Dear March, come in!

Welcome, solfeggists!

As I look out my window today, I could easily be hoodwinked into believing that spring has arrived in Denver -- but, I've lived here long enough to know this is almost certainly just a tease.  I grew up on the west coast, and by now, we'd be at the end of crocus season and the daffodils would be raring to take over with tulips close on their heels, but here....not so much.  However, the 60-degree weather is a welcome change, though I know it's only for the next few days (for you non-Coloradans out there, I like to think of Denver as the only place I know where people could reasonably dream of a White Easter and probably eat their Thanksgiving Dinner on their outdoor picnic table later the same year...it's a weird place)....I have to make the most of bits of spring as they come here, since there's often just a stark segue from the last April or May blizzard directly into summer.

So, let's find some springtime music to enjoy!

Rising Level 2's


Here's a recording to listen to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf6P2K_uXH8

(There are plenty of other recordings of this piece on YouTube, and feel free to choose another one if you like it better)

Try to figure out the rhythmic pattern you're hearing before you look at the score below - note that the meter isn't constant and that the pattern seems to be anacrusic.  Speak the rhythmic pattern in tas and ta-tis, then transcribe it.

Check your transcribed rhythm against the score here:


http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/images/7/74/Lejeune_Revecy.pdf

What metric decisions did you make aurally?  Do they differ from the notation here?  How?

Now, sing through the various parts in solfa -- nothing too difficult, yes?  Almost completely diatonic (the odd fi and di pop up, but nothing earth-shattering), and lots of stepwise motion. What do you notice about the texture throughout the piece.

Finally, read this little Wikipedia write-up on the genre this piece is frequently used to exemplify in music history classes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musique_mesurée

So yeah, it's a piece about spring, but evidently it was also one more weapon in the arsenal of a bunch of French guys looking to save the world through music.  Some commentators have also said that the  rhythmic pattern of this little ditty (though the same pattern is also found in Latin American dances) was actually Bernstein's inspiration for writing this piece...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjy9acXwovE

Rising Level 3's


Listen to this lovely tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjJzPok_qmE

After one time through the whole recording, I bet you'll be able to derive the form of each strophe -- what is the form?  What is the meter?  How long does each phrase last?

Now that you have that information, listen a few more times and put each line into solfa.  Which line has the chromatic bit?  What interval does the chromatic syllable create with the note it is approached by?  How does the singer in the recording treat the chromatic note?

Memorize the melody.  Transcribe it in a key comfortable for your voice.

Now, look at this score:

(higher voices)
http://conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/c/c0/IMSLP46772-PMLP99648-Mozart_-_Sehnsucht_nach_dem_Fr__hlinge__K_596.pdf

(lower voices)
http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/0/0e/IMSLP115749-PMLP99648-Mozart_-_Sehnsucht_MV_rsl.pdf

Does your solfa line up with what you see here?

Now, notice how simple the accompaniment is...you probably discerned that from the recording (although the pianist there added some fancy stuff), and maybe you even saw this phase of the assignment coming...

Do a quick Roman numeral analysis of the accompaniment, including figured bass.

Now, either working from your figured bass (which might prove to be easier) or from the score, accompany yourself as you sing the memorized melody in solfa.  If that's easy, transpose to a new key.

Rising Level 4's


Listen to this piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhxgM84Th8&feature=related

Listen to the whole thing the first time to get a sense of what happens in the piece.  Then, focus on the first statement of the melody by the sopranos and altos.  What is the metric structure of this theme -- is there one meter throughout, or are there several (hint: watch the conductor...he's extremely clear!)?  What is the tonal language being used?

The words (drawn from the Song of Solomon in the Bible) are:

Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south;
Blow upon my garden
That the spices may flow out
That the spices flow out
Let my beloved come into his garden
And eat his pleasant fruits.


Memorize the theme (upper part when it splits briefly) with the words.  Notice that it is treated imitatively later in the piece -- what do you think this depicts?

Now for the tricky part -- try to solmize this.  It won't be easy, but I bet you can do it.  You have my permission to use piano to help yourself if you get reeeeeeeeally stuck, but try to go without it as much as possible.  Here are my hints:

You will probably be tempted to call the first leap in the melody mi-la.  You can do that, but it'll mean you'll need to use fi several times later on.  However, the good news is that that's the only chromatic syllable you'll need at all -- and you won't even need that if you call the first leap la-re.

The first note and last note of the tune are the same.

The highest note in the piece is an octave and a fifth above the starting note.

If you successfully solmize the whole theme, you should transcribe it and send it to me and I will tell you that you're wonderful and send you a prize.  No, seriously, I will.

Good luck, all, and have a fantastic week!