Vivaldi/Bach- Concerto for Four Pianos 1st movement

This is one of the pieces currently in my repertoire, so I thought I'd analyse it to get a better understanding of it.
The piece is, as the name would suggest, written for four pianos (though originally of course it would have been written for harpsichords, however Vivaldi composed the original piece for four violins, and Bach merely arranged it for keyboards-"cembali".) Sometimes there are strings involved too, because that is how Vivaldi composed it and it was the Baroque period! The piece is in A minor, and is in 4/4. The four keyboards are constantly in interaction with each other, whether it be imitation or playing in harmony.
The structure of the piece is not clear, though at the end the first sections return. The piece begins on the dominant, with only the 1st cembalo playing single notes, then the 2nd cembalo comes in on the same notes, so that they are playing in unison, although their parts are different. They play together for a bit, then in bar 5, the other two parts come in and all the parts play chords, the tonic chord. For much of the rest of the piece, the parts all play different melodic ideas at different points, all of the ideas interchanging between parts. This creates the idea of imitation. Each part gets a solo, the 1st cembalo having the first one, then the 4th cembalo comes in, it's left hand playing in rhythmic imitation of the 1st cembalo (three semiquavers). A few bars later the other parts come back in. Then later on the 2nd cembalo has a solo, and the 3rd cembalo comes in half way through, just like the 1st and 4th cembali. However then the 3rd cembalo goes away again and the 2nd cembalo keeps playing.

I used this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_pbxdfwi7Y The movement ends at 4:50.

Bach Brandenburg Concerto no.4, 1st Mvmt. (Allegro)

The piece is from a Concerto Grosso, a form popular in the Baroque period. It displays the typical format of the ripieno (the orchestra), playing against a smaller group of instruments (the concertino)- here, the violin and two flutes. Into the piece is written two echo flutes ("flauti d'echo"), which is quite mysterious, because we today don't know of an instrument that this could refer to. In the piece is written a main violin, but also a first violin; another of the pieces mysteries.The full concerto was transcribed into a harpsichord concerto. The concerto is one of 6, the "Six Concerts a plusieurs instruments". Bach presented them to Christian Ludwig in 1721, although they were probably composed well before then.
This piece is for all strings, continuo and two flauti d'echo. It is in G major and is in compound time (3/8). It is also at a lively tempo (Allegro). The piece begins with chords making up a perfect cadence being played by all the string parts and continuo, and the flutes playing a duet of arpeggios and sustained notes. Then the note lengths get shorter (bar 13), with semiquavers and quavers added in, the 1st violin sounding out above the other parts, at a higher pitch, or in unison with the flutes. At about 3:00, the violin part becomes heavily ornamented and it plays extremely fast patterns, generally based around scales. Sometimes the flutes have a solo part, and they play the melody line. Even though the violin part seems to be so much more complex than the flute parts, in actual fact the parts that the flutes play are advanced for the time; violins would always have had much more complex parts anyway. The flutes' part becomes more complex, however, whilst the violin accompanies them. The piece occasionally comes back to the cadential chords that there was at the start.

Rameau- Zais Overture

This piece is the overture from an opera composed by Rameau, a french Baroque composer, (1683-1764). The piece is in D major and is in 2. It depicts the four elements coming of of "Chaos". The piece begins with just the Tambour playing a rhythm on just one note, C. The Tambour does not move from this note at any point throughout the piece. Soon the bassoons come in as well (0:20) and then the strings, with scalic patterns (0:58). Throughout the piece there are occasional interruptions from the drum (e.g. 0:56). Although the melodies begin quite simply, the piece soon picks up and gains speed (0:58), with the tempo getting faster and also the different parts having more complex rhythms e.g. the violins with their semiquavers. The piece again gets faster ("Plus Anime") (1:39) and arpeggiation becomes very apparent from all the parts playing. Then the piece goes into 3 beats in a bar (2:36). Next the violins have running scalic patterns which turn into sequences. The other violins join in and there is a sort of duet between both parts. Other parts come in and play chords, whilst the second violin parts drops out again. Soon enough we get the parts playing in imitation of one another, with flutes and bassoons imitating the strings (e.g. 3:04). At (3:16), all the parts play one fast, descending scale from F to the F below it, followed by a pause (due to the rests). This brings the section to a sort of cadence point, before the piece continues. Then all the parts play together for the first time, as though the cadence point has brought them all together. They are now a hubbub of motion and vitality. After only a few bars, however, the flutes have a solo, accompanied by chords in the lower parts. Then the flutes switch positions with the violins, so that the violins are playing a solo.

I used http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XziYugk4T0c
25 mins spent.

