Background information and performance circumstances

Transcription

1 Rachel Prtman: The Duchess The Duchess and End titles,, Six Years Later and Never See Yur Children gain (Fr cmpnent 3: ppraising) ackgrund infrmatin and perfrmance circumstances The cmpser Rachel Prtman was brn in 1960, in Surrey and was educated at Charterhuse Schl and Oxfrd University. Her early wrk included writing music fr student film and theatre prductins, which led eventually t televisin wrk, including music fr Oranges are Nt the Only Fruit (C), Mike Leigh s Fur Days in July and Jim Hensn s Stryteller. She has since written music fr ver 100 films, mst famusly fr Chclat and Cider Huse Rules. Her scre fr Emma wn her the cademy ward (Oscar) fr est Original Scre in 1996 (she was the first female cmpser t win in this categry) She has als written a children s pera The Little Prince and a musical based n The Little Huse n the Prairie. Her musical style has been described as lyrical and accessible. She was awarded the OE in The piece The Duchess was a 2008 film, directed by Saul Gibb, starring Kiera Knightley. It was based n the eventful and cntrversial life f Gergiana Cavendish, Duchess f Devnshire. Set in the late eighteenth century, the scre includes mvements by cntemprary cmpsers eethven and Haydn, as well as Prtman s wn music. Perfrming frces and their handling Prtman uses a fairly limited rchestral palate here, using instruments that might have made up the rchestra at the time in which the film was set (the Classical perid): Wdwind Hrns and trumpet

2 Timpani Harp Pian Strings. The textures are dminated by the string sectin, with mst f the meldic interest (in the cues set here) being in the upper string parts: wed, arpeggiated accmpaniment figures are favured ( The Duchess and Mistake f Yur Life ) Pizzicat ff-beat chrds (). sl vilin is used in The Duchess (frm bar 17) and in the crrespnding sectins in Six Years Later and End Titles. The harp is used as an accmpanying instrument thrughut, playing quaver figures ( The Duchess ) r arpeggi figures (). The pian plays a prminent part in the middle sectin f, playing a plaintive mid-range meldy ver upward arpeggi figures. Timpani are used t prvide an stinat pedal in. Hrns and wdwind are used t prvide harmnic filling/dubling. There is very little use f individual wdwind r brass timbres fr imprtant meldic ideas. Mst f the writing is restrained and nn-virtusic, aviding extremes f range and dynamics. Structure The Duchess Uses three ideas, all in the same key D majr. ars 1 16 String meldy with harp/string quaver accmpaniment and ff-beat string chrds ars Sl vilin meldy C ars ars present tutti idea using an auxiliary figure ars sl vilin plays idea based n bars Intrductin ars 1 18 Lw string chrds ver bass pedal and timpani stinat ars ars are bars 19 26, transpsed up a tne (G minr minr) Same rhythm, played fur times

3 ars Pian meldy, backed by strings/wdwind ars are bars 35 38, a tne lwer (a sequence) ars Meldy frm 19, an ctave higher Crtchet cuntermeldy using rcking thirds Secnd half f idea altered t allw extended dminant chrd (bars 57 59) ars Tutti versin f idea (an ctave higher) ars Uses first phrase f Ends n unreslved 6/4 chrd Intrductin ars 1 2 Establishes strng D Majr tnality ars 3 23 Triadic meldic ideas, cmbined with a chrmatic lwer auxiliary Link ars Intrductin texture used, with augmented triad fr interest ars Material frm The Duchess sectin ars Frm The Duchess sectin ars Frm The Duchess C sectin Cda ars Quaver fifths frm pening f the Duchess Never See Yur Children gain ars 1 21 ars Gently dissnant string quaver figures ver sustained descending bass line Slw, rising stepwise meldy Textures and material frm pening sectin f Mistake f Yur Life Finishes n dissnant/unreslved chrd

