Listening Exercise 3
Differentiating Voices
The purpose of this exercise is for you to work on differentiating different voices within a polyphonic texture. Please answer the questions appropriate to the example.
Please write your answers on a sheet of paper and turn them in for our next class.. Thank you.
Questions 1 and 2 refer to Listening Example 1, taken from Rossignol du bois from the Ars Nova composer, Borlet (fl. late 14th century).
1. In the following example how many musical lines are there?
2. Please briefly explain what are playing/singing those lines. Terminology is unimportant, simply try to make yourself clear. (e.g. there is a drum, a very low singer and some sort of violin.)
Listening Example 1
Questions 3, 4, and 5 reference the "Western Wind" mass of the English composer John Taverner (c.1490 - 1545). You are asked to differentiate the four voice parts. If you can differentiate John from Paul in the Beatles, or your friend Jim from your friend Bob when they call on the phone, you have the ability to do this.
At the beginning of Listening Example 2 the four voices enter one after the other. The order of their entry is: Bass, Tenor, Soprano, Alto.
3. The amount of voices singing changes twice in Listening Example 2. a. Identify the voices singing after the first change (0:38) and b. the second change (1:17).
Listening Example 2
4. Identify the voices singing in Listening Example 3.
Listening Example 3
5.In Listening Example 4, the voices change in the middle. Identify the voices singing in a. the first half and b. the second half.
Listening Example 4