Music GCSE

Area Of Study 1: Western Classical Music.

'And the Glory of the Lord' G.F Handel

This piece is from the Oratorio (A religious piece - like an opera, but not performed on stage) Messiah and was composed in 1741, during the Baroque era. It was performed in concert halls and theatres by a small choir and ochestra. This was in the Baroque era. The choir is made up of: Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass, and accompaniment is strings and continuo, (Cello, Harpsichord or Organ.) The orchestra often doubles vocal lines.

Structure

Introduction: Just Orchestra (Ritornello = An Orchestral introduction)

The structure is based around the 4 melodic motifs:

Motif 1 - "And the glory, the glory of the lord" ~ First heard in bar 11, sung by the Alto part - defines the key of A Major.
Motif 2 - "Shall be revealed" ~ First heard in bar 17, sung by the Tenor part - a descending sequence using melisma (Several notes sung to one syllable)
Motif 3 - "And all flesh shall see it together" ~ First heard in bar 43, sung by the Alto part - descending in a pattern between A - E
Motif 4 - "For the mouth of the lord hath spoken it" ~ First heard in bar 51, sung by Tenor and Bass parts - all the same note, long rhythm, quite solemn.

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo

The piece has a dance sytle metre of 3/4
Allegro (quick and lively) tempo, until it becomes Adagio (at ease, slow) tempo near the end of the piece.
Hemiolas (Giving the music a feel of 2 beats rather than 3) are used. This gives a pushed feel.

Tonality and Harmony

The piece has a key of A Major.
It modulates to the Dominant E major and Supertonic B major.
The piece ends on a Plagal cadence in A major.
The harmony is diatonic (using notes in the key). Also throughout, the harmony uses constant pedal notes, the orchestra doubles the choir parts, the final cadence is plagal. (Plagal cadence and a slow tempo at the end to make the words "hath spoken it", grand and stately.)

Texture

Alternates between homophonic and contrapuntal textures. Although between bars 108 and 109 there is a short monophonic section.
Imitation (one part copies another) is used, as well as word-setting because of the difference in melisimatic phrases and syllabic phrases.

Melody

The melody is often doubled by the 1st and 2nd violins.
There is a constant use of sequence (a pattern moving up or down) and ostinato (a constantly repeated pattern) in the melody.

Instrumentation

The orchestra is made up of:

Two Violins
One Viola
Continuo Bass (Organ/Cello/Harpsichord)

And a small choir is used, Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass.

Information

Major key and upbeat tempo make the piece lively, and create a joyful mood.
In this piece the Organ and Cello play the Basso continuo, although in other pieces a Harpsichord could be used.
The basso continuo accompanies the vocal parts.
Soprano is the highest vocal part, then Alto, Tenor and Bass is the lowest. (SATB)
Pedal note: A note that is sustained/held or repeated in the bass.
This piece comes from the first Area of Study - Western Classical Music.
Key features of an Oratorio are: the orchestra, choir and soloists. An aria is a solo vocal piece with an instrumental accompaniment. A Recitative is a style used in operas / oratorios in which the text is told in the rhythm of natural speech.
A plagal cadence is used at the end of the piece.

Practice questions (Are connected at the top of the document...)

Good Luck! :)

Symphony No. 40 in G minor W.A Mozart

This piece was wriiten for performances in large rooms, or small concert halls. The symphony has 4 movements and we are focused on the first. It was composed in 1788, which was during the Classical period.

Structure and Tonality

This particular movement is in sonata (Not the whole piece! Just the first movement.) It uses the key G minor.

Expostition~ First subject of a falling motif in G minor, and the second subject decending, chromatic pattern in Bb major. First subject in the tonic key, main melodies are used. In the Bridge passage linking this section to Development- Key modulates to dominant / relative major or minor.
Development~ Based on the first subject which is developed and moves through various keys. This is the central section, it develops one or both subjects previously heard, it uses various keys but avoids dominant and tonic. This section is the most dramatic.
Recapitulation~ First and second subjects with some variation. Coda using repeated perfect cadences - all in G minor. This is the final section, it recaps the 1st section (Exposition) and the bridge passage. It is then rounded off by a coda.

Melody

Most of the melodies are made up of balanced four - eight bar phrases.
There is use of imperfect and perfect cadences - these work for question and answer phrases.
Many phrases are scalic (related to the key)

Harmony

The harmony is diatonic and functional, it is based around major and minor chords. Chromatic chords with dim 7th and aug 6th are used.
A progression though the circle of 5ths is used in the second subject, and pedal notes are used in the cello part.

