Music for a While 2 (already have a mind map on it, this one is from nearpod)

Performing forces

String-dominated melody

Harpsichord acts as conductor

Bass viol and left hand harpsichord part plays the ground bass.

Vocal made for a tenor but in this extract it is a soprano

Transposed from C minor to A minor

Right-hand harpsichord plays realisation- ornamentation and highly decorated.

Melody

Use of word-painting- a common baroque feature- e.g "drop" is a descending melody and "eternal" makes use of melissma

Contrapuntal

Comes from a play

Texture

Homophonic

Right-hand harpsichord provides counterpoint melody

Tonality

A minor transposed from C minor

Frequent key changes

Structure

Ground bass structure- short repeating bass line which holds the music together when other parts change

Context

Composed by Henry Purcell

Composed for a play

From the Baroque era.

Terraced dynamics

Ornamentation in vocal and harpsichord- trills, appogiatura,grace notes, upper and lower mordents

Basso continuo instruments include harpsichord and bass viol.

Right hand part of harpsichord has dotted rhythms

Text setting

Word painting (see melody branch)

Vocal line is syllabic

Some melisma (e.g bar 10, 'wond'ring".

Repetition on the 'drop' at bar 23

Minor key reflects sad mood of song

Biggest interval is a perfect 4th (bar 7- A-D)

Rests are used to break up phrases

Descending sequences (bar 20)

3 bars long

Only uses quaver rythms

Based on an arpeggio

Semitone intervals (e.g F# to G)

Rises from an 'A' before falling at the end

Tierce de Picardie in bar 23 (C major)

Ground bass uses chromatic chords so tonality sometimes unclear

Key changes to related keys frequently

Music returns to A minor in bar 28

False relation- when two notes clash near eachother

Harmony

Chords are functional and diatonic

Perfect cadences

Uses of dissonance

Occasional suspensions

False relation

Melody dominated homophony

Tempo, metre and rythm

No tempo but is indicated to be slow

4/4 time signature

Quaver and semi-quaver ryrhms