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Rachel Portman - The Duchess (Instrumentation (Mistake of Your Life…
Rachel Portman - The Duchess
Harmony & Tonality
End Titles
Modal Dmaj - Same as
(Opening)
Mistake
Gm - diatonic w/ modal passages - some shifts to Am not prep modulation, just side-step
Ends unresolved 2nd inv chord - feel unfinished (not uncommon in film music)
dissonant min 9ths and 11ths in opening; extended V can hear as imperf cadence; modal flat 7 chord
Schindler's List
- ends with IV-V-I perfect cadence - CONTRAST --> ends with unresolved 6/4
(Opening)
Modal D major - C♮ (flat 7) suggests Mixolydian - as with most diatonic film music, short cues don't allow much room for modulation/tonal development
Predominantly tonal harmony w/ modal elements - Portman avoids conventional funct harm progressions + tradit cadences --> effect of non-funct harmony at times
Small no of chords - simple harmonic scheme - Tonic (D) chords and Dom min (Am) chords - cue largely underpinned by pedal notes e.g. whole of B has ton pedal
Dawn
- C major throughout w/ chromatic notes colour melody
Six Yrs
Modally inflected Dmaj - C♮ - Mixo
Based on D and Am chords - link section - Ddim, adds harmonic colour - ends w/ held D chord then 5ths ostinato in harp from opening over tonic in cellos
Never
Dm but frequent C♮s suggest Dorian. Final Gdim/D sustained in lower strings --> harm/tonally ambiguous, uncertain end
A section quavers contain dissonance
Schindler's List
- Dm modulates to dom (Am) at A1 - CONTRAST --> frequently modal & some unconventional modulations e.g.
Mistake
side-step not prepared
Beauty Killed the Beast
- minor tonality - sadness/loss -->
Mistake
(failing marriage) and
Never
(threat from Duke)
Rhythm & Metre
End Titles
Same as
(Opening)
Mistake
Slow tempo, no sense of pulse at start despite v quiet timp ostinato, clear pulse from 19, each theme = repeated rhythms --> unity and structure
Dawn
- slow tempo
(Opening)
4/4 but sounds 2 minim beats per bar
Regular, clear pulse
melody note values simple an mostly unsyncopated but some sync in accomp
Schindler's List
- only one change of metre - intro - 5 bars= 3 of 3/4 and 2 of 4/4
Six Yrs
6/8 - compound duple - lively rhythmic reinforced by oom-pah accomp. Changes to 4/4 for B -->
(Opening)
& tempo increases but then slows down again for coda
Note values = quavers, crotchets & dot crotchets Section A and longer notes Section B
Schindler's List
- dotted rhythms - idea B
Dawn
- change of metre - 6/8 to 3/4 halfway through
Never
gently rocking 3/4 w/ slow tempo --> grief and reflection of Duke's threat - rocking movement maintained throughout & other parts longer values, often dot minims
Schindler's List
- slow tempo - solemn
Melody
End Titles
Mostly same as
(Opening)
- original theme A shortened & some rhythmic modifications to B and C
Mistake
2 ideas: A - rising, stepwise, 1st 5 of Gm scale - later expanded by transposition to Am. B - piano idea, auxiliary idea and falling min6th, extended by desc seq
(Opening)
Theme A - 2-bar, modified by seq and modified again to upper desc phrase, then expanded to reach end of section - Section A basically triadic basis
Section B - around Dmaj triad -rising then desc stepwise from ton to subdom w/ flat 7 -->mixolydian
Section C - 2 phrases both built on ideas from section A: auxiliary idea basis of 1st then falling phrase basis for solo violin melody
Schindler's List Theme
- idea A distinctive leap and quaver movement - idea B dotted rhythms & lower violin range
Batman Returns
- Use of themes - Penguin, Catwoman and Batman motifs
Dawn
- use of sequences
Six Yrs
Open phrase Section A - triadic idea, ascend and descend through an 8ve sometimes w/ decorative lower aux note
Section B - all taken from
(Opening)
Schindler's List Theme
- Grace notes in A1 section extended ending of idea A
Dawn
- use of triads
Never
Slow-moving ascend stepwise shape w/ rocking quaver accomp --> melody does not appear dominant element in cue
Beauty Killed the Beast
- haunting vocal melody - pathos --> A section dissonant string melody - ultimatum/loss of Grey
CONTRAST -
Central Park
- no harsh dissonances
2, 4 or 8-bar unit melodies, even phrases, mostly conjunct
General Context
She was the first female composer to win an Oscar for Best Original Score which she won for Emma (1996) and she was awarded the OBE in 2010
Her style is approachable and lyrical with emphasis on melody - often lush string-based arrangements - avoids electronic/synthesised sounds
Rachel Portman is an English composer born in Surrey in 1960, who specialises in music for film, tv and stage.
