Tuesday, August 11, 2009
More Work on the Earnest Puritan
A Moral Little Tale opens with a short introductory harmony identical to the keys of the first part, namely E-flat, B-flat, E-flat, C minor, G minor, C minor, to which the chorus sings the title. The opening number, “There Once was an Earnest Puritan”, transposed to E-flat, for a start has rough harmony added to the first phrase. A waltz or minuet-like instrumental interlude on the word “dance” is cut short by the narrator repeating “wrong to dance”, with “dance” harmonized by a tritone, the Devil’s interval (as some would say) and the bass line echoing in a distorted way the dance rhythm. The chord progression from the introduction forms the basis for the bridge to the Narrator’s second phrase.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Overall Structure of A Moral Little Tale
Yesterday’s little exercise in vocal writing has ballooned to an ambition to set the entirety of “A Moral Little Tale” as an oratorio for small chorus, three soloists (soprano, tenor, and bass), and a few instruments. The story is just over 400 words, so it’s not that enormous a task.
The three soloists sing the roles of Narrator (soprano), Devil (Tenor), and Puritan (Bass). The text is divided into 16 numbers:
1. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
There once was an earnest Puritan
who held it wrong to dance.
And for his principles he labored hard,
his was a zealous life.
2. Chorus, B-flat major, a chorale:
There loved him all of those
who hated the dance;
and those that loved the dance
respected him too.
He is a pure, good man
and acts according to his lights.
3. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
He did much to discourage dancing
and helped to close
several Sunday entertainments.
4. Puritan, C minor, plain song:
Some kinds of poetry I like
but not the fanciful kind
as that might corrupt
the thoughts of the very young.
5. Narrator, G minor, a folk song:
He always dressed in black.
He was interested in morality
and was quite sincere.
6. Chorus, C minor, a chorale:
There grew to be much respect on Earth
for his honest face
and his flowing pure-white beard.
7. Narrator, G minor, a recitative:
One night the Devil appeared
unto him in a dream and said
8. Devil and Puritan, B-flat major, a duet:
[Devil] "Well done."
[Puritan] "Avaunt!"
[Devil] "No, no, friend."
[Puritan] "Dare not to call me 'friend,'"
9. Devil, D major, Da Capo Aria:
A Section:
Have you not done my work?
Have you not put apart
the couples that would dance?
Have you not checked their laughter
and their accursed mirth?
Have you not worn my livery of black?
B Section (A major):
O friend, friend, you do not know
what a detestable thing it is
to sit in hell and hear people
being happy, and singing in theatres
and singing in the fields, and whispering after dances
under the moon.
10. Puritan, B minor, plain song:
It is you that put into their hearts
the evil desire to dance;
and black is God's own livery, not yours.
11. Devil, G major modulating to B major at the end, a through-composed song:
He only made the silly colors
and useless dawns, hill-slopes facing South,
and butterflies flapping along them
as soon as the sun rose high,
and foolish maidens coming out to dance,
and the warm mad West wind,
and worst of all that pernicious influence Love.
12. Puritan, E minor, a plain song:
Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!
13. Devil, E major modulating to C major at the end, a through-composed song:
It's true.
It isn't I that send
the village fools muttering
and whispering two by two
in the woods when the harvest moon is high,
it's as much as I can bear
even to see them dancing.
14. Puritan and Devil, F major modulating to B-flat major, a duet:
[Puritan]
Then I have mistaken right for wrong;
but as soon as I wake I will fight you yet.
[Devil]
0, no you don't.
You don't wake up out of this sleep.
15. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
Somewhere far away
Hell's black steel doors were opened,
and arm in arm those two were drawn within,
and the doors shut behind them
and still they went arm in arm,
trudging further and further,
into the deeps of Hell.
16. Chorus, E-flat major, a chorale:
It was that Puritan's punishment
to know that those that he cared for
on Earth would do evil as he had done.
The sixteen numbers fall into three parts. 1-7 provide background and introduce the Puritan and Devil. The debate between the Devil and Puritan is the middle part (numbers 8-14), which moves between less-than-closely related keys to provide a bit of dramatic tension, sort of like the development section of a sonata. The last two numbers return to the opening key of E-flat and provide the moral of the story.
The Narrator represents the populace at large, something of an Everyman while the Chorus delivers commentary, hence the chorale style. The Devil, being the bad guy, of course gets all the good solo parts; the Puritan is confined to simple, unadorned plain song.
The three soloists sing the roles of Narrator (soprano), Devil (Tenor), and Puritan (Bass). The text is divided into 16 numbers:
1. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
There once was an earnest Puritan
who held it wrong to dance.
And for his principles he labored hard,
his was a zealous life.
2. Chorus, B-flat major, a chorale:
There loved him all of those
who hated the dance;
and those that loved the dance
respected him too.
He is a pure, good man
and acts according to his lights.
3. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
He did much to discourage dancing
and helped to close
several Sunday entertainments.
