Section Analysis

Intro (Bars 1-3)  Male Soprano Singer

 Harpsichord
 Bass Viol
 Basso Continuo
 Ground bass is a 3-bar loop consisting of
quaver rhythms which have a rising pattern
 The main tonality is A minor reflecting the
sombre, sad nature of the lyrics
 The word setting is mostly syllabic with
some melismatic sections
 Rising pitch of ground bass in first 3 bars
signifies priest attempting to raise King
Laius from the dead by singing ‘Music for a
while’
Extensive use of ornaments in both soprano
and harpsichord (lower mordents bar 1)
Section A (Bars 4-21)  Vocal line mainly syllabic with moments of
melisma
 In the ground bas the first 4 sets of 4
quavers use an ascending sequence
 Intervals of semitones
 Melodic shape is arpeggio based
 At the end of the ground bass there is an
octave fall
 Embellished with dotted rhythms,
mordents, grace notes and appoggiaturas
 RH Harpsichord plays a ‘realisation’
 ‘wond’ring’ (bar 10) melismatic descending
legato melody (word painting)
 ‘wond’ring’is repeated in an ascending
sequence alternating between voice and
harpsichord
 ‘pains’ (bar 12) dissonance of E in melody
against D in bass
 Many laments (songs displaying sorrowful
feelings through falling phrases, minor keys
and slow tempo) (bar 23-26)
 ‘pains were eas’d’ dissonance and
resolution is presented as it falls in a
descending sequence (bar 13-14)
 Ground bass is heard 4 1/2 times in the
tonic key before it starts to modulate in bar
14 using motifs of the original ground bass
 ‘free the dead’ is in key of G maj containing
rising melodies (bar 16-18)
 ‘eternal’ lengthy melisma with repeating
alternate notes showing everlasting
atmosphere (bar 20 word painting)
 Much of the music is conjunct but passing
notes are frequent
  Important words and phrases are
emphasised through repeated words (bar 1
‘music’ or bars 7-9 ‘shall all’
 Leaps are small and usually no greater than
a perfect fourth (bar 7)
 Use of sequences (bar 7-8)
 The tonality is sometimes ambiguous due
to the chromatic and non-diatonic nature
of the ground bass
 The texture is homophonic with one main
melody and an accompaniment however
the elaborate realisation played by the RH
harpsichord makes the texture feel
polyphonic at times
 Descending scale but ascending sequence
(bar 11-12)
 Chords are diatonic and functional
 Dissonance are infrequent but can be seen
on ‘pains’ (bar 12), and ‘eas’d’ (bar 13-14)
 Descending sequences (bar 13)
 Modulation to Em (bar 14 and bar 27), G
(bar 16-17) and C (bar 21)
 No dynamic markings
 Melisma/word painting on ‘free’ (bar 16)
Section B (Bars 22-28)  Music and lyrics persuade Alecto to drop
the snakes from her head and the whip
from her hand
 ‘drop’ descending sequential pattern of 3
notes (bar 23)
 Onomatopoeic music settings match the
word
 ‘drop’ descending pattern on weak off-beat
and sung with unusual repetition of nine
times (bar 25)
 Perfect cadence
 Sharpened third (Tierce de Picardie) creates
major chord (word painting bar 23)
 False relation dissonant (F natural sounds
strange against F# in bar 23)
 Occasional syncopation on ‘drop’ (bar 24)
 Arpeggiation to sustain chords
 Modulation to E maj (bar 27)
Section A1 (Bar 28—38)  Repetition of text is used such as ‘Music’ at
the start and in bar 29
 Ground bass returns to the repeating
pattern from the start of the piece which is
much shorter
 Ground bass is minor, straight forward
rhythm made up of quavers, slow tempo,
ending with a perfect cadence, solemn
mood and the use of chromatic notes and is

Extra notes:
 Purcell was an English composer who lived
between 1659 and 1695, during the
Baroque period
 His father directed the choir at
Westminster Abbey and as teenager henry
became the organist their too
 Purcell is known for composing dance
suites, trio sonatas, as well as operas and
songs. Dido’s lament from his opera Dido
and Aeneas is one of his most well-known
pieces and like Music for a While makes use
of ground bass and word-painting
 Almost all of his music was commissioned
from wealthy patrons and royalty and so it
was written in the popular styles of the
time which they would enjoy
3 bars long
 He final chord is a spread arpeggiated
chord as harpsichords cannot sustain long
chords
 Tonality returns to Am (bar 29)
 4/4 quadruple time
 Slow tempo
 Perfect cadence (Ic-V-I in bar 34-35)

 Purcell was influence by the Italian style,
which was characterised by double dotted
notes and da capo arias
 Da Capo Aria: ABA or ternary form means
‘from the beginning again with extra
embellishments in the repeated section A
 This piece was written in the Baroque era,
composed in around 1692
 It was written for a play telling the Greek
myth of Oedipus
 This song features the character of Alecto.
She was a furie or goddess whose job was
to punish those who had committed sins.
She was Medusa like creature who had
snakes for hair, blood dripping from her
eyes and armed with a whip.
 This aria is the music which calms (beguiles)
Alecto until she drops her whip, and the
snakes fall from her head.
 This is the second of 4 movements Purcell
wrote for they play as ‘incidental music’
performed between the dramatic parts of
the play
 Baroque ornamentation used in the song
includes mordents, appoggiaturas, grace
notes and arpeggiation
 The predominantly minor key suits the
sombre nature of the play and the text