The Duchess
- 18th century drama released in 2008 directed by Saul Gibb, based on controversial life of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire - her unhappy marriage, friendship with Lady Bess Foster and affair with Charles Grey
Schindler's List
Theme - John Williams;
King Kong
Central Park & It Was Beauty That Killed The Beast - James Newton Howard;
Pride and Prejudice
Dawn - Dario Marianelli
Instrumentation
Mistake of Your Life
strings, timpani, piano, woodwind, horns
opens with violas, timpani - which has ostinato pedal D - and lower strings slow build up --> reflection and sadness;
bowed, arpegg accomp; piano enters for 2nd theme; ends just strings
Six Years Later
strings, woodwind and harp
Solo violin plays melody from
(Opening)
; cue starts with pizz strings
'Oom-pah-pah' accomp creates waltz feel
The Duchess (Opening)
strings, harp, woodwind and horns
Open - harp quaver motif - reappears in cue
Bowed and arpeggiated accomp
Never See Your Children Again
Begins sus tonic in Dm with dissonant quaver figure over top
strings and harp
Timpani figure from
Mistake
leads up to where harp enters
End Titles
Same as
The Duchess (Opening)
Whole film has relatively limited orchestral palate, using mainly instruments that were available at the time (Classical)
Most melodic interest in upper strings throughout all; Little independent writing for woodwind and horns --> harmonic fillers; Most writing restrained and non-virtuosic
Schindler's List
- Solo Violin (freq in
Duchess
); woodwind - opening cor anglais; wide violin tessitura but not virtuosic (restrained, non-virtuosic in
Duchess
)
Central Park
- strings, piano & oboe
Dawn
- CONTRAST - piano only
Structure & Form
Mistake
Intro A B A B A (different themes to opening)
Theme A x2 - 2nd transposed up by tone to Am
Intro - low string chords w/ bass & timpani dom ped
Theme B - piano melody, accomp by strings & woodwind
Theme A 8ve higher w/ crotchet countermel based on 3rds & arpegg accomp
Theme B tutti w/ arpegg accomp then end based on A --> 1st phrase x2 end w/ unresolved 6/4
Schindler's List
- Intro, A then repeat of A 8ve higher
Schindler's List
- Intro then 2 ideas: A & B repeat (Intro/Ax2/B/A1 - extended binary/ternary)
Six Yrs
Intro - waltz accomp in D in pizz strings&harp
A - triadic melodies, chromatic lower aux note fig - extend and sequential in 2nd part of section
Coda - uses quaver 5ths from opening cue intro
B - based on themes A, B & C from opening cue
Link - based on intro now arco w/ added aug D chord
Dawn
- A, B, A1, Coda
(Opening)
Built on themes A, B and C
Theme A - violin melody w/ harp/string quaver accomp and off-beat lower string chords
Theme B - Solo violin melody w/ continuing quaver accomp
Theme C - New idea - based on auxiliary note motif - then solo violin idea based on end of theme 2 (shortest section)
Central Park
- Love theme
Never
2 sections: A and B
A - mildly dissonant string quaver fig over gradually desc bass line then entry of slowly rising stepwise melody
B - begin w/ timp ostinato from
Mistake
- section dominated by 2-note quaver motif in harp
Cue ends with unresolved dissonant chord Gdim/susD
End titles
Similar content to
(Opening)
: Shortened theme A, Modified theme B, C modified & extended w/ some rhythmic augmentation, section based on aux idea from
(Opening)
, theme C acts as a coda
Texture
End Titles
Same as
(Opening)
Mistake
Hom mel&accomp; timpani ped ostinato in intro w/ sus bass ped; arpegg accomp figure
(Opening)
Mostly homophonic - mel & accomp --> accomp - ostinato figures - recurring 5ths
Tonic ped - B section
Section C - 2-bar held notes alternate ton/dom underpin
Six Yrs
Mel and accomp - Section A - oom-pah waltz accomp - Section B - sync rhythms accomp
Never
Mel&accomp - but mel is so slow-moving seems only accomp is moving - sus low notes underpin entire texture
Accomp of A and all of B dominated by 2-note quaver motif
Schindler's List
- Melody-dominated homophony --> focus on violin melody
Central Park
- Melody & Accomp
Dawn
- Mel dom hom
On-Screen Action
Mistake
reflects Duchess' loneliness and state of her failing marriage
Six Yrs
more optimistic waltz theme - set the scene after time lapse of 6yrs
End Titles
End credits - provides balance to opening material of
(Opening)
Never
Duke discovered affair with Charles Grey & threatens to prevent her having contact w/ her children
(Opening)
Accompanies the title sequence