Project 9: Descants

I have some basic experience of writing descants when arranging pieces for our school Orchestra.  However, I must admit I did not know at the time that I was actually writing descants…I thought it was just about some harmonic decoration! 

However, I found this task quite challenging, mainly due to the fact my previous experience of descants was based on tunes that were well known to me, and were therefore a simple improvised continuation of the structure of modern, chord based music.  This task led me out of this genre and made me look at an older style of vocal compositions, which I found very interesting.

When studying the examples of descants in the course material, I could not help but notice the melodic motion that follows in both voices.  It seems that if you were to squeeze both staves together and play the entire composition using one instrument, the notation would still follow a smooth and melodic motion throughout. 

I found the use of percussion interesting and began thinking about its use in both the harmonic effect and the practicality of the piece.  Today’s more popular musicians seem to rely heavily on the use of the drum kit to aid their timing, and I wondered whether the same could have been said about the use of percussion in older pieces of music. 

For my first descant composition I chose to use Quem Pastores, as the relative simplicity of the melody provides a lot of opportunity for an interesting descant.  Here I used quite simple pattern of ‘activating’ the descant when the original melody is at its most still.  The middle section of minims and crotchets gave the best opportunity for me to experiment with a slightly more complex melody line.  The dynamics I have used in this piece are aimed to keep a balance between the original melody and the descant, allowing each line its own opportunity to be the main effect.    Upon reflection of this piece, the variation of the tones in the descant is probably bordering on more of polyphonic composition than a descant addition. 

My second composition was a descant for Na haste do castananheiro because, in contrast to Quem Pastores, it has quite a busy and hectic melodic line and I wanted to experiment with how a descant can work with such a melodic style. 

When composing this descant I tried a slightly different approach of imitating and reflecting the original melodic pattern.  For instance, the first bar presents as:

crotchet, crotchet, quaver, quaver.

I have reversed and reflected that pattern to read:

quaver, quaver, crotchet, crotchet.

I have then used the next bar as more of a rest in the melodic pattern, using long slurred motifs to accent the original melody. 

More so than with the last example, dynamics were essential in ensuring that two quite varied and interesting melodic lines did not get lost within one another.  I therefore used very soft dynamics, pulsing slightly to allow each line to be clearly heard throughout. 

In my final descant composition I chose to use Kaki se kukkuu as my starting melody.  Here I have tried to incorporate ideas from my previous descant compositions to create a varied but harmonically stable piece.  Before beginning this I wrote dynamics for the original melody, regularly changing between forte and piano.  By doing this I could plan from the outset how and where I wanted the descant to ‘flourish’ during the piece. 

Once again, I have chosen to imitate and reflect sections of the original composition and contrast it with longer, slurred sections.  This approach, teamed with having a strong and clear idea of the dynamic value of the descant, allowed me to create a descant with which I am very happy. 

Despite this being aimed towards a vocal ensemble, I am particularly pleased with how this piece sounds when using a piano and flute to play the parts separately.