Tonal idioms

Continuous music with

fast tempos and layered

repeated figures

Complex metres such

as 13/8

Programmatic work

picturing five small

islands near Port

Kembla

Each piece suggests

different pictures from

rolling sea to bright

sunshine, to solitude

and loneliness

FIVE ISLANDS

Lively and exuberant tempo Arch form: ABCDCBA –

CodaModal tonality to suggest

an historical link Energetic rhythm, driving

music forward Underlying rhythmic

pattern that is heard throughout and unifies the piece Discordant major

seconds

Modal tonality –Mixolydian modes based on A, F#, B and E Tonic and dominant

pedal notes Sustaining pedal to add

resonanceOrnamentation with

quintuplets and trills Clear articulation

markings.

BASS ISLAND

IDENTIFY THE NOTES USED IN THIS

EXCERPT

MIXOLYDIAN MODE IN A

TONE-TONE-SEMITONE-TONE-TONE-

SEMITONE-TONE

B SECTION

MIXOLYDIAN MODE IN F#

SECTION D

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. How does this piece demonstrate the composer’s

compositional style of continuous music?

2. What is the tonality of section A and how is this

established?

3. How does the melody of section B differ from that of

section A?

4. What is the mood of the music? Which musical elements

contribute to this mood?

Gently flowing tempo indication and evokes a mood of apprehension, loneliness and isolation

Tonal qualities of two adjacent notes C and Db

Three sections, first two are repeated.

First section has C as a tonal centre

Second section has Db as a tonal centre

Soft dynamic markings

Built around a 5 note motive, constant repetition creates a feeling of apprehension

Other motivic ideas or chordal passages are heard against it played by the right hand

Dissonant intervals and changes of texture for variety

Legato articulation with different phrasing conceals natural accents to aid flow

Use of sustain pedal

MARTIN ISLAND

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. What musical means does the composure use to create a

mood of loneliness and isolation in the A section?

2. What musical means does the composer use to achieve

the change of mood?

3. How is the tonal argument resolved in the final bar?

BASS ISLAND FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. The lively exuberant tempo, 13/8 rhythmic pattern that is heard thrghout

seem to make the music rush on continuosly

2. Mixolydian mode based on A is established with low As in bars 3,4 and

5 and a repeated A in the bass in bar 6

3. B is mostly legato, lyrical melody with a little syncopation, whereas A

has a chordal type melody with repeated notes and some staccato

MARTIN ISLAND FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. Hypnotic repetition of the insistent quaver motive, repetition of right

hand motives at original pitch and at the octave, a smooth melodic

contour that rises and then falls, legato articulation, discordant

intervals in the chords or between the hands mainly soft dynamics, use

of the sustaining pedal.

2. Pitch rises to a tonal centre a semitone higher, use of tonal Db

chord, nearly all three note chords in the right hand making the texture

thicker

3. A fragment of the motive rises up to Db and then sinks back again to C

with a pause above it.

4. Energetic, fast tempo, repeated driving rhythms, energetic

discords, lyrical melodies