Edexcel A Level Music Set Works June
2024 Exam Questions and Answers
100% Pass
Ralph Vaughan Williams
'On Wenlock Edge'
Context - Answer>>*Studied at RCM
*Father was a priest
*Inspired by Byrd and Tudor Music
*Inspired by A E Housmann's 1896 Collection 'A Shropshire Lad'
*Collected Folk Tunes
*Went against Germanic Style (to create fragile English sound)
*He studied under Ravel (only student not to use his style) and
Debussy
'On Wenlock Edge'
Melody - Answer>>*Word Painting (high)
*Obliqueness
*Semitonal movement
*Chromatic movement
*Arching melody
'On Wenlock Edge'
Rhythm - Answer>>*'Allegro moderato' - Surprising for a
'stormy' piece
*Intro has triplet quavers and sextuplet semiquavers
*Syncopation in strings
*Music heard in compound time
*Trills in strings
*Dotted rhythms
'On Wenlock Edge'
Structure - Answer>>Strophic (DW - DSM)
,'On Wenlock Edge'
Harmony - Answer>>*Parallelism
*Quartal Harmony
*A number of parallel 6/3 first inv chords
*False relations (common in Tudor music)
*Pentatonic sets used
'On Wenlock Edge'
Instrumentation - Answer>>*Quiet demisemiquaver flourishes
(ppp echoes)
*Tremelo
*Rapid repetition of notes (storm and turbulence)
*Long trills (intensify atmousphere)
*Sul ponticello
*crescendos and diminuendos (gales and their speed)
'On Wenlock Edge'
Texture - Answer>>*Homophonic - considerable variety
*Cello and Piano double the voice and octave lower whilst right
hand maintains continuous broken chord semiquavers
*Occasional Ornamental details in Violin 1
'On Wenlock Edge'
Tonality - Answer>>*G minor - clearly from 3-10 due to
pentatonic set
*Major/Minor ambiguity due to Bb of G major or B(nat) of G minor
*F(nat) suggest G minor rather than modal G major
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Melody - Answer>>Stepwise Movement
*Perfect 5ths used for intense moments
*Descending major 6ths and Rising major 7ths
*Word Painting
'Is my team Ploughing?'
,Rhythm - Answer>>*Changes in tempo match text
*Dead man - 'Andante sostenuto ma non troppo lento'
*Living friend - lively - 'Poco animato' after transitional 'animando'
*Dotted Rhythms
*Triplet quavers
*Ordinary Quavers
*Offbeat crotchets
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Structure - Answer>>*Strophic - Stanza's 3-6 are 5-8 (he avoids
the football stanzas)
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Harmony - Answer>>*Three parallel minor 5/3 triads
*Reverts to relatively old-fashioned style of chromatic harmony
*When friend is singing there is a chromatically descending bass
*Half diminished 7ths
*French augmented 6th chord
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Instrumentation - Answer>>*Muted strings (con sordino) which
emphasises mysterious distant effect of that sets the dead man's
words
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Texture - Answer>>*S1 and 3 = Single chord sustained by
upper strings (provide simple harmonic background)
*S2 and 4 = Repeated note triplet chords (almost) throughout
*BEG and END = Homorhythmic
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Tonality - Answer>>*S1 + 3 = Can be described as either
Dorian mode or D minor (with Dorian inflections)
*Ab is a disruptive tritone away from the tonic
, *Ab used later for a brief excursion to F minor
*S6 = blurred and inconclusive E major (still with the Ab (aka G
sharp))
'Bredon Hill'
Melody - Answer>>*Tenor range is 12th
*High notes for tension (Oh, noisy bells, be dumb centres around
G with top A on bells)
*Melisma's - Ring and Hap(py)
'Bredon Hill'
Rhythm - Answer>>*Tempo changes to reflect text
*Increased rhythmic activity in introduction with Heavy
Semibreves, Minims and crotchets and triplet crotchets in the
piano
*Continuous triplet crotchets in piano (representing bells)
*S3 + 4 Rapid quavers in piano
*Syncopation in accompaniment from S6
*Voice sung freely with ostinato accompaniment in strict time
'Bredon Hill'
Structure - Answer>>*Blending of strophic and through
composed
'Bredon Hill'
Harmony - Answer>>*Parallel octaves divided into 4ths and
5ths in right hand of the piano initially from the pentatonic set
representing bells over 7th chords and triads with some conflicting
pitches
*Mixture of 6ths, 5ths and 4ths (using pentatonic sets)
*Other parallelisms (including successions of perfect 4ths and
5ths)
*Superimposed minor 7th chords (initially Em7 and Am7)
*Parallel 6/4 (second inversion) triads, some major, some minor,
