Mood: tempo & dynamics
With
Annabel ThwaiteAnnabel Thwaite shows how tempo and dynamics set the mood of 'Good King Wenceslas', keeping it jolly and moving with a singing musical line.
What's in the course
21 lessons (0h 41m) · 2 free
Lesson transcript
Understanding Tempo in "Good King Wenceslas"
Let's look at tempo here.
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Crotchet equals 110: I think that's quite a jolly tempo to take. It's a happy song. You know, this King, this Bohemian King, is on his way. He's got a direction and he's bringing goodwill to all.
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Major Key: It's also in a major key, so we kind of want to keep it moving.
Avoiding Monotony
Again, we don't want to keep
- 4, 4, 4 crotchets in a bar, too heavy.
Even though he's trudging through the snow, we want to have direction.
Musical Expression
What I mean is:
- We don't want a disjointed rhythm, rather we want a sentence, we want a musical line.
Good King Wenceslas: When Selas looked out, you have a sort of slight, maybe crescendo, and then diminuendo. It's like going up the hill and then coming down the hill.
Royal Dynamics
Remember that this is a king. It's very stately, it's very royal. So we kind of want the whole dynamic to be:
- mf (mezzo forte): Not too forte, not too loud, but medium forte, with presence and grandeur.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Recognised as one of Britain's most versatile and charismatic pianists, Annabel Thwaite enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, educator and examiner, and has won all the major accompanying prizes, including the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier, Gold Medal, and Richard Tauber Piano Prizes. She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, David Kempster and "Only Men Aloud!"
Annabel has recorded for Universal records with the "Scottish Tenor", whose album was nominated for a Classical Brit Award and is regularly played on Classic FM. Twice the accompanist for the Festival of Welsh Male choirs, her performances at the Royal Albert Hall were recorded by Sain and have been aired on S4C. She is also a film session pianist, having recorded at Abbey Road the music for the film "Awake", the BBC Jane Austen series "Emma", "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister" and, most recently, she has appeared on both Blue Peter and "The Rob Brydon Show".
"...no doubt helped by the obviously brilliant piano accompaniments from Annabel Thwaite...highly enjoyable."
In her MusicGurus courses - Learn Christmas Classics on Piano, Learn Classical Favourites on Piano, and Growing Chamber Groups and Small Ensembles - Annabel shares the musicianship behind that versatile career. You will learn how to bring well-loved Christmas and classical pieces to life at the piano, develop your touch and phrasing, and, drawing on her award-winning experience as an accompanist, discover how to listen, lead and play together when making music with other musicians in chamber groups and small ensembles.
