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22
OVERVIEW
In this chapter we explore the relationship between music and
words, focusing on the way in which the sounds and rhythms
of words as well as their meanings contribute to the overall
impact of a piece of music. Attention is given to the vari ous
types of text- settings, formal designs, and languages that will
be featured in later chapters.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the vari ous ways in which texts can con-
sist of words or sounds in de pen dent of words (e.g.,
nonlexical syllables, scat- singing, vocalise)
2. To gain a familiarity with the dif fer ent kinds of
languages and their contexts (secular vs. sacred), to be
explored in the examples from later chapters
3. To understand and identify the three styles of text- setting
(syllabic, neumatic, melismatic)
4. To understand the compositional aspects of text- setting
and word- painting
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Sample for the class a number of short excerpts that fea-
ture vari ous types of text- setting, and have students tally
the excerpts according to the three categories (melis-
matic, neumatic, syllabic). Prompt the students for their
findings, and replay any examples on which they dis-
agree. Here are some examples:
OUTLINE
I. Song: Union of Music and Words
A. Nonlexical (nonsensical) syllables
1. scat- singing: wordless vocables
a. jazz vocal improvisation
b. En glish madrigals, Christmas carols: “fa la la
la la”
2. vocalise: wordless vocal melody, singing on a
neutral vowel
B. Sacred (religious) music
1. music for worship set in Hebrew, Greek, Latin
2. Latin: language of Roman Catholic Church
a. medieval and Re nais sance language of
learning
C. Secular (nonreligious) music
1. sung in the vernacular (language of the people)
D. Texts
1. often don’t translate perfectly
2. composers set variety of texts
a. many set pre- existing poems or prose; words
precede the tune
b. lyricist/composer teams work together
II. Text Organizes the Tune
A. Words and melodies ow in phrases
1. common musical settings:
a. strophic form: same music for each stanza
b. refrain or chorus: words and music recur after
each stanza
2. text- setting styles
a. syllabic: one note per syllable
b. melismatic: many notes per syllable
c. neumatic: few notes to each syllable
3. word- painting: music pictorializes a word,
emphasizes text
CHAPTERfi8 Text and Music
Text and Music | 23
TEACHING CHALLENGES
Providing musical examples with unclear diction and enun-
ciation may confuse students as they try to detect the tech-
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
Listen to following tracks and label them according to
one of three text- setting styles: syllabic, melismatic, or
neumatic:
3. Porpora: “Come nave in mezzo all’onde,” from Siface
(especially 0:38–0:52, 1:24–1:39, etc.)
Model response: Melismatic
5. Hector Lavoe: Ausencia
Model response: Syllabic
Melismatic: Gaude Maria virgo (opening); J. S. Bach,
Cantata No.140, Wachet auf, Chorale fantasia,
“Alleluja!” in the first B section
Neumatic: Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, “When I am laid
irae
2. The textbook gives the example of Brahms’s Lullaby as
a piece whose En glish translation does not quite “fit the
melodic line.” Explore this issue further with your class
by playing back- to- back excerpts from an opera, first in
the original language, then translated into En glish. To
use an example from the listening guides, compare the
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
genres (classic rock, rhythm and blues, pop rock, etc.). Note
in your responses the predominant structure of the song
(stanza, verse- refrain) and the text- setting (melismatic, neu-
