Polyphony


In addition to how the two composers construct their melodies, Bach and Dirtyphonics also mix and intertwine their melodies to create multiple layers.


The texture of most late Baroque music, including Bach's, was polyphonic. This texture is also present in both Bach's Brandenburg and Dirtyphonics Me and You. The performance of simultaneous melodies of equal interest performed at the same time is usually regarded as polyphony. The technique of combining several melodic lines is also referred to as counterpoint.



In the above excerpt the flute is playing a melody that is also shared with the violin principale. At the same time, the other violins are alternating between playing another melody and the opening theme with the violoncello and violone. In doing so, a contrapuntal effect is achieved to create polyphony. Dirtyphonics employs the use of a similar texture that is additive texture. By gradually adding melody lines throughout a piece, this sort of texture is achieved. Me and You features additive texture after the bass synthesiser introduces its passacaglia theme at ~1:38. As the theme continues to be played, the vocals that originated from the introduction are reintroduced at ~2:04 creating polyphony. Furthermore, the high synthesiser lead (originally heard at ~0:33) is also played with synthesised bass line at ~2:41. Hence, another bond between the pieces is created, as their use of melodies share a polyphonic texture.