MUL 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Glissando, Mahalia Jackson, Gospel Music
20 Apr 2018
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Minimalism: brief musical idea is repeated and varied incrementally over a long span of time with a slow rate of change. Timbres: electronic organ, small mixed chorus, two speakers. Harmony: fourth, fifth, and first scale degrees; simple and repeated. Form: series of variations on a series of short melodic fragments with music unfolding over a constantly repeated bass (ostinato) By: mahalia jackson: gospel music began in 1920s and 1930s. Aspects of blues with expressive freedom and fervor found in churches. Classic age of gospel- 1940s/1950s: form: single verse followed by two iterations of the chorus. Fills: short melodies and motives that maintain the musical intensity between singer"s phrases. Special sound effects: glissando, where the pianist plays a rapid flourish up or down on keyboard. Rhythm: slow shuffle groove, each beat in a four beat measure is divided into three evenly spaced pulses.
