Gerald Barry - Sections Listening

Question 1

All Sections in Order

Answer 1

17 Sections

A1
B1
C1
C2
B2
C3
D1
D2 + B3
E1
C4
C5

E2 + D3

C6
C7

F + C8
C9

G
H

1 A Section
2 B Sections
9 C Sections
3 D Sections
2 E Sections
1 F Section
1 G Section
1 H Section

Question 2

A1

Answer 2

• C Major
• Polyphonic Texture
• Fast, lively
• Strings + Piano LH (Piano both hands in pt2 after repeat)
• 4 parts canon: Vln, Vla, Vc, Pno LH
• Based on the inversion of Si Bheag Si Mhor
• Only heard once throughout the piece
• Has a repeat, repeat is played softer mp

-5 part canon at the octave
- Higher pitch and wide range in each instrument
- Piano part completely in the bass clef
- Repeat is played even louder at an ff dynamic

Question 3

B1

Answer 3

• C Major with a persistent C# in the melody
• Homophonic
• Dynamics: f roughly, senza vibrato
• 1st hearing - Violin + Viola
  Drum like staccato on viola
• Changing time signatures create instability
• 2nd hearing - Cello joins playing inverted version of viola 2 note accompaniment
• 3rd hearing, Piano hand clusters 2 octaves apart
• Violins 2 octaves higher than first hearing
• Starts low, sounds clumsy, played by viola and violin
• Cello joins, even lower
• Piano hand clusters easily recognisable.

Question 4

C1

Answer 4

Key: Ab Major
Dynamics: mf

• This section uses 2 melodies on violin and viola
• 3 lines of strings only then piano joins with both hands. Music is repeated an octave lower with full ensemble
• pp harmonics on cello
• Gaps in violin melody when notes are out of range of the instrument
• Piano doubles string parts in 8ves in the bass cleff

Question 5

C2

Answer 5

Key: Atonal
Texture: Polyphonic
Dynamics: mp
Based on C1

• Played on viola and cello
• Examples of wedging and splicing here - original intervals in the melody altered

Question 6

B2

Answer 6

Texture: Polyphonic
Sounds like B1 but out of time
Played 5 times
3 part canon at the unison at the distance of a crotchet order: Violin, Viola, Cello

1st Hearing
- Cello playing in an unusually high register
- Changes the texture of the music as it is playing in the treble clef

No Piano, canon sounds out of time

2nd Hearing
- 3 part canon order: Violin, viola, cello
- Piano RH enters, doubling all string parts an octave lower in the bass clef

Listen out for RH Piano, but lack of LH

3rd Hearing
- 3 part canon order: cello, viola, violin
- Piano RH and LH doubles string parts at the octave in bass clef

Listen out for low LH Piano

4th hearing
- 3 part canon played in 5th at the octave on strings and piano
- Softer dynamics, lightly detached articulation, mp
- Double stopping on violin
- Cello and piano doubled

Softest Hearing out of the 5

5th Hearing
- Dynamics: ff, full bodied sound

• Repeat of 3 part canon in previous part
• Double stopping on all strings
• Drone effect using open doubled string

Loudest hearing, Both hands piano, Listen out for chord voicing in strings.

Question 7

C3

Answer 7

Texture: Polyphonic
Dynamics: mp, espressive, senza vib.
3 hearings

1st Hearing
- Slowed Tempo
- Based on different versions of C
- Descant melody on violin
- Violin and cello repeat music from C2
- Violin doubles the cello part at the intervals of the second and seventh providing dissonance

2nd Hearing
- Slightly quicker than before
- Dynamics: mf
- Single fragmented piano line which doubles some of string parts at an interval of a second.
- Double stopping on violin

3rd Hearing
- Faster tempo
- Louder dynamics
- Strings play at a higher pitch
- Cello in treble clef
- Both melodies are doubled at the dissonant intervals
- Piano LH doubles RH at the interval of a second
- Violin part at a higher pitch

Question 8

D1

Answer 8

Texture: Homophonic
Based on Beidh Aonach Amarach
Shortest time signature of the piece
ff, rough, detached articulation
Fast, upbeat, ‘wild!’

• Viola has the melody
• Cello plays in drone like fashion similar to B1
• Rhythmically unstable due to time sig changes

Question 9

D2+B3

Answer 9

Texture: Polyphonic
Both sections heard simultaneously
- Vl + Piano play D2
- Viola + Cello play B3
- Both melodies are playing in unison
- B Melody = Diminution (note values are halved)
- Piano LH in 3rds
- Music is repeated with different time signatures & some notes are omitted

Question 10

E1

Answer 10

• Polyphonic
• Vln, Vla, Vc, Pno LH
• 4 part canon at the octave played at the distance of a quaver
• E1 is based on a retrograde of D2
• Loud dynamics and accented notes

Question 11

C4

Answer 11

• Homophonic
• Hommage a Horowitz ( Tribute to Horowitz)
• Solo piano, both hands playing in octaves
• Only section played on a solo instrument