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GCSE Music > Music for a While - Henry Purcell > Flashcards

Music for a While - Henry Purcell Flashcards

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1
Q

Which bars is the introduction for?

A
  • bars 1-3
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2
Q

Describe the accompaniment in the introduction (bars 1-3)

A
  • ground bass in ternary (ABA) form
  • left hand of harpsichord and bass viol play ground bass - act as the basso continuo
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3
Q

What is a ground bass?

A
  • a short, recurring, melodic pattern in the bass part which acts as the principal structural element.
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4
Q

What instruments are used in this piece?

A
  • soprano singer
  • harpsichord
  • bass viol
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5
Q

Give an example of a lower mordent.

A
  • bar 1
  • right hand of harpsichord
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6
Q

What does the ground bass consist of?

A
  • a three bar loop consisting of entirely quaver rhythms and has a rising pattern
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7
Q

What is the tempo of the piece?

A
  • slow
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8
Q

Which bars is section A?

A
  • 4-21
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9
Q

Describe the ground bass in section A.

A
  • first four sets of four quavers use an ascending sequence
  • starting one note higher each time
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10
Q

What is the main tonality of the piece?

A
  • A minor
  • tonality is sometimes ambiguous due to the chromatic + non-diatonic nature of the ground bass
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11
Q

What does the tonality of the piece reflect?

A
  • sombre, sad nature of the lyrics
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12
Q

Where does the piece modulate to in the middle B section?

A
  • several related keys to A minor
  • including E minor - bar 14
  • G major - bar 16-17
  • C major - bar 21
  • E minor - bar 27
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13
Q

Is the word setting syllabic or melismatic?

A
  • mostly syllabic with some melismatic sections - like ‘eternal’
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14
Q

Does this piece use ornaments?

A
  • yes, there is extensive use of ornaments in both the soprano line and the right hand of the harpsichord
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15
Q

Describe the melody of section A.

A
  • much of it is conjunct and stepwise, any leaps are small and are generally no greater than a perfect 4th (e.g. bar 7)
  • passing notes are frequent - e.g. E and C on beat 4 of bar 5 are non-harmony notes and don’t belong to the chord but link to the notes from the chord
  • sequences - e.g. bar 7-8
  • descending scales - bar 10
  • arpeggio based melodic shape
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16
Q

What is given emphasis?

A
  • important words and phrases through repetition such as the word ‘music’ in bar 1 or ‘shall all’ in bars 7-9
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17
Q

What is the texture of the piece?

A
  • homophonic texture -> one main melody + accompaniment
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18
Q

What best describes the chord choice?

A
  • diatonic
  • functional
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19
Q

Give an example of word-painting.

A
  • ‘free the dead’ - bars 16-18
  • melisma
  • major - G
  • rising melody
20
Q

Describe the vocal line in section A.

A
  • mainly syllabic - bar 4
  • moments of melismatic writing - bar 5 - ‘for a while’
21
Q

What sort of intervals does section A use?

A
  • semitone intervals
22
Q

What happens at the end of the ground bass?

A
  • fall of an octave
23
Q

What is word-painting?

A
  • technique for writing music which reflects the literal meaning of a song
24
Q

Which instruments act as the basso continuo?

A
  • harpsichord
  • bass viol
  • provide accompaniment for the singer
25
Q

What does the left hand of the harpsichord play?

A
  • the ground bass along with bass viol
26
Q

What does the right-hand of the harpsichord play?

A
  • a ‘realisation’ -> improvisation which fills out the chords of the piece
27
Q

Which ornaments are used in this piece?

A
  • mordents - bar 1
  • appoggiaturas - bar 2
  • trill - bar 13
28
Q

What rhythm does the right hand of the harpsichord play?

A
  • dotted rhythms
  • appoggiaturas
  • mordents
29
Q

How is ‘wond’ring’ word painted?

A
  • melisma
  • bar 10
  • descending legato
30
Q

How is ‘pains were eased’ word-painted?

A
  • bar 12-13
  • dissonance of E in melodic line against D
  • dissonance and resolution presented on ‘eas’d’ as it falls into a descending sequence
31
Q

How many times is the ground bass played in tonic key?

A
  • 4 1/2 times in the tonic key before it starts to modulate in bar 14 using motifs from the original ground bass
32
Q

How is ‘eternal’ word painted?

A
  • bar 20
  • set to lengthy melisma with repetitive alternating notes showing the everlasting atmosphere of the word -> word painting
33
Q

What bars is section B?

A
  • 22-28
34
Q

How is ‘drop’ ‘drop’ ‘drop’ word-painted?

A
  • descending, sequential pattern of three notes
  • onomatopoeic
  • bars 23-24
  • off-beat
  • unusual levels of repetition nine times
35
Q

What is the cadence at end of bar 22?

A
  • perfect in c major
  • then a perfect back to a minor between the 2nd and 3rd beat of bar 23
36
Q

How is ‘snakes’ word-painted?

A
  • sharpened third
  • bar 23
  • major rather than minor chord called a Tierce de Picardie which highlights the dramatic first use of the word ‘snakes’
37
Q

Where is syncopation showed?

A
  • bar 24-25
38
Q

When is there a modulation in section B?

A
  • modulation to E major - bar 27
39
Q

Where is there an example of double-dotted notes?

A
  • bar 28
40
Q

Describe the ground bass in the final A section.

A
  • bar 29
  • ground bass returns to repeating pattern from start of the piece
  • repeat of A section is much shorter than at the start
41
Q

Which bars is the final A section?

A
  • 28-38
42
Q

Explain the features of the ground bass.

A
  • minor key
  • straightforward rhythm made up of quavers/crotchets/minims
  • slow and stately tempo
  • ending with a perfect cadence
  • chromatic notes to give the bass part melodic interest in its own right
43
Q

How many times is the ground bass played to conclude the piece?

A
  • 3 times without changing
44
Q

Describe the final chord.

A
  • spread arpeggiated chord
  • harpsichord cannot sustain long chord -> slow spreading of the chord helps it to sustain
45
Q

Describe the tonality of the final a section.

A
  • returns to A minor - bar 29 - as the original ground bass pattern returns
46
Q

What is the metre for this piece?

A
  • 4/4 quadruple time
47
Q

Which rhythms are most predominant?

A
  • quavers
  • semiquavers
  • dotted rhythms sometimes used in vocal part - bar 10 but used more in the right hand of harpsichord

GCSE Music (16 decks)

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