Vaughn Williams Flashcards
(10 cards)
introduction paragraph
-‘On Wenlock edge’ is a song cycle based on A.E. Housman’s poetry collection, ‘A Shropshire lad’
-cycle reflects themes of nostalgia, death and nature
-blends English folk traditions with impressionistic harmonies
-specific setwork is a compelling example of Vaughn Williams mastery of song setting
Emotions for On Wenlock Edge
-Violent
-Restless
-Agitation
-Strength
-Fragility
Emotions for Is my team ploughing?
-Eerie
-Sorrowful
-Haunting
-Nostalgia
-Unsettling
-Ghostly
-Mournful
-Melancholy
Emotions for Bredon Hill
-Idyllic
-Romantic
-Tragic
-Mournful
-Nostalgia
-Serenity
-Grief
-Loneliness
Describe the melody of the 3 songs
On wenlock edge: string ostinato accompaniment, pitches of a pentatonic set, word painting, starts diatonic becomes chromatic, repeated notes
IMTP?: dead man - Dorian mode in D, narrow range and conjunct at the start, wider range and disjunct at the end; living man - diatonic and lyrical, tritone, word painting
Bredon hill: starts on a pentatonic scale, melisma, small range, stepwise, becomes more chromatic and range widens towards the end, repeated notes, ends with repeated descending triplet motif in piano
Describe the texture of the 3 songs
On wenlock edge: parallel first inversion chords in piano, piano doubles the strings, ostinato sextuplets in the piano, antiphony between voice and strings, sustained notes/ chords
IMTP?: Homophonic/Homorhythmic accompaniment in interludes, dead man - sparse, tremolo strings, sustained chords; living man - rhythmically driven, triplet chords, spetuplets
Bredon Hill: Mel-dom-hom, octaves in into, parallel octaves, broken chords, ends monophonic
Describe the harmony of the 3 songs
On Wenlock edge: parallel chords - impressionism, Ab is dissonant - on the word ‘gale’, chromatic slides on ‘heaving hill’
IMTP?: dead man - static, non-functional, sustained Dm; living man - half dim-7th, aug6th, Neapolitan 6th
Bredon Hill: parallel 7ths, superimposed, sustained
Describe the rhythm, metre and temp of the 3 songs
On Wenlock edge: triplets and sextuplets, cross rhythms - sextuplet semiquavers in R.H. semiquavers in L.H.
IMTP?: dead man - quasi da lontano, living man - animando, changes of metre, septuplets, dotted notes, triplets
Bredon Hill: sustained notes, tempo increases as song continues, slow tempo at funeral, 2/4 and 4/4, cross-rhythms, triplets and short note lengths
Describe the tonality of the 3 songs
On wenlock edge: Gm (discontent), pentatonic set of melodies
IMTP?: Modal (Dorian) for dead man
Bredon Hill: Tonally ambiguous, G mixolydian mode, Bitonal emphasis Ab and G
Wider Listening
From far, from eve and morning: Vaughn Williams - parallel/inverted chords, sustained chords
Erlkonig: Schubert - tremolo piano, varied accompaniment based on characters
Dance Macabre: Saint-Saens - antiphony between woodwind and strings, tritone in violin
Wagtail and Baby: Britten - W.P
Claire de Lune: Claude Debussy - parallel chords
