VOCAL MUSI C

1. VOCAL MUSIC Henry Purcell 1659 - 1695 - Music for a While LESSON 1 – CONTEXT & STRUCTURE

2. Music for a While Learning to understand the context, structure and tonality of Purcell’s Music

3. Purcell: Music for a While • Composed in 1692 • From the play Oedipus by John Dryden • Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. • LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, ON THE 2ND HEARING FOCUS ON THE GROUND BASS This song features the character Alecto, who was one of the Furies in Greek mythology. She was a goddess whose job was to punish those who had committed sins, specifically the crime of killing a parent. She was a terrifying Medusa-like creature who had snakes for her hair, a dog’s head, bat’s wings, blood dripping from her eyes and was armed with a whip. In this aria, it is the music which calms Alecto until she drops her whip and the snakes fall from her head.

4. Henry Purcell 1659 - 1665 Henry Purcell was the leading English composer of his day and is particularly famous for his skill in setting the English language to music. He is usually described as a composer of the mid Baroque period. He is also described as a Restoration composer because he lived in the period following the restoration of the King to the throne in 1660 following an 11 year period when England was a republic ( without a King or Queen). Purcell’s was in charge of the choristers of Westminster Abbey but died when his son was only five. Later as a teenager, Henry obtained a court position as ‘composer in ordinary for the violins’. A little later he became organist at Westminster Abbey and after that, at the Chapel Royal. Like many Baroque composers Purcell’s music fell from favour soon after his death until it was rediscovered in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

5. The Music of the Restoration starting in 1660 For a century before the Restoration period, the Tudor monarchs had valued music and aspired to be cultivated musicians themselves. In the 17th century, however, King Charles I, seemed only interested in music from Italy or France, rather than encouraging British composers. It was Charles II who, returning in 1660 from exile in France, brought with him a new enthusiasm for a more cosmopolitan approach to music.

6. Purcell: Musical Structure Section A Bars 1 - 15 Music for a while Shall all your cares beguile Wond’ring how your pains were eas’d And disdaining to be pleas’d Till Alecto free the dead From their eternal bands, Till the snakes drop from her head And the whip from out her hands Music for a while Shall all your cares beguile Ternary Structure Section B Bars 16 - 28 Section A Bars 29 -38

7. Purcell: Music For A While:- Structure • This music is in a ground bass (continuous repeating bass pattern)structure • A short, repeating bass line (3 bars long) • Based on quaver rhythms • Based on a 4 note sequence formed from 2nds and rising 5ths alternating with falling 6ths • It climbs from the tonic (A) to the dominant (E) The ground bass is heard 12 times – mark on your score each time it starts and ends Which bar does it start to change for the 1st time? How is the 5th ground bass different from the previous 4? How else is the 5th & 6th ground bass pattern different from the previous ones? How is the 7th ground bass pattern different? How is the 8th ground bass pattern similar to the 6th pattern How long is the 9th ground bass pattern ?

8. Music For A While:- Structure • This music is in a ground bassstructure • A short, repeating bass line (3 bars long) • Based on quaver rhythms • Based on a 4 note sequence formed from 2ndsrising 5ths alternating with falling 6ths • It climbs from the tonic (A) to the dominant (E) TEACHER NOTES & QUESTIONS The ground bass is heard 12 times – mark on your score each time it starts and ends Which bar does it start to change for the 1st time? – bar 15 How is the 5th ground bass different from the previous 4? It’s shorter and starts to change pitch. WHY? To modulate to another key How else is the 5th & 6th ground bass pattern different from the previous ones? They are only 2 ½ bars long How is the 7th ground bass pattern different? It’s 5 bars long, starting in the middle of bar 18 and finishing in the middle of bar 23 How is the 8th ground bass pattern similar to the 6th pattern – it starts and ends halfway though a bar How long is the 9th ground bass pattern - 2 and ½ bars

9. Purcell- TONALITY • What key is the music in at the start and end of the piece? • It also modulates to closely related keys – can you find the bars where it moves to the following keys? • E minor • G major • C major • A major • E minor • Modulations are confirmed by perfect cadences (chord V- Chord I) – can you find some examples?

