Is My Team Ploughing

its a dialogue between a ghost and a living man

verses 1 3 and 5 are the ghost and verse 2 4 6 are the living man(its a poem)

how does he create the contrast between ghost and living man

the living man is really agitated

be aware that there are two conflicting emotions and how vaughan williams do this,dynamics,texturaly changed,higher range,change of intervals

very much tied to the text

structure

• strophic

• AB AB A1 B1 (the last a and b are a bit different, more. and more agitated)
  • bars 1 to 4 introduction
  • bar 5-10 Verse 1 A
  • bar 11-18 Verse B
  • bar 19-38 repeat of 1 18
  • bar 23-28 Verse 3(after 4 bar intro)
  • 29-36 verse 4
  • 37 to end
    • 39 verse 5
    • 45 verse 6

  intrumentation

  piano quintet + voice(iregular-not normal)

  Misterioso - expression marking

  -string con sordo

  -una corda (soft pedal)

  in bar 5 it says quadi da lontano (as if from a long way away)

  these are techniques to make it sound like a ghost

  the vocal are recitative style(when the living man comes) - conversational

  verse 2 just piano and cello acconpainment its thinner but creating more of a sound(without mute)

  the living man is feeling guilty

  in verse 5 and 6 there are tremolo effects(really showing guilt-holding back)

  senza sord in verse 5 and 6

  colla voce(all instruments following the voice) in verse 5

  poco pui moso(even more agitated plays fas) in verse 6

  expression marker very specific contrast between living man and ghost and sense of guilt

  with the words sweetheart it has marking subito pesante

  on bar 55 it says animato,fortizimo,and con sord(he holding back his feelings,wants to escape but he holiding back)

texture

melody dominated homophony however there are textural changes,it is not static

the changes create the difference ebtween the two characters(the ghost and agatated living man)

intro is homorythmic(extreme homophony)

bar 5 the accompanying chords are very sustained while the singer is recititative-like making it sparse distant and ethereal

in verses 2 and 4 (it is melody dominated homopohny ) but the piano plays triplet chords creating a richer thicker texture

sometimes the cello adds little flurishes

in verse 6 is when the living man is most agitated and theres a ff tutti - climax

the last 2 bars are homorythmic and homophonic

tonality

the key signature is Bb but the opening chords are Dmin and G maj and so its in D dorian

the distinctive B natural from the D Dorion gives it a folk sound

verse 1 and 3 are d dorian

verse 2 and 4 are are ambiguios (f#,G#,Ab) - adds to agitations guilt,unpleasantness

verse 5 and 6 are even more ambigious

using tonality to create tension by not having a clear tonality

last two bars are d dorian

rythm metre and tempo

mainly 4 4 but there are changes in meter which adss to the agitation of the living man

quite a lot of expression directions

lots of rythm variety,dotted notes triplets ties,semi quavers

a lot of it is contrasted by the static stagnant acconpanyment

sylabic follows natural rythmic speech patterns

melody

sylabic

ghost is conjunct,modal,diatonic

the living man is disjunct and chromatic,angular

from 12 to 13 on the word “trample” we have tritone

14 to 15 “now and no” - maj 7 -jarring disonant

harmony

d minor and g major chords helps gives us the dorian sound however e have quite a lot of disonant (emphasizing b natural)harmony especiialy when the livign man sings

there are disonant chords: -

quartal harmony

parralel chords

in terms of harmony he uses straight foraoard augmented 6ths chords (classical)

notes from essay/talking person

two altrenating chords d min g major(modal harmony rather than key) in the intro

dorian mode

recetative - naration