Vaughan Williams 1909 Flashcards
Context
English composer from the early 20th century
Passionate about collecting and transcribing as many English folksongs as possible
Music influenced by folksongs, French Impressionism, English choral tradition
OWE, song cycle, 6 poems from A Shropshire Lad by AE Housmann
His song cycle moves away from German Romantic tradition of Lieder
OWE, a poet recognizes that the same storms were experienced in Roman times
IMTP, dialogue between alive man and ghost
BH, a story of young love defeated by death
Melody
Folk or Tudor influenced melody lines French Impressionist influenced melody lines Word painting Some elements of German Lieder Registers to express plot line Word setting
Folk or Tudor influenced melody lines
IMTP, Dorian, becomes more chromatic (Scarborough fair, dorian)
BH, starts in G man but flat 7th indicates Mixolydian mode
(1 year later, Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a theme by TT, phryigian mode)
French Impressionist influences
OWE, Pentatonic modal outline with v restricted note range,
Just before, La Mer, Debussy
Word painting
IMTP, chromaticism, repeated F# does not fit with harmony, open and ambiguous atmosphere (reflect unknown identity of sweetheart)
(Before, Mahler, Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen, trills used to represent the sweet bird)
Some elements of German Lieder
IMTP, alive man’s part tends to be more chromatic, more expressive
(Before, Mahler’s Lieder, eines fahrenden gesellen)
Use of registers to express plot line
BH, solo tenor uses high registers to express distress when called by the bells, narrow minor ranges used to create funereal mood
(Before, Chopin 1837 Funeral March, uses 2nds and min 3rds)
Word setting
Folk influence, syllabic with some slurred pairs, can be sung by anyone
(Cockles and mussels, folk song)
BH, Melismas only used to emphasize certain words (happy)q
Harmony
Folk and Tudor influences
Impressionist influences
Some elements of German Lieder
Folk and Tudor influences
OWE, pentatonic style harmony with added 4th outlined in piano ostinato
IMTP. dorian harmony heard at start, alternate between Dmin, Gmaj with raised 6th
Impressionist influences
BH, parallel motions, open and resonant sound, reminiscent of bells in the summer
(1 year after, Debussy, The Submerged Cathedral)
IMTP, min 7th, 11th, quartal movement, emphasis insubstantial nature of ghost
(1 year after, Ravel, Ma mere L’Oye)
Some elements of German Lieder
IMTP, uses romantic chords
(half dim 7th, aug triads, N6, FA6), more expressive, grounded to life and earth by following tradition
(Before, Schubert, Die Schone Mullerin)
Tonality
Folk and Tudor influences
Impressionist influences
Elements of German Lieder
20th century techniques
Folk and Tudor influences, tonality
IMTP, D min with dorian inflections, create uncertain, ethereal, ghostly atmosphere (Scarborough fair, dorian)
BH, G min blurred by 7th modal inflections, G aeolian, pentatonic foreboding
Impressionist influences, tonality
OWE, score indicates Gmin, but the 3rd is not heard, maj min ambiguity
(Just before, Debussy, La Mer, 1st mv, ambiguous tonality)
Elements of German Lieder, tonality
IMTP, clear minor tonality, grounded to the earth and tradition
OWE, G min is firmly established by repeated VI cadences at the end, establish that we are firmly in the present
20th century techniques, tonality
OWE, bitonality, Ab maj against pentatonic, intensifies sense of stress and conflict
(Just after, Bartok, 14 Bagatelles, also passionate about collecting folk songs with Kodaly)
Texture
Predominantly homophonic but constantly varied
Impressionist influenced
Predominantly homophonic but constantly varied
Impressionist influenced
OWE, parallel 1st inversions
IMTP, all instrumental parts move homorhythmically, chordal string homophony allows vocals in sing freely
BH, sustained bell like chords
OWE, 3 part layered texture of ostinato sextuplets, unison trills and vocal doubling (Just before, Debussy, Pagodas, layered in a similar manner)
Sonority
Unusual combination of solo voice and piano quintet
Word painting piano style
String word painting
Vocal word painting
Dynamics varied to reflect changing nature of text
Unusual combination of a solo voice and piano quintet
Most song cycles were composed for voice and piano, characteristic of German Lieder (Before, Beethoven, To the Distant Beloved)
Piano style, word painting
BH, block chords, illustrates bells
IMTP, una corda, tre corda, more resonant, more present
OWE, semiquaver ostinato accompaniments and rapid arpeggios, gale
(Before, Beethoven, An die ferne Geliebte,
String style, word painting
OWE, tremolo, suggests the storm and turbulence
OWE, sul punticello, metallic tone, gale
(Just before, Debussy, La Mer, 2nd mv, storm)
IMTP, con sordino, mysterious otherworldly sound, to change the color
BH, open harmonics, delicate and ghostly in character
Vocal control
Tenor, not that virtuosic
Occasional high notes for EP (dead in IMTP) but otherwise comfortably in range of 12th
Mainly syllabic, slurred pairs, rare melismas to accentuate syllables and fit the iambic nature of the poetry
(After, Butterworth, Bredon Hill, completely syllabic to EP text clearly)
Dynamics varied to reflect changing nature of text
OWE, gales ferocity and speed expressed with cresc dim
IMTP, BH, quietness can suggest remoteness (ghost), far off steeples
(1 year after, Debussy, The Submerged Cathedral, dynamics indicate distance of cathedral from surface)
Structure
Blending of strophic and through composed
Blending of strophic and through composed
OWE, AABBA/B, 5 verses Housmann’s original text.
IMTP, 3rd, 4th verse omitted much to Housman’s dismay,
Modified strophic with 3 pairs of verses
BH, 7verse structure, Intro AABBCDA postlude
Rhythm, tempo and metre
Rhythms imitate natural speech rhythms
Impressionistic rhythms
Frequent tempo, metre changes
Word painting in terms of rhythms
Rhythms imitate natural speech rhythms
All, mainly syllabic, some slurred pairs, rare melismas, set to poems
Impressionistic rhythms
OWE, semiquaver, sextuplet semiquavers create cross rhythms, obscure metre (Before, Ravel, String quartet, cross rhythms in the feel of 3/4 against quavers)
Frequent tempo, metre changes
IMTP, alternates between recitative-like free time and faster animando, show contrast between ghost and friend
(Before, Schumann, Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen, 6/8 pastoral time signature)
Word painting in terms of rhythms
BH, long sustained bell like chords with tied semibreves
Before, Beethoven, An die fern Geliebte, dotted rhythms indicate parting
