‘And the Glory of the Lord’ Handel (1742)

An optimistic and celebratory piece of music in the key of A MAJOR.

Written in the Baroque Period 1600 – 1750

Key characteristics of the Baroque era

  1. A small, mainly string orchestra.
  2. Use of decorations/ornaments in the music.
  3. Terraced Dynamics (no crescendo’s or diminuendo’s).
  4. Use of Basso Continuo – continuous bass line (organ and cello).
  5. Diatonic Harmony – uses only notes in the scale.
  6. One mood in a piece.

Taken from an Oratorio. Oratorio – A musical work that uses stories from the bible.

TEXTURES– used in the vocal parts:

MONOPHONIC (one melody)

HOMOPHONIC (one melody with accompaniment)

POLYPHONIC (more than one independent melody)

MELODY -4 extracts of melody set to the words:

  1. And the Glory of the Lord
  2. Shall be revealed
  3. And all flesh shall see it together
  4. For the mouth of the lord hath spoken it.

The melody also contains SEQUENCE (the same idea repeated a note lower or a note higher).

WORD SETTING– Uses syllabic (one note per syllable) and melisma (several notes over one syllable – particularly on the word revealed).

MUSICAL DEVICES

Uses a PEDAL – a sustained note or the same note played over and over again.

CADENCES

Mainly uses PERFECT and IMPERFECT but the piece finishes on a PLAGAL cadence

And the Glory of the Lord

1st Movement from symphony no.40 – Mozart (1788)

Written in the CLASSICAL period 1750 – 1830. The piece is in G MINOR.

Features of CLASSICAL music.

  1. Regular 4 or 8 bar phrases.
  2. Homophonic Texture.
  3. Uses regular Cadences.
  4. Diatonic Harmony (no chromatic chords).
  5. Harpsichord became redundant.
  6. Woodwind – Clarinet had been invented.

INSTRUMENTATION OF SYMPHONY NO. 40

Woodwind – 1 fluteBrass – 2 horns

2 clarinetsNO TRUMPETS

2 oboes

2 bassoonsNO DRUMS!

STRUCTURE – Sonata Form

Exposition / Development / Recapitulation
1st subject (melody)
Bridge
2nd subject (melody) / Development of both subjects by MODULTING (changing the key signatures). / Recaps the 1st subject in G minor again.

1st SUBJECT

Repeated 3 note idea that uses a DESCENDING pattern. In a MINOR key (G minor).

2nd SUBJECT

Much more relaxed idea. 3 note DESCENDING figure is meant to sound like a musical sigh. It is in a MAJOR key.

Symphony No. 40

Piano Prelude No. 15 ‘Raindrop’ – Chopin (1838)

Written in the Romantic era 1810 – 1900

Features of Romantic music

  1. Uses a wide range of feelings and emotions.
  2. Longer melody lines.
  3. Chromatic harmony (lots of sharps and flats). Used to create the emotions needed in the music.
  4. Strong and varied dynamic contrasts (very quiet to very loud). Used to give maximum emotion.
  5. Much more difficult to play (virtuoso performers).
  6. Much larger orchestra.
  7. Development of the piano.

THE PIANO

  • Made bigger
  • More notes were added.
  • Pedals were added (soft pedal – played quieter. Sustain pedal – sustains the notes).

CHOPIN’S PIANISTIC STYLE

  1. CANTABILE – Singing style, to be played smoothly or legato.
  2. TEMPO RUBATO – can slow down and speed up.

STRUCTURE

What is a prelude?

A prelude is always followed by something else. It is a short piece used to create the mood. Each one is meant to show or portray a particular emotion.

The ‘raindrop’ is in TERNARY FORM

Section A / Section B / Section A

Raindrop Prelude

Peripetie – Schoenberg (1909)

Peripetie is a piece of Expressionism

Features of Expressionism

  1. Atonality – No key signature (not major or minor).
  2. Expression of one intense emotion.
  3. Short pieces.
  4. Full pitch range used (really, really high to really, really low).
  5. Extreme use of expressive dynamics (very, very loud – very very quiet).

MELODY

  • Jumpy
  • Spikey
  • Angular
  • Disjointed

DYNAMICS

  • Massive range used from one note to the next

RHYTHM

  • Very complex rhythms (rests as important as notes that are written).

TONALITY

  • Atonal (no key signature).

HARMONY

  • Clashing
  • Chromatic

TIMBRE

  • The sounds of the instruments as important as the pitch.

