Gloria: Vivaldi

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  • Created by: Katherine
  • Created on: 30-04-14 10:31

Context within work, genre

  • A Gloria is a section of a mass, but Vivaldi has only set the Gloria for this work, dividing the text into 11 elements.
  • It's the opening section/movement.
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Text and Text Setting

  • "Glory to be God in the highest": the text is extremely joyful and the music reflects this.
  • Homophonic vocal textures reflect the joy, its powerful.
  • Syllabic setting.
  • Buoyant rhythms, octave leaps.
  • Allegro
  • Major key
  • Constant quaver movement (especially in the bass line)
  • Short phrase, punchy. Makes it declamatory.
  • General word setting rather than specific word painting
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Melody and Rhythm

  • Instrumental tutti (intro) introduces main melodic ideas.
  • Start with 1st melodic idea: buoyant octave leap in lively quaver movement.
  • 2nd idea is conjuct melody.
  • Lines in orchestral parts are more memorable and interesting than vocal lines.
  • The end of the tutti using falling sequences, typical of Vivalidi.
  • Quaver rhythms in the orchestra throughout keep it lively.
  • The 1st vocal entry uses lively dotted rhythms, makes it sound military and purposeful.
  • Uses repeated nptes in 1st vocal entry. Very short phrases initially. Phrases get longer. At the beginning, phrases are conjunct.
  • There's a rising sequence to B minor (Relative minor)
  • In the middle, phrases become longer with semibreve rhythms and more chromatic movement is present.
  • Throughout the rest, the melody lines are diatonic.
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Tonality and Harmony

  • Starts in D major. Very bright and well suited to the stringed instruments. The open strings resonate.
  • 8 bars at the beginning in D to establish the key.
  • Chain of suspensions in descending sequence. It's a clash that resolves.
  • Chord I when voices come in, then move to chord V. Alternating between them.
  • Modulates to B minor.
  • Changed key to C# minor in bar 48.
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Texture

  • Bar 1: Octaves
  • Bars 2: Homophonic
  • Alternating between different groups
  • Antiphonal exchanges between strings and oboes and trumpets
  • Choral writing mainly homophonic
  • Imitation before end
  • Choir and orchestra also antiphonal at beginning.
  • Few interjections from orchestra.
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Writing for instruments and relationships between

  • Basso Continuo: organ, strings, trumpet and oboe.
  • Basso and Strings have the bulk of the Orchestral accompaniment.
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Structure

  • Short movement
  • Setting of text provides structure.
  • Motific ideas in Orchestra provide continuity.
  • Idea 1 repeated in bass - octave jump
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Compositional Devices

  • Suspensions
  • Sequences
  • Pedal Note
  • Terraced dynamics
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