Dream of Gerontius - Elgar - 2. Priest Section (End of Part 1) Flashcards
Describe the instrumentation and texture of the piece where the Priest enters.
A harp, the high strings, woodwind and organ comprise the orchestra. This creates a light texture. The choir is split into 8 parts - the chorus and the semi chorus. A Bass solo, representing the priest, sings on top of this.
How is a hetrophonic texture created at the start where the Priest enters?
The semi chorus sing a diminution of what the chorus sing.
Talk about the performance directions given to the Bass soloist at around ‘The omnipotent father…’.
Its marked as ‘molto cantible’, meaning lyrical and smooth. There are crescendo’s on words like ‘father’ and a high E on the word ‘Christ’, which is quite high for a Bass voice. This signifies the importance of the words.
What happens to the choir underneath when the Bass soloist sings ‘The omnipotent father…’?
It is now split into 12 parts instead of 8. The chorus splits into 2 and the semi chorus remains the same. At this point, they begin with PPP dynamics meaning that they have a lot of room to build up. It also gives the potential for a great amount of polyphony.
What does the 1st Tenor part do when they sing ‘Go on thy course’?
They sing a rocking theme, which appears a bar later for the same words for the 2nd alto part. It is used a lot throughout this section in all of the choir.
Following the Bass soloist’s high E on the word ‘Christ’, what is Elgar’s treatment of ‘In the name’?
The rhythm that these words are sung to in the Bass solo is repeated by the Soprano’s a bar later and an octave higher.
Describe the following passage after the Bass concludes singing ‘Poured out on thee’.
The choir is reduced to 8 parts again. A descending scalic bassline in the orchestra gives the piece movement before there is a perfect cadence on the word ‘peace’.
What is the tonal centre of the Priest section?
D major.
Describe the ending of part 1.
The section ends with an 8 part choir holding the word ‘Lord’ for 2 and a half bars. Every voice is singing a D. This draws the piece back to the tonic of this section. For further continuity, the orchestra once again uses the rocking crotchet idea. After the choir die out, there is a big D major chord in the orchestra that spans 6 octaves.