FEATURES OF PERIPETIE

Use of HEXACHORDS – 6 notes from the chromatic scale used as a chord.

COMPLIMENT – 6 notes not used in the first Hexachord.

PRINCIPAL VOICE – The main melody.

SECONDARY VOICE – the 2nd most important melody line.

Peripetie

Something’s Coming – Bernstein (1958)

This is a song from a musical. The mood is one of optimism and excitement ‘Somethings coming I don’t know what it is but it is gonna be great’.

Features of Musicals

  1. Contains Music, Dance and drama.
  2. Musicals come in all different styles, rock, jazz, orchestral based.
  3. Contains Solo’s – song for solo voice.
  4. Contains duets – song for two voices.
  5. Contains chorus – everyone on stage sings together.

About Something’s Coming

RHYTHM

  • Use of syncopated rhythms (push rhythm – anticipates the beat).
  • Use of cross rhythms.

HARMONY

  • Jazz based harmony.
  • Uses Blue notes.

MELODY

  • Made up of lots of short riffs.
  • Combination of snappy short phrases and long sustained notes.

TONALITY

  • Bitonality (uses two keys at the same time).
  • Major

TEXTURE

  • Layered Texture
  • Homophonic Texture – Melody (voice) and accompaniment.

Something’s Coming

Electirc Counterpoint (3rd Movement) – Reich (1987)

This is a piece of MINIMALISM

Features of Minimalism

  1. Repetition
  2. Use of Ostinato (repeated pattern)
  3. Use of Drones
  4. Use of Cells (short musical ideas)
  5. Metamorphosis (gradual change of rhythm and melody).
  6. Layering (parts dropping in and out).
  7. Note Addition (notes gradually added).
  8. Note Subtraction (notes gradually taken away).
  9. Static diatonic harmony (use of one long chord which changes gradually if at all).

INSTRUMENTATION

  • 7 guitars
  • 2 bass guitars

PLAYING TECHNIQUES

  • Picked
  • Strumming

TONALITY

  • Modal on E

MELODY

  • Built from cells
  • Forms a resultant melody (a melody that is produced when separate parts all play at the same time).

RHYTHM & METRE (time signature – beats in a bar)

  • Lots of Syncopation
  • 3/2 - 3 minims in a bar
  • 12/8 – 12 quavers in a bar
  • Both time signatures are used at the same time.

TEXTURE

  • Use of Layering
  • POLYPHONIC texture
  • Thick texture once built up – lots to listen to.

Electric Counterpoint

All Blues - Miles Davis

All blues is a piece of ‘Cool’ Jazz which is Modal.

Features of All Blues

  1. The musicians improvise all of the solos they play.
  2. The soloists use modes to improvise – an early type of scale before major and minor scales were invented.
  3. It uses a swing rhythm.
  4. The ‘Head’ uses riffs in the accompaniment – a short repeated extract of music.

Instrumentation

  • Frontline (melody Instruments)

Trumpet – Miles Davis

Alto Sax – Cannonball Adderley

Tenor Sax – John Coltrane

Rhythm & Metre

  • Uses uneven swing rhythm.
  • Contains lots of syncopation.
  • The Time signature is 6/4 (six crotchets in a bar).

Melody

  • Apart from the head it is all Improvised.
  • Uses Blue Notes (flattened 3rd and 7th).

Harmony

  • Uses the 12 bar blues.
  • Changes – The word used to describe the chord sequence in a jazz song.
  • Uses 7th chords.
  • Uses Blue notes in the melody and the chords – flattened 3rd and 7th.
  • Use of turnarounds – A chord pattern used at the end of a section to take it back to the beginning.

Structure

  • Uses a Head arrangement – The head is simply the tune.
  • After the head is played the twelve bar blues changes (chord pattern) repeats over and over again.
  • Linking section – this can be heard in between each solo that’s played. The linking section uses a Riff (short repeated section of melody).

All Blues – Miles Davis 1959

Grace – Jeff Buckley

Grace is a piece of rock/alternative/indie music. It is hard to put it in one catergory.

Jeff Buckley used SOUNDSCAPES which is when the timbre (the quality of sound) and the texture of a piece of music is changed. This is done to create a certain atmosphere in the music rather than have continuous musical development.

Grace – Jeff Buckley 1994

Why does my heart feel so bad? Moby

This is a dance piece of music released in 1999.

