Night Dances Mvmt II Flashcards
How is this movement structured?
1-25 Dance 1a
26-33 Dance 2a
34-45 Dance 1b
46-144 Dance 2b
Where is Dance 1a?
Bars 1-25
How can the flute line generally be described in Dance 1a?
Long and unbroken, but falling into 3 sections
Where does start of the flute melody in bar 3 derive from?
Starts with the motif from movement 1 first heard in bar 51 and last heard in 143-150
How can the LH in bars 1-8 be described?
Unchanging rising Aeolian bass in crotchets
How can the tonality of the flute line in bars 1-8 be described?
Tracing a line in A, but with major/minor ambiguity around the third.
With the exception of bar 3, the remainder of the line uses a minor form of the blues scale on F#
How does the rising bass figure change in Dance 1a?
Root changes from A (1-6), to C (7-13), back to A (15-19), then finally moves through A-Ab-D-Eb
How can the flute melody in bars 9-16 be described?
A continuation of the previous melody, still in the same tonality and using the blues scale
How can the metre in bars 9-16 be described?
Changing between 3/8 and 4/4, but not as regularly as in mvmt I
How can the flute part be described in bars 17-25?
A concluding section to the melody, against an unstable harmonic background
Where is Dance 2a?
Bars 26-33
What can Dance 2a be likened to and why is it not this?
It gives the impression of a bridge passage of an interlude
BUT its reappearance in bar 46 (Dance 2b) makes the idea dominate the movement
What does Dance 2a consist of?
A series of accelerating arpeggiated figurations around an open 5th on F#
How can the harmony of Dance 2a be described?
More traditional harmony based around a chord on F#-C
Which work does the composer compare the harmony of Dance 2a to and what does this tell us?
Bach Prelude in C (the first of his 48 Preludes and Fugues)
Because the notes F#-C# remain constant throughout, but the other notes gradually shift (one or a pair of notes every bar)
This gradual shifting allows the piece to move through several tonal centres in Dance 2b at the end
What comment can be made about the pitch of the piano in Dance 2a?
Uses a higher tessitura when the flute is not playing
Where is Dance 1b?
Bars 34-45
How can the LH part in Dance 1b be described?
Returns to the ascending bass figure heard in Dance 1a, now rooted on a pedal note of F# throughout the section
Where is the 6-bar flute melody in bars 34-39 derived from?
The phrase starting at bar 17 (concluding section of dance 1a)
Where can the figure played in the RH at the start of Dance 1b be found earlier in the movement?
Bar 3 in the flute
How can the relationship between the flute and the RH at the start of Dance 1b be described?
Contrapuntal
How can the new idea heard in the flute in bars 40-42 be described?
A melodic idea outlining a major 3rd (G#-B), featuring grace notes and culminating in a trill
What do the final 5 bars of Dance 1b act as and how does it do this?
A transition into the next section.
Maintains F# ascending figure in LH and introduces a decorated G# in the flute
Where is Dance 2b?
Bars 46-114
What can Dance 2b as a whole be described as?
A reprise of the arpeggiated figuration from the first appearance of Dance 2a
Describe the four-bar passage between bars 46-49
Return of the arpeggiated figuration from bars 26-33 over the tonality of F# and accelerating to a new tempo of crotchet = 126
How can the flute melody in bars 50-80 be described?
Long and continuous
Falls into 3 sections:
First two mirror each other (bars 53-61 and 62-69) whilst the third is a more elaborate version of the first two
What is the piano part of Dance 2b like rhythmically?
Largely made up of groups of four semiquavers, occasionally changing to groups of quintuplets
How does the underlying harmonic rhythm change in bars 50-80?
Moves through a number of different pedal points.
Starts with F# (50-56)
Alternates between A and E (57-69)
C# (70-73)
F# (74-80)
How can the flute melody in bars 54-61 be described?
First section of flute melody in bars 50-80
Consists of a 2-part melodic line based on passage from 40-42
The first covers a minor 3rd (E-G) with tonal centre F# major
The second covers a major 3rd (G-B) with tonal centre E major
How can the flute melody in bars 62-69 be described?
Second section of flute melody in bars 50-80
Similar two-part melodic line to the first section, but in a tessitura an octave or so higher
The first part covers a minor 3rd (A-C)
The second part covers two minor thirds (A-C and C-Eb)
Tonal centre alternates between A and E
How can the flute melody in bars 70-80 be described?
Third section of flute melody in bars 50-80
Elaborated version of the melody in the same octave as the second section
The first part covers a minor 3rd (F#-A) and is based off the passage heard in bars 40-42
The second part covers a minor 3rd (C#-E)
Tonal centres C# minor and F# at the close
How can the section between bars 81-114 be described?
A passage for piano consisting entirely of the already established figuration
What are the three registers of the keyboard that the piano part between 81-114 passes through?
Bass and LH (81-83)
Treble stave range (84-97)
Centre of treble range and ledger lines (98-114)
How is textural change created in bars 81-114?
Through dynamics
Reach greatest intensity at bars 88 and 96 and form a diminuendo at the close
How can the harmony in bars 81-114 be described?
Moves from F# at the outset (82) through C# (from around 90) and eventually settling in G at bar 98 and then gradually moving to C at the close