4. Puritan, C minor, plain song:
Some kinds of poetry I like
but not the fanciful kind
as that might corrupt
the thoughts of the very young.
5. Narrator, G minor, a folk song:
He always dressed in black.
He was interested in morality
and was quite sincere.
6. Chorus, C minor, a chorale:
There grew to be much respect on Earth
for his honest face
and his flowing pure-white beard.
7. Narrator, G minor, a recitative:
One night the Devil appeared
unto him in a dream and said
8. Devil and Puritan, B-flat major, a duet:
[Devil] "Well done."
[Puritan] "Avaunt!"
[Devil] "No, no, friend."
[Puritan] "Dare not to call me 'friend,'"
9. Devil, D major, Da Capo Aria:
A Section:
Have you not done my work?
Have you not put apart
the couples that would dance?
Have you not checked their laughter
and their accursed mirth?
Have you not worn my livery of black?
B Section (A major):
O friend, friend, you do not know
what a detestable thing it is
to sit in hell and hear people
being happy, and singing in theatres
and singing in the fields, and whispering after dances
under the moon.
10. Puritan, B minor, plain song:
It is you that put into their hearts
the evil desire to dance;
and black is God's own livery, not yours.
11. Devil, G major modulating to B major at the end, a through-composed song:
He only made the silly colors
and useless dawns, hill-slopes facing South,
and butterflies flapping along them
as soon as the sun rose high,
and foolish maidens coming out to dance,
and the warm mad West wind,
and worst of all that pernicious influence Love.
12. Puritan, E minor, a plain song:
Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!
13. Devil, E major modulating to C major at the end, a through-composed song:
It's true.
It isn't I that send
the village fools muttering
and whispering two by two
in the woods when the harvest moon is high,
it's as much as I can bear
even to see them dancing.
14. Puritan and Devil, F major modulating to B-flat major, a duet:
[Puritan]
Then I have mistaken right for wrong;
but as soon as I wake I will fight you yet.
[Devil]
0, no you don't.
You don't wake up out of this sleep.
15. Narrator, E-flat major, a folk song:
Somewhere far away
Hell's black steel doors were opened,
and arm in arm those two were drawn within,
and the doors shut behind them
and still they went arm in arm,
trudging further and further,
into the deeps of Hell.
16. Chorus, E-flat major, a chorale:
It was that Puritan's punishment
to know that those that he cared for
on Earth would do evil as he had done.
The sixteen numbers fall into three parts. 1-7 provide background and introduce the Puritan and Devil. The debate between the Devil and Puritan is the middle part (numbers 8-14), which moves between less-than-closely related keys to provide a bit of dramatic tension, sort of like the development section of a sonata. The last two numbers return to the opening key of E-flat and provide the moral of the story.
The Narrator represents the populace at large, something of an Everyman while the Chorus delivers commentary, hence the chorale style. The Devil, being the bad guy, of course gets all the good solo parts; the Puritan is confined to simple, unadorned plain song.
Friday, August 07, 2009
A Moral Little Tale
I’ve been reading through Charles Adams’ How to Put a Melody on Paper which has some interesting techniques for setting text, besides its main intent of teaching a beginner the fundamentals of writing music. An experienced composer, especially one who has written for voice, would no doubt start with a reasonably good setting of a text. But for those of us, like me, who lacks both experience and innate talent, having a step-by-step guide is essential. Adams’ techniques are just that: take a text, figure out the accents, match the accents to a rhythmic beat of quarter notes, modify the note durations to highlight the significant words and meaning of the text, and set the pitches to yield a singable vocal line that compliments the text and the rhythm.
Taking the opening sentence from Lord Dunsany’s “A Moral Little Tale” (from Fifty-one Tales , published in 1914), I take a shot at using Adams’ methods. The text is prose, but Dunsany tends to write with a hint of poetic rhythm, which I think may lend itself to a musical setting.
The initial setting deals only with matching the text accents to musical accents; the oscillation between G and E is meaningless at this point. It is in duple time because triple time has a strong dance connotation. “Labored” in bar 6 slows down the flow of the tune, so the half notes were converted to eighths.
The last phrase, “his was a zealous life”, has an accent mismatch: “His” should be on a stronger beat, so it is shifted to the downbeat of the next measure. The resulting rest in bar 7 sets apart the final phrase and, I think, gives it a bit of emphasis. And to give it a somber, plain, and unadorned feel, the notes are shifted to the super tonic except for a lone E, all sung staccato to remove any lingering sense of lyricism.
The “labored” melisma is given a melodic line that climbs up a tritone, then falls to the dominant. “Principles” is emphasized by giving it sixteenth notes and reducing “he” to an eighth.
The start of the middle phrase descends down from A to “principles”, and “labored” is changed to not reach tonic (no resolution for the Puritan), drop down to an E-flat, and settle on the sub-dominant instead of dominant.
