Haydn: My mother bids me bind my hair.

• Haydn was writing songs for amateur market in England - particularly for young ladies to play and sing. 
• This comes from a group of pieces that Haydn arranged, based on British folk songs. 

Elements typical of classical period include:

• Predominantly in the major key, A major. 
• Balanced phrases - the vocal tune begins with an antecedent, a 4 bar phrase ending with an imperfect cadence, followed by the consequent, a 4 bar phrase ending with a perfect cadence (in the dominant key). 
• Mainly simple diatonic music, with some subtle chromatcism in piano introduction, and later on in the vocals. 
• Modulations to closely related keys - only modulates to the dominant. 
• Use of the new fortepiano, evident in crescendoes, etc. 
• Melody dominated homophony, and heterophony in 'for why, she cries' section. 
• Second inversion cadence at the end of the piano introduction. 

• Designed to be playable by amateur performers. 
• Narrow range in voice part, only an octave from E to E. 
• Text setting is mainly syllabic with short slurs. 
• Most difficult vocal passage occurs in brief chromatic section in bar 23. 
• Vocal part moves mainly in conjunct motion, or simply outlining chords. 
• Right hand of piano mainly doubles the voice part, with elaborations between phrases. 
• Occasional moments of heterophony, e.g. in chromatic section. 

Texture:

• Piano right hand doubles the vioce mostly, with occasional moments of heterophony. 
• Piano texture contains four part texture, e.g. in the opening bar of the piano introduction, which includes a tonic pedal. 
• The left hand of piano occasionally has simple alternating broken chordal notes, for example in the introduction, and sometimes in the right hand also. 
• There are also octaves and thirds in the piano part. 

Structure:

• Simple strophic form, second verse repeats music exactly of first verse. 
• 8 bar piano intrduction, with foreshadows vocal part. 
• Each verse modulates to the dominant in the middle, and then returns to tonic. 
• Simple balances 4 bar phrases in first page, but then phrase lengths become more uneven as song progresses. 

Tonality:

• Functional tonality with only one modulation to the dominant. 
• The whole of the middle section is in the dominant, before returning to tonic at the words, 'alas I scarce can go or creep'. 
• Diatonic music. 
• Chromaticism in the middle section, and in the chromatic descent in the piano introduction. 
• Key is emphasised by tonic and dominant pedal points. 

Harmony:

• Functional harmony emphasis tonic and dominant chords, mainly using root and first inversion chords. 
• Perfect cadences are used, with carefully controlled 2nd inversion chords. 
• Simple diatonic harmony, with dissonance provided by pedal points and suspensions. 
• Appogiaturas and double appogiaturas enliven the harmony. 

Melody:

• Simple diatonic, occasional chromaticism, frequent stepwise progression. 
• Ornaments at the end of phrases, for example end of second vocal phrase.
• Frequented appogiaturas. 

Rhythm and Metre:

• Compound duple, 6/8. 
• Every single phrase begins with an anacrusis of a quaver. 
• Most rhythm consists of simple groupings of quavers and semiquavers, with occasional dotted rhythm. 
• There is a passage of triplets at the end of the piano introduction, followed by demisemiquavers. 
• Rests are used to illustrate sighs in the middle of each verse. 

Text Setting:

• Compresses four verses of text into two verses of song. 
• Some word painting in first verse. 
• Strophic setitng works less well in second verse.