Music for a while- Purcell

Baroque features

• single mood/ emotion expressed

• harpsicord

• small ensembles of instruments

Which instruments and voice range are MFAW written for

harpsichord

bass viol

soprano

Grounds bass

repeated bassline

rising sequence

consists of 5th and 2nd

3 bars

Harpsicord

• early version of piano

• strings plucked rather than hit with hammers

• cannot play dynamics

Bass viol

• early cello

• 6 strings, cello has 4

• has frets

Basso continuo

combination of harpsicord and bass viol

provide bass line and accompaniment

Words painting

When a composer represents the words being sung directly through the music

Word painting examples in MFAW

Wondering- held a long time — mimics idea of thinking, descending melisma

Pains- dissonance in bar 12- E in melody against D in bass

Drop- each snake dropping, short

Eternal- long melisma reflecting long time

Free the dead- G major, rising melody, positive

Melody

mainly syllabic

melismatic moments

mostly conjunct

Passing notes are frequent

rests used to break up phrases`

Ornaments

trills

appoggiaturas

grace notes

upper mordents

lower mordents

Structure

ground bass

basso continuo

ternary form

Texture

melody and accompaniment

melody dominated homophony

Tonality

A minor

central section modulates to other keys but returns to A min in bar 28

Modulations

Dead- g major

Bands- c major

hands- e major

music - a minor

Cadances

Perfect- 5 — 1

Imperfect 1 — 4 or 4 — 5

interrupted 5 — 6

Tempo, metre and rhythm

slow tempo appropriate

4/4 quadruple time

quavers and semi quavers most predominant

occasional syncopation