Music History term 3 test 2
Example 22a
TITLE: "Confiteor" from the Credo of the Mass in B Minor COMPOSER: J.S.Bach GENRE: Mass: Credo (excerpt) HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: 2 sections CHARACTERISTICS: Synthesizes stile antico and stile moderno: Stile antico traits: 1. The choral parts are in stile antico, with the imitative entries of that style. 2. There is a Gregorian cantus firmus, which begins in the bass voice at m. 73 but is soon taken up by the tenor voice (m. 92). Stile moderno traits: 3. Presence of a basso continuo. 4. Transitional Adagio ("And I await the resurrection of the dead") in a very modern style, with chromaticism and intense dissonances to symbolize death.
Example22b
TITLE: "Et expecto resurrectionem" from the Credo of the Mass in B Minor COMPOSER: J.S. Bach GENRE: Mass: Credo (concluding section) HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: fugal CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Amplifies the words of the preceding transitional Adagio, but in a bright D major, Allegro, with full orchestra ("And I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come"). 2. Synthesizes stile antico and stile moderno: the choral writing is fugal (with imitative entries typical of the stile antico) while the orchestral writing is in the modern concertato style (i.e., instruments are independent of the voices). 3. This section is a reworking of a chorus from an earlier cantata by Bach.
Example 13
TITLE: "In voler ciò che tu brami" [In wanting that which you desire] from Griselda COMPOSER: Alessandro Scarlatti GENRE: da capo aria from an opera HALF-CENTURY: 1st half of 18th FORM: da capo form (ABA) CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Through the orchestral ritornello and the vocal line, Section A expresses Griselda's character as an obedient wife. 2. Section B emphasizes a contrasting but related aspect of her character by many types of musical contrast, including a change of key and new musical material. 3. For further contrast, Section B lacks the ritornellos that are interjected in Section A. 4. Aria is tonal but looks like it is in the Lydian mode (because there is only one flat in the key signature), showing the continuing strength of the modes as a concept.
Example 12a
TITLE: "Thy hand, Belinda" from Dido and Aeneas COMPOSER: Henry Purcell GENRE: recitative from an opera HALF-CENTURY: second half of 17th FORM: through-composed CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Slow, stepwise descent spanning a seventh, portrays the dying Dido. 2. Dido's despair is conveyed through an evocative melisma on "darkness," sighing figures, and expressive dissonances on "death is now a welcome guest." 3. Expressiveness of this recitative is unlike the rapid Italian operatic recitative of the time, and unlike the wholly syllabic French recitative of Lully.
Example 12b
TITLE: "When I am laid in earth," from Dido and Aeneas COMPOSER: Henry Purcell GENRE: aria from an opera HALF-CENTURY: second half of 17th FORM: ostinato aria CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Follows the Italian tradition of setting a lament over a basso ostinato, or ground bass. 2. The bass grows out of the descending fourth common to laments, but changes the usual diatonic pattern to chromatic and adds a cadential extension. 3. Dido's melody follows an independent course above the ground bass, creating dissonances which Purcell intensifies in various ways. 4. Dido's "remember me," relentlessly repeated on a D above changing harmonies (m. 17-20 and 28-31), conveys her obstinacy and pride. 5. Violins add suspensions and other expressive dissonances, to heighten the mournful mood. 6. Aria ends with a descending line in the violins, similar to the descending vocal line of the recitative.
Example 12 c
TITLE: "With drooping wings," from Dido and Aeneas COMPOSER: Henry Purcell GENRE: chorus from an opera HALF-CENTURY: second half of 17th FORM: one repeated section CHARACTERISTICS: 1. The slowly sinking lines of the preceding recitative and aria reach their culmination in the descending minor-scale figures on "drooping wings." 2. Text-painting is notable throughout, including eighth-note undulations on "scatter roses" and dramatic rests to mark "Keep here your watch, and never part."
Example 16
TITLE: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 3, No. 6: Presto COMPOSER: Vivaldi GENRE: solo concerto (third movement) HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: ritornello form CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Movement consists of 5 statements of the ritornello (played by the tutti) and 5 episodes (played by the soloist). 2. Movement begins and ends with the ritornello in the tonic key, but harmonic variety is created by modulations within the movement. 3. Opening ritornello statement is made up of 6 small units (ABCDEF; see chart on p. 671 of anthology); later statements of the ritornello are only partial, but the last statement repeats all the material of the opening ritornello in order. 4. Solo episodes sometimes vary motives from the ritornello, but also introduce new figurations for variety. 5. Ritornello form is treated with great freedom: fourth ritornello statement modulates; orchestra and soloist alternate in presenting segments of the final ritornello. 6. Driving, motoric rhythm (almost constant motion in eighth and sixteenth notes) is typical of late Baroque music, and differs from the rhythmic flexibility of the early Baroque.
Example 20
TITLE: Durch Adams Fall [Through Adam's Fall], BWV 637 COMPOSER: J. S. Bach GENRE: chorale prelude HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: bar form (AAB) CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Chorale melody is presented once, in readily recognizable form, in upper voice. 2. Three lower voices portray the images of the chorale text with some of Bach's most graphic representations (see point 3). 3. Jagged, dissonant descending leaps in the pedals depict Adam's fall from grace; a twisting chromatic line in the alto portrays the writhing of the serpent; the tenor repeatedly slides downward and then struggles upward again, perhaps representing the struggle to overcome temptation.
