Some analysis of section C.
This has got to be my favourite part of Mars. It comes from the head of the fanfare tune I mentioned before. The tune (well, not exactly a nice melodious tune) is catchy, exciting and keeps you wanting to hear more. I think I hear [0 1 6] playing out here.
Taking C to be my reference note, an interval of a minor 3rd (C-Eb) slowly unfolds (C-E, C-F) til it expands to a tritone (C-Gb). The subtle changes of interval by a semitone, coupled with the imitation by the trumpets in a similar fashion, both create a sense of tension and a momentum for the music to move forward.
2 comments:
Good, I'm glad you noticed the intervallic expansion. Can you see similar instances in your Ex. 7?
Yes, I can see similar instances in Ex. 7, though I think the path of intervallic expansion is less predictable in Ex. 7 than in Ex. 6-1.
For example, when the bass trombone and tenor tuba enter, instead of a leap of a 5th up, a leap of a 6th is heard. Thereafter, the 3-note motif continues in the normal way (up perf. 5th, down semitone0. Another of such instance is heard with the entry of the trumpets.
When in comes to the horns, there's a leap up a 6th followed by a move down a tone. This "pattern" happens for 4 times.
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