Sing We At Pleasure by Thomas Weelkes Analysis

• Section A starts at the beginning.
• This type of madrigal is known as a ballet and is characterised by a light, dance-like style and fa-la-la refrains.
• Sing We At Pleasure has a binary structure (AB)
• The texture is polyphonic from the multiple melodies being sung.
• There are five instruments: a five part harmony being two Sopranos, Alto, Tenor and Bass. ‘Cantus’ is Latin for ‘song’ while ‘Quintus’ is Latin for ‘fifth part’.
• The mood of the piece is carefree and jollity (dance like).
• The Tenor is a transposing voice from the key signature given with a small ‘8’ below the treble clef. This means to sing an octave lower than written.
• The notes to the right of the clef show the range of notes the vocal part will sing.
• There is a lack of key signature at the start. However, with F being sharpened, we presume it is in G major.
• Occasionally, the voices have the same rhythm which is known as a chordal and homorhythmic texture.
• There is the use of overlapping vocal entries: the Soprano 2 and Bass are first heard singing the same tune a bar later than the other parts.
• There is an absence of dynamics and tempo to the piece.
• The word setting is almost entirely syllabic (one syllable per note).
• This is a piece was published in the renaissance period which was during 1500-1600.
• The use of a dotted crochet and quaver in bar 6 creates syncopation.
• At bar 7, there is a difference of a 10th in the Soprano 2 and Bass parts.
• At bar 9 when the ‘Fa la la’ start, there is a contrapuntal polyphonic texture (there is more than two independent melodic lines).
• Bars 9-11 are made clear they are in the key of D major from the added C sharp.
• Bar 10 is the start of the ‘Fa la la’ refrain.
• There is a tritone in the Bass and Soprano part at bar 10 (C sharp and G which is an augmented 4th). This is an unprepared tritone.
• The dotted rhythms are mostly repeated by another voice creating a lively rhythm. This creates lively triple-time rhythms.
• There is another tritone at bar 16 in the Bass and Soprano with the notes B and F. This represents the devil and fear.
• At bar 22, there is a perfect cadence in G major.
• Perfect cadences and tritones were features of Weelkes’s musical style.
• There is a hemiola (moving in duple time where two groups of three beats are replaced by three groups of two beats) in bars 20-21. This gives the sense the music is moving into duple metre.
• The style uses consonant major chords: most of the chords are in root position or first inversion.
• The repeat is completely unchanged.
• Section B starts at bar 22.
• This section is longer as it has four lines of text before the ‘Fa la la’ refrain whereas Section A only has two lines of text.
• The start of Section B (bars 22-24) adopts a homophonic texture. After that, there are imitations when the vocal parts enter one beat at a time.
• Section B uses root position chords.
• There is an imperfect cadence at bar 33-34 of Chord 1-V (G-D).
• There is further imitation where the vocal parts copy each other at bars 35-40.
• The idea of using keys was still a new invention to music at the timing of this piece. Therefore, there is still some use of a modal system.
• Bar 50-53 have a homophonic texture.
• There is an unprepared tritone at bar 52-3 creating a syncopated suspension (chord needing to be resolved). A G suspension resolves down to a F sharp.
• Section B ends at 53. Section B is repeated after that in a varied form.
• The two Soprano swap parts the start along with a homophonic texture.
• Bars 56 onwards feature imitation.
• Weelkes tends to end sections in G major. The varied version of Section B ends at bar 62 on an imperfect cadence (V-I: D-G).
• Madrigal singing became a social accomplishment and was helped by the invention of music printing earlier in the 16th century.

Summary 

• Texture – Homophonic, homorhythmic and contrapuntal with imitation throughout.
• Tonality – G major with imperfect cadences and all sections finishing on a chord of G.
• Structure – Binary although it lacks tonal contrasts of most binary structures because Section A does not close outside the G major in which the whole piece begins and ends.
• Harmony – Mostly root position which some first inversion chords too. There are dissonant chords, a suspensions and tritones too.
• Melody – Mostly conjunct motion (in step) with occasional leaps of 3rds, 4ths a few larger leaps such as on ‘pleasure’ which goes from high G to low G.
• Rhythm – Use of a hemiola. Lots of syncopation throughout due to imitation and dotted crochets and quavers throughout the piece.