Ground in Gamut (Z. 645)

Instrumentation

Musical Terms (6)

• almand English
  Purcell's spelling of the allemande, a moderate-tempo Baroque dance of German origin in common time. In Purcell's suites the almand is typically the longest and most elaborate movement, often featuring running passages and rich inner voices.
  Maintain a flowing, singing quality in the long melodic lines. Ornaments (shakes, backfalls) should be integral to the melodic shape, not decorative interruptions. Purcell's almands repay a slightly broader tempo than the stately French model.
• corant English
  Purcell's spelling of the courante, a lively Baroque dance in triple metre. The English corant tends to be faster and lighter than its French cousin, with clear rhythmic momentum and a dance-like buoyancy.
  Keep the triple metre light and forward-moving. Avoid over-emphasising the first beat — Purcell's corants feel propelled rather than accented. Small ornaments at cadences are idiomatic.
• division English
  In English Baroque music, the practice of elaborating a simple melody or bass line by dividing its note values into shorter figurations. Division on a ground refers specifically to variations composed over a repeating bass.
  Each division should grow naturally from the one before it, increasing in animation without losing the connection to the original bass line. Listen for the bass to reassert itself at structural moments.
• ground bass English
  A compositional technique in which a short bass line repeats continuously while the upper part develops varied figurations above it. Purcell was a supreme master of the ground bass, composing some of his most expressive and inventive music in this form for keyboard and for voice.
  In keyboard grounds, vary the touch, dynamics, and articulation of the upper part across each repetition to sustain interest over the repeating bass. The bass should remain steady and slightly subordinate to allow the upper part to sing.
• hornpipe English
  An English Baroque dance in triple or duple metre, with a characteristically dotted-note rhythmic profile. In Purcell's keyboard suites the hornpipe has a robust, slightly rustic character, often drawing on vernacular English dance idioms.
  Play with a strong rhythmic profile and a lively, grounded feel. Dotted rhythms should be crisply articulated. The hornpipe is more extroverted than the almand or saraband — allow its vigorous character to come through.
• lesson English
  The English Baroque term for a keyboard piece — equivalent to the French pièce or German Stück. Purcell used this title for the movements of his harpsichord suites, reflecting the pedagogical tradition of pieces composed as both instructional exercises and artistic works.
  Treat each lesson as a self-contained character piece with its own expressive identity. Purcell's lessons are compact but never merely mechanical — each movement has a strong sense of phrase and harmonic colour.