How Did Baroque Composers Create a Mood of Celebration in Their Music? Refer to at Least Two Pieces in Your Answer.

How did Baroque Composers create a mood of celebration in their music? Refer to at least two pieces in your answer.

(Question taken from AQA textbook page 54)

Composers were often commissioned to write pieces for particular events, for example "I was glad" by Purcell was written specifically for the Coronation of James II in 1685 and therefore had to include an element of celebration. On the other hand, in an oratorio which is a large scale vocal and orchestral performance similar to that of an opera without the staging e.g. Handel's Messiah, a piece with the same sense of celebration may be needed to fit the story. A good example of this in the Messiah is "The trumpet shall sound". In both of these pieces the feeling of celebration is obvious although sometimes achieved using different methods. The use of rhythms, instruments and texture are all crucial elements in creating the mood of celebration in a piece. I will use the examples of "I was Glad" by Purcell and "The trumpet shall sound" by Handel to demonstrate how these individual elements can be used in different ways to create a celebratory mood.

The rhythms that are usually associated with celebration would be that of a fanfare. Dotted quaver rhythms have a sense of purpose and create a sound of importance and significance. These rhythms are used in the aria "The trumpet shall sound" from the first bar in order to set the mood straight away. The bass voice enters at the beginning of the A section (written in ternary form - ABA) with the main melody of a rising crochet pattern with the trumpet answering it with the familiar dotted quavers. The vocal part, although written in crochets and quavers is often sung to match the trumpet rhythm especially at the repeat of the A section. At the time, this would have been expected of solo vocalists when singing a piece written in ternary form. Another example of a ternary form aria is "Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion!" also from the Messiah. When listening to various recordings of this, and "the trumpet shall sound", the differences made by the soloists on the repeat offer contrast and new interest.

On the other hand, in the full verse anthem "I was glad" by Henry Purcell, less obvious rhythmic techniques are used. The music is syllabic (one syllable per note) with simple crochet and quaver rhythms. It was written in this way so that the procession would be easier to choreograph. The rhythms are not necessarily those of celebratory music as with "the trumpet shall sound" but the simple rhythms allow the words to be heard very clearly. Words such as "I was glad" and "Glory" are both written over crochets with the choir singing in unison. This allows the joyful and jubilant mood of the peace to be heard without the traditional rhythms. Later on in "I was glad" the rhythms become more complex and the voices become more intertwined. Contrapuntal entries and stretto (voices singing the same material at different speeds) are used at the end when the choir would have finished the procession and