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Learning Objectives

Be ready to...

  • Identify repeated occurrences of a musical idea and use them to illustrate how unity is created within a musical selection.
  • Examine how variety in music sustains our interest in selected musical examples.
  • Analyze, through listening examples, how musical compositions “work” using the concepts of unity and variety.
  • Discuss how George Frideric Handel uses dynamics and timbre to achieve variety in music compositions.
  • Define and describe the following musical terms: cadence, composition, dynamics, ensemble, movement, solo, and timbre.

Unity and Variety

Let's begin by listening to two fundamental concepts that make a piece of music "work"—the concepts of unity and variety. Most people like hearing sounds that they find pleasing, memorable, and familiar. Within a given composition, the feeling of familiarity—fostered by, among other things, reiterations of a musical idea—lends a sense of unity to the music. Whereas unity satisfies the human need for sameness and familiarity, variety sustains our interest and appeals to our need for, and enjoyment of, the new, different, and unexpected.

To illustrate the relevance of these concepts, let's listen to how they are used in a piece of music by George Frideric Handel, a musician who lived between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and whose music remains popular to this day.

 

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes"

"See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes"  is one of Handel's most popular pieces. Three minutes and three seconds (3:03) long, it is a movement within a longer composition entitled Judas Maccabaeus written for an ensemble (group) of musicians. A movement is a complete, self-contained section within a larger music composition. So, if you think of Judas Maccabaeus as a book, then we could say that "See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" is a chapter in that book.

A movement may be enjoyed by itself; however, like a chapter in a book, it also fits into the structure of a larger composition.

While you listen to this piece, ask yourself questions such as: what do you hear in this selection? In what way does this piece demonstrate unity and variety? Does listening to this music have any emotional or physical effect on you?

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel

G. F Handel

Musical Ideas

Now that you have listened to the entire piece, let's look at the structure of the work broken down into smaller sections. In this movement, there are two main musical ideas—call them Idea A and Idea B. Similar to an idea expressed through written or spoken language, a musical idea is a phrase (or segment thereof) that obtains complete meaning by coming to a natural resting point. In music, this resting point is called a cadential point, or cadence.

This is my own explanation for Palo Alto students.

 

 

Idea A

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 00:00-00:15 ]00:15

 

 

Idea B

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 00:29-00:44 ]00:15

Handel was a great composer, so he knew that these two melodies by themselves wouldn't make for a very appealing piece of music. He had to introduce variety. That is, he had to manipulate these basic ideas by presenting them in different and interesting ways. Handel accomplished this by presenting the two ideas at varying levels of volume and assigning them to different instruments. By combining them in creative and skillful ways, the composer created a wonderful example of unity and variety in music.

In rather more technical terms, Handel used dynamics (different levels of volume) and timbre (different sound sources) to achieve variety. In the following examples, please listen carefully for:

  1. Two main ideas, A and B
  2. Two levels of volume (soft and loud)
  3. Different instruments (timbre)

 

 

 

Idea A played softly by a solo horn

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 02:28-02:43 ]00:15

 

 

Idea A played loudly by the whole ensemble

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 01:59-02:13 ]00:14

 

 

 

Idea B played softly by the whole ensemble

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 01:29-01:44 ]00:15

 

 

 

Idea B loudly by the whole ensemble

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 (arr. for orchestra): Judas Maccabaeus: See Here the Conqu'ring Hero Comes" [ 02:28-02:43 ]00:15

Unity and Variety in the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah

Now, with the help of the Listening Guide for the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Messiah, arguably one of Handel's best-known works, try to identify as many elements of unity and variety as you can in the music.

 

 

Let's look at one example of each texture. First, listen to the following polyphonic passage, and notice how male and female voices come in at different times each with their own melody and rhythm to sing the text "And He shall reign for ever and ever"

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus"

 

In contrast, notice how all the voices and the orchestral accompaniment move rhythmically together to present the text "The kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ" in the following homophonic passage

Composer: George Frideric Handel

  • "Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus"