Thy Hand Belinda and When I am Laid in Earth

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  • 'Thy Hand Belinda' & 'When I am Laid in Earth'
    • Texture
      • voice+strings= homophonic texture
      • melody doesn't move with ground bass - creates hightened dramatic tension
      • melody starts after the ground bass
        • strings and ground bass move in similar motions - suspensions
          • descending movements hints at 46 (riternelle)
            • riternelle - moves in close imitation with voice and ground bass cadence together
      • bar 25 almost resolved
    • Melody
      • every pitch uses between C+D - before death = F#
      • descending chromatic melodic line in bar 2
      • melody similar to first section (much varied) - chromatic descent of perfect 4th
        • bars 6-8
      • moves in close proximity
        • bar 7 - WIALIE
      • leap of perf 4th in bar 9
      • melodically static with dom pedal - Ds lift mel to higher resolution
        • bar 25-26
        • contrasting melisma in bar 34
        • melodic climax in 42-43 with descent of 8ve to finish bar 44-47
    • Rhythm
      • quadruple time - Baroque recitative
        • minim in recitative should be equivalent in performance to a dotted semibreve in the aria
      • complex rhythm in bar 2
        • rest signifies separate phrase
        • vocal part has a variety of faster moving rhythms
          • including scoth-snap in bar 8
      • metre of aria- simple triple w/ a minim beat
        • comment in Baroque era for ground basses
      • hemiola bars 4-5 of aria
    • Structure
      • begins and ends in different keys, feature of Baroque
      • aria begins ground bass alone
        • aria is built around g.b
        • but melody doesn't work with g.b
          • Structure
            • begins and ends in different keys, feature of Baroque
            • aria begins ground bass alone
              • aria is built around g.b
              • but melody doesn't work with g.b
                • it is clear in bar 36 onwards that they were out of sync
                  • statements 8 and 9 of ground bass
            • each statement is 5 bars long - unusual expected to be 4
            • ritornelle = outro, statements 10+11
          • it is clear in bar 36 onwards that they were out of sync
            • statements 8 and 9 of ground bass
      • each statement is 5 bars long - unusual expected to be 4
      • ritornelle = outro, statements 10+11
    • Tonality
      • minor
        • fits texts
      • recit ends in Gmin phrygian cadence
        • Gmin throughout recit underlines tragic/dramatic situation
      • variety & colour provided by the chromatic descents in the ground bass
    • Harmony
      • 9-8 suspensions - bar 4
      • mid minor 7th sus.
      • pungent maj 7th against bass
      • striking contrast between min + maj and upward resolving false relations between Eb and Enatural
        • bar 7 and 8
      • starts diatonically moving approaching perfect cadence

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