BETHS THEME BY OLAFUR ARNOLDS– the composition was made for a 2013 BBC show called Broadchurch. The composition is played in the presence of a character named Beth and is used to express her character. Olafur Arnold makes variety’s of compositions with different styles, many of which are included in film and TV.
DID I ENJOY THE PIECE– I did not enjoy the piece as it was too repetitive for me and I got bored after the first couple minuets, however I thought the harmonies sounded really nice together and the piece was overall really beautiful.
HOW DID I FEEL- The piece is melancholy, and provokes emotion when you are listening to it. The sad emptions of the composition may come from the piano’s use of rubato in each bar of the composition.
PURPOSE OF COMPOSITION- As this composition is a theme for a character it has to be linked to the characters emotions and story, in this case it is a theme of mourning from a loss. In this case we have to feel what the character is feeling through the music using musical expression. Movies also use music to grip viewers and make them lose sense of reality.
D– Dynamics raise in the half way point of the piece overall. There is use of rubato in each bar of the piano.
R– time signature is 6/4, slow tempo
S– A section, B section
M– Melody isn’t very present during the composition
I– Piano ( always plays), violin 1 plays after 1 min), violin 2 ( comes in at half way point in high pitch), viola( plays after 1 min) , cello( plays after 2 min)
T– Only piano for the first Minuit (very thin), thicker in the B section, Thin A section, All instruments stop at end (very thin)
H– Chord changes every bar, Simple Harmony, Minor chords
HARMONIC ANALYSIS
OPENING SYMBOLS
The song is written with a rubato tempo, meaning it slows at you get closer to the end of the bar, this creates a sad and lonely theme to the song. The tempo is 80bpm which quite slow for a composition, but fitting for a sad song as it takes away energy from the piece, as tempo gives us energy. The time signature 6/4 meaning each bar will seem like it’s dragging through each bar. The sheet music also tells us to hold down the sustain pedal for a bar, and then release and press down again and repeat for the whole composition doing this will make the bar blend together and create a longing atmosphere to the song. The piece contains many dynamic markings such as; p, mp and f. At the beginning of the composition it says ‘p’ which means piano, which means quite in Italian. Therefore we are told to play the piano quietly at the start, which adds a soft and delicate tone to the composition. It also says express which means we have to add emotion, which tells us this song craves emotion and the players emotion makes it even more emotional and personal. The whole piece is soft in tone until bar 21, where the crescendo’s become louder at an mf dynamic level.
A SECTION PIANO DYNAMICS AND SLURS
Every single bar for the piano has a slur line, telling us to play every note in the bar at a legato flow, the use of the slur line in this piece makes the composition sound very emotional because of the blend of the notes. The composition uses begging’s to commonly use crescendos and diminuendos after the first five bars. The crescendo in this piece gives us false hope as we expect the piece to stay loud, but the diminuendo takes the loud dynamics away after one bar, this reflects on Beth’s story which about her looking for her child, every time she get’s false hope. In the middle of each Beth’s theme crescendo we have the symbol for mezzo forte, which translates to medium loud, this creates tension that we want to break loose but the diminuendo takes that away.
A SECTION STRINGS
The strings do not play until the A section starts at bar 13, with the cello and viola. The cello plays simple whole notes throughout the whole A section except for the use of an 8 beat tie that is used twice in the A section. The cello most often harmonises with the lowest note of the chord that is in the treble clef, when a chord repeats Olafur Arnolds tied the cello notes for 8 beats until a chord change. The viola is usually is made up of 2 minim ties throughout the whole of the A section. The viola harmonisation pattern Olafur Arnolds created is complicated, he used the viola to play the harmonisation of the chords 2 beats before it plays, he then tied the viola note up so it leads 2 beats into the next chord. This means the note only harmonises with the chord for 2 beats. In the A section the viola harmonises by playing the highest note of the chord in the treble clef. After the two beats that the viola harmonises with it’s chord, we then switch to the next harmony. This pattern repeats for the whole A section.
B SECTION
The rhythm of the B section is the same as the rhythm of the a section the only difference really is the articulation. All the instruments begin to play louder until it reaches a forte dynamic level. The piano is played louder than the strings making it the lead instrument out of the others. The pattern of the harmony is also the same as the A section but they work with a different chord progression. The last 16 bars of the composition are played by the piano alone, which get’s us ready for the end of the piece by decreasing tension. In the last bar of the song the piano goes from playing at mezzo forte to meet a diminuendo which takes it to Pianississimo which creates a fade out in the song. The contrast between the A and B section is not that big because of the identical rhythm, the big difference is the chord progression. Because the chords in the composition change after the A section to a new set, this changes the tone and mood of the composition.