‘Music for a While’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCy_uGGn7i0 Purcell 1659-1695 ‘Music for a While’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCy_uGGn7i0

‘Music For a While’ by Purcell

‘Music For A While’ was written for the Theatre Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was one of the most famous composers of the Baroque period (1600-1750). He wrote sacred choral music, chamber music, orchestral music and music for the theatre. His pieces for the theatre include both opera and incidental music (songs and instrumental music performed as part of a play). ‘Oedipus’ was a play by the English dramatist John Dryden – it was based on a story by the Greek writer Sophocles. Purcell wrote the incidental music for ‘Oedipus’. ‘Music For a While’ is the second of four movements that Purcell wrote for ‘Oedipus’. It is sung by a priest who is attempting to summon the ghost of a dead king.

‘Music For A While’ has a Ground Bass The song is written for a soprano singer with continuo. The continuo part is usually made up of two instruments – often the cello and harpsichord, which read from the same part. In ‘Music For a While’ the continuo is made up of a bass viol and harpsicord. In the song, Purcell uses a ground bass. This is a repeating melodic phrase in the bass part, similar to a bass guitar riff. * In ‘Music For a While’ the ground bass is 3 bars long. This is unusual for a piece in 4/4 – you’d expect the ground bass to be 2, 4, or 8 bars long. Listen to the ground bass played by your teacher – bars 1-3. * The ground bass is frequently chromatic – there is often a rise between two consecutive notes, e.g. F# to G in bar 1.

‘Music For A While’ has a Ground Bass The shape of the ground bass melody is generally ascending. The ascending shape of the ground bass is contrasted with the descending shape of the voice part – this is known as contrary motion. * The ground bass changes in bar 14 – it no longer follows the pattern in bars 1-3. * In bar 29 the original ground bass from bars 1-3 resumes and then lasts until the end of the piece.

Musical Features of the Vocal Part * Purcell uses a number of musical devices to convey the meaning of the lyrics. There are a number of examples of word painting in ‘Music For a While’: In bars 23-25 the short notes (quavers with quaver rests in between) sound like raindrops as the singer repeats the word ‘drop’. In bar 12, there is a discord between the continuo and the singer to illustrate the word ‘pains’. This then resolves as the lyrics move to the word ‘eas’d’. The word ‘eternal’ in bars 20-21 is held over a number of notes to make it longer. The word ‘eternal’ is also melismatic – there are many notes to one syllable. Most of the rest of the song is syllabic – one note to one syllable.

Musical Features of the Vocal Part * In bars 17 and 18 the music stops (apart from the continuo) for a quaver to emphasise the word ‘dead’. Most of the key words and phrases are repeated, which makes them stand out. Purcell also places key words or syllables on the main beats to highlight them further.

‘Music For a While’ is in a Minor Key * The structure of the music is ternary form – ABA. Section A: bars 1-10; Section B: bars 11-28; Section A: bars 29 - end The main tonality of the piece is minor and it is in the key of A minor. The minor key reinforces the sombre nature of the lyrics. The perfect cadence in bars 3-4 establishes the key of A minor. Section B passes through several closely related keys: Bars 15 & 28: E major Bar 18: G major Bar 22: C major (relative major key) Bar 23: A major (tonic major) Bar 29: A minor (the tonic key) when the ground bass returns

‘Music For a While’ is in a Minor Key * There are quite a few suspensions in the piece – this is where a note is held over a change of chord in order to create a dissonance. For example, in bar 17, a D in vocal part on the word ‘Alecto’ is tied over the bar line and creates a discord against the C in the continuo part.