And the Glory of the Lord by George Frederic Handel - GCSE Music Essay
Handel – And the Glory of the Lord
And the Glory of the Lord was composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. It is the fourth movement from his ‘Messiah’ works and is an Oratorio in the late Baroque period. It has a Metre of 3/4, meaning there are four crotchet beats per bar; its tempo is Allegro (Fast) until the end four bars, where is changes to Adagio (Slow/Calm).
The piece is in the key of A Major (F#, C# & G#) but frequently modulates. At bar 21, the key modulates to E Major (F#, C#, G# & D#) which is the dominant of A Major. It then returns to A Major at bar 47, but then in bar 65 it modulates to E Major once more, followed by B Major (F#, C#, G#, D# & A#), the dominant of E Major, at bar 67; to then return to E Major at bar 90. The final modulation, back to A Major, occurs at bar 105, it remains in A Major for the rest of the piece. The ending of the piece also creates a Plagal Cadence (IV – I), which in this case is D Major to A Major, creating an ‘Amen’ ending.
There are four Melodic ideas in this piece; and the glory of the lord; shall be revea-led; and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the lord hath spoken it. The structure of the piece is based around these phrases. It uses a SATB choir arrangement along with many string instruments (Including the Harpsichord in the Continuo Bass), creating a mainly homophonic texture, with a short monophonic texture at bars 108-109. The phrases also use imitation; this can be clearly seen at bar 19. The dynamics of the piece do not vary greatly, however it does go from Mezzo-forte to Forte, it is also terraced to match the joyful theme of this Oratorio.
And the Glory of the Lord was composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. It is the fourth movement from his ‘Messiah’ works and is an Oratorio in the late Baroque period. It has a Metre of 3/4, meaning there are four crotchet beats per bar; its tempo is Allegro (Fast) until the end four bars, where is changes to Adagio (Slow/Calm).
The piece is in the key of A Major (F#, C# & G#) but frequently modulates. At bar 21, the key modulates to E Major (F#, C#, G# & D#) which is the dominant of A Major. It then returns to A Major at bar 47, but then in bar 65 it modulates to E Major once more, followed by B Major (F#, C#, G#, D# & A#), the dominant of E Major, at bar 67; to then return to E Major at bar 90. The final modulation, back to A Major, occurs at bar 105, it remains in A Major for the rest of the piece. The ending of the piece also creates a Plagal Cadence (IV – I), which in this case is D Major to A Major, creating an ‘Amen’ ending.
There are four Melodic ideas in this piece; and the glory of the lord; shall be revea-led; and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the lord hath spoken it. The structure of the piece is based around these phrases. It uses a SATB choir arrangement along with many string instruments (Including the Harpsichord in the Continuo Bass), creating a mainly homophonic texture, with a short monophonic texture at bars 108-109. The phrases also use imitation; this can be clearly seen at bar 19. The dynamics of the piece do not vary greatly, however it does go from Mezzo-forte to Forte, it is also terraced to match the joyful theme of this Oratorio.