3.1.1

Music for a While

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Music for a While

Your first set work for Vocal Music is Music for a While by H. Purcell.

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Music for a While

  • Composed in 1692 and taken from the incidental music from the play Oedipus.
  • Purcell uses typical features of the Baroque period.
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Dynamics

  • As this piece is written during the Baroque period there are no dynamic markings in the score.
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Rhythm

  • Overall the tempo is slow.
  • In the Baroque period Laments were composed with basso continuo and voice.
  • They reflected feelings of sorrow and sadness.
  • Characteristics of a Lament included falling phrases, a slow tempo and minor keys.
  • Music for a While incorporates all of these features.
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Basso continuo

  • Typically the basso continuo would be 1, 2 4 or 8 bars in length.
  • Here the basso continuo here is 3 bars long.

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