Music For A While (Henry Purcell) Flashcards
Context
In play Oedipus
Scene where priests try to raise ghost of King Laius
Scene where try to calm Fury Alecto
Structure
Ternary (ABA)
Popular structure in Baroque period
Da Capo Aria Ternary (used in operas) - repeated section has improvisation
Instrumentation
Voice - counter tenor male/ female soprano - range of 9th (E to F)
RH harpsichord - figured bass - improvises given chords
LH harpsichord - ground bass
Bass viol - grounds bass
Ground bass
Repeating 3 bar theme of quavers - typical in baroque to use same length notes
Arpeggio shapes + semitone intervals for chromaticism
Ascending sequence - rising ghost of King Laius
Used to prepare for changes in key - modulation
Ornamentation
Typical feature of baroque
Inverted mordent (note below) - bar 1
Grace notes (quick note before) - RH harpsichord
Trill - voice - bar 13
Appoggiatura (quick note before with rhythmic purpose) - bar 27
Spread chord - harpsichord - can’t sustain notes so for duration
Melody
Generally conjunct - some leaps of 4ths and 5ths
Rests to break up phrases
Some descending sequences - bar 13
Generally syllabic
Uses passing notes - to connect notes of chord - typical Baroque
Bar 5 ‘for a’ - passing notes (E and C) connect B diminished chord notes (F and D)
Wordpainting
Certain words/phrases repeated - ‘music’/‘drop’/‘shall all’ - reinforces meaning since important
Phrases generally descending - reflects sadness - emphasises mood of play
Phrase in bar 16 - ascending reflects people rising from dead + G major reflects happiness of return to life
Bar 10 - ‘wond’ring’
Bar 20/21 - ‘eternal’
‘Wond’ring’ - melismatic - reflects transcendent dreams
‘Eternal’ - melisma - lasts long time so reflects eternity which lasts forever
Bar 12 - ‘pains’
Dissonance - E in vocal line clashes with D, F, A in RH harpsichord - not in chord
Sharp sound that reflects pain
Bar 13 -‘eas’d’
Tension + resolving
D in vocal line clashes with E major chord in RH
C in vocal line clashes with D diminished chord in RH
C in vocal line still clashes with D major chord in RH
finally B in vocal line resolves with G major chord in RH
tension again as B in vocal line clashes with C chord in RH
resolved by A in vocal line with A minor chord in RH.
Bar 23 - ‘drop’
Syllabic - like individual items dropping
Descending - represents falling
On off beat between rests - random dropping
Tonality
Starts in A minor - reflects dark and sad
Modulations in section B:
Bar 15 - ‘be_pleas’d’ - chord B (G B Dsharp) to E minor (E G B) - perfect cadence in E minor
Bar 16 - ‘Alecto free’ - chord D (D Fsharp A) to G (G B D) - perfect cadence in G major
Bar 21/22 - ‘eternal bands’ - chord G (G B D) to C (C E G) - perfect cadence in C major
Bar 23 - ‘snakes’ - chord E (E Gsharp B) to A (A C sharp E) - perfect cadence in A major
Bar 27 - ‘whip’ - chord B (B Dsharp Fsharp) to E minor (E G B) - perfect cadence in E minor
Bar 28/29 - ‘Music’ - chord E (E Gsharp B) to A minor (A C E) - perfect cadence in A minor
Harmony
Ambiguity - semitones + accidentals - chromatic patterns in ground bass
Bar 1 harpsichord - F sharp and F natural - false relation - opposite accidentals - ambiguity
Bar 3 harpsichord - suspension - chord of A is played then a chord of E but the A note gets stuck and comes after as a G sharp to resolve - typical in baroque
Diatonic harmony
Is always in a key - uses perfect cadences to assert keys - functional chords (numbered):
perfect cadence in E minor (B —> Em) in bar 15,
perfect cadence in G major (D —> G) in bar 16,
perfect cadence in C major (G —> C) in bar 21/22,
perfect cadence in A major (E —> A) in bar 23,
perfect cadence in E minor (B —> Em) 8n bar 27,
and perfect cadence in A minor (E —> Am) in bar 28/29.
Cadential 6/4
At end of every ground bass phrase - prepares for perfect cadence at start of phrase after
Chord 1 with last inversion (Ic) to chord 5 (V)
From melody notes 6 and 4 notes higher than in bass
To melody notes 5 and 3 notes higher than in bass