The first phrase climbs step by step to an initial climax on “Puritan”, then peaks on “dance” preceded by a strong leap from the secondary dominant. “Wrong” is emphasized with an E-flat, a sort of frowning minor that contrasts with the happier leap to “dance”.
Taking the opening sentence from Lord Dunsany’s “A Moral Little Tale” (from Fifty-one Tales , published in 1914), I take a shot at using Adams’ methods. The text is prose, but Dunsany tends to write with a hint of poetic rhythm, which I think may lend itself to a musical setting.
The initial setting deals only with matching the text accents to musical accents; the oscillation between G and E is meaningless at this point. It is in duple time because triple time has a strong dance connotation. “Labored” in bar 6 slows down the flow of the tune, so the half notes were converted to eighths.
The last phrase, “his was a zealous life”, has an accent mismatch: “His” should be on a stronger beat, so it is shifted to the downbeat of the next measure. The resulting rest in bar 7 sets apart the final phrase and, I think, gives it a bit of emphasis. And to give it a somber, plain, and unadorned feel, the notes are shifted to the super tonic except for a lone E, all sung staccato to remove any lingering sense of lyricism.
The “labored” melisma is given a melodic line that climbs up a tritone, then falls to the dominant. “Principles” is emphasized by giving it sixteenth notes and reducing “he” to an eighth.
The start of the middle phrase descends down from A to “principles”, and “labored” is changed to not reach tonic (no resolution for the Puritan), drop down to an E-flat, and settle on the sub-dominant instead of dominant.
The first phrase climbs step by step to an initial climax on “Puritan”, then peaks on “dance” preceded by a strong leap from the secondary dominant. “Wrong” is emphasized with an E-flat, a sort of frowning minor that contrasts with the happier leap to “dance”.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Violin Sonatina in A, First Movement
This sonatina is based on a piano and violin work written earlier . My purpose was something that I could play both technically (being a denizen of Suzuki Book One land) and solo, there not being a pianist readily available. The middle section has been rewritten completely since the duet version relies on interplay between the piano and violin. The stepwise half notes, rising and falling, are from the opening two notes and the figures in bars 7, 14, and 15. The recap is in A exclusively; no need pedagogically to focus as much on D. The final bars went though a lot of writing-playing-revising. At one point, the penultimate bar was quarter note E5-D5-E5-E4, then E5-B4-E5-E4, then dropped all together because the quarters were too slow. That seemed to end too abruptly, so the measure was added back in but with the eighth note figure from bar 40 extended and ending on A4, which was a bit lame and anti-climactic. The final form works best, perhaps because it mirrors the opening rise from A4 to A5.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Gradus ad Parnassum
Steps to Parnassus, the title of an ancient treatise on counterpoint, serves as the text for this two-part counterpoint. Parnassus is the home in Greek legend of the muses of poetry, music, and learning. The music is intended to be a meditation on learning counterpoint. If my editorial eye is correct, it even follows the rules and conventions of sixteenth century polyphony. In setting the text, I avoided different syllables starting simultaneously, which should make the text easier to understand when sung. There are only two vowels; “a” is most prominent and “u” is the final vowel for the two primary words. I tended to avoid sounding the two vowels simultaneously as well. Click here for an audio file, sung on "oh" rather than the words.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Piano Sonata in F, Episode 7
This is the end of the second movement, where the marching ostinato makes its third appearance. The right hand manipulates the motive E-C#-D# starting in bar 123 with parallel sixths added. A block chord version follows that fades but the ostinato brings the music back. A retrograde of the motive is stated once, then an embellished variant with sixths or thirds added. A descent from a high C# leads to the motive re-ordered to E-D#-C# which continues the descent to the motive as a chord in bar 134.
In bar 135, the motive is inverted and spread out as triplet quarter notes, then it soars up on triplet sixteenths to a D# and the motive scattered over two octaves. The re-ordered variant from bar 132 makes a second appearance in bar 138 followed by a descent that goes deep, growling with the motive as a chord that is freely extended. Rising out of the depths on triplet sixteenths, the motive appears inverted at different pitches until it is no longer the motive but a sequence of three descending notes.
Those descending triplets dive once more, but briefly, into the bass, then soar up to an F#, then floats back down to a final simple statement of the motive in bar 148. The ostinato continues for one bar alone, then abruptly quits.
In bar 135, the motive is inverted and spread out as triplet quarter notes, then it soars up on triplet sixteenths to a D# and the motive scattered over two octaves. The re-ordered variant from bar 132 makes a second appearance in bar 138 followed by a descent that goes deep, growling with the motive as a chord that is freely extended. Rising out of the depths on triplet sixteenths, the motive appears inverted at different pitches until it is no longer the motive but a sequence of three descending notes.
Those descending triplets dive once more, but briefly, into the bass, then soar up to an F#, then floats back down to a final simple statement of the motive in bar 148. The ostinato continues for one bar alone, then abruptly quits.
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