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo

The piece has a metre of 4/4
The tempo is Molto Allegro (Very Fast)
Anacrusis (Introductory note/series of notes before the measure of the piece) are used in the lead to the first subject, and the rhythms are fairly simple although some dotted rhythms are used adding syncopation.

Texture and Dynamics

The texture is mainly homophonic, counterpoint (combining two or more melody lines) and imitation are used in the development section.
Double octaves are frequently used.
The first subject is quiet, although the transition into the second subject is loud. The second subject starts quietly aand progressively becomes louder.
Development includes a loud section, although starts and finished quietly.
Most contrasts are sudden (Terraced Dynamics) with the occasional use of Crescendos (The gradual increase of volume)

Instrumentation

The piece is made up of:

The entire Strings section (2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Double bass)
The whole Woodwind section (2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 2 Oboes, Flute)
In the Brass section, Mozart doesn't use trumpets or timpani drums! He uses 2 horns, on in Bb - one in G major.

Subjects

Subject 1

The instruments that start the piece are strings, Violin 1 plays the melody, woodwind are introduced.
The key of the subject is Mozarts "sad" key - Gminor.
At the end of this subject there is a bridge, the harmony uses rising scales and pedal notes.
The melody uses Balance phrasing.
Dynamics start off quietly and have sudden contrasts, lots of crescendos and decrescendos.
The first two notes in this subject have the interval of a semitone.

Subject 2

Key of the second subject is Bb Major
Instruments used are Strings and woodwind.
Melody in the 2nd subject uses chromatic notes, balaced phrasing - which was also used in the first subject.
At the end of this subject, a descending staccato scale is played by violins, bassons and flutes.

Information

Sonata form is made up of Exposition, Development and Recapitulation.
Its is quite unusual that a classical smphony starts p (quiet), symphonies of this time period usually start in a triumphant style.
1st Subject = G minor / 2nd Subject = Bb Major
This orchestra is different because Mozart uses no Timpani drums or trumpets.
Typical features:

Melodies that are easy to remember
Gradual change of dynamics (Crescendo/Diminuendo)
More syncopation used in the classical period.

The piece was composed in 1788.
4 movements make up this piece, but we are only studying movement 1.

Practice Questions (At the top!)

Piano prelude No. 15 in D flat major, Op. 28 F. Chopin

This piece was written in the Romantic Era, in 1839. Nicknamed "Raindrop" because of its repeated quavers. It was composed for performances in a small room / recital room / small concert hall.

Melody

Lyrical melody in right hand, in section A, and in the left hand in Section B. It's decorated with ornaments (e.g acciaccatura and turns.)
It uses dotted rhythms and some chromaticism
In section B, rhythms are mainly longer
Made of 4 and 8 bar phrases.
Played on the piano and doubled in octaves

Tonality and Harmony

Bars 1-27 : Db Major
Bars 28-75 : C# Minor (Tonic Minor)
Bars 75-81 : Db Major
Bars 81-89 : (Codetta) Db Major

A diatonic harmony in the key Db, with occasional chromaticism.
Modulates to the enharmonic tonic minor for section B
A and B end with imperfect cadences, although the final cadence is perfect.
A dominant pedal is used through most of the piece.

Structure

Ternary form (ABA)

A=Db Major - Lyrical melody with quavers in the bass. It is ABA within this section.
B=C# minor - Contrasting with melody in the bass and quavers above.
A=Db Major - Return to the original melody although repeat is shorter and there is a brief coda.

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo

A time signature of 4/4 (C)
Septuplet in bars 4 and 23, unusual.
In bar 79 there is a dectuplet
The piece uses sostenuto and rubato
Repeated quavers feature heavily.
Syncopation causes an off-beat rhythm
Acciaccatura is a "crushed" note played as quickly as possible before the main note.

Piano

Mainly uses the middle and lower ranges.
A singing tone - Legato - is created with longer notes (using the sustain pedal)
Dynamics are explored

Dynamics

Use of Crescendos and Diminuendos
No sudden dynamical changes.

Texture

Homophonic texture, excluding the last two bars.
Section B has a more chordal texture than Section A
Short Monophonic section and coda.

Practice Questions (at the top!)

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Area of study 1, Music GCSE revsion, everything you need to know ;)

Area of Study 1: Western Classical Music