In preparation for looking at melody I thought I'd listen to some Vaughan Williams songs, as I've always admired the way he writes simple melodic lines, whilst at the same time portraying the words of the poem through the music.
The Splendour Falls sets to music the poem by Tennyson of the same name. Vaughan Williams begins the song with a simple theme which becomes the backbone of the song, accompanying the recurring line "Blow, bugle blow"; to match the words, Vaughan Williams set the music to sound like a bugle call.
The singer begins with a simple vocal line, accompanied by broken chords in the piano. The last line of the first stanza, "and the wild cataract leaps in glory" is met with a wild descending semi-quaver passage in the piano, ending in low broken chords, symbolising water rushing over the cataract (a waterfall) and collecting at the bottom. The opening music returns for the refrain, "Blow, bugle blow"; the first phrase being loud and triumphant, the second is quiet and reflective, mirroring the words "answer echoes dying."
The second verse begins with the same music as the first, but music for the last line changes to reflect the words, "The horns of Elfland faintly blowing"; the music diminuendos down to piano for the word "faintly", where the piano part changes to a dotted crochet-quaver motif to symbolise grasses blowing in the breeze. The refrain then returns.
For the third verse the piano accompaniment changes to triplet broken chords, but the vocal line begins in the same way. As the words at the end of the verse talk about echoes growing the music builds, modulating upwards and growing in dynamic until the refrain returns, but in a higher key. As the vocal lines delivers the final words "dying, dying, dying", the piano fades away with an embellishment of the piano opening.
It's a very effective song; a simple vocal line set out over 3 verses, but with the accompaniment changing to reflect the mood of the words.
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