Psycho Flashcards
How is Herrmanns style unusual?
avoided leitmotifs or extended melodic lines in favour of short motifs and frequent ostinati
How does the title sequence match the prelude?
mechanical quality is underpinned by Hermann’s relentlessly moving music
How does the prelude open?
aggressive double-stopped chords
(prelude) Are the strings arco or pizz?
both
occasional tremonlandi
(prelude) What creates an intense timbre?
high cello line
(prelude) Do textures vary?
yes
chords/homophony
ostinati and pedals supporting short motifs
melods with tremolandi and chordal accompaniment
(prelude) what’s the dynamic range?
ff-pp
(prelude) how are contrasts created in dynamics?
reducing the forces
(prelude) what is the tempo marking?
Allegro (molto agitato)
Fast (very agitated)
(prelude) how does the duple time slacken?
At close
pause before final bar
(prelude) what does the drive come from?
constant quavers
energetic triplet figures
dotted and broken rhythms
recurring rhythm associated with opening chords
(prelude) what contrasts the driving quavers?
extended wisps of melody
(prelude) what is the melody based on?
three motifs and a more extended melody
(prelude) describe the first motif
series of repeated chords (stamping chords)
accented and staccato
(prelude) describe motif 2
semitonal figure triplet figure over ostinato
(prelude) describe motif 3
jagged dotted rhythms and sudden rest
one bar extended through sequential repetition
(prelude) describe the main theme
conjunct crotchet figure
four bar phrase
diatonic
(prelude) what does the prelude consist of?
varied presentations of three motifs
(prelude) wht holds the motifs together?
driving ostinato of slurred quaver pairs
Describe the structure of all the extracts
through-composed
(prelude) is it tonally ambiguous?
yes - unsettling/unstable feeling
avoids traditional centres and key schemes
(prelude) what key is the main theme centred around?
Bbmajor/Ebminor
(prelude) what key does the main theme shift to?
Emajor/Em
How does Herrmann use chords in all the pieces?
for sound not function
(city) describe the tempo/metre
slow quadruple time
lento molto sostenuto (slow and very sustained)
(city) what does the rhythm consist of?
steadily moving crotchets with crotchet-slurred-to-quaver pairs every third bar
(city) what does the movement alternate between?
eight bar divisi upper strings and usual four-part writing every third bar
(city) are there bars for violins alone?
yes - divisi
bars 6 and 12
(city) does the texture change?
no
homophonic throughout
(city) describe the dynamics
low, never rising above mf
(prelude) opening chord
Bb7
Comparisons
Star Wars 'Main title'/rebel blockade runner Bela Bartok string quartet no.2 Planet of the Apes-Jerry Goldsmith Vertigo-Herrmann Duchess Jaws Batman
String quartet no.2
Driving triplets
High, piercing strings
Jaws
extreme dynamics heavy strings motivic tritones repeated string ostinato tonaly ambiguous shrieking glissando dim. 7ths
Planet of the apes: The hunt context
Opening
Jerry Goldsmith
1968
full symphony orchestra and new electronics
Planet of the apes sonority
large symphony orchestra triple woodwind unconventional ethnic instruments e.g rams horn and Tibetan horn Electronic harp, electric bass clarinet strings have a minor role 3 mutes - wood, straight and plunger violins false harmonics percussion important for terror e.g timpani on first beat
Planet of the apes texture
complex built on riffs heterophonic fragmented polyphony imitation
planet of the apes: structure
through-composed
planet of the apes melody
short, fragmentary ideas which don’t last longer than a bar
wide leaps with semitones
free inversion
planet of the apes tonality
tonal centres e.g G tertiary modulation Eb-C semitones chromaticism verticalisation
planet of the apes harmony
dissonant bare octaves chromatic verticalisation semitones diminished 5ths
planet of the apes tempo/metre/rhythm
hard, driving rhythms quaver rhythm continuous semiquavers cross-rhythms syncopation sextuplets frequent time signature changes
context
Bernard Herrmann 1911-75
experimental and innovative
own orchestrations = atmosphere
music characterised by ostinato patterns, unstable chords and evoking a situation/psychological state
psycho overview
American psychological thriller released in 1960
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
young women stolen £40000 and takes refuge at a lonely motel where she is murdered by Bates
What is Psycho based on?
Book by Robert Blach
Gothic style hotel based on Edward Hopper’s painting: ‘The house by the railroad’
