Violet Archer (1913-2000) is an important prairie artist, whose music was received international recognition for its quality and beauty. Land's End pianist Elizabeth Bergmann recorded only two of the six preludes, which demonstrate the scope of musical textures Archer was able to create.

Level: High School

Composers work very hard to create a sense of mood within the music they write. British composer Adam Gorb created a set of musical antonyms, words which gather more meaning when placed in opposition to each other. These words reflect some of the moods and textures he tries to create when he composes new music.

3 principal variables: PITCH RHYTHM INSTRUMENTATION

(from a lecture by Adam Gorb, Lucerne, Switzerland, July 2001)

Violet Archer manages to create a remarkable variety of textures and moods in these 2 short preludes. Listen to each one at lest twice. On the third listening, use words from the list above to describe the mood or character of the music you are listening to. Does the character change during the piece? Does more than one word help to explain the texture? How do you think Archer creates this mood?