10. HOME LEARNING REVIEW:TONALITY • What key is the music in at the start and end of the piece? • A minor however the tonality is sometimes ambiguous due to the chromaticand non-diatonic nature of the ground bass (e.g in the first three bars which is often performed unharmonised) • It also modulates to closely related keys – can you find the bars where it moves to the following keys? • E minor bar14 • G major bar 16 • C major bar 21 • A major bar 23 • E minor bar 27 • Modulations are confirmed by perfect cadences (chord V- Chord I) – can you find some examples? • Bar 15, Bar 16, 21-22, 23, 27 As you listen to the music mark up your score with the above information

11. Purcell:Learning about Rhythm, Metre & Tempo • THINK, PAIR, SHARE:- Think of 3 comments you could make about the Rhythm, Metre and Tempo of the music. • A slow tempowould be appropriate for this piece. • The metre is 4/4 simple quadruple time. • The piece uses a wide variety of rhythmsbut quavers and semiquavers are the most predominant. • Dotted rhythms are sometimes used in the vocal part (e.g. bar 10) but used more extensively in the right hand part of the harpsichord. • There is only occasional syncopation (e.g. bar 20), off-beat rhythms (e.g. bar 24) and dotted rhythms (e.g. bar 10). • The ground bass is presented entirely in quavers.

12. Purcell: Learning about the Instruments • ‘Music for a While’ was written for solo voice (most usually a countertenor or tenor) and continuo • Continuo- Harpsicord, and Bass Viol • This particular edition is scored for soprano, harpsichordand bass viol

13. Purcell: Learning about the Instruments • The left hand of the harpsichord plays the ground bass. • The ground bass is also played by the bass viol. This is a bowed, fretted, stringed instrument used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. • Although resembling the modern cello, it has many differences. The bass viol generally has six strings which are tuned in fourths with a third in the middle. It is tuned to the notes D, G, C, E, A, D and the seven stringed bass viol has an additional low A string. • In comparison to the cello, it has a flat rather than curved back, sloped rather than square shoulders, C rather than F holes and frets. • The player uses an underhand rather than overhand bow grip.

14. Learning about the Texture • How would you describe the MAIN texture of this piece? • Melody and accompaniment/ melody-dominated homophony. • Accompanimentis provided by the Left hand of the harpsichord and bass viol • The right hand of the harpsichord is elaborate, providing some counterpoint/imitative points, e.g bar 9

15. Music For A WhileExam Style Question Quiz 0.00 – 1.29 • Name the two continuo instruments heard in this extract. (2 marks) • Identify the interval between the singer’s first two statements of the word ‘Music’ (1 Mark) • The extract begins in A minor, In which key does it end? (1 Mark) • Describe the rhythm of the bass part in the song (2 marks) • What is a ground bass? (2 marks) • In which musical period was the music written? (1 mark)

16. Music For A WhileExam Style Question Quiz • Name the two continuo instruments heard in this extract. (2 mark) Harpsichord, bass viol • Identify the interval between the singer’s first two statements of the word ‘Music’ (1 Mark) Perfect 5th • The extract begins in A minor, In which key does it end? (1 Mark) E minor/ dominant • Describe the rhythm of the bass part in the song (2 marks) Entirely quavers • What is a ground bass? A continuously repeating bass part • In which musical period was the music written? Mid Baroque/ 1692/ mid 17th cent

17. Word Painting- how are the following words explored? • King Laius rising from the dead • ‘all’ ( bar 7 -9) • ‘wond’ring’ ( bars 10 – 11 • ‘pains’ ( bar 12) • ‘eas’d’(bar 13 -14) • free the dead’ ( bar 16 – 17) • ‘eternal’ (19 – 20 • ‘drop’ ( bar 25 – 35) Learning to understand the word setting/painting of the text

18. Purcell: Word Painting Summary • In general the predominantly minor key suits the sombre nature of the play and the text. • The vocal line is mainly syllabicfollowing speech rhythms. • There are paired slurrings (e.g. in bar 5 on the words ‘for’ and ‘a’). • The rising chromaticism and angular outline of the ground bass in the opening 3 bars suggest the spirit of Laius rising from the dead • There are six repetitions of ‘all’ in bars 7 – 9 that are separated by rests to suggest a multitude. • The text setting of the word ‘wond’ring’ in bar 10 captures the mood of the word through a wistfully descending legato melismatic melody. • Appropriately the word ‘pains’ in bar 12 features a dissonance of E in the melodic line against D in the bass part. • The harmonic use of dissonance and resolution is used in the word painting of the phrase ‘pains were eas’d’ ( through a chain of suspensions in bar 13 - 14) Resolution of dissonant harmony is used on the word ‘eas’d’ as it falls in a descending sequence, bars 12–13. • The phrase ‘free the dead’ is in the bright key of G major containing rising melodies, bars 16–17. • The word ‘eternal’ in bar 20 is set to a lengthy melisma with repetitive alternating notes showing the everlasting atmosphere of this word. • The word ‘drop’ is presented in a descending pattern on the weak off-beat and is sung with unusual levels of repetition nine times, bars 23–25. This represents the snakes dropping from Alecto’s head. This is also ONOMATOPEIC ( the music setting sounds like the word)

