purcell music for a while

Question 1

what is the context of this song?

Answer 1

for the play ‘oedipus’ and it is sung by a priest summoning the ghost of a dead king

Question 2

what is the continuo made up of

Answer 2

bass viol and harpsichord

Question 3

what is unusual about the continuo

Answer 3

it is 3 bars long

Question 4

what is the general shape of the ground bass

Answer 4

ascending

Question 5

what is the tonality of the ground bass?

Answer 5

chromatic with a rise of a semitones between two consecutive notes

Question 6

when does the ground bass change?

Answer 6

in bar 14 before resolving at bar 29

Question 7

what is used in the vocals?

Answer 7

word painting and melisma

Question 8

word painting in the word ‘drop’?

Answer 8

bars 23-25, quavers with quaver rests between them sound like raindrops as the word ‘drop’ is repeated. also descends like falling raindrops

Question 9

what is the structure?

Answer 9

ternary form

Question 10

main tonality of the piece?

Answer 10

minor, key of A minor

Question 11

what shows the key?

Answer 11

the perfect cadence in A minor in bars 3-4

Question 12

what keys does the middle section modulate through?

Answer 12

E major bar 15 and 28
G major bar 21
C major bar 22
A major bar 21
return to A minor in bar 29