Section+A+Question+1

media type="file" key="1-80 The Creation, No. 2, In The Beginning God.m4a" align="center" width="300" height="50"

From The Creation by Haydn

In the beginning God made heaven and earth And the earth was without form and void And darkness was upon the face of the deep

Select **two** elements of music and **discuss** how they are used to portray the text. How has the composer treated the selected elements to create the mood/ atmosphere?

Low grumble soft strings, very low double bass sound Vibrato, whining, male voice pitch bends, mellow tone colour, low register, uncappella, vib cresc On some notes strings enter to add to pleading effect e.g. harmony wise Then slow tempo strings descending melody with added winds at end Voice back in accapella seems to be going major Then strings take over stepwise, mostly descending melody but chromatic then going minor Then ends with male voice, last statement we hear in excerpt, ends on extremely low note at bottom of register ‘darkness’ text //Elements:// melody and tone colour The excerpt starts with a low, soft sustained note in strings, including an extremely low note played on double bass which creates a grumbling, sinister tone colour. After this, a solo male voice enters. He sings a mostly unaccapella melody in a minor key with slow rhythmic values in a slow tempo which uses pitch bends to create a whining, pleading atmosphere. He uses quite a wide vibrato on some of the longer notes which adds to the whining effect. Also, he sings in a low register which creates a mellow tone colour. On some of the longer notes, the strings re-enter to provide an unresolving, quite dissonant harmony which adds to the pleading, desperate atmosphere. After the voices statement of the melody, the strings take over with, playing a descending melody in a minor key which creates a sense of resignation. Soon after, the voice takes over again, singing unaccompanied once more. This time, he ends on a note which sounds like the harmony could be moving in to a major key, however the strings enter and use a chromatic melody to bring the key back to distinctly minor. Again, this creates a sense of the desperateness of the text. The excerpt ends with a final statement from the male voice, with the word ‘darkness’ being clearly heard. He ends his melody on an extremely low note at the bottom of his register, which matches the sinister mood the word ‘darkness’ implies. This deep last note also has a grumbling tone colour, similar to the opening. This creates a circular effect, cementing the idea of being stuck in something with no escape.
 * Notes: **
 * Answer: **

Notes:

Answer: Melody and Rhythm This excerpt commences with sustained, long note values played by strings in their lower register. It then follows with a male voice, with the use of vibrato, along with his use of interval such as major 2nds, minor 3rds and perfect 4ths. He used long phrases in a moderate volume. Later on, woodwinds such as clarinets are added, as a melody played by the descending strings, followed with the addition of woodwinds as the key heads off from C minor to E-flat major. With the word "darkness" heard this contributes to the melancholic and mourning atmosphere of the piece, with the slow tempo and the use of frequent long note values. The use of silence that was used in the piece also captures the effect of darkness and despair, as the male voice was only heard without accompaniment.
 * Low, sustained strings
 * Bass voice, use of vibrato
 * Slow tempo
 * Long note values
 * Heads from C minor to E-flat major
 * Long phrases, use of silence
 * Strings melody descending with added woodwinds