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'It seems to me, my dear friend, that the music of this ballet will be one of my best creations. The subject is so poetic, so grateful for music, that 1 have worked on it with enthusiasm and written it with the warmth and enthusiasm upon which the worth of a composition always depends." - Tchaikovsky, to Nadia von Meck.
The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky is another ballet that is based on a fairy tale, and was first presented to the Tsar of Russia.
It tells the story of Princess Aurora, King Florestan's daughter. The fairies have been invited to Aurora's christening, and each one in turn dances and gives a magic present. However, the wicked fairy, Carabosse, interrupts the ceremony and is furious that she wasn't invited. She announces that one day Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and die. Everyone is horrified, but the Lilac fairy still has her present to give. She modifies the spell so Aurora will not die, but will fall asleep and be woken only by a prince's kiss. At her 16th birthday party, princess Aurora pricks her finger on a spindle brought by Carabosse in disguise and, with the whole court, falls asleep for 100 years. Prince Florimund, with the help of the Lilac fairy. Makes his way through the enchanted forest to awaken Aurora with a kiss. At Princess Aurora and Prince Florimund's wedding, the fairies dance and celebrate with Puss in Boots and Red Riding Hood.
Introduction, the lilac fairy
The piece opens with an allegro, minor melody with cymbal crashes and timpani rolls. There is a short pause then a major trill. Harp glissandos then accompany a legato oboe melody, which is repeated with a pizzicato string bass. The melody is then repeated by the whole orchestra. There is a crescendo with the tim...
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...htly syncopated, again with ornamental notes by the flute. There is a crescendo, which contrasts long notes and staccato notes, creating an unusual rhythm. The crescendo builds up to a perfect cadence with the timpani crashing.
Finale
The brass plays an ascending sequence, followed by pizzicato notes played by the strings, and an ascending and descending scale on the harp. Strings and oboe play the rhythmic melody, whilst the trumpet plays fanfares in syncopation. The oboe is then replaced by the flute. There is an ascending scale played by the strings, then the brass section repeats the string and oboe melody with cymbal crashes at cadence points. The orchestra then plays a loud melody with cymbal crashes and drum rolls. There is an interrupted cadence, followed by crescendo with cymbal crashes and a brass ostinato. The piece ends with a perfect cadence.
This movement was also in complete sonata form, like the first, but started out with a fugue, containing timpani solos and then later concluded with an abrupt
The first movement of the Pastoral Symphony is in sonata form and is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, and strings. It has a tempo of “Allegro ma non troppo” which
The piano plays the main themes, and it was absent from playing before. The piano plays two octaves in the treble register. There is a viola in the background playing a counter melody, which slows towards
"Giselle" is a romantic ballet choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. Adolphe Adam beautifully composes the music. This ballet was originally performed in Paris in 1841. The production that we viewed in class was from La Salla. "Giselle" is one of the last ballets of the Romantic era.
The music begins by introducing all the fundamental/primary material which the entire movement is based on. In bar 7 the violins play the first theme (in D Major) which includes the two-note descending motive and lasts until bar 25. In the last beat of bar 25 the "famous Mahlerian" major-minor duality becomes evident. The contrasting minor key theme is introduced.
The same line is repeated ecstatically by the quartet, which soars upward to it’s peak. The orchestra and chorus re-enter at a rapid tempo to bring the movement to its conclusion.
Music has an ability to make the listeners feel what the composer felt when they composed it. That idea really took off during the Romantic Era, after Beethoven paved a new way for composers to express themselves. One of the most prominent figure of the Romantic Era that really expressed himself in his music was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s wide and diverse musical repertoire made him into one of the most celebrated composer in history. But when he composed his sixth symphony, he declared it to be “the best thing I ever composed or shall compose.” Then, he suddenly died nine days after the premiere. There are many theories that might connect to the two and I will argue that Tchaikovsky composed his sixth symphony knowing that this
It has a very nice combination of the woodwind and violin. The music goes slow for first three minutes and suddenly it goes fast with the sound of violin and slows down again with the melodious sound of the flute and violin and repeats again giving the feeling of nature and after eleven minutes it is in very high notes. And again, from the 14 minutes, begins the second movement with the melodious sound of violin followed by other instruments. This part is very sad and attractive part of the orchestra too. It feels tragedy and sad music. The music is slow and in low notes. The flute in the fourteen minute is so attaching and alluring. I felt like listening to it again and again. The third movement then begins from twenty-three minute which also feels sad music. It reminds me of the good old childhood days. After the thirty minutes comes the most powerful and weighty part that is the fourth movement. It ends comfortably in F major. Among the four symphonies by Johannes Brahms, I liked the Symphony no.3. And I would like to thank Mr. Madere for giving us with such assignments which help us relax and get free from our
Vaslov Nijinsky was the choreographer for this ballet. He was considered the greatest male dancer of the 20th century and his works were known for their controversy. In this ballet Nijinsky’s choreography far exceeded the limits of traditional ballet. And for the first time the audience was experiencing th...
The tempo can sound unclear at the start as it sounds a bit like 6/8. The song has frequent syncopation in the vocal and instrumental lines. The song starts with a use of cross rhythms created by a hi hat. The piece is entirely diatonic and is in the key of G Major with a modal feel.
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.
...chestral introduction with an imperfect cadence. A strong rhythmic ¾ allegro passage, with sequences and descending scales is played by the orchestra, with timpani and cymbals. The music modulates, and a short, quiet woodwind passage is then alternated with an orchestral passage with dotted rhythms, creating a `terraced dynamics' effect. Part B begins with a major clarinet melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. A minor flute sequence follows, and is followed by a repetition of the oboe melody. A string sequence is then played, imitated by the oboe. There is a crescendo, then the rhythmic orchestral melody returns, alternated with a short flute passage. There are suspensions, descending scales and a crescendo, followed by a strong rhythmic passage with the timpani playing on the beat. Imperfect cadences are played, before the piece finishes with a perfect cadence.
There are many fairy tales that have been discussed in this class. The most interesting stories to me are Snow White by Brother Grimm and Ever After: A Cinderella Story directed by Andy Tennant based on Cinderella by Charles Perrault. There are many different versions of Snow White and Cinderella from numerous cultures. In every version, both stories are known as children bedtime stories. In addition, the purpose of both stories is to give a life lesson to the children about overcoming evil to attain happiness. At first, every fairy tale has to deal with evil that threatens the protagonist, but in the end, good must always win. In the same way, both of the fairy tales have a similar scenario of a character
The origins of the Cinderella story date back around the beginning of the first century, or as far back as oral stories have been told. Many variations
...s and syncopation. Though a passepied is traditionally written in triple meter, Debussy employs an interesting choice of meter throughout his piece that deviates from the norm of such a form. Modal chords give it a rather moto perpetuo feel, meaning a fast tempo and a steady, continuous stream of notes. Present in almost every measure is a crisp staccato accompaniment under which the melody provides us with two themes: the acicular introductory theme and the more graceful second theme. Throughout the course of this final piece, the second theme is heavily varied, oscillating between duple and triple meter and containing multiple inversions. The piece ends beautifully with a cascade of eighth notes as Debussy plays with the modal conflict of F-sharp and B. We also encounter a flurry of pianississimo chords which finally end with an array of sporadic staccato chords.