Belshazzar's Feast William Walton Israelites Lament

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What figures are the Israelites Lament?
Fig 1-7
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Where is the text taken from for the Israelites Lament?
Psalm 137
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What is the text?
By the waters of Babylon. There we sat down; Yea we wept. And hanged our harps upon the willows. For they that wasted us required of us mirth. They that carried us away captive. Required of us a song, sing us one of the songs of Zion.
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What is the text continued?
How shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land
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How does the orchestration 7 bars before fig 1 set the mood?
Use of minor 3rds creates pathos, it sets the mood of lament ready for the psalm. It is marked con rubato. There is a dark haunting cello tune, accompanied by low tessitura tremolo violas.
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What is the key at fig 1?
D minor
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What is the orchestration at fig 1?
Bass clarinet, Organ and timpani which plays a tonic pedal
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What is the significance about the vocals 2 bars after fig 1?
It is the first female entry and they sing a melisma on the word 'waters'
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What is the orchestration 4 bars after fig 1?
There isn't any its a cappella
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On the word 'babylon' what happens?
Dissonance, there is a D and Eb, this shows Babylon as corrupt
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Where is the false relation after fig 1?
Soprano sings an Eb on 'there', the altos sings an E natural on 'Babylon'
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How do the vocal parts move after fig 1?
Smooth movement of vocal parts, which fits the text
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What changes about the vocals after fig 2?
Double chorus
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What is the accompaniment at fig 2?
HEAVY, piano, cello, double bass, timpani and bass drum. This depicts tears falling to the ground
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How is word painting established at fig 2?
Soprano 1, Alto 1 and Tenor 1, have an echo on the word wept, there is a semitone fall every time. There is crunching dissonance, Bass sing A natural, whilst Soprano 2 and Alto 1 sing on an Ab. They also have a melisma on the word 'willows'
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What happens at fig 3?
Short orchestral interlude, it is bordering on atonal. There is an oboe solo, the saxophone then imitates it.
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At fig 4, what purpose do the vocal parts have?
The tenor and basses tell the story 'They were taken away and their captures wanted them to sing'. Whilst the Sopranos and Altos punctuate
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What are the changes in metre after fig 4 and what effect do they have?
3/8, they give driving force
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What is the word painting on the word 'sung'?
There is a pleasant interval, Eb-Cb
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At fig 5 what is the texture and feel?
Homophonic and insistent
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What is the key at fig 5?
Bb major
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What does the metre change to after fig 5, and what does this mean?
3/4 triple metre, growing hysteria
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What happens on the word Zion?
Tritone, ironic as 'Zion' means holy. Whilst the trumpets have triple tonguing
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11 bars after fig 5, what happens to the texture?
4 part free counterpoint and there is a melisma on the word 'sing'
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What is the harmony at fig 6?
Heavily flatside which suggests Ab minor
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How are the double suspensions create at fig 6?
Alto, sings an Cb for the preparation, another Cb for the suspension and a Bb for the resolution. Tenor 1&2 sing an Eb for the preparation another Eb for the suspension and then a Db for the resolution
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What is the accompaniment at fig 6?
There isn't any its a cappella, which is sorrowful
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Where and who sing the false relation at fig 6?
Alto sings a Db and the Bass sings a C and D natural
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What are the chords on the phrase "strange land in a strange land"?
'Strange' Amaj7, 'land' C#min+A, 'in' C#min, 'a' +A, 'strange' Fmaj7, 'land' Bdim+9th
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Where is the text taken from for the Israelites Lament?

Back

Psalm 137

Card 3

Front

What is the text?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is the text continued?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

How does the orchestration 7 bars before fig 1 set the mood?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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