Transcript And the Glory of the Lord

And the Glory of the Lord
An introduction to Set Work Number 1
By the end of this lesson you
will be able to……
• Begin to explore the music of Handel
and its importance to Baroque Music.
•Discuss how Music Theory is important
when analysing a set work.
•Listen to “And the Glory” and begin
listing important aspects of the piece.
Ok then, who is
Handel?
A brief background
•Handel was born in Germany in 1685 and from 18, devoted
his life to music. He died in 1759.
•His first Opera – Rodrigo was performed in 1707 and by 1710
he was appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector.
•Part of this role involved him moving to London for a year
where he wrote some of his finest works (including overtures
and concerti grossi).
•As Royal Composer, he wrote the Water Music (1717)
What’s the Messiah?
The best loved Oratorio
of all time
•The Messiah is an oratorio (a religious opera).
These were popular in the Baroque era.
•It is in three parts and tells the story of the birth,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
•Part 1 consists of prophesies telling of the coming
of Christ with texts from the Old & New
Testaments.
•Parts 2 tells of the suffering and crucifixion of
Jesus set mainly to words from the Old
testament.
•Part 3 tells of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Key words
•Oratorio –
Religious Opera
based on words
from the Bible.
•Libretto – the
text/words of a
musical work
such as an
opera or
oratorio.
Key words
The Structure of an
Oratorio
•Recitative – The idea is to get the words of the
narration across using a minimal amount of
words.
•Aria – A solo song which reflect a mood or
emotion. The music is more elaborate to display
the vocal qualities and expertise of the singer to
the full.
•Chorus – The aria leads directly into the first
main chorus, “And the Glory of the Lord”. The
chorus sums up the action at that point in the
drama
•Aria – a solo
vocal piece with
instrumental
accompaniment
.
•Recitative – a
style used in
operas, oratorios
and cantatas in
which the text is
told in the
rhythm of
natural speech
Background to the
Messiah
Up until 1741, Handel had written many Italian operas in
London but these were now becoming unpopular.
The idea of English Religious Opera was becoming popular
instead. Biblical stories were forbidden in theatres so Handel
composed for concert performance instead.
He wrote it in only 24 days! First performed in Dublin in 1742.
It was intended for concert halls rather than Churches. The
orchestra at this time was fairly small.
Analysing “And the
Glory”
This is the first piece in the Edexcel Anthology of
Music (p5).
Try following it as we go through it. We will discuss
some of it’s features afterwards. Make a list of
questions you think of as you listen to it.
Edexcel GCSE Music
Student Book
We will now look through pages 10 & 11 which
explore the main features of “And the Glory” then
pages 12-15 which give a bar by bar analysis.
This is what we will do with each set work as you will
have questions on this in the listening exam.
By the end of this lesson you
will be able to……
• Begin to explore the music of Handel
and its importance to Baroque Music.
•Discuss how Music Theory is important
when analysing a set work.
•Listen to “And the Glory” and begin
listing important aspects of the piece.