Music for a while flashcards

Question 1

What instruments are used in Music for a While?

Answer 1

• Harpsichord, bass viol and a solo voice (soprano)

Question 2

What musical term could be used to describe the Harpsichord and the bass viol?

Answer 2

• Continuo instruments.

Question 3

How could you describe the structure of Music for a While?

Answer 3

• It is in a Ternary form (ABA), also known as Da capo aria.

- The final A section is shorter and the voice adds ornaments.

Question 4

The musical term Lament could used to describe music for a while.
Define the term Lament.

Answer 4

• A song with sad feelings that incorporates falling phrases, minor keys and a slow tempo.

Question 5

What musical term can be used to describe the bass in music for a while?
Define this term and give features of it in music for a while.

Answer 5

• The bass in music for a while is a ground bass.
• A ground bass is a continuous bass line that repeats throughout a piece of music. Features in baroque music.
• The ground bass in music for a while is 3 bars long, it has repeated quavers throughout and it is at a slow tempo.

Question 6

Describe the tonality in Music for a While.

Answer 6

• The A sections in the ABA structure are in A minor.
• The B section in the ABA structure passes through different keys using cadences in C major, A major, A minor and E minor.

Question 7

Word Painting is used in the song Music for a While, define Word Painting.

Answer 7

• Word painting is when a composer deliberately illustrates a word or phrase with a matching musical image ( e.g. by having rising notes for the word ‘ascending’)

Question 8

What movement out of how many movements is Music for a While from in its play?
What is the name of the play that Music for a While is in?

Answer 8

• It is the second of four movements.

- It is from the play Oedipus.

Question 9

In the play that Music for a While is from what does the A section of the piece accompany?
What does the B section of the piece accompany?

Answer 9

• The A section accompanies the priest trying to raise the ghost of King Laius.
• The B section accompanies the priest trying to beguile (charm) the Fury Alecto into forgetting her evil mission.

Question 10

Answer the following questions:

1) How many bars until the first verse starts (where the voice enters)?
2) How many bars long is the ground bass?
3) Which word would describe the whole tonality of the piece out of major or minor?

Answer 10

Answers:

1) 3 bars until the first verse starts.
2) The ground bass pattern is 3 bars long.
3) The tonality overall of the piece is minor.

Question 11

1) Are the notes in the ground bass equal or different?
2) The tempo of a ground bass is usually slow or fast?
3) Is the ground bass in Music for a While similar or different each time it is repeated?

Answer 11

1) The notes in the ground bass are equal.
2) The tempo of a ground bass is usually slow.
3) The ground bass is similar each time it is repeated.

Question 12

What type of scale is the vocal melody in Music for a While based on?

Answer 12

• It is based on a melodic minor scale.

Question 13

Is the majority of the opening text in the vocals of Music for a While syllabic or Melismatic?

Answer 13

• The majority of the opening text is Syllabic.

Question 14

What is the first example of a melismatic word that we encounter in Music for a While?

Answer 14

• The first melismatic word we encounter is “for” in bar 5.

Question 15

Why does Purcell use melisma for particular words and not others in Music for a While?

Answer 15

• To reduce intelligibility of words, to delay the end of words and to potentially create word painting.