in strings
2024 Exam Questions and Answers
100% Pass
Ralph Vaughan Williams
'On Wenlock Edge'
Context - Answer>>*Studied at RCM
*Father was a priest
*Inspired by Byrd and Tudor Music
*Inspired by A E Housmann's 1896 Collection 'A Shropshire Lad'
*Collected Folk Tunes
*Went against Germanic Style (to create fragile English sound)
*He studied under Ravel (only student not to use his style) and
Debussy
'On Wenlock Edge'
Melody - Answer>>*Word Painting (high)
*Obliqueness
*Semitonal movement
*Chromatic movement
*Arching melody
'On Wenlock Edge'
Rhythm - Answer>>*'Allegro moderato' - Surprising for a
'stormy' piece
*Intro has triplet quavers and sextuplet semiquavers
*Syncopation in strings
*Music heard in compound time
*Trills in strings
*Dotted rhythms
'On Wenlock Edge'
Structure - Answer>>Strophic (DW - DSM)
,'On Wenlock Edge'
Harmony - Answer>>*Parallelism
*Quartal Harmony
*A number of parallel 6/3 first inv chords
*False relations (common in Tudor music)
*Pentatonic sets used
'On Wenlock Edge'
Instrumentation - Answer>>*Quiet demisemiquaver flourishes
(ppp echoes)
*Tremelo
*Rapid repetition of notes (storm and turbulence)
*Long trills (intensify atmousphere)
*Sul ponticello
*crescendos and diminuendos (gales and their speed)
'On Wenlock Edge'
Texture - Answer>>*Homophonic - considerable variety
*Cello and Piano double the voice and octave lower whilst right
hand maintains continuous broken chord semiquavers
*Occasional Ornamental details in Violin 1
'On Wenlock Edge'
Tonality - Answer>>*G minor - clearly from 3-10 due to
pentatonic set
*Major/Minor ambiguity due to Bb of G major or B(nat) of G minor
*F(nat) suggest G minor rather than modal G major
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Melody - Answer>>Stepwise Movement
*Perfect 5ths used for intense moments
*Descending major 6ths and Rising major 7ths
*Word Painting
'Is my team Ploughing?'
,Rhythm - Answer>>*Changes in tempo match text
*Dead man - 'Andante sostenuto ma non troppo lento'
*Living friend - lively - 'Poco animato' after transitional 'animando'
*Dotted Rhythms
*Triplet quavers
*Ordinary Quavers
*Offbeat crotchets
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Structure - Answer>>*Strophic - Stanza's 3-6 are 5-8 (he avoids
the football stanzas)
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Harmony - Answer>>*Three parallel minor 5/3 triads
*Reverts to relatively old-fashioned style of chromatic harmony
*When friend is singing there is a chromatically descending bass
*Half diminished 7ths
*French augmented 6th chord
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Instrumentation - Answer>>*Muted strings (con sordino) which
emphasises mysterious distant effect of that sets the dead man's
words
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Texture - Answer>>*S1 and 3 = Single chord sustained by
upper strings (provide simple harmonic background)
*S2 and 4 = Repeated note triplet chords (almost) throughout
*BEG and END = Homorhythmic
'Is my team Ploughing?'
Tonality - Answer>>*S1 + 3 = Can be described as either
Dorian mode or D minor (with Dorian inflections)
*Ab is a disruptive tritone away from the tonic
, *Ab used later for a brief excursion to F minor
*S6 = blurred and inconclusive E major (still with the Ab (aka G
sharp))
'Bredon Hill'
Melody - Answer>>*Tenor range is 12th
*High notes for tension (Oh, noisy bells, be dumb centres around
G with top A on bells)
*Melisma's - Ring and Hap(py)
'Bredon Hill'
Rhythm - Answer>>*Tempo changes to reflect text
*Increased rhythmic activity in introduction with Heavy
Semibreves, Minims and crotchets and triplet crotchets in the
piano
*Continuous triplet crotchets in piano (representing bells)
*S3 + 4 Rapid quavers in piano
*Syncopation in accompaniment from S6
*Voice sung freely with ostinato accompaniment in strict time
'Bredon Hill'
Structure - Answer>>*Blending of strophic and through
composed
'Bredon Hill'
Harmony - Answer>>*Parallel octaves divided into 4ths and
5ths in right hand of the piano initially from the pentatonic set
representing bells over 7th chords and triads with some conflicting
pitches
*Mixture of 6ths, 5ths and 4ths (using pentatonic sets)
*Other parallelisms (including successions of perfect 4ths and
5ths)
*Superimposed minor 7th chords (initially Em7 and Am7)
*Parallel 6/4 (second inversion) triads, some major, some minor,
in strings
