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Handel’s “Hornpipe” from Water Music:

In the Baroque era, George Friderick Handel (1685-1759) published his collection called Water Music in 1717 for  King George’s request for music to play while on the River Thames. Water Music is for a larger orchestral group. The section called “Hornpipe” consists of alternating A and B themes. It has a lively tempo, and many instruments contribute to all the different timbres heard in this piece. Different instrument groups pass the main theme back and forth between each other and the main melody is repeated several times.

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Josquin’s Kyrie:

In the Renaissance era, Josquin des Prez (1440-1521 AD.) wrote the Pange Lingua Mass around 1500 AD. His goal in this work was to set the ordinary mass to music. His work was important because it included the addition of the bass line to the voices and was therefore some of the early examples of polyphony in music. Kyrie is characterized by many points of imitation and repetition. The different voice parts are often singing the same melody line in pitches and rhythm, just at different times. Josquin’s use of harmony within the imitation is also what made this piece stand out from other music at the time. The wider ranges of the high and low voice parts work very well together, and all of these combined elements contribute to making this piece as beautiful as it is.

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Estampie:

The Estampie was created around the 12th century and is a Medieval style instrumental dance music. It is one of the earliest known dance style music because it is secular instead of sacred, and secular music was seldom preserved. The Estampie has a quick and lively tempo, and it has a recognizable melody that is repeated several times, each iteration slightly varied from the one before. There is only one line of melody being played, and there is no harmony. Even without ornamentation or showy passages, I think the Estampie is a fun, lighthearted piece of music that can still easily be enjoyed.

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Dies Irae

Dies Irae is a Medieval era Gregorian chant style piece by an anonymous person around 600 AD. It is best known for its use in the Requiem (or funeral) Mass, and it is about the Last Judgement where people are judged before God. It is in Latin, and as is characteristic of Gregorian chant, Dies Irae does not really have a metrical meter. It has a monophonic texture; even so, the smooth contour of the notes and pitches and the unity of voices lend a certain intensity to the piece.

Though the range of notes may be small compared to other musical works and there is no ornamentation of the text, the singers still manage to leave an impression by the almost haunting quality created by the echoing acoustic space and contrasts in dynamics.

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Soweto Gospel Choir: Hlohonolofatsa

Hlohonolofatsa, sung by the Soweto Gospel Choir, is an African gospel choral piece for four voice parts, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, and a few percussion instruments. Hlohonolofatsa starts off with a prominent bass line and gradually adds the remaining vocal parts. The piece is accompanied by a few different percussion instruments, such as shakers and drums. 

I really enjoyed this work because of its clear beat and utilization of polyrhythm and polyphony throughout the piece. It is characterized by repetition of a few words or parts of words and melody being passed from one vocal part to another. The line is further enhanced by the occasional syncopation of the percussion instruments, clapping, and voices.