Pavane Lachrimae - Sweelinck

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Melody

  • Restricted range of notes
  • Rapid semiquavers as ornamentations (bar 14 is a written out trill)
  • Leap of a 6th in bar 2 is striking
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Rhythm and Metre

  • Common (simple quadruple) time
  • Occasional syncopation (minim A in bar 37 creates a suspension)
  • Variation sections with continuous semiquavers
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T. For Texture

  • Mostly in four parts like SATB
  • Bars 1-4 have contrapuntal texture
  • Bars 23 and 24 have exchanges between parts
  • In bars 39-41 pairs of parallel 3rds and 6ths are in rapid dialogue
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Structure

  • Structure is in 3 sections
  • Unlike dowland he uses varied repeats
  • Phrasing starts balanced but does not continue
  • A: 1-16 in A minor but ends in A major
  • Av: 17-32 in A minor but ends in A major
  • B: 33-48 in A minor ending with an imperfect cadence
  • Bv: 49-64 - same as above
  • C: 65-81 in A minor but ends in A major
  • Cv: 82-98 in A minor but ends in A major
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Harmony

  • Mainly root and 1st inversion chords
  • Many cadences
  • Use of suspensions (prominent a minim creates suspension
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Instruments

  • Composed for a single harpsichord
  • 3 octave range
  • Limited range reflects the source material Flow my Tears which also had a limited range
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Tonality

  • Piece was composed before the major/minor system
  • So it is in the Aeolian mode, reinforced by G naturals
  • And it uses false relations in bar 10
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