Excerpt+20

= Track 20: Phillip Glass – ‘Akhnaten’ (2:40) = = This excerpt is called ‘Attack and Fall’ and comes from a twentieth century opera. At this point, the people rise in rebellion, attacking the palace and killing the king. How does the composer use his musical resources to capture the drama of this moment? =

The composer has focused on harmony, rhythm and articulation to give this section of the opera a great sense of drama. The harmony sustaining two male voices is never static and has importance in developing the minor tonality. The rhythmic patterns in the harmony switch between semiquavers and triplets. This adds to some rhythmic variety and changes at times in the complex metre. Syncopation is used both in the melody and harmony for an unsettled effect. The use of this sometimes creates a hemiola (2 against 3) effect between the melody and harmony. The brass has an important role in portraying the dramatic feeling. They have a very harsh, strident sound that is complimented by marcato articulations, giving a forceful effect. It sounds like this is imitating the locals attacking the palace with an angry stance. The texture is homophonic with the male voices and later, the choir accompanied by the large orchestra. The density is thick with accents in most parts, the moving semiquaver rhythms and a loud dynamic level. The thick texture creates a wall of sound and this contributes to a more powerful effect. For a more edgy, agitated sound, the composer has used certain techniques. The woodwinds play the semiquaver repeated rhythmic patterns high in their register, creating a frantic ‘stabbing’ quality. Meanwhile, the male vocalists sing in an open 5th chord to evoke a ‘war-like’ aggressive quality. Having the clarinet and piano play the same motive a quaver out from each other adds to this agitation and rhythmic displacement. The excerpt repeats the same motive over and over with little variation. As this is repeated it leads to the audience to wonder what is next, developing a dramatic feel.  // Excellent response Leighton: perhaps a little more emphasis on tempo and changes within the excerpt (see my response below). Good linking to effect and theme of the excerpt. 8/10 Sue //
 * Leighton **

CLAIRE

Phillip Glass makes use of a growing level of suspense and climax in his music through the continuous repetition of musical ideas. A group of singers, both male and female voices, sing a series of repeated notes which then repeat up a semitone. The male voices sing in their higher register and the singing style is at full volume and rather declamatory. The repeated notes alternating between a semitone present a sense of urgency and insistence, capturing the drama of the moment of protesting in rebellion. Moving at a fast and driving tempo, a sense of rhythmic uncertainty and irregularity is portrayed through a shift of pulse between duple and triple groupings of quavers, much like a hemiola. The melodic line goes as follows: (rhythmic notation). This same rhythmic idea is repeated constantly, using some rhythmic variation and syncopation, particularly at the beginning, to create further rhythmic unstability. While the singers are in the foreground, some brass, woodwinds and strings sit in the background with very short, repeated quaver notes: (rhythmic notation). Their constancy contributes to building the sense of rhythmic excitement, momentum and overall drama of the work. Another brass instrument, quite low, interjects with an alternating ascending or descending stepwise passage at the ends of some phrases. This is delivered in an aggressive, forte, also declamatory style, sometimes in unison with the singers to multiply the level of excitement and to reinforce drama through a thicker texture. Harmonies alternate every second bar, back and forth from major to minor with the rise and fall of the semitone vocal melody. The effect is a 'surprise' each time the new harmony is heard and the new colour introduced. Overall, the continuity and constant repetiton of musical ideas, constant 'ff' dynamics, the driving tempo, unstable rhythms, harsh and aggressive tone colours and single styles all contribute to the drama and excitement of a very climactic point of Glass' opera.

// Excellent response Claire: Good linking to effect and theme of the excerpt. 10/10 Sue //

In the excerpt, the busy, thick texture helps to create the atmosphere of a fight scene packed with action. The relentless and driving triplet-semiquaver motif in the upper woodwind repeats throughout which is a dominating layer to the thick texture, thus creating tension. The overall dynamic is loud throughout, as all instruments play their maximum volume to create a sense of drama. The dynamics are never fading which also achieves the effect of maintaining the energy and drama throughout. The brass section also contributes to the atmosphere of the ominous mood of the rebellion by playing accented notes alternating between on and off beats. This rhythmic displacement creates a feeling of uncertainty- which adds to the mood of the opera, as the outcome of the ‘attack and fall’ is spontaneous. The articulation is attacked and emphatic. The brass which ply an underlying ascending melody, play with a forceful and heavily accented articulation which, along with the forced airstream of the brass players, gives a brassy tone-colour. The voices are in a thick, blended harmony throughout the excerpt. Sopranos and tenor parts are in the foreground of the texture. These parts are sung with lots of vibrato and a full, resonant sound- thus carrying over the texture. The tonality is minor which also helps to create the sinister feel of killing the king. Glass uses variation approximately halfway through the excerpt by repeating the same motif, but then adding a tambourine layer which gives the piece an almost regal feel- as the clanging of the metal sounds almost as if jewels and riches are being scattered everywhere, and the King, along with his kingdom are being destroyed. //﻿ // // Excellent response Kim: perhaps a little more emphasis on melody and rhythm (see my response below). Good linking to effect and theme of the excerpt. 9/10 Sue // __Sue's response: __
 * Kim **

// A fast furious tempo opens the excerpt with polyrhythms used to create a complex web of sound. The music is very repetitive, using ostinato figures to create a tense staccato effect where the same pitches are repeated by the singers and the instruments; each phrase ends with a chromatic descending passage on trombones played ff with a very strong, harsh tone colour. // // The ostinato in the voice part is made up of a two bar phrase, set clearly in common time, which begins with four accented crotchets, then followed by a bar of ‘supertriplets’. This is accompanied by continuous triplets in the accompanying brass instruments. // // In the final bar of each four bar phrase Glass uses a ‘hocket’ effect; interspersing the chromatic triplet passage between the trumpets and trombones to create a tense dramatic atmosphere, perhaps representing the hail of bullets as the people attack the palace. // // The repetition of the same pitches and ostinato figures creates a strong driving effect, perhaps representing the steadfast resolve of the peoples as they surge forward in their determination to attack the palace and chant their slogans; the rallying war cry resounding through the crowd. The strong repetitive rhythm and predominance of brass instruments creates a very military –type sound, and the use of repetition conveys the idea of the crowd surging forward and repeatedly attacking, until they achieve their mission. The fast driving tempo and the complex rhythmic devices capture the flurries of action as small splinter groups carry out their own skirmishes with the defenders, and the complex and dramatic nature of the scene. This is also reflected in the complex texture of the music; independent layers, each with their own role and musical purpose. //

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