instrument philip wilby
Opera ( English plural : " operas "; Italian plural : " opere " ) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text ( libretto ) and musical score , usually in a theatrical setting . In traditional opera , singers do two types of ___MASK85___ : recitative , a speech - inflected style and arias , a more melodic style . Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre , such as acting , scenery , and costumes and sometimes includes dance . The performance is typically given in an opera house , accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble , which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor . A composer ( Latin " compn "; literally " one who puts together ") is a person who creates or writes music , which can be vocal music ( for a singer or choir ), instrumental music ( e . g ., for solo ___MASK22___ , string quartet , wind quintet or orchestra ) or music which combines both instruments and voices ( e . g ., opera or art song , which is a singer accompanied by a pianist ). The core meaning of the term refers to individuals who have contributed to the tradition of Western classical music through creation of works expressed in written musical notation ( e . g ., sheet music scores ). An art song is a vocal music composition , usually written for one voice with ___MASK22___ accompaniment , and usually in the classical art music tradition . By extension , the term " art song " is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ( e . g ., the " art song repertoire "). An art song is most often a musical setting of an independent poem or text , " intended for the concert repertory " " as part of a recital or other relatively formal social occasion ". While many pieces of vocal music are easily recognized as art songs , others are more difficult to categorize . For example , a wordless vocalise written by a classical composer is sometimes considered an art song and sometimes not . Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound and silence , which exist in time . The common elements of music are pitch ( which governs melody and harmony ), rhythm ( and its associated concepts tempo , meter , and articulation ), dynamics ( loudness and softness ), and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ( which are sometimes termed the " color " of a musical sound ). Different styles or types of music may emphasize , de - emphasize or omit some of these elements . Music is performed with a vast range of instruments and vocal techniques ranging from ___MASK85___ to rapping ; there are solely instrumental pieces , solely vocal pieces ( such as songs without instrumental accompaniment ) and pieces that combine ___MASK85___ and instruments . The word derives from Greek  (" mousike "; " art of the Muses "). In its most general form , the activities describing music as an art form include the production of works of music ( songs , tunes , symphonies , and so on ), the criticism of music , the study of the history of music , and the aesthetic examination of music . Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies . Common sayings such as " the harmony of the spheres " and " it is music to my ears " point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to . However , 20th - century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music , saying , for example , " There is no noise , only sound ." An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics , or ___MASK85___ , although it might include some inarticulate vocals , such as shouted backup vocals in a Big Band setting . The music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments . An instrumental can exist in music notation , after it is written by a composer ; in the mind of the composer ( especially in cases where the composer herself will perform the piece , as in the case of a blues solo guitarist or a folk music fiddle player ); as a piece that is performed live by a single instrumentalist or a musical ensemble , which could range in size from a duo or trio to a large Big Band , concert band or orchestra . An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music , which features string instruments such as ___MASK60___ , viola , cello and double bass , as well as brass , woodwinds , and percussion instruments , grouped in sections . Other instruments such as the piano and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone , as may the concert harp and , for performances of some modern compositions , electronic instruments . The ___MASK22___ is an acoustic , stringed musical instrument , in which the strings are struck by hammers . It is played using a keyboard , which is a row of keys ( small levers ) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings . Invented in about 1700 ( the exact year is uncertain ), the ___MASK22___ is widely employed in classical , jazz , traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances , accompaniment , and for composing , songwriting and rehearsals . Although the ___MASK22___ is very heavy and thus not portable and is expensive ( in comparison with other widely used accompaniment instruments , such as the acoustic guitar ), its musical versatility ( i . e ., its wide pitch range , ability to play chords with up to 10 notes , louder or softer notes and two or more independent musical lines at the same time ), the large number of musicians and amateurs trained in playing it , and its wide availability in performance venues , schools and rehearsal spaces have made it one of the Western world ' s most familiar musical instruments . Philip Wilby ( born Pontefract , 1949 ) is a British composer . Educated at Leeds Grammar School and Keble College , Oxford , he joined the staff at the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in the Department of Music in 1972 . There he taught various composition , liturgy , directing , and score reading classes as well as co - founding the Leeds University Liturgical Choir . Composing for many different instruments and ensembles ( ___MASK22___ , organ , voice , chamber ensemble , wind orchestra ) , Wilby is most known for his compositions for brass band . Many of