23.10.14

Well done today – the first attempt at listening is tough and it takes time to try and work out what they are after when the question asks you to ‘describe’ for 3 0r 4 marks. They are open-ended questions, which are not easy to grasp… Nonetheless, grasp them we must! I was pleased with the marks for a first go though. Also we reviewed our first essay attempt on the Bach, and contributed well towards the essay plan.

Harmony work continues to improve, but you have to be so careful not to make little careless mistakes. Every mark is precious! See if you can unpick the differences between my answers for Chorale question 7 – one is excellent, one is ok, and one is poor, but which is which? They all sound pretty similar when you listen to them. Then have a go at this week’s chorale.

The three listening pieces offer interesting contrasts, with Allegri’s famous setting of Psalm 51, Miserere Mei, Dei, sounding like it might have been written fifty years earlier, and not in 1630, with a piece of uplifting Bach (1735), from his Ascension Oratorio, contrasting with the more modern piece, Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra (1943).

After half-term, we must brush up on our sonata form, in preparation for Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B flat major, K.333, composed in 1783. We should be experts on this, having successfully studied it so well for GCSE! Part of this week’s homework is to do some preparation on this piece.

Well done for working so hard this half-term and make sure that we keep going over the holiday with practice, listening to music etc…