Duchess Flashcards
(opening) What is the metre?
simple quadruple time
(opening) what is the tempo?
116 crotchet bpm
(opening) Name four characteristics of the rhythm
continuous quavers
syncopation
long note values
occasional triplets
(opening) What key is the melody in?
D major with mixolydian inflections
(opening) Give three characteristics of the melody
Auxiliary notes
Stepwise movement interrupted with leaps
Appoggiaturas
(opening) What type of harmony is used?
Functional
(opening) What is the que built on?
Alternating chords
Dmajor and modal Am
(opening) Is there any modulation?
no
(opening) describe the structure
3 separate themes
no development
(opening) what is the texture?
mel-dom-hom
(opening) what other two things add to the texture?
pedals
quaver rhythmic ostinato
(opening) Describe the entrances of the instruments
layered
gradually built up
(mistake) What is the tempo?
69 crotchet bpm (slow)
(mistake) How is the introduction characterised?
Long sustained dominant pedal and ominous timpani patterns
(mistake) What type of accompaniment is there?
quaver accompaniment
(mistake) What do the melodies rise to?
from tonic to dominant
(mistake) What is an auxiliary note?
note between notes
tone above or below it
(mistake) name 4 harmonic features
ascending and descending sequences
unstable tonic chord to end
functional
open 5th chords
(mistake) what is the key?
Gm
(mistake) how is the key reinforced?
dominant pedal
(mistake) what is the brief modulation?
Am
(mistake) what is the structure built on?
2 alternating themes
(mistake) what is the overall structure?
Intro Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 1
(mistake) What is the texture?
Mostly mel-dom-hom
(mistake) which instruments provides the continuous quavers?
cello and harp
(six years) what does the first section sound like?
A brisk waltz
(six years) what is the metre?
Compound duple - 6/8
(six years) what is the tempo?
60 cbpm
(six years) how does the tempo and metre change in section 2?
Slightly faster tempo of 120cbpm
One 2/4 bar
A ritardando
(six years) what is the main melodic element of the waltz?
Balance of rising and falling broken chords
(six years) what are the 2 main chords?
D major and Am
(six years) what is the key throughout
D maj
(six years) how does Portman create variation?
Augmented triad on D
(six years) what is the texture?
Mel-dom-hom that reduces to a single note and pedal at the coda
(six years) what is the overall structure?
Intro Waltz theme Repeat it waltz theme Link bar Theme A, B and C from Duchess opening Coda
(never see) what is the tempo?
66cbpm
(never see) what is the metre?
3/4 (triple time)
(never see) What creates a dragging effect?
Repeated slurred quavers
(never see) where is the timpani rhythm from?
Mistake of your life
(never see) describe the melody
drawn out step wise tune
(never see) what is the harmony?
dissonant
(never see) what pedal is present?
Tonic pedal
(never see) what is the key?
Non-functional Dm
(never see) what is the texture?
Mel-dom-hom
(never see) what is the instrumentation?
strings
timpani
horn
(never see) what is the overall structure?
section 1
link
section 2
diminished chord
(end titles) what is the tempo?
120 cbpm
(end titles) what is the metre?
4/4
(end titles) name 3 variations/extensions of the melody from the intro
extensive motif treatment
Introduction of F natural
Theme c extended
(end titles) what 5 chords are used?
D Am F G Em
(end titles) what is the key?
Modal D major
(end titles) describe the harmonic pace
slow
(end titles) what is the texture?
mel-dom-hom
(end titles) what is the overall structure?
Theme A Theme B Theme C (motif) Theme C Theme C motif
Comparisons
Interstella Batman Lament for Gandolf Romeo and Juliet, Balcony scene Romeo and Juliet, love theme The dying swan Me before you Pride and Prejudice
Interstella
Hans Zimmerman Loneliness/isolation - atmospherc restrictive feel atmospheric slow rising figures repeated ideas low held notes sustained notes tonal shifts auxiliary figure repetitive layering motifs
Rome and Juliet, Love Theme
Nino Rota sustained chords triadic high violin solo auxiliary notes elegant repetitions in octaves fragmented them imitated in oboe then tutti
The dying swan
Tchaichovsky melancholy minor arco ostinato rippling ostinato in piano elegant violin mel-dom-hom conjunct diatonic slow moving ends with just piano final chord = spread chord
Pride and prejudice
Avoids pastiche light and hopeful quaver movement scalic violin solo ostinato semiquavers themes opens just piano violins enter layering fuller orchestra - brass
Rachel Portman context
b. 1960
Mostly adaptions of literary classics e.g. Emma, Chocolat and The Cider House Rules
musical: little house on the Prairie
Opera: ‘The little prince’
and a choral symphony for the BBC proms
composers at piano and orchestrates her own music
Portman style
lush, string based orchestration. instruments and synthesised sounds
Duchess context
2008
18th-c. costume drama based on Amanda Foreman’s biography of Georgina Cavendish (1757-1806), Duchess on Devonshire. It’s a chronicle of the life of an aristocrat, focusing on her loveless marriage, her friendship with Betty Bess Foster and her affair with politician Charles Grey
Duchess music
score is not a slavish pastiche of the music of that period
References are made to the styles of the time, but Portman’s music is a 21st C. adaption of those styles combined with familiar music underscoring