Wilby ' s pieces are based on his strong Christian beliefs . Famous works that fall in this category are ... Dove Descending , Revelation , and The New Jerusalem . Many of Wilby ' s works are written especially to be used as test pieces in brass band contests all over the world . One recent composition to fit this description is Vienna Nights , which was commissioned as the test piece for the 2006 British Open Brass Band Championship held in Symphony Hall , Birmingham . Most famously though Paganini Variations , one of his finest pieces of work , which was selected as the test piece for the 2011 Regional Championships ( Championship Section ) and has been used as the test piece for many other major competitions over the years , and has been recorded by a number of bands including Black Dyke , Fodens and Grimethorpe . ... Dove Descending was featured by Black Dyke Band at the 2007 BBC Promenade Concerts in a day devoted to music for brass . Wilby also wrote the descriptive Northern Lights commissioned by the Black Dyke Band which was scored for a brass band and 4 dancers . It was later adapted for the Contest Stage when it was selected for the Butlins Mineworkers Championships in January 2007 . One of his latest compositions is entitled `` A Brontë Mass '' which was commissioned for the Leeds Philharmonic Society , in memory of their late Chairman , John Brodwell . The work includes poems by the Brontë sisters and text from Latin Mass . This piece premiered on Saturday 24 November 2007 at Leeds Town Hall . A recording , by The Bach Choir and Black Dyke Band , was made at Blackheath Halls in November 2009 and was released on a CD called Red Priest in September 2010 . The title track of this CD `` Red Priest '' was commissioned by Black Dyke Band and first performed in the Brucknerhaus , Linz , Austria in May 2010 as part of the European Brass Band Championships . It was subsequently chosen as the test piece for the 2011 British Open Brass Band Championship . Philip Wilby now resides outside Ripon . Several CDs of his music for brass and wind bands have been released on the Doyen label in recent years ; Wilby Sacred Symphonies Vienna Nights Red Priest A Breathless Alleluia In Tribute Vocal music is a type of music performed by one or more singers , with or without instrumental accompaniment ( a cappella ), in which ___MASK85___ provides the main focus of the piece . Music which employs ___MASK85___ but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music ( e . g . the wordless women ' s choir in the final movement of Holst ' s The Planets ) as is music without ___MASK85___ . Music without any non - vocal instrumental accompaniment is referred to as " a cappella ". A wind quintet , also known as a woodwind quintet , is a group of five wind players ( most commonly ___MASK31___ , ___MASK53___ , clarinet , ___MASK11___ and bassoon ). The term also applies to a composition for such a group . A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players  two ___MASK60___ players , a viola player and a cellist  or a piece written to be performed by such a group . The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music , with most major composers , from the mid to late 18th century onwards , writing string quartets . Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols to indicate the pitches ( melodies ), rhythms and / or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece . Like its analogs  printed books or pamphlets in English , Arabic or other languages  the medium of sheet music typically is paper ( or , in earlier centuries , papyrus or parchment ), although the access to musical notation since the 1980s has included the presentation of musical notation on computer screens and the development of scorewriter computer programs that can notate a song or piece electronically , and , in some cases , " play back " the notated music using a ___MASK75___ or virtual instruments . Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the ___MASK6___ through the use of written , printed , or otherwise - produced symbols , including ancient symbols or modern musical symbols and including ancient symbols cut into stone , made in clay tablets or made using a pen on papyrus , parchment or manuscript paper ; printed using a printing press ( ca . 1400s ), a computer printer ( ca . 1980s ) or other printing or modern copying technology . Types and methods of notation have varied between cultures and throughout history , and much information about ancient music notation is fragmentary . Even in the same time period , such as in the 2010s , different styles of music and different cultures use different music notation methods ; for example , for professional classical music performers , sheet music using staves and note heads is the most common way of notating music , but for professional country music session musicians , the Nashville Number System is the main method . A song , most broadly , is a single ( and often standalone ) work of music that is typically intended to be sung by the ___MASK6___ with distinct and fixed pitches and patterns using sound and silence and a variety of forms that often include the repetition of sections . Written words created specifically for music or for which music is specifically created , are called lyrics . If a pre - existing poem is set to composed music in classical music it is an art song . Songs that are sung on repeated pitches without distinct contours and patterns that rise and fall are called chants . Songs in a simple style that are learned informally are often referred to as folk songs . Songs that are composed for professional singers who sell their recordings or live shows to the mass market are called popular songs . These songs , which have broad appeal , are often composed by professional songwriters , composers and lyricists . Art songs are composed by trained classical composers for concert or recital performances . Songs are performed live and recorded on audio or video ( or in some , cases , a song may be performed live and simultaneously recorded ). Songs may also appear in plays , musical theatre , stage shows of any form , and within operas .