Vaughan Williams
context
wanted to break away from German romanticism
influences
English folk song
Vaughan Williams travelled around the countryside writing down the words and
notation of these songs, so that they could be preserved for posterity
tudor church music
modality influenced his own musical style
Thomas Tallis and William Byrd
modal
french impressionism
studied with ravel beofre writing the set work
The bell effects in ‘Bredon Hill’ are
reminiscent of Debussy’s piano piece The Submerged Cathedra
tremolo strings and parallel harmonies
song cycle
based on a Shropshire lad by Houssman
main themes are rural life and loss of innocence
On Wenlock edge
Piano style
instrumentation and vocal style
piano quintet
used by Schumann and Brahms also
solo voice and piano quintet is, extremely rare
alternative part for solo piano that
could be used in the absence of a string quartet
main solo piano part contains most of the harmonies used in the string quartet music and the left-hand part frequently doubles the cello
paralell chords
ostinato accompaniments
rapid arpeggios
trills
string style
Tremolo strings
pizzicato cello
triple stopped pizzicato
Sul ponticello technique
The technique is a word painting technique to illustrate the gale in the
text
creates textural interest
experimental
vocal style
music for tenor soloist is not particularly virtuosic
mainly syllabic
standard tenor range, amatuers and proffessionals can perform
folk song influence
shows poem inspiration
melodic style
restricted note range
based on pentatonic sequences
repeated notes
shows power of the gale
chromatic decent
unpredictability of the storm
conjunct with larger leaps
diatonic
singable, easy to follow, folk influence
rhythm and metre
Triplets and sextuplets
cross rhythm
rippling hemidemisemiquavers
frequent time signature changes
natural rhythms of speech
experimental
appreciates natural sounds existed
storytelling- folk influence
texture
parallel first inversions
piano doubles the upper string parts here, while the pizzicato cello plays occasional
notes doubling the second violin down an octave
reduced texture towards the end of the song
Block chords accompany cello and voice
fortissimo tutti
plays with texture throughout, shows varying landscapes
tonality and harmony
consonant harmony
parallel chords- impressionist feature
modal influence
dissonance on the word gale
chromatic chordal movement
extended chords
sweetness of rural life
sense of dread, loss of innocence
‘the submerged cathedral’
Tippet ‘concerto for double string orchestra’
. ‘Habanera’ by Ravel
Is my team ploughing
piano style
ostinato accompaniments
string style
instrumentation is reduced to a solo cello and piano from bar 9
Con sordino (muted
vocal style
ocassional high notes- on the word dead
recitative style
chilling
death
tension
experimental
melodic style
rhythm and metre
long held notes
so that the singer can sing in free time
texture
parts move homorhythmically
eerie atmosphere
sense of unity- ww1
tonality and harmony
dorian harmony
Simple diatonic
chords are given their mysterious quality
Structure
modified strophic
poem influence
Bredon Hill
string style
pianissimo
muted effect
combination of pizzicato and arco
suggest the sound of bells
Open harmonics are used for the string chords
bell effect
delicate
reduced instrumentation - loneliness
Vocal style
occasional melisma's
frequent use of an anacrusis
accentuation of the syllables
fit the iambic nature of much of the poetry
singer instructed to sing in a totally free tempo at the end
feels more free
freeness of rural life
melodic style
untransposed Mixolydian in G
The middle of the song is again more chromatic
folk inspired
Tippet concerto for double string orchestra - fluid metre inspired by secular music
Tippet- uses lydian mode, folk influenced
Rhythm and metre
sustained bell chords with tied semibreves
word painting
transports the listener
Debussy- submerged cathedral, uses bell effect with open fifths, lots of word painting, when cathedral emerges modulates to Bb maj
Texture
simple melody-dominated homophony
solemn sustained chords imitating the sound of the tolling of bells
bells ring out more rapidly from bar 52 with a new triplet ostinato, creating a three layered texture
Tonality and harmony
Seventh chords dominate
Extended chords
occasional second inversion seventh chords