It's called 'God so loved the world' by John Stainer (1840 - 1901).
John Stainer was an English composer who is not greatly admired today but is recognised for many of his more famous works like the cantata 'The Crucifixion'. The exerpt i'm showing here is actually the chorus from this cantata. It is written for the SATB choir and organ.
I've given a Roman Numeral (RN) analysis, function analysis and also the phrase structure analysis in the 'A' section in the scans below. The whole chorus follows a A-B-A' format but I would focus on the first 'A' section for now.
Comment on Function and Harmony
If I am not too mistaken (hopefully :D), the excerpt actually follows a rather 'simple' function of simply T-PD-D-T. However, Stainer uses 16 bars to colour and expand the PreDominant function.
From bar 5, the iii chord introduces the PD harmony that is further expanded with few secondary dominant chords found in bar 6 and 12. The PD expansion seems to lead to the tonicization of the IV chord in bar 16 through a suspended V7/IV chord. However, the modulation did not pause there, as it continues to expand through bar 17 to 20 before entering the Dominant function.
Comment on Phrase Structure
I have analysed the first section of this excerpt as a phrase group with a rather regular pattern of 4 bars per subphrase. I did not consider it as 2 simple periods nor a double period as there is no clear antecedent and consequent phrases. The first 4 bars seem to reach a Imperfect Authentic Candence (IAC) as it ends with a I chord in its first inversion, suggesting a possible antecedent phrase character. However, the following 4 bars did not suggest a more complete closure than the latter. Likewise for the other two 4-bar phrases. Therefore, I decided to take it as a phrase group with 4 separate subphrases.
Another point that suggests that it is a phrase group is the melody line. I noticed that the melody line (soprano) leaps up at every end of the subphrase, which causes less of a sense of closure to the hearer. This is also a way to build tension in the song that creates a forward movement throughout the chorus.
From bar 17 onwards to 23, the phrase structure changes to a sentence structure as the short-short-long character can be clearly seen through the melody and also the lyrics themselves.
Other Comments
As this piece was meant to be a capella, all of the direction of harmony and mood lies with the singers and the arrangement of the SATB sections. Stainer was able to build up tension through the direction of the soprano melody line and also the elaborated yet detailed expansion of the PD function by alternating between minor and diminished coloured chords that end with the major chords at the end of the subphrase.
The unison D note in bar 17 subtly introduces the new sentence phrase structure and also the promise that the lyrics deliver. The Dominant function is also expanded over 2 bars by the moving soprano and tenor line that colours the V chord.
Here's a link to the song in Youtube if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5Akz6J8Rw0&feature=related
Overall, it really is a delicately crafted song. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! :)
That's all for now. Feel free to comment too.
Thank you very much for reading.
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
--John 3:16
hello beverly here! (like finally!)
ReplyDeleteGenerally i think your analysis is detailed and well done! =D and i will just want to comment on 2 points!
firstly. i would like to argue for the first 4 sub phrases that you have mentioned to be a Short Short Long structure instead. as bar 8 onwards seems to be a continous phrase structure.
secondly, on the topic of building tension in the piece, other than the 2 reasons mentioned in your comments already, i think the tension can be built by the repeated crescendos that appear in many places throughout the piece. it adds volume to the piece which is rightfully so as it is meant to be sung as a capella, the crescendos adds contour to the piece and successfully breaks the piece up the parts.
Also, the drastic change in dynamic, mf - p- f. furthers adds direction to the piece and it creates an imagery of releasing and pulling back at the end of a phrase/sentence!
overall WELL DONE shermin :) it must be a difficult song to sing! HAHA
Hello Beverly!
ReplyDeletefinally my 'commentor' commented haha. thanks for your advice!:)
well, regarding your first point, I did consider it to be a sentence structure. When it is sung, it does sound like a sentence structure. However, if I were to look at it as a score, the phrasal length difference between the short-short-long is not distinct enough (with only 1 bar difference in length). So I decided to take it as a subphrase.
It is interesting to note that when sung, conductors tend to take the Ib chord in bar 3 to be held by a fermata, letting the sound fill the hall before entering the next phrase, accentuating a similar sentence structure feeling.
But I really can't decide whether to put it as a Sentence or just a group of subphrases.Another reason why I did not put it as a sentence was because there wasn't a full closing at the end in bar 12. So I decided to take it as subphrases :)
Regarding your second point, thanks! Guess I overlooked it haha. But definitely felt it when I was singing it. haha.
And I realised my hypermeter analysis bit is missing from my post! So i shall comment it here haha. I hope the alignment won't go too off:)
U -- weak
_ -- strong
_ U _ U
God so loved the world, God so loved the world.
_ U _ U
That He gave His on-ly be-got-ten Son
_ U _ U
that Who-so be-liev-eth be-liev-eth in Him
_ U _ U _ U _ U
Should not per-ish, Should not per-ish,
_ U
but have ev-er-last-ing life.
I feel the hypermeter of this song is really interesting as it changes as the phrasal structure changes. And I would tend to believe that different singers would definitely appraoch to this hypermeter differently. The accent in bar 17 and the two consecutive minims in bar 18 and 19 gives a 'syncopated' feeling, creating an interesting hypermetric feel.
Alright, that's all. Thanks all for reading and thank you beverly for commenting :)
shermin
Shermin, you did a pretty good job identifying some of the tonicizations and voice-leading elaborations involving suspensions (not an easy piece to analyze).
ReplyDeleteNote that at bs. 9-10, we have a tonicization involving what the Americans call deceptive motion (like our interrupted cadence but not necessarily cadencing): V7/vi - VI/vi. A more conventional tonicization of vi later occurs at bs. 18-20, followed by yet another V7/vi - VI/vi, the latter chord then doubles up as IV of the home key to lead to the perfect cadence.
It's great that you saw the entire 23 bars to be no more than a T-PD-D-T, which is basically correct, except that I would place the PD at b. 10. The first 9 bars is simply I-I6-iii-I6 (i.e. the I6 elaborated with a 6-5-6).
Notice that the harmony in b.6 is a viio4/3 of iii, which substitutes for V4/2 of iii. Do you then see the parallel between bs. 1-4 and 5-8? This underscores the sequential relation between the two phrases. In contrast, Stainer modifies the harmony upon sequencing in the next pair of phrases (9-12 & 13-16). The melodic alternation further obscures the sequence but once you realize it, you (and Bev) would not be puzzled over whether the first 12 bars is a sentence: your initial reading of 4 phrases (more specifically, two pairs of sequential phrases) is correct. I would however add that the ensuing 7-bar sentence (2+2+3) forms the last phrase of the 5-phrase phrase group here.
I am so thankful that someone respects and values this hymn enough to analyze it with such passion. I wish I knew the people in this forum; you'd all be great dinner company.
ReplyDelete