Download A Tragic Story Musical Elements

Song 2: A tragic story
[A] Learning about the music
Topics to consider for this song:



[Link] Minor key
[Link] Bells
[Link] Tempo change
Minor key
With the word ‘tragic’ in the title, it is not surprising that Britten chooses a minor key for this
song. This only becomes clear on the downbeat of b.4 where we hear, for the first time, Bb.
With the all-important third degree of the scale lower (flatter) than it is in a major key, minor
keys are well suited to sorrowful and dark moods. You might want to play a little of the
Funeral Music for Queen Mary by Purcell which captures this aspect of minor keys perfectly.
A performance can be found at:
[Link] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWRcx9LHBJU
Open 5ths
The left hand of the piano part does not contribute traditional chordal harmony. Instead it has
a series of open 5ths and 4ths. The pianist is asked, from the start, to play these ‘always
marked’; they also sustain under whatever other notes are being played and sung. The effect
is reminiscent of bells striking in a rather funereal way.
You might like to play to your pupils the extraordinary piece by Estonian composer ArvoPärt
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, which Pärt wrote on the death of the English
composer. Here you can very much hear the tolling bell, and the string melodies are all
conjunct as in ‘A tragic story’, although this time they are falling rather than rising. There is a
marvellous performance from the 2010 BBC Proms conducted by Edward Gardner at:
[Link] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82-xbhfNR2g
Another way of looking at the open 5ths of the first verse is to make the link with the tuning
of the strings on a violin or a cello. This may be a chance for non-string players to try their
hand at playing the accompaniment to the first verse: the D/G 5th being the job of one player
(or group) on the violin – bowing the lowest two open strings; the A/D being played by
another on the upper two strings of a cello.
Tempo change
One essential factor in this song is the changing tempo, with instructions as follows:






Bar 1 – start slowly
Bar 22 – with more movement
Bar 32 – getting faster
Bar 42 – quicker
Bar 50 – very fast
Bar 53 – slow
With the exception of the last line, the effect is a steady accelerando. You might like to
compare this to a performance of the ‘Hornpipe’ from Henry Wood’s Fantasia on British Sea
Songs, frequently performed at the Last Night of the Proms; for example:
[Link] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnWF-EBeKss
In both cases, the increase in tempo adds intensity to the mood of the music, though in one
that mood is a dramatic tragedy, and in the other it is a festive frivolity.
Finally, you might like to discuss what effect is achieved in ‘A tragic story’ from Britten’s
decision to return to a slow tempo for the final line.
[B] Composing projects
There are four composing projects for this song:




[Link] Upbeats
[Link] Scalic melodies
[Link] Using a drone
[Link] Creating a tragic mood
Upbeats
It is all too easy to assume that a piece of music begins on beat 1. Here, however, Britten
chooses to start all his melodic phrases on the last beat of a bar, a feature known as an
‘upbeat’. Here are the two opening phrases:
Upbeats can be very useful in melodic writing, especially if you are setting words where the
natural stress is on the second syllable. For example, three of the following opening lines
would suit a melody that began with an upbeat. Which is the odd one out?

There once was a man from London



My heart is full of love for you
Never let a zebra cross the road
Away from the buzz of the mad, mad world
Point out that in Britten’s melody, three of the four phrases in each verse start with the upbeat
on the 5th degree of the scale (the dominant). Initially it leaps to the tonic, and then it leaps to
the supertonic. This is a strong way to start a melody, and the slight difference for the second
phrase makes for a strong balance, but not total repetition, between the opening two lines.
Also, point out that each phrase finishes on the third beat of the bar, in time for the upbeat to
the next phrase. The one exception is the final phrase of the verse, where the music stops one
beat earlier (i.e. on the second beat), thereby creating a rather abrupt, matter-of-fact kind of
effect.
Ask pupils to create their own melody of four phrases that use upbeats. Points to bear in mind
are:





They can work in 3 or 4 time, but the melody must start on the final beat of the bar
They should count themselves in to get the feel of the upbeat as they compose their
tune. Either ‘1–2–3–4; 1–2–3…’ or ‘1–2–3; 1–2…’
The opening phrase should start on the dominant and have the tonic as the second
note. Some might realise that this can be either an upward or a downward leap
The four phrases should be the same length, and the tune should end on the tonic
They should be able to play the tune on an instrument of their choice, or sing it.
Here are two examples:
Scalic melodies
Britten uses the same melody for each of the six verses of ‘A tragic story’. Most melodies
have some mix of note values to bring a rhythmic character to the tune. Unusually, here
Britten chooses to have every note as a crotchet. It is therefore more important that he creates
a memorable shape (or contour) for his melody, as there is no rhythmic ‘hook’ to catch the
singer or listener’s memory.
Britten uses simple scales to create that memorable shape. The first three phrases are
ascending scales; the last phrase reverses the direction and falls:
You might ask your pupils to consider the words of the last line of each verse. Is there
anything about them that makes a falling melody appropriate at this point?
Another famous melody that is nearly all crotchets in scale patterns is the ‘Ode to Joy’ theme
from Beethoven’s ninth symphony:
Ask pupils to invent their own scalic melody. Points to bear in mind are:





They can choose either a major or a minor key
Nearly all changes of note should be by step. Repeated notes (as in Britten and
Beethoven) are allowed, but leaps should only be between phrases or, possibly, where
an upbeat is used
The rhythm should be almost entirely made up of crotchets
The metre can be 3 or 4 time
Careful thought needs to be given as to when to go up in pitch and when to go down
Here are two examples:
Using a drone
Young composers can often find it difficult to create an accompaniment for a tune they have
composed. The simplest way of all is to use a drone.
Drones can either be a single note (nearly always this will be the tonic note), or two notes
(usually the tonic and the 5th). In ‘A tragic story’, Britten gets very close to using a two-note
drone for the whole of the first verse.
Drones are associated with certain instruments, notably the bagpipes and certain Indian
instruments such as the sitar. In addition to these specialist musical traditions, composers
have sometimes mimicked drone sounds to create a rustic feel in their music. Examples
include the finale from Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 and this ‘Gavotte ou la Musette’ from
Bach’s third French Suite:
Ask pupils to compose a short piece that comprises a melody and a drone. Points to bear in
mind are:



The drone is likely to be the tonic note
Pupils might want to use the 5th (dominant) as a drone too
Any metre may be used

Thought may need to be given to how the drone notes are sustained. What instrument
would work best? What are the issues with writing a drone for (i) clarinet, (ii) piano,
or (iii) cello?
Here is an example:
If you have the two different instruments to hand, you may like to demonstrate this piece on
both a piano and a clavinova. Which is the more effective instrument for making the drone
sound throughout the piece? Why is this?
Creating a tragic mood
It is, perhaps, not quite clear why the poem of ‘A tragic story’ is actually truly ‘tragic’, but
once you hear Britten’s music written for the poem, the tragic mood is very apparent indeed.
Some pupils might like to try composing their own very tragic piece of music. If they have
also worked at the ‘dull’ piece for Song 1, it might be helpful to discuss the differences
between being ‘dull’ and being ‘tragic’.
The following questions might help them to make some good choices for their piece:



Should the tempo be slow or fast?
Should the key be major or minor?
How might the mood be intensified during the piece?