Vocal Music: Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge (3)

Question 1

Background. What is the period and style? What was Vaughan Williams Inspired by

Answer 1

20th Century English Song in a Pastoral style
Inspired by english folk music and poetry
Often uses Modal Harmony

Question 2

On Wenlock Edge song cycle background

Answer 2

Based on a collection of poems by A. E. Housman entitled A Shropshire Lad (1896)

Question 3

Sonority

Compared with Die Forelle and Psycho Strings

Answer 3

Piano Quintet - unusual sonority for the time, so much so that he wrote a seperate piano part if a string quartet were not available. Die Forelle more usual sonority of solo voice and piano.

Piano doubles strings at points, for a thicker texture
Una Corda (One Chord) - use soft pedal, only one string hit.

Con sordino strings in IMTP, creates a similar effect to the one in Psycho which also uses this as the ghost sounds scary and mysterious - much like Bates in Psycho

Question 4

Melody

Compared to Die Forelle and Die ZauberFlote

Answer 4

Modal and Folk melodic style in all 3 pieces, dorian scale on D at start of IMTP

IMTP opens in a recitative style, similar to O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Sohn from Die ZuaberFlote which also starts in a recetitive - also to create the effect of speaking

Conjunct and disjunct phrases in the melody, especially large leaps in Bredon Hill where dramatic climax’s occur.

Question 5

Texture

Compared to Soupir by Ravel

Answer 5

Parallel chords at start of On Wenlock Edge. This is similar to the parallel chords of a song called Soupir from one of Ravel’s Song Cycles.

Bar 7 almost polyphonic with the the ostinato and countermelody playing above each other.

Strings are doubled at start of OWE, on important counter melodies in IMTP and less often in Bredon Hill

Homorhythmic start to IMTP with block chords

Bells are created in BH with sustained chords that underline the melody, melody dominated homophony - impressionistic, similar to Pagodes by Debussy

Triplet ostinato also used in BH for a fast moving bell patteren, similar to the fast triplets used to represent the living man in IMTP

Question 6

Tonality and Harmony

Compared to

Answer 6

All are in minor keys (G minor, D minor, E minor)
Ambigious tonality as many elements of modes and modal scales are incorperated - typical english folk music.
OWE - Pentatonic scale at start
IMTP - Dorian
BH - Mixolydian scale used

Parallel movement used in OWE

“Gale” has dissonance representing the wind

Question 7

Tempo, Rhythm and Metre

Compared to

Answer 7

OWE - sextuplets, cross-rhythms and hemi-demi-semi quavers
IMTP - Sustained chord accompaniment
BH - Longest rhythms, tied semibreves, Triplet church bells in accompaniment

Question 8

Word Setting

Answer 8

Mostly syllabic and conjunct although large leaps used to emphasise important parts of the piece such as “A DEAD MANS” in IMTP