Word painting

Word painting, or tone painting is the musical technique of having the music mimic the literal meaning of the words of a song. For example, ascending scales would accompany lyrics about going up; slow, dark music would accompany lyrics about death. This technique developed in the late Renaissance and was common in Madrigal music.

Related Topics:
Renaissance - Madrigal

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It flourished well into the Baroque music period. One well known example occurs in Handel's Messiah, where a tenor aria contains Handel's setting of the text:

Related Topics:
Baroque music - Handel - Messiah - Tenor - Aria

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:Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight, and the rough places plain. (Isaiah 40:4)

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In Handel's melody "valley" ends on a low note, "exalted" is a rising figure; "mountain" forms a peak in the melody, and "hill" a smaller one, while "low" is another low note. "Crooked" is sung to a rapid figure of four different notes, while "straight" is sung on a single note, and in "the rough places plain," the final word "plain" is extended over several measures in a series of long notes.

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