Example 18
TITLE: Hippolyte et Aricie: conclusion of Act IV COMPOSER: Jean-Philippe Rameau GENRE: excerpt from a tragédie lyrique HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: free CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Dramatic intensity is achieved through rapid juxtaposition of diverse musical elements: segments of airlike melody, measured and unmeasured recitative (with and without the orchestra), choral passages, and descriptive orchestral writing. 2. Rameau conveys the anguish of the principal characters and the chorus through harmony highly charged with dissonances (e.g., diminished fifths, augmented fourths, dissonant appoggiaturas). 3. Orchestration is very advanced: Lully's 5-part string orchestra is replaced with 4-part strings, augmented by woodwinds (flutes, oboes, bassoons).
Example 21b
TITLE: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now come, Savior of the heathens) COMPOSER: J.S. Bach GENRE: aria from a Lutheran cantata HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: da capo aria form (A B A') CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Aria praises the Savior as a hero, and follows the operatic conventions for heroic or martial arias: orchestra plays in octaves throughout, and the vocal line emphasizes brilliant runs and large leaps. 2. As in an operatic da capo aria, the A section begins and ends with a ritornello in the tonic, and the B section provides contrast of both tonality and musical material. 3. Unlike the usual da capo form, there are 3 vocal statements in succession in Section A, the third presenting the text very simply, as if to emphasize Christ's victory over evil.
Example 21a
TITLE: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now come, Savior of the heathens) COMPOSER: J.S. Bach GENRE: chorale motet from a Lutheran cantata HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: combination of ritornello form and motet structure CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Synthesizes diverse traditions and techniques, including: the Lutheran chorale; the ritornello structure and instrumental writing of a concerto; and the cantus-firmus style and imitative counterpoint of a chorale motet. 2. The four phrases of the chorale (Luther's Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) are framed by an instrumental ritornello. 3. The chorale melody is sung by the sopranos in long notes, in the style of a cantus firmus. 4. As in a motet, the first and last phrases of the chorale are introduced by a point of imitation based on the chorale melody (Tracks 53 and 59). 5. The ritornello and the chorale are not kept separate, but are linked through counterpoint: while each phrase of the chorale is sung by the sopranos, the orchestra continues to develop motives from the ritornello.
Example 15
TITLE: Praeludium in E Major, BuxWV 141 COMPOSER: Dietrich Buxtehude GENRE: organ prelude HALF-CENTURY: second half of 17th century FORM: alternation of free and fugal sections CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Five free sections in toccata style frame four fugal sections. 2. Virtuosic for both pedalboard and keyboards. 3. Improvisation in free sections is suggested by irregular phrase lengths, inconclusive endings, and abrupt changes of texture, harmony, or melodic direction. 4. All four fugal subjects share subtle similarities, but each fugal section is in a different meter or tempo (and each treats the fugal subject in a different way).
Example 19
TITLE: Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 COMPOSER: J. S. Bach GENRE: prelude and fugue HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: free prelude followed by 4-voice fugue CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Both prelude and fugue blend elements of the Italian concerto (exemplified by Vivaldi) with the tradition inherited from Buxtehude and other north German organists. 2. Bach's own distinctive musical personality is also present (e.g., in the way the opening figure in the prelude sinks chromatically, as is typical of Bach's rich harmonic vocabulary). 3. In the prelude, much of the figuration is violinistic, modeled on the solo episodes in Vivaldi concertos. 4. The prelude shows Vivaldi's influence in other ways (e.g., repetitions of the opening material in contrasting keys, like the ritornello of a concerto). 5. The fugue shows the influence of Vivaldi in the violinistic nature of the subject. 6. Bach adapts ritornello form to the fugue: the fugue subject functions like a ritornello, returning in related keys, and between these statements are episodes that have the character of solo sections in a concerto. 7. Buxtehude's influence is shown in various ways (e.g., in the prelude, dialogues between the pedals and upper voices, and passages of fugal imitation; and, in both prelude and fugue, virtuoso use of the pedals for solos).
Example 14
TITLE: Trio Sonata, Op. 3, No. 2 COMPOSER: Arcangelo Corelli GENRE: trio church sonata HALF-CENTURY: second half of 17th century FORM: 4 movements, slow-fast-slow-fast CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Movements emphasize lyricism rather than virtuosity, treating the two violins exactly alike and having them frequently cross and exchange music. 2. Movements are abstract, but two include dance rhythms and one is in binary form. 3. Chains of suspensions and use of sequences contribute to a strong sense of harmonic direction in this tonal music. 4. Movements are thematically independent and each is based on a single subject stated at the outset and then continuously expanded or "spun out" through sequential treatment, modulations to nearby keys, etc. This technique, highly characteristic of the late Baroque, is known as Fortspinnung. 5. Walking bass (steadily moving pattern of eighth notes) in first movement is typical of Corelli.
Example 17b
TITLE: Vingt-cinquième ordre: La muse victorieuse COMPOSER: Couperin GENRE: harpsichord suite (fourth movement) HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: balanced binary CHARACTERISTICS: 1. This movement is a passepied, a faster relative of the minuet, in 3/8 meter with an upbeat and hemiola rhythms. 2. The two halves of the binary form are closely related because the last 11 measures of the first half are paralleled at the end of the second half, creating a balanced binary form.
Example 17a
TITLE: Vingt-cinquième ordre: La visionaire COMPOSER: Couperin GENRE: harpsichord suite (first movement) HALF-CENTURY: first half of 18th FORM: binary CHARACTERISTICS: 1. The two sections of the binary movement correspond to the two sections of a French overture: the first is slow and solemn; the second is fast and begins with imitation, but near the end of the section there is a return of the majestic style of the first half. 2. In the slow opening section Couperin embellishes the traditional dotted rhythms of the overture style by replacing many of the short notes with fast triplets. 3. Music modulates to the dominant in the first section of the binary structure.
