Eleanor_Rigby

Write a description of ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Describe how you think the form of the music is designed, and then discuss the main musical features (tempo, pulse and metre, melody, form, instrumentation, texture and timbre). Comment on the ways in which musical elements are used to reflect the emotions and meanings of the words. The Beatles song, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is unconventional in that a string octet (four violins, two violas and two cellos) provides the backing arrangement, with no instrumental contribution from The Beatles at all. The strings perform a score composed by producer George Martin, wholly replacing the rock band. It is in strophic form; there are three verses with the same melody, and a refrain after each one. In addition, there is an introduction, and an interlude- which is an exact repetition of the intro- after the second refrain (perhaps replacing a middle eight in traditional rock music). The intro and interlude are characterised by a two-part harmonization, differentiating them from the verse/refrain unit. In the intro, the harmony begins on a second inversion of a C major triad and ascends and descends diatonically in a parallel movement until the last syllable of the word ‘lonely’, i.e. the melodic vocal line is arch-shaped, falling to a sixth below the opening note. There is a sense of anxiety in the intro resulting from the way in which both vocal and string accompaniment begin immediately, creating tension, which is further added to by the insistent string crotchets punctuated by a repeated violin motif. This motif occurs after each line of the intro and creates interest against the rather bland and repetitive staccato crotchets. The tempo is manipulated very little throughout the entire piece; the speed is rather relaxed, perhaps andante. It remains in 4/4. Despite the syncopation, the intro sounds like an apprehensive ‘sigh’; the peaks and ‘unwindings’ of the voice and accompaniment are not synchronized with one another, creating dynamic tension. The vocal part has peaked and is already descending prior to the chord change in the third bar, and the cello's entrance on the low E in the middle of this bar is delayed two beats behind the chord change. Several melodic lines appear in the string accompaniment, two of them reappearing with variations. The first is a rapid melody that appears during the first verse regarding Eleanor Rigby. The second is a slow moving line during the second verse concerning Father Mackenzie. A melody very similar to that associated with Eleanor Rigby appears briefly in the intro. A melody similar to that associated with Father Mackenzie appears underlying the refrain. These melodies seem to underpin the identification of Eleanor Rigby and Father Mackenzie as ‘the lonely people’, as well as creating contrast. In the third verse, a new melody emerges behind the first text line, which contains a high E held five and a half beats, the longest held note of the piece. This sustained note provides a wailing quality to the music at that point, as though mourning Eleanor Rigby’s death. The dynamics exhibit very little variation throughout. Only in the third line of the third verse do the persistent string staccato notes increase in volume (precisely with the words ‘Father Mackenzie’ in the text) together with a change in timbre and the production of the same melody by both the accompaniment and the vocalist. These two features produce a great dramatic effect at this point.