Henry Purcell\s Dido and Aneas Essays - Dido, Henry Purcell, Lament

1) As compared to singing style of the Gregorian Chant we listened to, what do you notice is the same or different in the vocal style of this singer? The Gregorian Chants we listened to involved unaccompanied, monophonic music for voices. Most Gregorian chants consist of simple recitation on a monotone with only slight deviations from that single pitch. In comparison with Gregorian Chants, the vocal style of this singer is melismatic. The singer stretches the lyrics to add to the sad mood of the Aria. The Aria is a Triple Meter while Gregorian Chants are non metrical. The singer has a Soprano voice while Gregorian chants are usually performed in groups or choirs with varying pitches and may include altos, tenors and basses. The vocal style of the singer of Dido?s lament includes the use of vibrato and trill to add to the seriousness of the mood. Gregorian chants do not include features such as vibrato and trill. 2) Focus on the bass line. This is an important aspect of this piece. It is a "ground bass" and is defined in your book. a) Why might Purcell have used this type of bass line instead of one that does not repeat? I feel that Purcell has used a ground bass line to enforce the idea of a lament. It also served to create a dramatic effect to describe Dido?s wretched situation. He did not use a bass line that does not repeat so that he could create an impression of impending doom and build the melody to an intense climax. The bass line by itself sounds apprehensive and mournful, which reflects Dido?s feelings as well. Since the Aria focuses on Dido?s feelings where she has little to say, Purcell needed time to convey this emotional message through the music and so used the repeated bass line. b) Until the last few notes of its melody, which way does the melody of the bass line go (up or down)? Why do you think Purcell chose this melodic shape? Since the melody is laid over the ground bass, it goes down for most of the Aria. Purcell included a descending bass line to add word painting to the lyric ?laid?. Purcell chose a descending melodic shape to reiterate Dido?s emotional downfall, agony and death. It helps to create an impression of Dido?s misery while building to an almost apocalyptic end. c)Are the intervals large or small for the majority of the line? Why do you think Purcell chose this type of interval usage? The intervals are small for the majority of the line. Purcell chose this type of interval usage to reflect Dido?s feelings of vulnerability and impending doom. The small intervals serve to help Dido?s lament include all that she is feeling without having to use too many words. Dido knows that she is going to die. Purcell?s use of small intervals enables us to feel Dido?s anguish. Purcell?s usage of the ground bass sends out two messages. The first is a slow descent through each iteration. Every statement of the ground bass starts at a high and ends an octave lower. This measured descent exerts a pull on Dido?s melody. The message Purcell is trying to get across is that Dido cannot escape her fate. No matter how hard she tries, Aeneas has abandoned her and will probably never come back. The second message is in the pitches of the bass line. The first segment is a harmonic free form and always ends at the same place. The harmonic destination is momentarily in doubt; Dido?s fate (in her mind) is in doubt. The next segment is predictable and conventional. Purcell uses these two segments to reinforce the sense of instability and inevitability of Dido?s fate. 3) Since this was Queen Dido?s last aria in the Opera and the situation was one of misery and doom, the Aria sounds mournful in every aspect. In Purcell?s opera, Aeneas meets, woos and then abandons Dido. To convey Dido?s grief Purcell shapes several musical elements to resonate with painful life experience: a slow tempo, labored rhythms, and the interplay between the descending bass line and a melody that fights against it. In addition he uses the structural and