purcell - music for a while Flashcards
what is the ground bass played by?
the harpsichord (specifically the left hand)
would you say the vocal line is mainly syllabic or melismatic?
its mainly syllabic but there are moments of melisma for instance on the word ‘enternal’
how is word painting used on ‘pains’ (bar 12)?
there is dissonance between the melodic line and the bass part
how is word painting used on the word ‘drop’ (23-25)?
there is a descending sequence and the word is repeated nine times
how is word painting used on the word wond’ring’ (bar 10)?
there is a wistful legato, melismatic melody
how is word painting used on ‘eternal’ (bar 20)?
it is a lengthy melisma
is this piece mainly conjunct or disjunct?
mainly conjunct
regarding the ground bass:
-how many bars long is it ?
-what rhythms is it comprised of?
-which two instruments play it?
-it is three bars long
-it consists entirely of quaver rhythms
what is the texture of this piece?
it is melody and accompaniment
what key are the two A sections in
A minor (however it is sometimes ambiguous)
what keys does it modulate to in the central section?
closely related keys such as E minor, C major and A major
despite the fact that the chords are diatonic and functional, the harpsichord’s ground bass is ……….. and …… ……….
chromatic and non-diatonic
what is the time signature of this piece?
4/4 (simple quadruple)
give three rhythms that appear frequently in this piece are:
-………… rhythms
-………….
-……..-……….
-dotted rhythms
-quavers
-semi-quavers
Why is the ground bass odd?
It’s 3 bars instead of the usual 4 or 8