Influences on Dance Music

  • Dub – in the 60’s songs started to be remixed. Musicians would use overdubbing to remove and add extra parts, often including effects into them.
  • Scratching – A record is spun by hand to create a scratching sound. It got to the point were the record deck was considered a musical instrument!
  • Chicago House – Take existing tracks and remix them. Extra things like the use of a drum machine to emphasise the ‘4 on the floor’ were also used.
  • Garage – More melodic than House – it used soul and R ‘n’ B music

Samples in ‘Why does my heart feel so Bad?’

  • Built around 2 vocal samples taken from a gospel choir recording done in 1953.
  • Both of the samples are in A minor.
  • Moby has chosen to harmonise one with minor chords and the other with major chords.

Structure

  • Based around 2 chord sequences which are in 8 bar blocks.
  • Intro – Verse – Chorus – Verse2 – Break – Chorus – Outro.

Texture

Moby develops the texture by changing the amount of instruments playing, the rhythms used as well as a number of different effects.

Tempo/Metre

  • 98 bpm. The time signature is 4/4.

Why does my Heart Feel so Bad – Moby 1999

‘Skye Waulking Song’ – Capercaillie

This is a piece of fusion which mingles or blends two styles of music together this piece includes:

  • Folk Music – Fiddle, Uilleann pipes, bouzouki, based on a Gaelic story, Gaelic language.
  • Rock Music – Electric Instruments (bass guitar, synthesisor), drum kit.

Waulking Songs

A waulking song was sung when villagers would work together making tweed more flexible and windproof. They sung a song to:

  • Make it a more social occasion. To keep everyone in time.

One person would lead the song and others would join in after each line with nonsense syllables. This would give the person leading chance to think of the next line.

Time Signature

The time signature is ambiguous at the start but settles into 12/8 – 12 quavers in a bar.

Tonality -E minor

Harmony

Simple throughout the song there are only 4 chords in the whole song. The changes in the chord pattern are very noticeable and change the mood of the section. Uses C – G – Em – Am7.

Melody

Instruments improvise around the melody at the same time. The vocal line uses the scale of E minor pentatonic or G major pentatonic throughout.

Texture

Heterophonic Texture can be heard at times – two or more parts playing the same melodic line at the same time but slightly differently to each other.

Structure

Intro – Verse 1 – Break – Verse 2- Verse 3 – Verse 4 – Verse 5 – Verse 6 – Instrumental – Verse 7 – Verse 8 Outro.

Use of call and response between the main melody and lyrics and the nonsense syllables repeated afterwards.

Background

The words are about Seathan, son of the King of Ireland. It was originally a lament (sad song of grief) sung by his wife. It told of his deeds, his character, and her recollections of times spent with him. It was used as a way of grieving and sharing her feelings to try and deal with her loss.

Rag Desh

This is from the Indian classical tradition of Northern India.

The Structure

Section / Tempo / Metre/Rhythm / Musical feature
Alap / Slow and meditative. / Timeless (free time) / Explores notes of the rag. Sets the mood.
Music is improvised.
Jhor / Steady /Medium / A sense of pulse is added / Becomes more rhythmic.
Tempo increases.
Becomes more elaborate.
Jhalla / Fast/lively / Fast pulse. Exciting and complex rhythms. / High point of the piece.
Virtuoso playing.
Gat / Moderate to fast / Tabla drums introduce the tala rhythmic cycle / Fixed composition is introduced.

Instrumentation

SitarTheSarangiThe Sarod

The TamburaTablaBasuri

Rag Desh – Indian Music

‘Yiri’ – Koko

African music has an oral tradition and is not written down.

The performance contains a MASTER DRUMMER who leads the call & response, sets the speeds and generally leads the performance.

Common features of African Music

Repetition – this might be just a few notes or a whole section of music.

Improvisation – music is made up on the spot.

Polyphony – a texture of two or more parts. A multi layered texture.

Call & Response – a solo followed by a group answering phrase.

Rhythm

African music contains lots of syncopation and also uses cross rhythms.

Texture

Polyphonic and polyrhythmic textures – a texture that uses many independent parts and rhythms.

Common features of African Songs

Call & response

Melodies are short and simple repeated many times.

Performers often improvise new melodies.

Music is often sung in a round.

Harmony –sing in unison octaves and and 3rds, 4ths and 5ths.

Instrumentation

DjembeTalking DrumBalaphones

Yiri – African Music