A Level Music: 'Take Her to the Sea, Mr Murdoch' from Titanic, James Horner
- Created by: ChloeGerrard
- Created on: 07-06-14 13:26
View mindmap
- 'Take Her to the Sea, Mr Murdoch' from Titanic (1997) by James Horner
- Resources
- Orchestra, Voices, Synthesised Vocal Sounds, 2 Harps and Piano
- Orchestrs has standard sections & instruments used traditionally.
- Percussion interesting: timpani, suspended cymbal, bass drum, tubular bells, bell tree, a glockenspiel and sleigh bells.
- Doubled parts, limited range
- Structure
- Reflects what's happening in the film - helps tell the story
- Through-composed
- Defined by melodic sections: 'the Leaving of Liverpool' and 'Dance Section'
- Repetition
- Texture
- Homophonic: bar 80
- Homorhythmic: bar 37
- Heterophonic: bar 21 (same melody, different rhythms), trombone, horns, violin II & viola
- Imitation: opening
- Pedals: bars 11, 57 and 106 in double bass (establishes key)
- Accented pedal notes: bar 8 in viola
- Octaves: bar 11 in cello
- Rhythm
- Syncopation: bar 37
- Quavers, semiquavers, crotchets and minims = rhythmically standard
- Quaver triplets: bar 57
- Augmentation of 'Leaving of Liverpool' - (note lengths doubled): bar 86
- Rhythm gradually builds (gets faster as ship moves)
- Metre
- 3/4
- Moves to 4/4, 3/2, 5/4 and 2/2
- Changing time signature = ambiguous beat
- 5/4 at bar 37: folk feel = irish nationality
- Keeps piece moving forward
- Andante tempo at beginning
- Tonality
- Traditional and diatonic
- Opens in Eb Major, yet sounds modal (Raised Lydian 4th)
- Tonally ambiguous at beginning: no written key sig & Lydian 4th blurs key
- Modulates frequently to unrelated keys
- Modulations occur without candences
- Therefore, modulates in tertiary movement, i.e. in 3rds
- Begins in D maj: bar 8, B maj: bar 15, Ab maj: bar 19
- Next tertiary movement begins in E maj: bar 21, C maj: bar 23, A maj: bar 25
- Key settles in G maj: bar 30 (calmer feel)
- Abrupt key change to D maj: bar 57
- Final tertiary movement at bar 86 to B major (from D)
- Abrupt key change to D maj: bar 57
- Helps build excitement
- Piece ends in B major
- Final chord is missing 3rd (hollow sound of bare 5ths)
- Therefore, modulates in tertiary movement, i.e. in 3rds
- Modulations occur without candences
- Harmony
- Tonal, diatonic and functional
- Mostly diatonic: bar 37 (trad. dance tune)
- Mostly roots and first inversion chords
- Pedals: bars 11, 57 and 106 in double bass (establishes key)
- Accented pedal notes: bar 8 in viola
- Perfect cadences rare
- Piece moves from one key to another with preparation
- There is one at end of piece
- Circle of 5ths in bass: bars 41-53
- A Major: bar 25, yet a random Eb maj chord is heard in bar 26
- Tonal, diatonic and functional
- Melody
- Opening figure: rising, based on Eb maj, yet Ab (4th note) is raised
- Raised Lydian 4th - modal quality, and hints folk
- Inversion: 2nd bar inverts 1st
- Outline of this re-occurs with ostinato played in viola: bar 12
- 'Leaving of Liverpool': bar 30
- Based on first 2 bars of trad. Irish ballad
- Outlines G major arp and scale
- 'Dance Melody': bar 37
- Written in 5/4
- Appears again in 6/4: bar 68
- Syncopated
- Restricted, similar movement
- Reflects waves
- Conjunct and repetitive
- Opening figure: rising, based on Eb maj, yet Ab (4th note) is raised
- Resources
- Percussion interesting: timpani, suspended cymbal, bass drum, tubular bells, bell tree, a glockenspiel and sleigh bells.
Comments
No comments have yet been made