Western Classical Music

Background etc.

• Written in 1741
• A chorus for SATB choirs
• It is about the birth, life and death of Jesus
• In the Baroque era
• Instruments playing are: trumpets, timpani, harsichord continuo, strings, horns, oboes and bassoons.
• There are four main motifs:

And the Glory of the Lord

Shall be revealed

And all flesh shall see it together

For the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The Motifs

Motif 1 is syllabic

Motif 2 is melismatic and uses sequences which descend

Motif 3 has the same five-note idea repeated used  

Motif 4 has long notes (pedal points) at mostly the same pitch-emphasises words  

All are introduced simply and then woven into the music so that parts overlap and play in canon and also imitate each other.  

Tonality, texture and tempo

• A major, modulating to E major and B major- joyful

• Mainly homophonic but occasionally polyphonic
• 

• Written as Allegro so it is quick and lively

• In 3/4 but feels like 2/4 at times-a hemiola

Background etc.

• Written in 1788
• 
• Written for:

flutes, oboes, bassoon, clarinets, horns, violins, cellos and double basses

• Movement 1 is in sonata form
• 

Exposition-Development-Recapitulation

Exposition                                                                                                                                                   

First Subject:

• Marked Molto Allegro
• 
• In 4/4
• G minor
• Piano
• Question and answer phrasing, four bars each
• dark intense mood
• Second four bar phrase ends in a perfect cadence-sounds finished



Exposition:

Bridge/Transition passage:

• forceful, lots of sforzandos
• 
• violins play a descending sequence over low string tremolo
• Bb major plus chromatic chords for tension

Second Subject:

• Bb major
• longer note values
• more relaxed mood
• has falling phrases
• First four bar phrase ends in an imperfect cadence and the second ends in a perfect cadence

Exposition

Codetta:

• G minor again
• Fnishes off the exposition by replaying it
• Imitation between clarinets and bassoons

Development

• altered melodies
• 
• rapid key changes (modulation)
• imitation
• contrapuntal textures
• Much use of the falling semitone motif.

Contrapuntal means having two or more independant but harmonically related melodic parts playing together.

Recapitulation

This is basically a repeat of the Exposition although it is slightly different and a bit shorter.

 It begins in the key of G minor and opens with the first subject. The second subject then follows but is now in G minor.

The whole movement ends with a coda where the whole orchestra plays repeated perfect cadences giving it a finished sound.

Development

• altered melodies
• 
• rapid key changes (modulation)
• imitation
• contrapuntal textures
• Much use of the falling semitone motif.

Contrapuntal means having two or more independant but harmonically related melodic parts playing together.

Recapitulation

This is basically a repeat of the Exposition although it is slightly different and a bit shorter.

 It begins in the key of G minor and opens with the first subject. The second subject then follows but is now in G minor.

The whole movement ends with a coda where the whole orchestra plays repeated perfect cadences giving it a finished sound.

Background etc.

• Chopin composed during the romantic period
• 
• This prelude was completed in 1839

Basic Structure:

ABA1 Bars 1–27 Bars 28–75 Bars 76–end Major key, long melody heard several times Minor key, new melody heard      mainly in the bass A shorter version of the opening A section

Section A

• 4/4
• 
• Db Major
• A fully written turn is featured, (or septuplet)
• Homophonic
• Repeated A flat quavers begin in this section and are played throughout (raindrops), can be called the pedal note because they play constantly and against changing harmonies.
• Ends with and imperfect cadence

Section B

• C# minor- enharmonic modulation because D flat is the same as C#
• sotto voce- in an undertone
• raindrop note now in treble clef
• long melody mostly crotchets and in the bass part
• Mood is darker
• Tension created by dissonant harmonies

Section A1

D flat major

septuplet replaced with 10 semi-quavers

Raindrop note stops briefly for the first and only time

Eight-bar coda follows which is monophonic

Final sounding ending with a perfect cadence at a pianissimo dynamic