music-music for a while all

What is the key at the start of the final A1 section?

What is the key at the start of the final A1 section?

The music moves back to A minor so that it is the same as at the start of the piece and the main A section.

Name two significant structural changes to the A1 section when compared to the opening A section.

The A1 section only uses the first half of the text. From 'music' to 'shall all your cares beguile'. The A1 section also repeats the 'shall all' section.

What changes are made to the vocal melody in the A1 section?

The melody is decorated as would have been the custom in the Baroque era. There are lots of grace notes aded and the occasional appoggiatura and mordent.

In what key does the music end?

A minor.

How is the last chord of the RH harpsichord played?

It is arpeggiated meaning the notes are spread or rolled.

The B section begins with the words 'Till the snakes'. What key does the music move to here?

A major.

How does Purcell set the word 'drop' to create word painting?

Purcell repeats the word drop to create the image of many snakes falling from Alecto's head. The onomatopoeic nature of the word drop is also captured by Purcell separating the repetitions of the word as single notes, separated by rests and played in 3s in a descending or falling pattern. The word is said 9 times in total. two groups of 3 falling notes, one group of 2 falling notes and a final single note that links back to the sentence. The drops are not only separated by rests but placed on the weaker parts of the beat creating a syncopated feel which gives the words more prominence.

At the end of the 'drop' section, an ornament is used as the words say 'drop from her head'. What ornament is used?

They are written as grace notes but sound like an upper mordent.

What key does the music move to at the end of 'drop from her head'?

A minor.

How does Purcell create word painting with the word 'whip'?

Purcell writes an appoggiatura on the word 'whip' which in the recording is performed more like an acciaccatura (a note played/sung as fast as possible) which creates a whipping sound on the word.

What key does the music move to at the end of 'whip from out her hands'?

E major.

What is the special name for the harmonic device used at the end of 'whip from out her hands'?

Tierce de Picardie (as the music has just moved to a minor key - A minor (drop from her head) and now at the end of this section, we get a major chord - E major.

What bar is the Tierce de Picardie at?

Bar 28.

What is the first word sung by the singer?

Music.

The word 'Music' is repeated immediately at the start of the A section, what is the interval between the two repetitions?

A perfect 5th.

How is the word music used to create word painting?

Music is essentially pitch and rhythm. Here Purcell uses those two basic features of music to create music with the word. He uses a different pitch for each repetition and uses a different rhythm for each.

How would you describe the melody of 'for a while' that follows 'music'?

A descending scale.

What happens in the harpsichord part after the opening sentence 'Music, music for a while'?

There is some imitation in the harpsichord part as it copies the descending scale idea used at the end of the main melody.

How does Purcell set the word 'all' to create word painting?

He uses the word 'all' in repetition to create the image of there being lots, or many, 'cares' that Alecto is suffering with.

It is set as a pattern of 4. Two rising ideas followed by two descending ideas. The first two rising ideas are 'shall all' (perfect 4th) followed by 'all, all' (perfect 5th). The two falling ideas are 'shall all' (major 3rd) followed by 'all, all' (minor 3rd, but this final one contains an additional 3 note descending scale on the final all widening the overall interval from the highest note to the lowest as a perfect 5th).

Each idea is separated by a quaver rest and they all start on the weaker part of the beat making them syncopated in feel. This helps to give them more prominence.

During the section where 'all's repeated, what ornamentation can be heard in the RH harpsichord part?

Grace notes.

What key is the music in at the end of the opening section? Where the words are 'shall all your cares beguile'.

It is still in A minor.

How does Purcell set the word 'wondering'?

Melismatically. This is because the opening syllable is sung over many notes.

How is this the word 'wondering', an example word painting?

The word 'wondering' means 'lost in thought' which is when we lose track of time. Here Purcell demonstrates this by setting the word melismatically to stretch the word out over time.

What melodic device is created between the voice and the harpsichord during the words 'wondering'?

The voice and harpsichord create a rising sequence as the harpsichord imitates the vocalise but up a step which is moved a step higher again when the voice repeats the word 'wondering' a second time.

During the section 'wondering', what ornaments can be heard in the RH harpsichord part?

Mordents. There are lower and upper mordents used.

How does Purcell use the words 'pains' and 'eas'd' to create word painting?

Purcell set the words 'pains' and 'eas'd' using dissonant harmony on the word pains and then for each subsequent repetition of the word 'eas'd' he writes less dissonance creating more 'ease' and consonance.

How are the final two 'eas'd' decorated?

The penultimate 'eas'd' has a trill added and the final 'eas'd' has grace notes which sound like an upper auxiliary note.

How are the harpsichord chords on the first two 'eas'd' played?

They are arpeggiated - meaning the notes are spread or rolled.

How would you describe the melody of the 'pains' and eas'd' section where the vocals are 'disdaining to be pleas'd'?

A descending scale.

What key is the music in at the end of 'disdaining to be pleas'd?

E minor.

Most of the music from the opening word 'music' and the sentence 'disdaining to be pleas'd' has contained descending, Scalic melodies and uses a minor tonality. Why do you think this is?

Because the first part of the song focuses on the negative (minor) aspects of the situation. The amount (all) of cares that Alecto has and how the 'pains' of Alecto can be 'eas'd'.

The A section ends with a more positive outlook with the focus being on Alecto freeing the dead. Describe how the melodic shape changes from the previous material.

Instead of mostly descending scales for the melody, here, the music contains more rising elements.

What is the key of the music at the end of the sentence 'till Alecto free the dead'?

G major (reflecting the more positive idea).

How is the word 'eternal' used as word painting?

The word 'eternal' means to last a long time and Purcell sets the word melismatically so that the word is stretched over many notes to reflect its meaning.

How would you describe the texture of the music during the 'eternal' section?

The texture uses imitation as the harpsichord interjects with imitation whenever the voice is held on a long note.

At the end of the A section, the words are 'eternal bands'. What key is the music in at the end of this A section?

C major (again reflecting the positive desires for Alecto to free the dead from their eternal sufferings).

What do we call the single bar of instrumental that splits up the main sections of the music?

Interludes.

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.