List: Concert choir vocabulary Monday, 15 November 1999 12:31:03 EST David-Braverman Entertainment (0) Aleatoric Music Music composed by the random selection of pitches and rhythms. Frequently found in the choir anthem. Antiphonal Leaving your answering machine on all the time. Augmentation Special surgery for altos involving the implantation of falsettos. Basso Continuo When the director can’t get them to stop. Cantus Firmus A singer in good physical condition. As opposed to the "Cantus phlabbious" (See Sackbutt) Castrato The highest male voice (some alteration required). Chorale Partitas Small choir get–togethers that are frequently interrupted by the police. Concerto Grosso An accordion concert. Contralto An alto who has been convicted. Dominant In a choral relationship, usually the alto. Etude What comes right before the Beatitudes. Glissando What directly precedes the highest note of a descant. Grand Pause When the conductor loses his place. Heterophony The only kind of music allowed at the Southern Baptist Convention. Leitmotif Like a regular motif, but less filling. Perfect Pitch Throwing a banjo in the dumpster without hitting the sides. Phantasie An alto in a leather choir robe. Polonaise A condiment frequently put on a parrot sandwich. Polychoral Motet Six parrots singing "Exultate Justi." Recapitulation What usually happens after you eat a parrot sandwich. Riff What happens when someone takes your choir robe. Rondo A popular sixties song, as in "Help, help me, Rondo." Sackbutt A choral singer over 50. Score Tenors 3, Basses 2. Sectional Harassment Lawsuit What happens when the director suggests that the sopranos "Sing from their diaphragm" Smorzando The "All–You–Can–Eat" buffet at Luciano’s. Theme We hate this anthem. Theme and Variations We hate this anthem, the composer and all of the composer’s relatives. Tonic What is generally enjoyed over ice after choir rehearsal. Submitted by reader J.J.