Chopin - Prelude in D Flat major Op.28

Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer and pianist during the Romantic period who was born in 1810.

Prelude In Db Major was composed in 1839, and was taken from a set of 24 preludes. This prelude is nicknamed the Raindrop Prelude as the use of the persistent repeated notes sound like raindrop falling. However, Chopin disliked descriptive titles and he did not give it this nickname.

The score is very detailed – it includes a lot of markings for the performer to follow. These include pedal markings, fingerings, dynamic markings, and Italian terms. The pedal markings are given under the bass stave. They show the pianist where to depress the pedal (ped.) and release it (a star-shaped sign). The fingerings are given by small numbers on some of the notes. The dynamic markings refer to the loudness or quietness of the notes.

The prelude is in ternary form - where the second A section is the same as, or very similar to, the first A section. The B section provides a contrast to the outer sections. Section A lasts from bars 1-27 and is a long melody repeated several times in a major key. This is follow by section B which lasts from bars 28-75 and is a new melody which is mainly heard in the bass in a minor key. For section A1, it is just a shorter version of section A which lasts from bars 76 - the end of the prelude.

The time signature of the piece is 4/4, and is in the key of Db major -  hence the title. The melody is accompanied by broken chords, which makes the texture homophonic. Most of the opening is based on chords 1 and V (the tonic (Db) and dominant (Ab)). The repetition of the A flat quavers (the raindrops) is used from the beginning, and these notes act as a pedal throughout the piece.

Yiri - Koko

Introduction:

• Starts in a free tempo with a high balafon improvised solo at a soft dynamic level.
• Monophonic texture
• Compromises a melody in Gb major
• Simple and repetitive

Chorus A:

• Voices are in unison
• Melody is shorts, simple and repetitive
• The semiquaver-quaver-semiquaver rhythm is a feature of vocal writing.
• No harmony.

Balafon solo:

• Short instrumental for the balafon
• Drums play continuous ostinato

Chorus A:

• voice in for second verse.

Balafon solo:

• Voices out
• Solo instrumental break on a lower pitched balafon
• Some variation in melody
• semiquavers in Gb major

Vocal solo:

• Dramatic new melody
• Long held notes
• solo voices with choral responses

Balafon solo:

• solo voice with some varied balafon rhythms in solo break

Chorus B:

• Full choirs
• short instrumental interjections to break up the vocal line

Balafon solo

Chorus A

Coda:

• Sense of strong riff
• Heterophonic texture

Fugue - Key terms that you need to know!

What is a fugue?

• A fugue is a piece of music in which a melodic theme (or subject) is introduced in one voice, and the imitated by a second/third/fourth etc. Whilst new material is introduced, the subject returns several times in imitation (it has to return in order for it to be a fuge).

Subject: the theme which is the basis do the whole fugue. It is introduced by one voice before being imitated by the other(s).

Answer: this is the subject in a new voice. There are two types of answer:

• Real: exact (in terms of intervals used) - always has the same intervals, but may start on a different degree of the scale.

• Tonal: some intervals are modified (they are adjusted slightly to fit in the key)

Exposition: this is the first section of a fugue, in which each voice introduces the subject or answer.

Countersubject: This is when melodic material is used in one voice as the subject occurs in another. For the material to be labelled as a countersubject, it must be quoted several times throughout the piece. 

Episode (Development): this often introduces new material whilst quoting gesture from the subject and countersubject. They tend to modulate before the subject returns in a new key. (Like ritornello form)

Stretto: a technique in which musical material is essentially squashed together. In fugue, this is when a subject (or an answer) starts before the previous subject/answer has finished.

Pedal point: when a pitch is usually suspended, it is normally in the lowest register. Fugues often end with a pedal point.

The Moon Over the Ruined Castle - Japanese Folk Music

"Kōjō no Tsuki" (荒城の月), translated to "The Moon over the Ruined Castle", is a Japanese song written in the Meiji period.

Rentarō Taki, a Japanese pianist and composer, composed the music as a song to use in music lessons without instrumental accompaniment in 1901. 

It was inspired by the ruins of Oka Castle, which was built in 1185. The lyrics of the song was inspired by the ruins of the Aoba Castle and the Aizuwakamatsu Castle.

Taki's original version of the song is in B minor. Taki's original version of the song uses E# on the second bar, but the modern version usually uses E. This is probably because the original version did not fit the traditional Japanese music. 

Find the song here: http://youtu.be/7IqryOGvLAE

Brandenburg (No. 4) - J.S.Bach

This piece was composed for first violin (violin principale), recorder 1 & 2 (flauto dolce), violin 1 & 2, viola, violincello, violone, bass continuo (double bass). Recorders 1 & 2, and the first violin are to solo instruments. In a Baroque orchestra, the two recorders, and the solo violin are from the concertino. The cello, viola, and violin 1&2 accompany the soloists.

There is a musical dialogue between violino principale and flauto dolce 1. Sequencing in the flauto dolce 2 part. e.g. bars 1-2.

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott - Johann Sebastian Bach

Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, meaning 'A mighty fortress is our God', is a church cantata*. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig for Reformation Day, 31 October, first performed between 1727 and 1731. It is based on Martin Luther's chorale "Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott".

The cantata was written for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, two oboes, two oboe d'amore, oboe da caccia two violins, viola, violoncello and basso continuo.

The work has eight movements:

1. Chorus.
2. Aria and duet (bass and soprano).
3. Recitative and arioso (bass).
4. Aria (soprano).
5. Chorale.
6. Recitative and arioso (tenor).
7. Duetto (alto, tenor).
8. Chorale.

In the second movement, the oboe and soprano perform an embellished version of the chorale while the bass sings an aria.

The fourth movement is a soprano aria* with a continuo ritornello. It is given character by the use of melismas and a "floaty" melody.

'And the glory of the Lord' from Messiah - George Frideric Handel

'And the glory of the Lord' was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741 (Baroque period). This piece was composed for SATB choir, and an orchestra.

Handel was born in Germany and worked as the court conductor for the Elector of Hanover. He visited England and eventually settled there. His most famous works include:

• Operas e.g. Julius Caesar
• Music for royal occasions e.g. Water Music
• More than 20 oratorios - Messiah is the most famous

'And the glory of the Lord' is in A major (3 sharps: F#, C# and G#), and the time signature is 3/4. As mentioned at the start of the post, this piece was written for a four part harmony (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass), and Alto is the first voice to enter (in bar 11).

The first 10 bars are instruments only. The instruments in this piece are:

• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Continuo bass

In bar 9 of the Violin I part, there is use of a hemiola, which is typical of the Baroque period.

The first line sung by the Alto (bar 11) is; 'And the glory, the glory of the Lord', which is a major arpeggio. On the fourth beat of bar 17 in the tenor line, there is a falling sequence on the phrase; 'shall be revealed'. This is also a melisma*.

In bar 43 on the alto line, the phrase 'And all flesh shall see it together', is descending stepwise, and this pattern in repeated in this piece.

Bars 59-62 for the Alto, Tenor and Bass lines are sung all together, which is an example of word paining.


*KEY TERMS*

• Melisma - several notes sung on one syllable / embellishment of a melody.
• Hemiola - a rhythmic alternation of two musical notes in the place of three.
• Word painting - musical technique of writing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song.