The diatonic scale (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “diatonic”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Nov. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/art/diatonic. Accessed 7 February 2023.) is the basis of so much of our music. There are well known composers of the 20th century who broke away from the diatonic or tonal, but did so from a traditional basis. The most radical modern influence was Arnold Schoenberg (Newlin, Dika and Kuiper, Kathleen. “Arnold Schoenberg”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arnold-Schoenberg. Accessed 7 February 2023.), and his pupils Alban Berg (Reich, Willi. “Alban Berg”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alban-Berg. Accessed 7 February 2023.)and Anton Webern (Moldenhauer, Hans. “Anton Webern”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Nov. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Webern. Accessed 7 February 2023.)they all wrote early compositions which demonstrated a though understanding of tonality. Ot her composers all pushed the boundaries of tonality, whilst retaining a firm foundation of diatonic tradition. These include Franz Liszt (Searle, Humphrey. “Franz Liszt”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Liszt. Accessed 7 February 2023.), Charles Ives (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Charles Ives”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Oct. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Edward-Ives. Accessed 7 February 2023.)and Igor Stravinsky (White, Eric Walter and Taruskin, Richard. “Igor Stravinsky”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Igor-Stravinsky. Accessed 7 February 2023.)
Project 8 Rounds and Catches
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “round”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jul. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/art/round-music. Accessed 7 February 2023.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “round”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jul. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/art/round-music. Accessed 7 February 2023.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “round”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Jul. 2011, https://www.britannica.com/art/round-music. Accessed 7 February 2023.
Purcell was responsible for over sixty rounds or catches. Composers would invent their own words and with careful placing of words and rests produced humorous double meanings which only became apparent when all the parts came together.
Research Point
Here are some interesting Rounds by Henry Purcell which I have found
The lyrics in this are as follows:
A Health, a health to the Nut-brown Lass with the Hazel Eyes, She that has good Eyes has also good Thighs, let it pays, let it pays. As much to the livelier Gray, They’re as good by night as day, She that has good Eyes has also good Thighs, Drink away, drink away. I’ll pledge, Sir, I’ll pledge, What ho some wine, here some wine to mine, And to thine, to thine, to thine, And to mine the Colours are Divine. But Oh, the black eyes, the black give me as much again, And let it be Sack. She that has good Eyes has also good Thighs, And a better knack.Show less
It is sung beautifully but I cannot hear anything which has any double meanings but you can hear the Good thighs quite often!!
This was a little more melancholy, but it is telling the story of someone buried. It is beautifully sung and the parts work beautifully
This is an amusing song because it seems like this was a drinking song from what I can hear and the way in which it is sung.
I couldn’t quite catch all the lyrics but I do believe she was rather unhappy on a horse without a saddle. Very amusing.
I looked at IMSLP and found a whole list of Purcell rounds/catches, I have screen grabbed them for future reference so I can easily find them if I need to refer back to them.
Whilst looking on the internet I also realised that I had some experience of rounds/catches. As a child we often sang Frere Jacques, London’s Burning and Row Row Row Your Boat, with different groups coming in at different times. I also recall very recently that our Trefoil Guild Group tried to work out a round for Po Kare Kare Ana (the Maori song) however it was a total disaster so we ended up doing it in two vocals , alto and soprano and making it sound beautiful like that. Oh and we won!!
Amanda Music BA (Hons) 