Barry - Piano Quartet no.1 Flashcards
when was it written?
1992
Structure
- 8 sections - A-H
- A, F,G,H only heard once
Features of contemporary music
- dissonance (clashing)
- changing time signatures
- complex rhythms (e.g.polymetry)
- disjointed/angular melody
- modal/atonal tonality
- unusual playing techniques
- precise tempo and performing directions
- irregular form
instruments in a piano quartet
- violin
- viola
- cello
- piano
Barry’s Compositional Style
- abrupt and unexpected endings
- borrowed tunes
- use of cannon (about melody not harmonies)
- stark contrasts in dynamics and pitch
- flambouyant, virtuosic style
retrograde
when the music is played backwards
wedging
when the intervals of a melody are slightly widened
augmentation
when the rhythm values of a melody are made longer
inversion
when the music is played upside down
canon
when the melody is imitated strictly at a fixed interval (pitch) and at a fixed distance (rhythmic value)
polymetry
when a piece of music has two or more time signatures operating at the same time
telescoping
when fragments of different tunes are mashed together to make new music
juxtaposition
themes being played at the same time creating a polyphonic texture
senza vibrato
to play with no vibrato; a pure sound with no deviation of pitch
détaché
to play the notes slightly detached (not legato); common articulation in baroque music too
flautando
to make a sound “like a flute” on a stringed instrument by playing near the fingerboard
open strings
to play the string at full length; no fingers on the fingerboard
accent
to emphasise a note
harmonic
lightly touching a string to bring out the sound of an overtone
double stopping
playing two strings simultaneously
diminution
restatement of a melody in which the note values are shortened
saltando
bouncing on the bow (B2 fourth time)
