Music for a while

• Purcell: 'Music for a While'


  Mid-Baroque. Solo song (with continuo accompaniment).
• Resources

  Solo voice and continuo (harpsichord and bass viol on the Anthology recording)
• Purcell wrote just a melody and an (unfigured) bass part for the song. He did not specify the type of voice, but in the play it was probably originally sung by a male singer with a high voice (either a tenor or countertenor)
• On the Anthology recording the music is transposed from its original key of C minor up to A minor, and is performed by a soprano. The bass part is played on a bass viol (a six-stringed predecessor of the cello) and is doubled by the harpsichordist's left hand. The right-hand of the harpsichord part is an elaborate realisation of the harmony implied by Purcell's bass.
• Structure

  Purcell constructed the song over a ground bass - a constantly repeating bass pattern above which a melody unfolds. It was a popular device in 17th-century music, especially in pieces by Purcell who was a master of the technique.
• Ground bass


  • Three bars in length and is based on a four-note sequence formed from rising 5ths alternating with falling 6ths. It climbs from the tonic to the dominant of A minor (from A to E)
• Ground bass


  Heard 12 times in succession, but Purcell avoids monotony by modulating to related keys in the middle (B) section of the song, changing the length of the ground in the process
• Ternary form (ABA)


  The opening music, set to the opening words, returns in bar 29 to create an overall ternary form (ABA) for the song
• A section


  • In the key of A minor, ending with a modulation to the dominant key (E minor)
• B section


  • Characterised by modulations through related keys, and by shortened and lengthened versions of the ground bass
• A' section


  • Returns to A minor, with the singer ornamenting the original melody and Purcell extending the ending to finish on the tonic chord
• Tonality

  The song is in A minor, with modulations to related keys in the middle section. The upper notes at the start of the ground bass (E-F-F-G-C-A) form a chromatic scale that sometimes leaves the tonality ambiguous, but modulations are always confirmed by perfect cadences.
• Melody

  • Combines stepwise movement with occasional leaps, contains frequent passing notes between chord notes, has a range of just over an octave, incorporates rests for expressive effect, and includes both rising and falling sequences.
• Ornaments

  The many ornaments in the soprano and right-hand harpsichord parts are not by Purcell but have been added by the performers, following the style commonly used in Baroque slow movements. They include upper mordents, lower mordents, appoggiaturas, slides, grace notes, trills, and arpeggiation.
• Apart from the appoggiatura, these decorative notes are usually very short.
• Purcell avoids predictability by sometimes continuing the vocal phrase beyond the end of the ground so that the two parts do not always end their phrases together.
• Word setting and word painting


  The word setting is mainly syllabic, but Purcell uses melismas for the words 'wond'ring' and 'eternal'. He frequently repeats words in the text, such as 'Music' and 'all'. Examples of word-painting include the rising chromaticism and angular outline of the ground bass, the repetitions of 'all', the melismas on 'wond'ring', the suspensions on 'pains' and 'eased', the ascending phrase on 'free the dead', the melismas on 'eternal', and the repeated 'drop' on quaver off-beats.
• Rhythm and dynamics

  • The music is in simple quadruple metre, with a steady quaver pulse in the ground bass. The vocal part follows the rhythm of the words and includes syncopation. There are no dynamic or expression markings, and no tempo is specified, leaving these decisions to the performers.
• Texture

  Homophonic texture (melody and accompaniment), with the elaborate harpsichord realisation sometimes creating counterpoint with the vocal part, including some short imitative points.