Quick questions on Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 'Italian': set work analysis - WJEC A-Level Music

The second movement is an Andante con moto in D minor, often called the "Pilgrims' March". It has a processional, walking character over a steady bass line, with a chant-like, modal-tinged melody that suggests a solemn religious procession, and a more flowing contrasting idea. The minor key and measured tread give it gravity and an "old", devotional colour, a deliberate contrast to the sunlit outer movements.

Mendelssohn keeps the Classical skeleton but fills it with light and movement. The first movement's energy is built from rhythm and colour as much as from theme: the woodwind's buzzing quavers set up a perpetual motion over which the strings leap and dance, and the bright A major never lets the spirits flag, even as a fugato in the development shows real contrapuntal craft. The Italian programme then surfaces at the close: the finale is a saltarello, a leaping folk dance whose driving triplets whirl the listener along, and Mendelssohn dares to end a sunny A major symphony in A minor, the tonic minor, so the work spins to a breathless, dramatic finish.

What kind of Italian dance is the finale, and in what key does it end? [2 marks]

Describe two features that give the first movement its energy. [2 marks]

Analyse how Mendelssohn creates energy and an Italian character in the outer movements, with reference to the score. [20 marks]