Dream of Gerontius - Elgar - 1. Jesu Maria/Assistants (Pray For Me) Flashcards
Describe the first vocal melody, sung by Gerontius.
The melody begins monotone on the mediant in the key of Gm, Bb. This, in combination with the piano dynamic creates a sense of stillness.
What accompanies the opening tenor melody and what effect does this create?
A dominant D pedal underlies the melody which creates the feeling of a recitative and a sense of emptiness.
What word painting is used on the word ‘death’ when Gerontius sings ‘I am near to death’?
It falls a minor 3rd to the word death, which holds to show the significance.
What happens when Gerontius sings ‘Thou, thou art calling me’?
He rises a perfect 5th on the word ‘Thou’ as he crescendos to a triplet quaver rhythm for ‘thou art’, which creates a sense of freedom and imitates speech. The vocal melody then diminuendos before it is imitated by the orchestra with pianissimo dynamics.
What happens when Gerontius sings ‘Not by the token of this faltering breath…’?
There is a rising sequence with a crescendo to build tension. There is a performance direction implying it should sound hurried.
What happens when Gerontius sings’ This dampness on my brow’?
On the word dampness, the melody rises a semitone which sounds panicky. The music then slows down again to show how Gerontius is confused about his feelings.
What happens when Gerontius sings ‘Mary, pray for me’?
On the word ‘pray’, the note is a G which is the highest note sung so far with a tenuto, so the singer can choose how long to hold it for, showing the importance of the word. In the orchestra, a perfect cadence leads us into F minor as Gerontius sings the word ‘me’.
What happens when Gerontius sings ‘Tis this strange inner most abandonment’?
He goes back to a pianissimo dynamic with the orchestra split into very high notes and very low notes. This creates a sparse texture and a feeling of emptiness, with Gerontius’s melody in the middle, to represent him being frightened that there will be nothing there for him when he dies.
What chord arrives on the word ‘strange’ when Gerontius sings ‘Tis this strange inner most abandonment’?
A G major chord - the tonic major of how the piece began with Jesu Maria. It parodies his prayer from that section in that it is another recitative . The chord then rises semitonally to Ab major in the following bar, which also demonstrates his confusion.
What happens in the orchestra during the words ‘God I look to thee’, sung by Gerontius?
A plagal cadence in the key of F, demonstrates religious connotations, but this is undermined as it is not the key that we seem to be in.
What word painting is used on the word ‘force’ when Gerontius sings ‘And natural force…’?
An accelerando and a crescendo both lead to it. There is a high F on the note and strong brass comes in to create power.
Following the slow prayer passage, why does the metre change to 3/4?
It creates a more urgent passage as Gerontius becomes panicky again and sings more chromatically.
Who do the assistants represent?
The friends by Gerontius’s death bed. They are praying for him.
How does the assistants passage begin, after Gerontius’s solo?
It begins only with the tenors, who overlap Gerontius last note whilst singing the same note. This represents the closeness between him and his friends. There is then a series of fugal entries as all of the parts enter, creating polyphony. Lots of melismas.
What is the accompaniment to the assistants passage?
There isn’t one. It’s a cappella. It represents the still mood whilst they are praying for him.