4 End titles Similar in cntent and structure t The Duchess (Ideas C) ars 1 8 Shrtened frm The Duchess C ars 9 24 ars Slight variatins made (sme bars mitted) n material frm The Duchess Repeated and extended D C ars ars Material based n auxiliary figure frm The Duchess (bars 35 36) cts as a cda Texture Mainly hmphnic textures, supprting the meldy. Ostinat textures used: Quaver fifth accmpaniment in The Duchess. Timpani texture at pening f. Pedal textures tnic bass pedal bars in The Duchess. ls Tnic D pedal thrughut Never see yur children again Tnality s in much film music, the relatively shrt cues d nt ften allw fr, r require, mdulatin t sustain interest The Duchess Mdal D majr. Cnsistent use f C[natural] (flattened seventh) suggests Mixlydian mde. G minr. Mixture f diatnic minr (with F s) and mdal passages (with F[natural]s). Sme passages slip int minr briefly (b 27) Final unreslved secnd inversin chrd leaves cue sunding unfinished. Mdally inflected D majr.

5 Never See Yur Children gain D minr. C s imply transpsed elian mde. Dissnant and unreslved final chrd leaves tnality in dubt. End Titles Mdal D majr (see The Duchess ). Harmny The harmny is predminantly tnal, but the presence f mdal elements, and the avidance f cnventinal functinal prgressins, is mre characteristic f nn-functinal harmny. Little r n use f cnventinal cadence prgressins (the mve t the extended chrd V at bars f culd be interpreted as an imperfect cadence). Frequent use f the prgressin I V (minr dminant): D m prgressin in The Duchess and in. Gm Dm (and m Em) used in (bars 19 34). Relatively small number f chrds used in all cues. Harmnic sequence used in idea f : Gm E F Dm (bars 35 42). Flattened chrd VII (F) (bar 39). Darker cues use mre dissnant material Opening f uses dissnant minr ninths and elevenths (b 11). Simultaneus secnds and thirds in pening idea f Never See Yur Children gain (bar 5). The ending f Never See Yur Children gain uses descending harmnies, ver a tnic pedal, finishing n chrd that cmbines a D pedal with a G minr triad and a dissnant D. Mst chrds are three-nte triads (majr and minr). One r tw minr seventh chrds are used, r are created by harmny. Sme uncnventinal secnd inversin chrds used at the end f (bar 81). ugmented chrds used (fr clur) in the link sectin f (bar 25). Meldy Meldies here are mstly built frm tw-, fur- r eight-bar units, with predictable and clear phrase endings.

6 The Duchess Three ideas: uilt frm a tw-bar idea (bars 1 2) expanded by sequence in bars 3 4. uxiliary shape in bar 2 is used later in the cue (b 35). asically a triadic idea. ased arund the D majr triad. Descends in later phrases frm tnic t subdminant via the flattened leading nte (C natural) (bar 22). C uxiliary idea (bars 35 36) develped frm bar 2. Descending stepwise idea, als using flattened seventh, based n idea frm bars 7 8. Tw meldic ideas: Triadic ideas. Rising, stepwise figure, initially using the first five ntes f G minr scale (but expanded t cver an ctave in the secnd phrase). Expanded by transpsitin int minr. Pian idea, featuring auxiliaries and a rising and falling minr sixth. Expanded by descending sequence. Decrated at time with chrmatic lwer auxiliary ntes (bar 6). Never See Yur Children gain Slw, rising stepwise idea. Rcking quaver figures thrughut. End Titles See The Duchess.

7 Rhythm, temp and metre The Duchess Simple Quadruple time at = 116. Hwever, the nte values suggest a slw temp, heard in minims here. Regular, clear pulse. Few syncpatins in meldy (but accmpaniment des use sme). Quaver stinat rhythm is used extensively. Slw SimpleTriple time at = 69. Clear pulse frm bar 19 nwards. ars 1 18 are very slw mving and pulse is nt clear. Repeated rhythms in bth and ideas give structure and unity. Cmpund Duple time at.= 60. Mre lively rhythmic feel. Traditinal m-cha-cha accmpaniment figures. Sme figures start n the secnd quaver f the bar. Never See Yur Children gain Slw, gentle, Simple Triple time at = 66. Rcking quavers mre r less thrughut the piece. End Titles See The Duchess.