Types of cadence

Quick quiz for any of you who have ever studied any music theory: Before reading any further, how many types of cadence can you name?

One of the things I love about choir rehearsals is that they very often remind me of things I once knew and ought to still know, so I have to go home and look them up. Tonight it was English cadences, of which there are many in the Vaughan Williams. When the term was first mentioned last night, I thought I knew what they were, but when the explanation was given I was wrong. Turned out I was getting them muddled with feminine cadences, which are basically cadences in which the final note is on a weak beat of the bar. And while I was looking this up, I got sidetracked and was reminded of Phrygian cadences, and discovered their link with Andalusian cadences - I'd never heard of those before! (Well, not by that name, although the sound of the cadence is very familiar.)

If you mentioned any of these in your list of cadences, you definitely win. However, the four standard ones (that I think are probably on the Grade 5 Theory syllabus, although I could be wrong about that) are Perfect (V-I); Plagal (IV-I); Imperfect (anything-V) and Interrupted (V-VI). If you got all four, give yourself a pat on the back! (Lots more info, as usual, at Wikipedia.)

(Oddly enough, Wikipedia doesn't have an entry for Phrygian cadences - maybe I will write one - but while checking my info elsewhere, I discovered this very useful dictionary of musical terms. Worth bookmarking, I think.)

Lots of singing this week - there was a full rehearsal last night and a ladies' sectional tonight, both concentrating on Vaughan Williams. It's very wonderful and I can't wait to perform it. (My favourite chord is at letter E on page 20 - I *know* you wanted to know that!) Two things I only noticed tonight, mainly because we looked at the Agnus Dei for the first time: The last page of the score is the first time all 12 parts sing at the same time, and the very last phrase of the piece (sung by the altos) is identical (well, apart from a tiny difference in rhythm) to the very first phrase of the piece (sung by the altos). How clever is that?!

I don't have many links for you this week, because I seem to have had no time to do anything. (Oh, and if you're one of the many people to whom I owe email, please be patient and I'll get to you in the end. I had a bit of an inbox explosion after that article appeared in the paper, and I haven't managed to summon the energy to reply to ANYONE yet - so it's not just you!) In fact, the only musical one is one that I saw a while ago (can't remember if I mentioned it at the time) but Dr Liz reminded me of: a load of monks performing the Hallelujah Chorus. (Note: they don't actually sing...) (Further note: it's entirely possible they're not actual monks...) I don't think I've ever been quite so amused by the word "and" - watch and you'll see what I mean! (Hint: fast forward to 1 minute 30, because it's boring until then.)

A totally different video is a physicist describing what it would be like to die in a black hole. (This is half an hour long, and it's all very entertaining, but the black hole bit is just the first seven minutes of it. If you listen to the rest, don't worry - that asteroid is NOT going to hit us!)

The most entertaining bit of my week so far, though, was being at Old Trafford on Sunday to witness United thrashed Chelsea. The funniest part was the reception John Terry (the Chelsea captain) got. Unsurprisingly he is very popular at Old Trafford these days, because it was mainly due to him falling over in Moscow that we won the Champions' League. This meant that he was cheered when his name was read out (which is unusual for an opposing player) and every time he touched the ball. You probably had to be there to appreciate how funny this was!