19. Purcell: Melody • What is the MELODIC RANGE of the vocal part? • What key vocabulary word describes much of the melody line: TRIADIC CONJUNCT DISJUNCT • Find some examples of PASSING NOTES in the melody. • Find some examples of PASSING NOTES in the vocal line. • What INTERVAL is most common in a leaps in the melody? • Find some examples of where Purcell uses a SEQUENCE in the music. • What other device does Purcell use to decorate his

20. Purcell: Melody • The soprano line has a melodic range or compass of a ninth (apart from the ornamental G in bar 36) from the lowest note of E(bar 9) just above middle C to F (bar 11) just over an octave higher. • Much of the music is conjunct or stepwise. • Passing notes are frequent. For example, the E and C on beat 4 of bar 5 are non-harmony notes and do not belong to the chord but link to notes from the chord. • Any leaps are small and generally no greater than a perfect fourth (e.g. bar 7). Other use are an octave bar 9, and a perfect 5th bar 4 -5 • Rests are used to break up phrases. • There are some descending sequences (e.g. bar 20). • There is extensive use of ornaments in both the soprano line and the right hand of the harpsichord: • Upper mordents (e.g. bar 22) • Lower mordents (e.g. bar 1). o Trills (e.g. bar 13) o Appoggiaturas (e.g. bar 35) o Grace notes (e.g. bar 6) oArpeggiated chords (bar 13)

21. Purcell: Melody & Ornaments • The right hand of the harpsichord part is an elaborate realisation and the MELODY is highly decorative and embellished with frequent dotted rhythms and ornamentation. Find examples of an: • Upper mordent • Lower mordent • Trills • Slides and grace notes • Appoggiaturas • Arpeggiated chords (wavy line, spread rapidly from the lowest to highest note

22. Purcell: Harmony The opening 3 bars of The GROUND BASS are based on the above chords. Most of the chords in this piece are DIATONIC and FUNCTIONAL. (Simple and straightforward) How many of the chords can you work out? There are two more complex chords in this pattern – can you identify them?

23. Purcell: Harmony F/A means this is an F major chord but the bass note is an A. The opening 3 bars of The GROUND BASS are based on the above chords. Most of the chords in this piece are diatonic and functional. (Simple and straightforward) How many of the chords can you work out? There are two more complex chords in this pattern – can you identify them? C+ indicates an augmented triad ( the interval from C – G# is an augments 5th The B o indicates a diminished triad ( the interval from B – F is a diminished 5th)

24. Purcell: Harmony • In the first four bars of the music there are 3 different HARMONIC DEVICES • There is a FALSE RELATION which is a type of DISSONANCE. It can be seen in bar 1 with an F♯ in the ground bass and a F♮ in the right hand of the harpsichord (although strictly not adjacent to each other, they do colour adjacent chords). • There is a SUSPENSION which creates a DISSONANCE and RESOLUTION. For example in bar 3 beat 4½ in the harpsichord part the A is a 4th above the bass note (E) and creates a dissonance, this moves to a G# (resolves) which is a 3rd above the E. This is know as a 4–3 suspension. • There is a CADENTIAL 6 – 4 PERFECT CADENCE in bars 4 – 5 using the chords Ic - ( chord I with an E instead of an A in the bass) V –I • Where would be a good place to look for other examples of the above HARMONIC DEVICES? • Another harmonic device is the TIERCE DE PICARDIE ( a major chord at the end of a section of music in a minor key. ?) bar 23

25. Purcell Music for a While: Test • Music for a While was written as incidental music, what is incidental music? • Which of the following wrote the lyrics of this song? Shakespeare Wordsworth Keats Dryden • For what type of voice was Music for a While originally written? • What is the range of the vocal part in this song? • Name the form of Music for a While? • Music for a while is sung over a ground bass. State two ways in which Purcell avoids repetitions of this bass becoming too predictable. • Why could the bass part of this song be described as a walking bass? • Explain the meaning of word painting and give one example of it’s use in this song. • Give one example of a word from the lyrics that has a setting which includes a melisma of at least 6 notes. • What do you understand is meant by closely related keys? • How should the final chord in the right hand melody of the harpsichord part be played? • Complete the following: Another name for conjunct motion is____________________ motion. The opposite of conjunct is_______________________.