Music for a while

Question 1

when was the Baroque era?

Answer 1

1600-1750

Question 2

when was the piece composed?

Answer 2

1692

Question 3

Summarise what is happening at this moment of the play?

Answer 3

Two priests are summoning the ghost of King Laius to reveal the identity of his murderer. The soloist sings to the scary goddess called Alecto, who is able to free the dead. The song calms her; the snakes drop from her head and the whip falls from her hands.

Question 4

what is a ground bass?

Answer 4

A repeating pattern of bass notes that music is written above.

Question 5

what type of voice was the piece originally written for?

Answer 5

Counter-tenor

Question 6

what is the piece’s structure?

Answer 6

Ternary form (ABA1)

Question 7

what is basso continuo?

Answer 7

It is continuous bass accompaniment provided by a harpsichord and stringed instruments such as the bass viol and lute.

Question 8

what are some features of the ground bass?

Answer 8

1. Three bars long
2. repeated quavers
3. uses semi-tone intervals
4. slow tempo
5. overall rising shape
6. characteristic fall of an octave

Question 9

what are 3 examples of word painting?

Answer 9

1. In bar 10, the wistfully descending legato melody reflects the mood of the word ‘wond’ring.’
2. In bar 13, dissonance and resolution is presented on the word ‘eased’ as the melody falls in a descending sequence, which reflects how Alecto is being calmed.
3. In bar 19, the extended melisma and repetitive alternating notes shows the everlasting mood of the word ‘eternal.’

Question 10

what are key features of the melody?

Answer 10

1. mostly syllabic and conjunct
2. soprano has a range of a ninth
3. passing notes are frequent (e.g in bar 5)
4. leaps are generally no greater than a perfect 4th
5. there is extensive use of ornaments

Question 11

what is a mordent?

Answer 11

There are two types of mordent: upper and lower. An upper mordent is made up of the main note, the note above it and then the main note again, all played as quickly as possible.

Question 12

what is an appoggiatura?

Answer 12

The appoggiatura ‘leans’ on the main note, commonly taking half its value and starting a tone or semi-tone higher.

Question 13

Describe the structure of the piece

Answer 13

1. follows ground bass structure
2. it is a de capo aria

Question 14

describe the texture of the piece

Answer 14

1. melody-dominated homophony
2. the right hand of the harpsichord is an elaborate realisation and provides some counterpoint with the vocal melody.

Question 15

Describe the tonality of the piece

Answer 15

1. it is in the key of A minor (sombre mood)
2. although the tonality is ambiguous at times due to the chromatic nature of the ground bass
3. in section B, the piece modulates through several closely related keys such as: E minor, G major, C major, A major, E minor
4. the piece returns to A minor in bar 28 until the end
5. modulations are confirmed by perfect cadences

Question 16

Describe the harmony of the piece

Answer 16

1. harmony is diatonic and functional
2. Perfect cadences are achieved from the chord V at the end of the ground, followed by chord I at the beginning of the next playing of the ground bass.
3. suspensions are occasionally used
4. dissonance is infrequent but sometimes use (e.g on ‘pains’)
5. there is false realisation seen in bar 1 (f sharp against F natural)

Question 17

describe the tempo, metre and rhythm of the piece

Answer 17

1. it is in quadruple time
2. Although there is no tempo marking, a slow tempo is appropriate (sombre mood)
3. most frequent rhythms are semi-quavers and quavers, but there is extensive use of dotted quavers in the right hand of the harpsichord.
   4.