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Seachanges With Danse Macacre

1) Seachanges uses Mexican percussion instruments like marimba, maracas, and guiro to depict the Mexican landscape of a hot, barren desert. 2) The work features the three-note cell GAC, derived from the Dies Irae plainsong, which is developed and inverted throughout the piece in the strings, piano, and woodwinds. 3) Important sections include the Totentanz featuring the dance of death rhythm, and the Dies Irae section where the inverted melody is played canonically on marimba and violin with accompaniment from guiro and cello.

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Aj Aquino
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701 views3 pages

Seachanges With Danse Macacre

1) Seachanges uses Mexican percussion instruments like marimba, maracas, and guiro to depict the Mexican landscape of a hot, barren desert. 2) The work features the three-note cell GAC, derived from the Dies Irae plainsong, which is developed and inverted throughout the piece in the strings, piano, and woodwinds. 3) Important sections include the Totentanz featuring the dance of death rhythm, and the Dies Irae section where the inverted melody is played canonically on marimba and violin with accompaniment from guiro and cello.

Uploaded by

Aj Aquino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SEACHANGES WITH DANSE MACACRE

Outline the reason for the composers use of the word Seachanges in the
title of this work:
It was suggested both by the Atlantic/Pacific aspect and by Shakespeares Full
Fathom five my father lies, thus linking up the theme of death.

Describe some of the Mexican influences evident in Seachanges:
The use of marimba, maracas and guiro as well as the musical depiction of the
Mexican landscape a barren and hot desert.

Introduction (1 20)

Percussion instruments used:
Crotales (ff, 15ma two octaves higher)
Piano (A flat note on bar 15 heard later on)
Maracas (Tremelo)
Gong (Soft)
Bass Drum (Sporadic dynamics f pp f)
Tambourine (Sporadic dynamics p sf pp)
Cymbal (Soft)

Wind instruments used:
Piccolo

String instruments used:
Violin (Flag. flageolet, play any harmonic; tremolo; pizz. pluck strings;
col legno batt. col legno battuto, play with wood of the bow)
Violin cello (Flageolet; pizz. + - Left-hand pizzicato; arco play with the
bow; - play the harmonic)

Three-note cell (GAC) on piano, crotales, violin and piccolo. This is taken from
the small intervallic movement of the Dies Irae.

Features:
1. Changing time signatures with bars of silence
2. Descending chords on piano an inversion of the opening three notes and
note A flat.

Main Melody and inversion (21 45), (65 85), 128 134):

Bar 21 45 (A1) Bar 65 85 (A2) Bar 128 134 (A3)
3-note cell inverted on
cello, with a glissando of
harmonics on violin
Main melody and its
inversion on piano
(diminution).
Strings repeated fifths
Piano note clusters
Repeating seconds
anticipate Dies Irae
Piccolo descending
scale
Marimba tritons (aug.
4
th
interval)
Main melody in the
violin with inversion on
the cello (subtraction).
Note the rhythmic motif
on flute and percussion

Brief reference to
Totentanz
Canon based on
inverted Dies Irae
melody on marimba
and violin
Guiro in background
Sul Ponticello eerie
ghostly sound
An inverted statement of
the main melody on
piccolo. Note the original
theme on the marimba in
diminution
Main melody in minims
on violin with inversion
on cello (subtraction)
Piano note clusters
First phrase of Dies Irae
on cellos with a parallel
line at the fifth
The cello player takes up
the maracas (non-pitch
notes)
Lively countermelody
on flute very free,
cadenza-like style
constructed from 3-
note cell
Cello Dies Irae
Piano Accented
clusters in piano
Marimba & violin
Stacatto, march-like
version of Dies Irae
Piano broken chords
(subtraction) leading
to main melody
Strings piccolo
Rainstick introduced
Different instrumental
lines involving the first
parts with various
variations of the three-
note cell.

Totentanz (dance of death) 46 62:

Percussion instruments used:
Maracas (dance macabre rhythm - ; Tremelo; 15ma)
Piano (15ma; descending chord; U. C [no nuances] una corda softer
notes/soft pedal; martellato - hammered)
Guiro (rasp)

Wind instruments used:
Piccolo (Tremelo; accented staccato; 8va)

String instruments used:
Violin (sul pont. sul ponticello, play above the bridge; arco; strummed
like a guitar; glissando slide quickly between two notes)
Violin cello (strummed; glissando; tremolo Rapid repeated bowing on
the same note)





Dies Irae 92 118:

Percussion instruments used:
Marimba
Violin (Sul pont. - creates eerie ghostly sound; Staccato)
Guiro
Piano (Accented clusters)

Melody:
Inverted Dies Irae melody on marimba and violin
Guiro in background
First phrase of D.I on cellos with a parallel line at the fifth
Another statement of D.I on cello
Staccato, march-like version of D.I on marimba and violin

Totentanz and Dies Irae 141 166):

Percussion instruments used:
Piano (clusters)
Marimba
Maracas (played by all players at the very end)

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