Thomas Tallis- If ye Love Me

This song was written for an unaccompanied choir consisting of Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass. The text comes from The New Testament, and it is sometimes described as a Motet. This is because the words are heard very clearly by all the parts and the piece is religious (because of the text used). The piece is in 4/4 and is roughly Andante (75 crotchet beats per minute). It is through-composed, because the phrases all have different melodies. The piece is all legato, which works well for a church setting, where the piece would usually be performed, because it fits the calm mood of the service and also allows for easier comprehension of the text, because it is slow and legato, so people can more easily hear the words.
The piece is in E major, and begins with the tonic chord. In the first bar, the word Love is emphasised because 3 out of the 4 parts suddenly ascend (though with varying sizes of interval). From bar 5 the parts then imitate each other, and when it says 'pray' ("I will pray the father"), word painting is used because the parts jump up, as though the person is rising up to heaven, to God when they pray. On the word comforter, the parts come to a sort of cadence which lands back on the tonic, which reflects the word, because it is comforting to come to a resting/"homely" point. In bars 14-16, all the parts have a staggered entry. In bars 19-26/27, each part says the words "ev'n the sp'rit of truth" three times. This technique of the use of 3 dates back to the Medieval period when it was used ubiquitously in Sacred music, because it represents the Holy Trinity, arguably the centre of Christianity. The piece begins soft, then in about the 4th bar the piece gets louder. This happens again in about bar 9, and then diminuendos again in bar 13 for the end of the phrase.

Jacques Arcadelt (1507-1568) - Ave Maria

The title of this piece means 'Hail Mary', a common title for a Sacred piece. Therefore we know that the piece is probably sacred without even looking at the actual music. However when looking more in detail at the music and text, this sacredness becomes more clear.

However, looking at the piece we can see a number of characteristics that show that it is sacred and was therefore probably sung in a mass, for example the text referring to 'Holy Mary', and Jesus and 'ora'- begging to the 'Sancta Maria'. Also 'Dominus Tecum', the Lord is with you. Finally at the end there is an 'Amen'.

In terms of the music, there are also things that show that the piece is Sacred. For example the use of three. The words 'ora, ora pro nobis, Sancta Maria' are repeated three times in a row. Also for words like Dominus, Ave Maria, Benedicta, (Master, Hail Mary and Blessed)- the most holy words in the music, there is a crotchet rest at the beginning of the bar , so that the word is sung as a triple meter bar (three crotchets), again the use of three. We know that people in early times thought that the number three was an appropriate way to show holiness because it represents the Holy Trinity. The end of the piece has an Amen. This is representative of prayers, where you say Amen at the end. Again, this shows that the piece is sacred. Also the word Amen is sung as a Plagal Cadence (V, IV), which is the very typical cadence used specifically for the word Amen. 

There is word painting in the piece as well which is typical of the period and especially for sacred music, for example often with the word Sancta, the melody rises, symbolising rising up to heaven/ God. On the word Jesus, there is a dotted minim with a pause, so that a lot of emphasis is put on the word, to make people be fully aware of it. 

Machaut Essay- Messe de Notre Dame

"Analyse and discuss what you hear in this extract in terms of the musical elements."

This piece was written in the Medieval period, probably before about 1365, which means that there are a number of elements in it that are common to the period. It is also a 'Kyrie'- sacred piece, and a movement from a mass. Because of these things, the piece is written in a specific way.

The meter of the piece is triple, because it represents the Holy Trinity. There are also three main sections in the piece, 'Kyrie', 'Christe' and another 'Kyrie'. These three sections are each repeated three times. These uses of Three all represent the Holy Trinity. The fact that the piece is sacred is the reason for these references to the Holy Trinity. People thought that this idea of three was 'perfect' and beautiful because of it represented the Holy Trinity.

There is a Cantus Firmus taken from the plainchant melody, "Kyrie Cunctipotens Genitor". It can be found in the Tenor part. Tenor means 'hold' in Latin, which is why it is used as the Cantus Firmus part. In this part there is a four-note Talea, with a dotted semibreve, a minim, a semibreve and another dotted semibreve, (however these rhythms would not have been written into the original score) This is called Isorhythm.

There are other parts of the piece which indicate that it was written in the Medieval period, for example in Bars 6 and 7, there is what is known as a DLT (double leading tone) cadence, ending in open fifths. These fifths are very typical of Medieval music. More open fifths can be found in bars 15, 21, 27, 32 and throughout the piece. The use of the modal tonality also indicates the Medieval period (The piece is in Dorian mode). Each section begins and ends with a perfect cadence, that is stable. 

The different parts have different roles in the piece. The Tenor and Contra tenor provide the upper voices with harmonies. The upper voices move quicker, with note lengths like crotchets and quavers, which the other two parts do not have. 

There are other musical features that do not necessarily indicate the Medieval period, like how there are many thirds and sixths used to give a sense of forward motion in the piece. These, however, always resolve to perfect chords in order to maintain the feeling of the mode. The text setting is very melismatic, and the voices move in small intervals (the widest interval being a fifth). In the 'Christe', both the Tenor and Contra tenor parts are isorhythmic and there is the use of 'hocketing' also.

Connecting Musical Styles using Musical Elements

Meaning

Textual Meaning

• Baroque and Renaissance  music- Word Painting
• Blues/ Jazz singing - Expressive Improvisation
• Polynesian region (Pacific Ocean) -Logogenic
• Religious Music e.g. Gospel
• Opera

Many styles of music also have meaning, but it is not expressed/communicated with words, rather with emotions caused by the music, sometimes based on previous experiences. Some alternative non-textual styles are:

• Yodelling
• In some countries, styles used for healing (without words)
• Communal music making
• Sometimes in religious music, the text is not understood by many people (e.g. Hebrew, Latin etc.) but the meaning is still conveyed

Sometimes the words are used not for their meaning, but through the meaning created through the sound of the words.