Bredon Hill

Question 1

context

Answer 1

dreams of marrying his love

Question 2

sonority (instrumentation/vocal style)

Answer 2

-con sordini
-double stopping (upper strings)
-opne harmonics at the end of the piece
-piano imitating bells (bar 16), una corda
-bar 100, combination of arco and pizz, imitating bells

-anacrusis start to fit the lament nature, iambic pentameter, reflecting the poetry
-mainly syllabic, use of melisma to emphasise eg bar 33, ‘happy’

Question 3

structure

Answer 3

seven verse structure-
introduction, A, A, B, B1, C, D, A1, postlude

Question 4

melody

Answer 4

-voice starts in G major but in bar 29 there is an F natural, indicating modal writing, mixolydian mode
-bar 11 strings double stopping/pizz, direct dissonance, WP
-bar 128, triplets, heavy descending sighs
-becomes more chromatic towards the middle
-conjunct movement in bar 100
-scalic movement

Question 5

texture

Answer 5

-start of the piece, homophonic block chords imitating the tolls of bells
-when the voice enters it is melody dominated homophony, recitative-like freedom
-bar 52, new triplet ostinato to represent the bells, creating a three-layered texture

Question 6

harmony/tonality

Answer 6

-beginning in G major, first chord is an Em7
-seventh chords dominate the harmony
-at bar 52, 7ths become 11ths (common in impressionism)
-bar 52 extended parallel chords, representing the bells

Question 7

temp/metre/rhythm

Answer 7

-a few metre changes throughout, making the singing feel like speech
-the tempo changes with speech
-tied semibreves at the start of the piece
-ostinato triplets
-bar 115 quaver triplets
-singer is instructed to sing in free tempo, has to finish before the accompaniment

Question 8

wider listening

Answer 8

sonority:

structure:

melody:

texture:

harmony/tonality:

t/m/r: