a uicd ie Sonvotwt ci Gretenn istmir cum Spinaradt, tans Wo ioh ihn nicht hab? Where [ do not have him rab, is to me like a tomb, Die ganze Welt ‘The whole world qa 1938) st mir vergllt inbitterto me Mein armer Kopf My poor head is confused My poor mind Me istomaper. Dd. us Nach thm nur schau'ich For him slone do Tlooke Zam Fensterhinaus, out the vindow Nach tim aurgel'ich or him alone do Igo Als dem Haus out ofthe house Sein hoher Gang. His lofty bearing, a’ edle Gestalt, his noble figure, ee Mundes Lichela, the smile on his lie, Seiner Augen Gewalt, the strength of! Und seiner Rede and his conversation’s Zauberflug, rajical fl Sein Hind: the press of is hand, and, ab, his kiss! Und, ach, My heart pines for him. A, if Teould seize him Und halten tha and hold bisa Und kiissen ihn, and kiss him Sowie ich wollt all [wanted, An seinen Kassen in his kisse Vergehen soll! would be lost! Toray Wourcane vox GOETHE a= rade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) in had tchen was his first Lied by the famous poet and dramatist Johann Woligang von Goethe ind it became one of his most famous, prized for its dramatic and .etic portrayal of a young woman's first as his Opus 2, In this scene from Gos and admitting to herself how much she has bet ings of love. It was published in e's drama Faust, Gretchen is alone, spinning thread flected by Faust, the handsome composed more than forty ~ J aaa 2222222224244 4244444444444 44bar PRANZ SCHUBERT Creichen am apmnnraue young man shebas recently met. Schubert uses the aesompaniment both set the young ind to portty Cretchen's emotions, The top line in the piano depicts the seed cottons of the spinning wheel through constantly ssing and faling Fig cae esthe rhythaie pattern in the middle ofthe texture, played by the left hand, saa its the action of the tread, a pedal Gretchen must press repeatedly to keep ata lin motion AC the same time, the unceasing motion suggests Gretchen's agitation as she thinks of her beloved. The poet is trophic, hut Schubert did not adoptthe purely sophie se ngthat vas capomon in Lieder at te time. Instead, he varied the setting of each strophe ae to convey the dranta, He also repeated the first stanza after the third in ath staneas ofthe original poem (reprinted above) and began but eft incor slate anather statement atthe end ofthe song (ee the repetitions st mens 3 {Band 114). Tn, he made the first stanza into a refrain. gi ing the songa rondo- aan reminding us often of Gretchen's opening words, which tl of her anxious feelings and heavy heart pas rain builds from planssimo to fore, representing Gretchen's turbulent emutigns, Her restlessness is reflected inthe harmony, which modulates without warning from D minor to C major with hints of Cminor (measures 7 12). Each of aaa re between refrains likewise explores new harmonic regions and builds to sevmax that grows more impassioned with each verse, ereating euooossive 10 cli soveasing intensity. As Gretchen's complaints deepen in the secondand deen aaaane the harmony modulates to A minor, Eminor, and F major, and the {hind pan ohes a new peak (in measure 26). When she describes her beloved ia ae Toumth tarough sith stanzas, the harmony goes still farther afield, touching eons Ab major, and Bs major. As she recalls his Iss, she i overcome by her feelings (measures 66~68): the accompenimental patern stops, insialing that the bes stopped the wheel, and two diminished seventh chords and sustained high C embody her passion Haltingly, she begins o spinagan a she fvovers her composure (measures 65-79) athe lat two stanzas arising hanson seat coenp ee her desire to embrace her lover (measures 84-92). She then fants ana cut being lost in his kisses, twice reaching the highest note in the s098 Ces sures g3-11a) as she repeats the final stan. Schubert even takes libero wor aathe'e words, adding the line “o kommt’ ich ihm kissen” (O if | could kiss ran creasuree 101-2) to show the strength of her yearning, Through al of those Fam me Schubert warns the simple strophic poem into a deeply felt portrayal of Gretchen's complex emotions sctahert often performed his Lieder at informal gatherings of his friends, calla Schubertiads, Lieder were primarily intended for amateurs tosing at home, cae es of Schubert's songs later became staples in voce recital. Although the piano part inthis song caries much of the meaning, it remains an somomEAt viene il must never overpower the singer. Ornamentation is not part of the Lander tradition. Rather, the performers are expected to reproduce the notes O% the page. But the performers on the recording that aovompanies hie anthology ieee tle changes in tempo. demareating the ends of settions with slight iar- ee aae and at tines suggesting Gretchen's motions or emotions by pressing f° aoe folding back. Such fexibility of tempo is a eommon feature of the Romantic performance tradition.Rovert Scaumgnn (ASio - IBS al Crharacirer Pieces Bom \834 -3S Schumann wrote many sets of ¢ capture a mood or suggest a scene or charac Grenaval, compoved in the winter of 1634-33 and published in 1837 with a deat cation to Polish violinist and composer Karol Lipinski. ‘The titles of the se rracter pieces for piano, short pieces intended to 1 Among his most popular sets is rad its twenty short movements evoke a masked ball during carnival time, the period of parties, parades, masquerades, and feasting before the penitential he varied images evoked by the titles parallel the strong cont movements, each of which features distinctive ideas and textures that give it a highly individual prelude (Préambule) sets the scene with rhythms dances. Most of the other movements are also in dance meters and rhythms. Two are called waltzes (Valse noble, Valse allemande), and several til interactions among the Coquette (Flirt), Replique (Reply), Reconnaissance ‘Recogaition), Aveu (Confession) , Promenade. Some titles suggest the costumes & the ball, including charact Italian thea ‘in the commedia dell’arte tradition of improvised verrot, Arlequi, Panalon et Columbine) and the butterfy-shaped snasks some partiers wear (Popillons). Among the guests are several musician Chopin and Paganini, whose styles are imitated in mum young Clara Wieck (Chiarino), daughter of Schumann yoid Schumann's future bride; and Ernestine von Fricks 's named after them; the 1 Friedrich Wieck Schumann'sfiancée at the time he composed the set, who was 4 pianist studying with Wieck. ‘Schumann is at the ball as well. in the guise of Florestan, a hot-headed virtuoso, and Eusebius, a contemplative dreamer. Both of these characters were created by Schumann to personify two sides of his own personality, and he used Florestan and Eusebius not only in his music but also in his literary writings. The set ends with a march (in triple meter!) of the Davidsbund (League of David) against the Philistines, Schumann's biblical metaphor for the struggle he and other musical idealists were waging for "the poetic in art” and against the bland, stale, or merely virto: arnaval exemplifies Schumann's interest in musical ciphers or codes. The work's subtitle is Scénes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). The "four notes” are A, Es, C, and B~in German nomenclature, A, Es, C, H, or As home town, Most movements in the first half of the set begin with melodies based on this motive. In the second half, the idea is changed to AI-C-B (As-C-H), a different way of spelling Asch in notes. Perhaps these two motives are also meant to refer to the word Asche ("ash” or and thus to Ash Wednesday Aschermitrwoch), the first day of Lent, when carnival season is over. These ciphers are close relatives of the cipher Schumann used for himself: Es-C-H-A (SGHA), the only letters of his name that can be spelled as musical notes. In the published score, he makes these ciphers explicit, titling the tenth movement AS.C.H.—S.C.H.A. (Lettres Dansantes) (Dancing Letters) and including the musical notation for all three ciphers (but not their translation into letters) in long notes hetween movements eight and nine, titling them "Sphinxes' H—the name of Ernestine von Fricken ‘The recurring motives ASCH and AsCH give Camaval a sense of unity and coherence, while the great variety of rhythmic and melodic guises they an apt musical metaphor for the many costumes and characters at the ball. The sense of unity is reinforced by the return of parts of the first movement in the last two and by a key scheme that begins and ends in Ab major and stays within closely related keys. The whole piece is designed to be played complete and continuously, without long breaks between movements, so that the succession of individual scenes, contrasting in character and mood but linked through other means comes to suggest a narrative. And yet there is not really a program. The titles clues to understanding the music, making each piece and the contrasts between movements more intrigning. Rather t seem to open them up, and let us e wise might do So how do we know that Eusebius is a contemplative dreamer? His pi slowest and least dancelike in the entire set. Over an almost entirely bass, moving fc lating patterns i he most part ine odd-numbered div melody avoids the arch shape common to many tunes and instead constantly ‘winds back on itself. The set's fi en quarter notes, the right hand traces undu. ons of seven, five, and three. The twisting unifying motive is present, but only in heavyang Rowent SeHUMARH Camasal OP. 9 Nos. 5, 6.047 disguise: the notes A, Es, C, and H appear inthe first two measures, both melod veaty (from the A in measure 1 tothe B in mean with other notes inter persed) and harmonically (on the seoond Bray ‘of measure 2, where A and Eb in Persie hand aceompany B and Gin the right). If ‘Busebius is thinking of Asch, he thas alot else on his mind. Toc al his deeaminess, Eusebius is order: the movement is based on two ahernating four-measuse phrases, subtly varied, producing « form of AA'RATB'A''BA". The music begins soft and hin-testured, builds in dynamics ne nsity, and then recedes agen emphasizing she C8 cularity ofthe form and duacbius’s reverie. The harmaony, though chromith clearly outlines progres tase the tonic Eoin the A phrases and on the Hominy the B phrases. Yet only in the climactic A” phrase is there a fall cadence on the tonic (at measures o5oaq), the other A phrases end on 2 tonic ¢ hord, lending the movement the aaa fragment, incomplete without what follows: ‘This fragmentary character is characteristic of Schumann. estan isa total contrast: a fast walt in G minor, marked Passionato (ompas~ siomet), with sfrcandos on offbeats and cascading a°POE depicting Florestan soa passionate virtuoso. The A~Es-G-H moss ‘apparent from the first notes, it opening melodic tritone harmonized with & Y°%) dissonant dominant minor He ob, chord on D. It is pat of the questing, retest ‘character of this piece that it sy away from the tonic chord of G minor. rouse rarely, and cadences on it only in the middle of the movement (measure "36)_ ironically, after a phrase that seems to be in Bb major. “That Flovestan is mercurial, rapidly changing bis moods, is suggested by the alternation ofthe first plarase (measures 1-0) witha sudden turn to an Adagio figure aaerrivefly in measures g-r0 and then, after the Open phrase repeats. at greater length in measures 192%: YBE Adagio tation grease vost piece of Schumann's easier work Pare Op. 2 (Butt mth), which the composer coyly indicates by hte “(Papillon?)” above vpeamure x9, Schursann skillfully weaves in the {quoted material, so tat the passage inet eoperent event a listener who does not rena the allusion, but the Shange of tempo sets it apart, ike a memory: i 18% if the player, improvising at the piano, remembers first the opening smiPPC! ‘of a familiar piece, then a longer phrase omit, Seumann once called ‘pret gesture like this alight of thought” TGedankenanflug), and perhaps bere it is mean suggest Florestan’s flitting thoughts and rapidly changing feelings. As the Pism™ ‘continues, Florestan’s focus iqradualy shifts to anew figure introduced im ‘measures 31-32. When the opening ns at measure 4g, he is unable to complete the first phrase but obses~ ‘Grol repeats the opening eigt notes of melody iproken into groups of two (me ives gga) and then into single notes (measvee® 3-36) over the dominant ares eth chord that began the piece. A change 9 aple meter, pulsating dis- sramtr chords, and a crescendo end the waltz with impassioned distraction. “The appearance of Coquette may explain Florestan’s distraction. Fer fixtatious charm i suggested by alilting dotted taythm in a fs waltz tempo, and her effect caFjorestan by the sudden forissimo figures in oca¥e> Ot the second beat of the ceaevave, as if bis heart were pounding in his chest “Teasingly, her music starts ‘ithha Lite cadental figure colored by dissonant angmented fifths, asi to supply ~ancoo5aece sets?145 MURERL OLMUMAMN Lamaval, UP. 9. Nos. 5,6,and7 Florestan was unable to achieve (but in the wrong key~her key of By major); this passage will return as the mover ures 1-3 with the last three measures of the piece). Her theme begins in measure 4 with the A-Es~C-H motive, now harmonized with an F dominant-seventh chord. The form of the piece is straightforward. ents final cadence (compare meas~ Key: BF ere Measure: 1 4-20 3644 But the harmony is constantly moving forward, never settling on the tonie for long. A iirt, afterall, is enticing, yet always on the move, unwilling to settle down, Described in this way, these three pieces sound thoroughly programmatic. Yet the interpretation offered here is only one possible narrative, invented by a lis tener stimulated by the succession of titles to consider what the music might ‘mean, and in the process led to explore details of the music that might otherwise be missed. In other words, the titles are not meant to specify the exact meaning of the music; rather. they invite us to let our imaginations roam. Schurnann’s piano writing poses interesting challenges for the performer. In Eusebius, the pianist must coordinate septuplets, quintuplets, and triplets in the right hand with even quarter notes, eighth notes, and quarter-note triplets in the left, and must decide how exactly to align them; in this edition, the quarter-note triplets in measures 11~12 and 2728 are not correctly aligned with the right hand, suggesting a relatively free treatment of the rhythmie flow in each hand. The le hand chords in the climactic passage at measures 17-24 are too big for most pianists’ hands, and Schumann indicates that they are to be rapidly arpegyiated. ‘The player is to leave the dampers on for most of the piece, using the damper pedal only in the climactic passage at measures 17~24, where as usual itis left to the player to determine exactly how often to renew the pedal, as is true also throughout Florestan and Coquette. Throughout, the player is welcome to pull back or press ahead slightly to emphasize cadences, climaxes, and expressive gestures374 Chopin (gio -\Qua) 7 7 olcissimo —diminuendo 22 Nockwnp Lonaacrt pitte RIS” Chopin wrote eighteen nocturnes, spanning almost his entire career. He com- posed the nocturne included here and a companion in C# minor in 1835 and issued them the next year as his Op. 27. with a dedication to Countess Thérése Apponyi, wife of the Austrian ambassador in Paris. Since there were few inter- national copyright agreements in place at the time, Chopin arranged to have his music released simultaneously by publishers'in Paris, Leipzig, and London in order to secure copyright in France, German-speaking lands, and Britain. He sometimes slightly adjusted the music after sending a piece off to one or more of the publishers, which resulted in small variants betw published versions. Several performance variants are included in the score reprinted here, marked ossia (Italian for “or rather”) While Chopin's mazurkas represent a Polish national tradition, his nocturnes represent a cosmopolitan one. He borrowed the name and the concept from Irish composer John Field, who published sixteen nocturnes between 1815 and 1836. Both Field and Chopin drew from the embellished singing style of Italian opera, so that the texture of a nocturne was essentially that of an ornamented song over arpeggiated accompaniment In this nocturne, ration arches over two octaves and capitalizes on the piano’s natural resonance by using wide spacing in the bass and closer spacing in the middle range. ‘The melody a widely, fea leaps and florid embellishments that. | coloratura but beyond the capacity of most voices, as in measures 8, 32, 43, and 60. These and other pas- sages, especially the cadenza-like effusion in measures 51-32, bring elements of the virtuoso piano tradition into a genre more closely associated with the salon and the parlor than with the concert stag aring large i larg The structure ofthe pioce is songlike, a modified strophic form in three “verses” with coda. Music: A 8 tans RRP ans AT OB Wt oda Koy: BERGE URW BEDE z pew Measure: 110 418 PORAOSEEPPPCOYOLA127 FRYDERYK CuoPiN Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. a7, No.2 The A theme unfolds unpredictably through constant variation, without inter- nal repetitions. After an initial descent and ascent through the notes of the tonic chord, the first phrase is extended to five measures by long appoggiaturas (miea~ sures 4~5) that are echoed by another appogiatura at the end of the shorter second. phrase (measure g). This theme always returns in the tonic, with its first phrase ly unchanged (except for dynamics) but its second phrase intensified through rhythmic changes, denser textures, ommamentation, and chromaticism. ‘The B theme provides contrast of keys but is more regular than the A theme, fea turing a two-measure unit in parallel thirds or sixths that is immediately varied and transposed. The parallel thirds and sixths suggest a change in texture from a solo song in the A section to a duet here, as in an operatic scene. The B theme is, always followed by a transition, different each time, that leads back to the domi- nant to prepare the return of A, often through intensely chromatic h measures 21-25 and 41-43). The coda recalls the chromaticism that has played such an important role in the work through parallel diminished seventh chords (measures 62-68) and melodic motion (measures 69-73), but neutralizes the potentially disruptive effects of chromaticism by remaining securely in Db major over a constantly reiterated Db pedal point in the bass. Chopin accentuates the harmonic placidity at the beginning of his A theme by calling for the damper pedal to be held until the first chord change (measure 5). then indicatinga release of the pedal after each new chord. The extent of the chro- maticism in this piece is made plain by a passage in which the pianist is asked to play an Atand Absinultancously in the same octave (measure 13),an effect 50 rare at the time that there is not even a standard notation for it. (See NAWM 186 for a different method of notating this effect.) With the damper pedal held down, such chromaticisn creates a slight blur when played on a piano of Chopin’s time and a more noticeable one on the bigger, more resonant modera concert grands. The editor has used dotted lines to suggest placement for some of the grace note (written in small notation) in relation to the regularly moving accompaniment sures 8 and 12 for examples).128 PRANZ Liset Trois études d “Cink Concert Erudes) — Liszt USiARe) Etuds ee AS-4q Franz List wrote his Three Concert Erudes between 1845 and 1849 during his lst years asatouring virwoso and his istyearas court musiedirectorat Weimar, where he was appointed in 1848. They were published in 1849 without the evoeaive names they later acquired (which were not given by the composer). In these and earlier ééudes and concert works for piano List elicited new sounds and textures from the instrument and forced pianists to develop acw techniques. Although more than just a display piece, Un sopio, the étude included hove reflects the composers supert- or skill asa pianist Indeed he was considered the most bilianspianit a his time and perhaps has never been surpassed in virtuosity Etudes usually focus on particular technical challenges. In Un sospir, the great- est challenge forthe player is accentuating the slowiy moving melody that occurs outside or within rapid broken chord figuration, Holding the damper pedal dawn allows each arpeggiated chord to resonate while the two hands brave treacherous leaps over each other. The pianist must alternate between using the left and right hands to pickoutatune either above the figuration, a in meanures 3-20, or with in its compass, asin measures 53-61, Liszt chose the key of Ds major and lad out the melody so that most ofits notes are played on the black keys, which are easier tofind and play without error while the hands leap around the keyboard In addition to differentiating the melody, the pianist faces several formidable obstacles asthe piece unfolds, The simple notes of the melody change to rolled octaves in measures 13-2, forving the hands to move even faster than before. At measures 30-34 the left hind must strike the notes of the melody in octaves and insert chords below them, while the righthand executes “impetuous” arpeggios periodically reinforced by thirds, Here, two hands must do the work of tiree Cadenzas in parallel major sixths—the first marked presto (quickly, at measure 37) and the second marked velocissimo (very rapidly, at measure 52)—require both speed and accuracy. At the reprise of the main theme (measures 53-61), the accompaniment, earlier marked legatssimo, must now sound ikea hasp while the player accents the melodic notes nested in the arpeggiation. Both the form and the key scheme are nual Music: A B eitfeadenea 8 enendenaa BY exteaminan SiR es Key: Measure: 113192227 30.35 38 53 62_ 85 The main theme, A, begins with a three-measure pentatonie phrase played twice over a Db pedal point. Arpeggios alternate between tonic and subdominant triads, with added sixths supplied by the melody. Here, the melody’s lack of semi- tones, its undulating rise and fall, its three-measure phrases, and its immediate repetitions join with the oscillating harmony to create an unusual effect of stasis, or lack of movement, despite the rapid flow of the arpeggiations. In contrast, theanswering phrase (measures 9-12) moves forcefully toward a cadence in Ds. The A theme then repeats in rolled octaves, with the answering phrase varied soi modulates toward A major (enharmonically Bl), the lowered sixth degree. ‘Theme B is a variant of A, still pentatonic but now questing ever upward. instead of rising and falling, and trimmed to two-measure phrases, creating 4 such greater sense of forward movement. It appears three times, in A major (starting in the second half of measure 2), F major (measure 30), and C minor (measure 38), cach time followed by a new. longer, and more virtuosic extension and cadenza. The A theme then returns varied in the tonic Ds (measure 3) fol lowed by a variant of the B theme in the tonic and a coda that hints once more at the A theme (see the accented and highest notes in measures 70-73). The form can be interpreted in several ways: as a series of variations on the opening idea; a8 an enlarged ternary form that presents A in the tonic, Bin other keys, and A backin the tonic; or even as a relative of sonata form, with two themes Presented in different keys, a development section (here focused on B), and a recapitulation of both themes in the tonic. The harmonic plan, with three keys (and their parallel minors) separated by major thirds, reflects Liszt's fascination with equal divisions of the octave. Assuming the equivalence of enharmonically spelled notes (like Cf and Ds), th octave can be divided into three major thirds or four minor thirds, and Liszt exper- imented with both. Division into major thirds produces the key scheme seen here and, on the level of individual chords, augmented triads like the ones in measures 20 (CHEFA, enharmonically the same notes as the overall D-A-F-Ds key scheme) and 37 (D-FE-AN. Division into minor thirds is reflected in diminished seventh chords and in the octatonic scale, which alternates whole and half steps in tracing a circle of minor thirds. As if to showease the two possibilities, the eoda features a descending octatonic scale in the bass (D+~Cl-B}-Al-C-F-E-D-Ds at measures 66~70) accompanied by the four major triads that can be derived from that scale (Ds, Bs, G, and E). The final chord progression (measures 73~77) high- lights the Ds, Bl (enharmonically A), and F major triads that formed the main key areas of the piece. List’s systematic exploration of these scales and gressions was novel at the time and profoundly influenced later compo: cially in Russia (see NAWM 145, 158, and 164-165).130 HECTOR BERL10Z Symphonie fantastique: Fifth movement Orta obo Witenes Covowatn PevViozl190s- (Gua) Program Surngnany, a ee (20 Hector Beliog wrote his Symphonie fantastique in 1830, when he was only twenty- sts At that sime he was deeply affected by German Romanticiam, pecially Goethe's Faust and Beethoven's symphonies, He originally called the epost, ‘An Episode in the Life of an Artist, Fantastic Syraphony in Five Parte. The ic, Performance was planned for May 1830 but had to be eanceled after a disaseran rehearsal, beeause Berlioz had gathered an hat was too large for the stage, The symphony was finally premiered on December 5, 1830, at the ec ofa concert that also featured other works by Berlioz, including on overture and ‘he cantata that had won him the coveted Prix de Rome earlier tht yen The symphony has five movements: a fast sonata form with « long, slow Introduction; a dance (a waltz instead of a mini and a fast finale, Except for the march, this scheme resembles the standard tra movement plan of most symphonies Berlior wrote the following detailed program for the symphony, which was dis tributed tothe audience atthe premiere and printed with the sore, first pub lished in1845. The composes likened the program tothe ext of an opera, besa it inspired and explained the symphony's music inthe same way the libreta doce for an opera. The story was inspired by his own infatuation with the English actress Harriet Smithson, Note The composer has timed to develop, to the extent they ean be rendered in music various situations in the life of an artist. The plan of the instrumental drama, vines it tacks the assistance of words, needs to be outlined in advance, Thus the fellowing poo gram’ should be considered in the same way asthe spokon words of mn oper sezving ‘to introduce the pieces of music, whose character and expression “Distribution of this program tothe audience, inthe concerts that include this sym- phony, is otivates, for complete understanding of the dramatic plan of the work, First Part Dreams and Passions author supposes that a young musician, affected by the moral malady that one 1 writer calls the wave of passions, sces for the fret time a woman who joing together all the charms of the ideal being of which his imagination has dreamed. and falls madly in love. By a peculiar quirk, the beloved image never appears in the arter's tind without being inked toa melody, ia which he finds a certain character thats pas sionate, yet noble and shy, like that he ascribes to the object of his love his melodie reflection along with ts model pursue him ceaselessly, like a double ‘dé fize [obsession] ofthe symphony, ofthe melody that begins the first Allegro The passage © of melancholy reverie, interrupted by some unprovoked fis of ey, to that of ‘tious passion, with its movements of fury, of jealousy, its retuens to tenderness ite ect ofthe first movement. is the reason for in all the move. tear, its religious consolations, is the 453_. 180 Hector BeRttoz Symphonie fantastique: Fath movement Second Part ABall ‘The artist is placed in the most varied cire o. in the middle of the cao pat inthe peaefal contemplation ofthe beauties of a0 Dut every. vara. tthe ity in the country, the beloved image appeart 9 himand sows confusion in bis heart ‘Third Part Scene in the Country Finding himself ne evening inthe county, he hear in the Stas TS shepherds ihe pipe back and fords a rane dex vaches (Sree melody wae SOT cows]. This aotoral duet, dhe aene, the ight rust ofthe tres ey agitated by the winds, some rpands for hope that he recently conceived, all comwergs fo TT his heart an Be trae cae, to give happier tinge to his ideas. He rics ‘on his isolation: he nae pe no longer alone... But what if se misled hen! This misty Grhope aut fear, these idens of happiness disturbed by #9 dark presenti of Hops pect ofthe Adagio. Atthe end, one ofthe shepherd asia Keo the rant sora, the other does not cespond .. Distant noise of thonder solitude silence Fourth Part March to the Scaffold Having become certs that his love is ignored. the aes" Poort hhimsel€ with pit, The dose ofthe narcotic, to weet gant him deat inges him into a sleep sEcompanied by the strangest visions. He dreams that he ialled her whom he loves 2c nme and conducted tothe safold, nd that he is wiesg 2 et aa aa The procession advances tothe sounds ofa march at Hes dari and savage, or Cmoe brilliant and soleman, in which a mufled sound of solemy SPS followed a Gi ineition by the noiscst amor. Atthe end ofthe march fe Hye four me reo edie fie weappear like a last thought ofTovestereupted PY 8 al blow Fifth Part Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath ie sees bimoelf ata Witches’ Sabbath, inthe midst of dreadful company of ose eet naonsters ofall Kinds who have assembled for his faners) Sarge No aaevroaning, bursts of laughter, distant eries to which otber cre eer to respond. The +e neg melody reappears once more but thas lost its character of nobility and shy loves ao more tana wretched, commonplace, and grotesque tance Wc 1 she a gmes to the Sabbath .. . Roars of joy at her arrival... She joins inthe diabolical Soy. Foneral knell, buresque parody ofthe Dis fms” ‘Witches’ Sabbath round. rece, The Sabbath round dance and the Dias irae together aefiyme sung in the funeral ceremonies ofthe Catholic Church the five movements of the aymphony are linked both by the ston and by the recurring melody, the idée fie. At its first appearance, <> the first theme of the eee form first movement, the melody is gracious, but ful igns of yearning leaps, dynamic swells, and phrases that reach ‘upward to ever higher peaks, then fall back downrecurs in varied form in all the later movements, often interrupting the other musical material, as Berlioz states in the program ‘The finale closely follows the events described in the program. It ly and mysteriously with muted strings playing a diminished seventh chord tremolo and tritones in the in the strings and louder figures in the winds and brass suggest the convergence of the ghosts, wizards, and monsters described in the program. As if from a dis tance, and then gratlually approaching, a clarinet begins a distorted, mocking ver sion of the idée fixe in a fast §, embellished with grace notes and trills (measure 21); this represents the debauched beloved as she comes to the sabbath and is greeted by roars from the assembled demons (measure 29). The entire idee five then appears in the E+ clarinet, whose tone has a particularly saucy sound (mea- sure 40), and the other in s gradually join in the revel In the following section, interwoven with hints of the coming round dance of the witches (measure 84), the orchestral bells ring the funeral knell three times (measure 102). As the bells continue, we hear phrases from Dies irae, the Gregorian chant sequence sung during the Mass for the Dead (measure 127) There are three excerpts from the chant, and each appears in three guises: in long notes in bassoons and tubas; twice as fast in parallel thirds in horns and trom bones; and faster still in winds P slow notes and quick dance-like rhythms comprise the "burlesque parody” of the thant mentioned in the program, as the ghastly crowd mocks the artist's death, This passage inspired a tradition of using the Dies irae, especially its opening four or eight notes, a8 a symbol for death, the macabre, oF the diabolical, carried om in countless works by Liszt, Saint-Saéns, Rachmaninov, and others,Fifth movement Hints of the witches’ round dance (measure 222) herald the dance itself (mea~ sure 24), which begins with fugal entrances suggesting the swirl of dancing switches and offbeat accents suggesting their lurching movements. Motives from the fugue subject are developed in an episode (measure 269), the subject appears in tretto (measure 289), and further developments ensue, Fragments ofthe Dies irae are heard again (measure 348), and after along, intense crescendo, the round. dance subject returns (measure 404) and round dance and Dies irae are heard together (measure 414). The coda includes stunning sound effects, such as the strings playing with the wood of the bow (co legno) to produce a dry, ghostly sound (measure 444), and rapid tremolo erescendos and diminuendos to accompany the last Dis irae before the demonic celebration roars to a close. Berlior was the first composer to score a piece for an orchestra of over a hun dred, and many later composers followed his lead. He was also a master orches~ trator and invented a number of new effects and devices. There are many innovative details worth noting besides those already mentioned: the strings divided into many sections (measure 1) and frequently alternating plucked (pizi cato) and bowed (arco) sounds; the large numbers of wind, brass, and percussion instruments; glissandos in winds and horn (measures 8~11); rapid passagework in the bassoon (measure 47); the four timpani that must be retuned during the movement and played with a variety of sticks (measures 232); the bass drum, played by two people (measure 374); the tabular bells used to imitate church bells: and much else “The performance on the accompanying recording uses authentic nineteenth~ century instruments (or reconstructions of them) to achieve a sound much like Berlioz intended. For example, the bass line of the brass section, indicated for tubas in the edition included here, was actually composed for ophieleide, an instrument with a brass mouthpiece, a shape somewhat resembling a bassoon, and a system of mechanical keys like that of the saxophone,\Bat saa \, 132 ROBERT SCHUMANN Symphony No, 4 in D Minor: First movement “Liemiicw longsam - Lelonaft Sqn grou, er After composing his first symphony from January through April 1842, Schumann, began another in late May and completed it in September, in time to present it to his wife Clara for her birthday on September 13, The new symphony was premiered by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on December 6 to mixed reviews, and when Schumann's attempts to find a publisher were unsuccessful, he set it aside. Ten ars later, in December 1851, he revised it, and as music director in Diisseldorf he conducted the premiere of the revised version in March 1833. This time, it was great success, and it was soon published as his Op. 120 by Breitkopf & Hartel. But in the intervening decade he mposed and published two other symphonies, originally his second symphony, was designated Symphony No. 4 The form of the symphony is both traditional and innovative. There are the four traditional movements: fast sonata-form movement with slow introduction, slow movement in ternary form: scherzo in minuet-and-trio form: and fast finale in sonata form. But these are played without a break. transitional passages, by harmonie links and so that the symphony can be heard as one extended move: ‘ment with contrasting sections. Moreover, many of the themes are variants of each other, most related to motives from the slow introduction, further unifying the work as an extended development of a small number of ideas, Most surprising first movement lacks a true reoapitulation, finale, which thus s: Inde tro of its themes reappear in ves a role as recapitulation for the entire symphony the whole symphony can be viewed as one large sonata form, in which the first movement serves as slow introduction, exposition, and beginning of an extensive development section; the slow movement and scherzo are episodes within the development; and the finale serves as recapitulation and coda. Within this overarching form, the first movement has the following shape: Music: ROOMS! IIT ACY! TTT NATED SAT Ne ov CRANE, LATER TET] EMEC OOS RIES A od | 1 2 Measure: 204359 0387 14775195 221 Section: [EIEN Piiecapiulation?) | Musier THE TNTEERTE STENT cv SETS DES Measure: 249 285 297313. 937349 Section: From abare opening A in octaves, the melody ofthe slow introduction emerges and is gradually developed. Avoiding a clear cadence on the tonic D mi harmony hints at F major and Bb major before settling on the dominant chord at sure 22. At this point in the 1841 version, a gradual accelerando, crescendo, change to duple meter, ancl rising scale led to the exposition and the first theme. Sunuenann\\8W0-8se)rst 132 RoBeRt SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4 in D Minor: In the 1851 revision, Schumann added to this passage a foretaste of the fi theme, creating a sense of gathering momentum. “An dhown in the example below, the first theme (measure 29) is partly deriv from the slow introduetion, especialy its firs five notes, as indicated by brackets Given Schumann's fondness for musical ciphers. it has been suggested that this five note figure derives from his motive for his wife Clara, C-B-A-OHA (using CHIB!CACA from CHiArA, the Italian version of her name, and adding a G# 10 represent the letter R). In addition to the bracketed figure, par allels between the themes are shown by vertical alignment. f ‘Throughout the movement, the first theme is often accompanied by a rhyth figure of an eighth and two sixteenth notes, first presented in measures 29°30 the strings. The entire exposition is based on the first theme, 25 the transition Second theme, and brief closing theme each present new variants with contrast- ‘and moods. stto the relatively brief exposition, the d plex, oth thematically and harmonically. begins with a striking Ebin octaves: 2 Tritone away from where the symphony began. Varying the first theme, the devel pment quickly modulates by half step through the distant keys of Bs minor. E einer, and F minor to land on Dbmajor at measure 121. Here Schumann presents ‘anew theme (NT), which alternates heroic dotted figures with the opening figure af the first theme, A second new theme (NT) appears at measure 147 in F major, Sntroducinga lyrical character notyet heard in the movement. This theme is more distantly related to the slow introduction, again through the Clara figure, as shown in the example above. Alternating with elements of the first theme (at measure igs) and first now theame (NT1 at measure 17), the second new theme modulates ‘apidly through D minor and A major to FF minor. Then the entire passage im 174 repeats in measures 175-248, transposed up a minor third and mnges in orchestration. The passage ends on A minor, the minor domi rant, Thus we arrive eventually where we expect to end up; but the way has tery unpredictable, with modulations by half step and by third dhrough keys far nore distant from the tonic than would have been touched in a development sec faydn, This exploration of remote keys is typical of Schumann, composers. The repetition of long passages of levelopment is longand com- tion by Mozart ordevelopment in new keys is an approach Schumann shares with Schubert and may have learned from him (see NAWM 133) The arrival on the minor dominant at measure 249 begins the retransition Preparing the return of the tonic. But the harmonic adventures are not over. A modulating sequence takes us to F minor. Then, ina striking sequence marked by half-step dissonances in the horns, Schumann quickly modulates around a circle of major thirds, from F minor through C# minor and A minor and back to F major (measures 265-77). Like Liset (see NAWM 128), Schumann learaed this device from Schubert (see NAWM 133). A chromatic modulation leads to A major and the first new theme (NT1) at measure 285, followed by the second new theme (NT) at measure 497 Having reached the dominant, we should soon find ourselves atthe recapitula tion, Indeed, the tonic arrives at measure 313, but it is Dmajor rather than D ‘minor, and instead of the first theme we hear the second new theme from the development in, martial guise, fotissimo, with full orchestra, Quick recollections ofthe first theme and first new theme bring the movement toa close. Perhaps this is sufficienta full recapitulation may have seemed redundant, given the focus on ideas from the first theme throughout both the exposition and the development. But omitting a traditional recapitulation also leaves the movement open-ended, leaving more to say in