, composure, composer, composing, decomposed, composedly, compositional, recomposed