music for a while-introduction

edexcel gcse music

Name the two instruments playing the introduction section.

Harpsichord and Bass Viol.

How many bars long is the introduction?

3 bars long.

What ornament is heard on the first note of the piece in the harpsichord?

Lower mordent.

What other dissonant/expressive harmonic device is heard in the opening bar?

False relation.

What is a false relation?

It occurs when 2 different version of the same note are played very close to each other. In bar 1 we have F natural in the RH of the harpsichord followed almost immediately by F# in the LH of the harpsichord and the bass viol.

There is a third use of ornamentation in bar 1, what is it?

Grace notes.

There is a further use of false relation in bar 2 (G/G#) but what other ornament can be heard?

Appoggiatura.

What harmonic device can be heard at the end of the introduction?

Suspension.

What is a suspension?

It is when a note from a chord is held into the next chord where is doesn't belong. This causes a dissonance until the note falls onto a correct note for the new chord.

What musical structure is the piece based on?

A ground bass.

What is a ground bass?

A repeating melodic pattern played in the bass line.

What is unusual about this particular ground bass?

It is three bars long where most ground bass patterns are 2, 4 or 8 (even amounts). This uneven amount of bars adds to the unease and eeriness of the music as the vocal part and ground bass don't always align meaning the music is less predictable.

Describe four key features of the ground bass.

It has a regular quaver rhythm.

It has some chromatic movement.

The first two bars are based on a rising sequence.

The bass line rises from the tonic to the dominant note before the cadential ending begins.

It ends with an imperfect cadence (Ic-V).

When the ground bass links to the next repeat it creates a perfect cadence (Ic - V) - (I)

It contains both leaps and steps.

It ends with a common octave leap.

It has a slow tempo.

What term is given for the collective use of the harpsichord and the bass viol in this piece?

The basso continuo.

What is a basso continuo?

It is the instrument or group of instruments that are responsible for playing the bass line and adding harmonies/chords to the music.

What key does the music start in?

A minor.

Why is the ground bass played through once as the introduction?

It was common to hear the theme of the ground bass at the start of a piece that used this structure so that you could hear it without any distraction. It also sets the key and mood of the music. It allows the singer to hear and establish the starting note of the piece. It also sets the tempo of the music.

Describe the melody and rhythm of the RH harpsichord part in the opening introduction.

It uses a lot of conjunct/scalic movement in a mostly descending pattern.

The rhythms used are mostly semiquavers with some dotted rhythms.

How do the musical features of the opening introduction suit the scene of the play?

The minor key established a darker mood. The rising bass line could represent the intentions of the priest to raise the ghost of the king from the dead and the steady quaver rhythm of the ground bass could represent the steady footsteps of the ghost or priest as the scene plays out.

What was this piece of music written for?

It was written an incidental music for a play based on the story of Oedipus. In this scene, a priest is attempting to raise the ghost of King Laius from the dead to find out who killed him.