Spring 2014 Conductors For Change Young Person’s Guide: Variation Notes Variation 1 5'16" in this recording: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien9e/part01/chapter02/youngpersonsguide/br
ittenguideinteractive.htm This variation was originally written by Benjamin Britten with two melody lines played by two bassoons. The melody is based on the arpeggio at the beginning of Purcell's theme, but here the arpeggio is diminished to create a tense, discordant sound. The rhythm is also transformed, as instead of each note of the arpeggio being the same length (as in the theme) here the 'dotted rhythm' is a strong contrast to that. The accompaniment is also dissonant, creating a tension which is resolved in the middle section. This part of the variation begins with an arpeggio too, a major arpeggio starting on the dominant (note 5). This section is more lyrical and beautiful, but the angular dotted rhythms are still going on underneath! Variation 2 3'30" in the recording. This variation was originally written with the two melody lines played by two oboes. The two melody lines are in canon, meaning that they play similar melodies but starting at different times (like in Frère Jacques). The melody starts with an arpeggio, which echoes the arpeggio at the start of the original theme. However, this time it is a major arpeggio instead of the minor one in the main theme. Also, the fourth note of the melody is not the tonic as it would be in a normal arpeggio but the 'leading note', the seventh note of the scale. This is accompanied by a change of harmony to a new key, not closely related to the starting key. This chromaticism (which means using notes not in the home key, and relates to the Greek word 'chroma', which means 'colour') creates a feeling of rich exoticism and emotion. The quaver pattern in the melody in bar 4 replicates the rhythm in bar 2 of the theme. However, here it is in a different time signature (with four beats per bar instead of three) so the emphasis of the phrase is changed. Variation 3 6'13" in the recording. Variation 3 is the Violin variation in Britten's original. Again we start with a melody that uses the arpeggio figure from the main theme. Here, though, the arpeggio continues up in 3rds instead of repeating the tonic (home note). The repeated quaver and semiquaver rhythm in the accompaniment is related to the rhythm in bar 2 of the main theme; crotchet / quaver / quaver / quaver / quaver / quaver / quaver becomes quaver / semi / semi / quaver / quaver / quaver / quaver. The rhythm of the melody in the middle section (from bar 9), consisting of three quavers followed be a dotted crotchet, is a diminution (a squashed-­‐up version) of the opening of the main theme. The harmony is this variation (apart from the middle section) is based mainly on the tonic and dominant chords, just like the main theme. Here, though, it is major rather than minor.