Ariel Detailed Analysis Flashcards
When was the work premiered?
June 27th 1988
Who was the work commissioned for?
Nicola Ellis and Sadie Harrison
How is the flute characterised?
Spontaneous and demonstrative
Not good at taking the feelings of others (e.g. the piano) into account
Rushed headline into situations without thinking of the consequences
How is the piano characterised?
Patient
Tries all sorts of ways to partner the flute
Sometimes daunted by the situation
What is “narrative form”?
Proposing a narrative to the listener through a programme note
Can bring alive a piece of music and stimulate the imagination
What does the title refer to?
The character Ariel from Shakespeare’s The Tempest
What is the overall structure?
Section 1 (Capriccioso): 1-42
Section 2 (Andantino) flute alone: 43-60
Section 3 (Tempo 1): 61-89
Section 4 (Allegro): 90-119
Section 5 (Lento): 120-132
What are the grace notes at the start based on?
Semitones - major 7ths and minor 9ths
What what notes are covered over the first 9 bars?
Almost all notes of the chromatic scale (excluding D)
How is the texture thickened from bar 9 onwards?
Harmonisation of motifs in the piano - major and minor triads with added semitone
How does the flute part develop in bars 13-18?
Gets longer and more complicated, now using a wide variety of intervals as almost the whole range of the instrument is explored
Where is the A-F fall in the flute part in bars 18-20 echoed in the piano?
D-Bb in bars 22-23
What is happening in bars 24-34?
Another build-up of the two-note motif
What happens in bars 35-36?
A clear homophonic declaration of a 9-note phrase by both instruments
What happens in bars 37-41?
Winding down of the material
3-note figure in flute bar 37 is extended into a 4-note figure in the piano RH in bar 39
Describe bar 42
Flute plays version of 4-note figure
Very high B in flute helps define the total range of the piece
Final long D in piano LH completes the initial series of 12 notes from the start
What is section 2?
A cadenza for flute alone
How does the C# anchor the harmony in the cadenza?
Reoccurs at the ends of phrases
Sonorous pitch
What happens at the end of the cadenza?
Phrases end with dropping 4ths (B-F#; F-C; G-D)
Links in with end of section 1 (dropping 4th B-F#) which is heard an 8ve lower at bar 58
Describe Section 3
Scherzo-like passage
Develops and expands material from Section 1
Introduces material of following section
Where is the highest point in the piece reached?
Bars 68-69: High A in the flute
How is the highest note in the music approached?
With a gradual increase in activity and dynamic
Where do we previously hear the triplet figure in bars 68-69?
Bars 30-32
How do the staccato repeated chords develop through Section 3?
Introduced in piano in bar 62 then disappear until bar 72 where they become more regular below the flute’s two-note figures
Where does the 3-note figure return in Section 3?
Returns in bas 83-84 and is obsessively repeated In bars 88-89
