Raymond Deane Seachanges Flashcards
Give features of 20th century art music in general
Diversity of approaches- impossible to determine a single style
Atonality - use of dissonance shows no key
Irregular rhythms, changing time signatures, tempi
Unusual instruments and performing techniques- subtraction
Use of non western instruments
No form
Give features of Deane’s style
Uses small musical idea(motif)- GAC seagull theme
Ideas are built up to be distorted and systematically dismantled
Order verses disorder
Binary opposition heard at same time. - ex: black vs white notes or tonal vs atonal
Borrowed use of musical quotations
Atonality/tonal anchors
Why is the title seachanges- title of work background
Metaphor of Deane’s compositional approach comes from Shakespeare The tempest- Character suffered a seachange, something negative ie. death and body after death into a positive- negation
ea serves as a link to Ireland and mexico whose cutures both inspire the music
Changing natue of the sea is reflected in changing tempi.
Explain how negation is seen throughout Seachanges
through us of: Interference and distortion, Instruments abandoning their natural sound, principle of numerical progression of subtraction, addition and use of prime numbers
How is the philosophy illustrated in the piece- describe what imagery is included to represent death
Dies Irae, Danse Macabre, Influence of the ‘grotesque and gaudy morbidity characteristic of Mexican iconography’
Name the ethnic instruments in the work
Crotales Maracas Rainstick Marimba Guiro
What si the instrumentation of the work
Piccolo and Flute in G
Piano
Violin and Cello
Percusion: Crotales, Maracas, Rainstick, Marimba, Guiro, Gong, Tambourine
What is the form of the piece and explain
sort of Rondo form- When a primary idea is represented between many various ideas
What is the overall structure of the piece- include form letters
Intro- Seagull theme A- Seagull theme GAC B Danse Macabre A1- Seagull theme aug C- Die Irae A2- Seagull theme GAbBb Coda- (B1+C1) Dies Irae and Danse Macabre
What are the pedal points/ anchors throughout the piece
Intro-G Section A- G Section B- Atonal Section A1- D Section C- Atonal Section A2- Eb Coda- C then A
What is significant about the pedal point/anchor notes
Largely based on the four open strings of the cello
Give examples of order and disorder in the piece
Note Ab in Bar 15 acts as virus and quickly permeates taking over piece
Four semiquaver rhythms take over from bar 28
Give an example of permutation in the piece
Bar 25- flute and marimba the intervals created by the three note cell are permutated
Section C- Dies Irae Quotation
Give six ways in which the melody is transformed- Compositional techniques
Augmentation Diminution Inverse Retrograde Canon(in dies irae) Transposition subtraction addition transposition
Why does music change time signature
To give a sense of freedom like that of the sea- suggests continual change of sea
What are the two tempos used in the piece alternatively
crochet= 80 crochet= 120
What is the danse macambre rhythm and time signature
7/4
three pairs of quavers, four semiquavers, two pairs of quavers, four semiquavers
What is organum and what is it’s effect
Harmonising in fifths- reminiscent of medieval music
What is the first pitch heard in seachanges?
Ab
Name seven instrumental techniques seen in this piece
Sul ponticello col legno harmonics tremolo strumming flutter tonging chord clusters glissando
What elements of the music are influenced by mexico
Strumming on strings - reminiscent of mariachi band
Harmonics - high register- reminiscent of heat or light
Danse Macabre- 7/4 danse of death, reflects gaudy mexican icons, dancing skeletons
Mexican instruments used
Maracas - Monotone sound reflecting death
Features of intro
high register and harmonics
tremolos
Three note cell
Section A1 features
Seagull theme played 3 times
1 - cello inversion and subtraction with warping gliss on vln
2 - violin original subtractiona & cello inversion subtraction
3 - piccolo inversion and subtraction, marimba original and subtraction - left hand piano warped inverison subtraction
four semiquavers introduced to break it down
Danse macabre features
strings play in 5ths double stopping
warping and strumming, sul pont strings
piano chord clusters
everyone moves to extreme registers and incorporates silence with high registers to create disorder
Includes seagull theme on piano octaves RH original vs LH inverson
Section A2 Features
Seagull theme played twice
1 - vln augmented original subtraction with cello augmented inversion subtraction with piano sustained chords and flute countermelody
2 - piano RH 8ve inversion LH original in sibtraction
Violin and VC play theme warped and subtraction cello on inversion
Section C features
Marimba and violin canon 1 bar apart
poking fun at death with - retrograde, permutation, inversion, fragmentation
Guiro uses prime numbers
vln and cello organum
chord clusters piano with high register piccolo
triplets begin to break it down
Section A3 -
Features seagull theme played augmented on flute warped and subtracted and on piano with addition
Marimba played GAC chords - diminution
triplets sul pont on cello
Section B1 C1
VLn & Cello use C major chord in Danse rhythm
piano and marimba chord clusters
flute flutter tonguing with countermelody
strings strumming of danse rhythm, warped and gliss
constant semiquavers repeated on As at the end with marimba last
all take maraca play danse rhythm with dissiliusionate ending as music fades away
Explain with an example of where it occurs augmentation
Doubling of note values of melody ex: main theme section A1
Explain with an example of where it occurs Diminution
Halving of note values of melody ex: main theme section A2
Explain with an example of where it occurs subrtraction
Reducing the melody by one note each time it is heard ex: 654321 ex: main theme
Explain with an example of where it occurs addition
Addition of a note each time the melody is heard ex:123456 ex: main theme section A2
Explain with an example of where it occurs canon
Repetition of a melody directly after itself a certain time distance an/or pitch apart ex: Dies Irae Section C
Explain with an example of where it occurs permutation
Changing the order of the notes Ex: Dies Irae melody
Explain with an example of where it occurs retrograde
Melody played backwards ex: Dies Irae Melody
Explain with an example of where it occurs inversion
Melody played upside down ex: Main theme section A
Explain with an example of where it occurs sul ponitcello
Play across the bridge of a string instrument ex: Danse Macabre section B
Explain with an example of where it occurs sul tasto
Play across the fingerboard of a string instrument ex: Danse Macabre section B
Explain with an example of where it occurs flutter tonguing
Rolled r playing of a note like a tremoring on a flute ex: accompaniment to the main theme section A2
Explain with an example of where it occurs strumming
Play string instrument like a guitar ex: Danse Macabre
Explain with an example of where it occurs glissando
Sliding up or down between notes ex: main theme accomp section A
Explain with an example of where it occurs cluster chords
Series of unrelated notes together played in a group at once ex: Danse Macabre
Explain with an example of where it occurs organum
Harmonising in fifths to be reminiscent of medieval music ex: Dies Irae
Is the piece tonal or atonal? why three reasons
Doesnt begin or end in a single key
Danse macabre is completely atonal
Several different tonal anchors which ground certain arts in a key. Based off four open cello strings
This piece represents death and disintegration – three reasons how?
Danse macabre - dace of death is sued reflecting skeletons dancing exploring death with mexican influence
Idea of order to disorder and negation reflect how disintegration of body can suffer a sea-change and become a positive in setting of sea ex: tempest bones became coral
Dies Irae mass for the dead Deane pokes fun at death through his treatment of the melody, permutation, inversion
Explain order versus disorder in this piece
Presents ideas to be systematically dismantled. As soon as there is a consistent theme and order he introduced a dissonant idea to break down the piece until the disorder became the new order. ex: four semiquavers in section A permeate the section introducing the danse macabre rhythm
