Morse on the case by Pheloung

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  • Morse on the case by Pheloung
    • Structure
      • No clear structure
      • Through composed to reflect on-screen events
      • 3 main sections determined by instrumentation and tonality; b. 1-52 aeolian mode, b. 49-97 chromatic notes and b. 98-112 gravitation towards C major
    • Texture
      • Barely any Tutti passages
      • Harp doesn't appear until bar 101
      • Upper strings play throughout, but cellos and bass don't appear until bar 99
      • piano plays intermittently throughout, playing various single notes, two notes, parallel 9ths (b. 36) and 4 notes on one occasion (b. 98)
    • Melody
      • relies on the use of short motifs
      • Use of the aeolian mode
      • gradual unfolding of lines built on perfect 4ths, minor 3rds and major 2nds
      • the component intervals are treated in various ways (inverted, verticalised, rhythmically diminished and fragmented)
    • Harmony and Tonality
      • No sense of functional pregression
      • Harmony consists mainly of   verticalisations of the component intervals
      • mildly dissonant
      • chromatic notes produce stringent clashes i.e. b. 93-94
      • the excerpt eventually moves to a C major chord (b. 110)
      • the F# in b. 105/108 suggest the lydian mode
      • The final chord is ambiguous as it lacks the 3rd
    • Forces
      • 9 instruments in total (piano, 4x horns, strings, harp and oboe)
      • the horn represents Morse; bar 15 hears the horn enter on a 6th perhaps representing Morse as a glimmer of hope
      • bar 65 sees the first chord in the piano part when Redpath says 'Inseparable'. this is the first time we hear idiomatic writing
    • Rhythm and metre
      • notated in 4/4, however, the metre is not easily detectable due to the lengthy, pulseless sounds and unpredictable placing of motifs within bars
      • silent bar (b. 60-61) further intensifies the lack of motion

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