Kodaly Battle and Defeat

Question 1

how does Kodaly use dynamics

Answer 1

• very wide range of dynamics - ppp trumpet solo to suddenly fff fanfare sections
• long crescendos (army appraoching) and diminuendos to add drama.
• Cymbals are marked fff and then ffff before the dissonant themes - shocking and sets tone for what is to come
• Sfff in bar 99 in brass parts - marks the end of the battle as the funeral march starts afterwards
• Morendo- dying away at end of funeral ppp

Question 2

Rhythm

Answer 2

• march-like rhythms throughout and repeated across many instruments
• ostinato dotted quaver semiquaver rhythms (in trombone 1 & 2)
• Rhythmic ostinato on the tambourine
• triplet quavers in brass - parallel 5ths - fanfare - like
• some dotted rhythms in the melody
• Dotted rhythms in the percussion –> energy, excitement, and intensity to the music, enhancing the depiction of the battle.
• use of pauses

Question 3

Tempo / Metre

Answer 3

• variety/different tempi used
• Alla Marcia/in the style of a march/ ♩ = 108 / 2/4
• Poco meno mosso (a little less movement) –> processional march –> 4/4
• pesante (heavily)
• poco stringendo (getting a little faster)
• **Tempo di Marchia funebre ♩ = 54 **, half tempo o f section A - much slower

Question 4

Melody

Answer 4

• Modal Melody at beginning
• melody uses dotted rhythms and is disjunct and sometimes conjunct
• The ‘shriek’ of piccolo tremolando into descending chromatic scales and a quiet saxophone alternating semitone pleading sound
• parody of same melodic pattern as the French national anthem (with a different rhythm) to show / mock Napoleon is arriving
• melody uses a wider range towards the end
• trombone glissandi provide a funeral accompaniment to the solo saxophone, which plays a completely transformed version of the melody with acciaccaturas and trills –> comedic effect? - typical of Hungarian music
• Funeral March Sax solo melody hints to opening melody but in Bb minor

Question 5

Harmony

Answer 5

• Key signature no sharps or flats would usually suggest Cmj / A mn –> Actual sound is modal = D domain
• wide intervals - mj 7th, Aug 4th - Fanfare
• when triplet theme repeated in b65 - modulated up to B - Aug 4th higher - moved from F to B
• peasante section - outlines C major arpeggio
• Napoleon Theme repeats but in B major triad in trumpets - brighter, Figure 6
• Chromaticism - tritones - cluster chords - dissonance - symbolises the clash
• Funeral March : key signature of 1 flat suggests F major, but actual sound suggests Bb Dorian - BUT saxophone part suggests Bb minor
• tonal ambiguity

Question 6

Articulation

Answer 6

• staccato quavers give the theme a military feel - brass
• Explosion of sound: grace notes + Trills + Glissando
• Accents used at loud moments or to highlight an awkward melody
• Acciaccatura
• marcato on quavers - bar 99 –> larger contrast before lunga pausa
  -Grandioso e marcatissimo (grandly and very much accented) at bar 90

Question 7

Timbre / Sonority

Answer 7

• movement is scored for woodwind, brass, and percussion only –> sound of a military / marching band
• 3 piccolos - very unusual
• 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones
• piccolo tremolos + trombone glissandos, + trumpets and trombones play tritones–> shrieking.
• Fanfare = trumpets + trombones
• Funeral March uses saxophone as main instrument - comical effect? - ornaments –> gentle, pleading timbre
• cymbal marked fff before dissonant themes - shocking + sets tone

Question 8

Structure / Form

Answer 8

• repeating ideas (e.g. the melody of the funeral march is a version of the grenadier melody, but 4x slower)
• designed around the dramatic action it portrays
  -Sections are of unequal lengths
  -Names of the sections are based on the named scenes in the original Hary Janos opera:
  -A section: Alla Marcia - ‘The Entrance of the French Grenadiers’
  -B section: Poco Meno Mosso - ‘The Entrance of Napoleon’
  -C section: Tempo di Marcia Funebre - ‘Funeral March’

Question 9

Texture

Answer 9

• Opening: Monophonic = unison of trombone melody - march theme has a strong, united, bold opening
• Octaves in trumpet and trombone melody before [figure 1] - strong, united, powerful mood
• Fanfare: Monophonic (figure 2)
• Melody and accompaniment after [figure 2] - trumpet melody accompanied by lower brass with woodwind later added in figure 3
• Added instruments and thicker texture indicate that the
  army is confident
• Funeral March: Melody and accompaniment - saxophone solo with a lower brass = lone voice of defeated Napoleon / sad melancholic mood

Question 10

describe the use of pauses in more detail

Answer 10

• Extensive use of fermatas (pauses) and whole-bar rests e.g. bar 100 there is a Lunga Pausa
• Dramatic pauses in bar 64 (soon before the entrance of Napoleon) and bar 100 (just before the funeral march) provide breaks between sections and build anticipation before a new section