the following movements Schumann wrote for an orchestra of about fifty, with fewer string players than most modem orchestras have, and the accompanying recording uses an orchestra of about the same size to preserve the balance among strings, winds, and brass, ‘The brass section is standard for the time, with four horns, bvo trumpets, and three trombones. The trumpet parts are in F, sounding a fourth higher than written, and require trumpets with valves, since Schumann uses many notes outside thevas Feux Menoeissoen aya MONdR\salwn (iwud-igun) Boo 10. Orowes, Anh tun SMOG Your LgAF preae Fort oro YAW rroushout the nineteenth century one ofthe most popular types of music mak ing was choral singing by amateurs, including church choirs, choruses sponsored by businesses or other groups, and independent choral societies, Across Britain, France, Cermany, Austria, and North America, large festivals were held where singers—often in the hundreds, sometimes in the thousands gathered 10 rehearse and perform choral works. Their repertoire ranged from the oratorios of Handel and Haydn to new pieces written in a similar spirit “Among the most widely performed new choral works was Mendelssohn's ora torie Blijah, which was premiered ata festival in Birmingham, England, in August 1846:nd which Mendelssobn revised before performances in other English cities the next spring. The score was published in s847, Mendelssohn's last work put into print before his death Like Haydn's oratorios, Bijah has both German and English texts, making t suitable for choruses in both linguistic regions, where the checal movement was especially strong. Mendelssohn originally set the music to the German text, but the English translation was used at the premiere and can be regarded as equally authentic. Like most of Handel's oratorios, Elijah tells a story from the Old Testament in ‘his case, an account of the life of the prophet Elijah, taken from Kings 17-22 and ‘Kings 1-2 Soloists play the important roles: Fijahs the widow who shelters him a whose son he revives from death; Ahab, king of Israel: and Ahab's wife Jezebel, The chorus comments on the story and its ramifications. It also often plays apart inthe drama—for instance, a8 the people of Israel pleading for relief From drought, and later as the priests of Baal, whose cry to thei false god goes mangwered in one of the most dramatic contrasts of loudness and silence inall of choral litera The final chorus resembles that of a Han c oe). alter~ nating passages of homophony with fugal writing, It begins in the syle of ax accompanied recitative, punctuated hy dramatic unison runs in the strings ond featuring dissonances and harmonic surprises like those in recitatives by Bach ot Handel, A brief imitative passage (measure 9) heralds “the glory ofthe Lord” and choral fague in D major praising God. ‘The fugal texture is veaintaiued much longer than in a typical Handel fugue, showing Mendelssobn's tsqually important debt to Bach, After the initial four-voice exposition that begins sora long tonie pedal (sneasure 18), there isa stretoinall voices centered on F4 rinor (beginning measure 43). Arising sequence of entrances in the bass (mea Sure 64) leads back to D major (altos, measure 76) over a dominant pedal. The Fague culminates with a homophonie statement ofthe subject in four-part har_ mony (measure go) and a contrapuntal closing Amen, recalling procedures andel used in Messiah and other oratorios. ‘Amid the cvocations of the Baroque oratorio tradition are signs of “delesohn's own times. The tonal plan, moving a third away from the tonic to Ff rinor rather than to the dominant, is typical of Romantic rather than Baroque harmony. So ar of the c harmonies, although several of the moststriking effects—Like the thr ive descendin, beginning of the Amen (measures 113-118)—may have been inspired by Bach and Handel (compare the bass tine in Bach's chorale prelude on Durch Adaras Fall, NAWM 97). These interlocking tritones first appeared in the recitative that opens the work, when Elijah sings “these years there shall not be dew or rain, (but accord- ing to my word],” summoning drought on the people of Israel until they abandon their idols and return to worshiping their God. In these closing measures, the reappearance of this motive signifies the resolution ofthe curse, as these three tri tones are subsumed into the triumphant D major ending. Using such along-range motivie connection to make a dramatic point is a practice Mendelssohn borrowed from Italian opera ofthe time, and it anticipates Wagner's use of leitmotives As satisfying as itis to hear, this music was especially intended to be satisfying foramateurs to sing. Thus, each vocal line bas an almost equal share in the melod: ic substance, with melodies that are interesting and challenging-but not too chal: lenging, For the most part, the orchestra plays a supporting role. reinforcing the singers and providing punctuation between phrases.soe L. isz G1oscatno Rossin: arin ia noun POSSiNi (119-1RU) ACN. Ty, Gaasoce poo ‘voice hore ago Una Qui nel cor mi risuond, here in my heart cesounded. mio cor ferito ¢ ga, ‘My heart is already wounded, E Lindor fu che il piag®. and Lindoro isthe culprit, VOU POCO s1,tindoro mio sar, Yes, Lindoro willbe mine. jf leowi c opera. \Bo Lo giurai la vincer®. Towore that I would win Unutor rieuserd, The guardian I shall refuse, Tol'ingegno aguazerd, I shall sharpen my wits Alla fin s'zechetera, In the end he will be appeased, E contenta io resterd and [ shall he happy. Si, Lindoro mio sara Yes, Lindoro will be mine, Lo giurai la vincer®. Tewore that I would win, To sono docile, son rispettosa, Tam docile, Tam respectful, Sono obbediente, dolce amorosa, Tam obedient, sw Milascio reggeze, mi fo guidar {et myself be governed, be lea. Mase mitoccano dov't il mio debole, But if they touch my weaker side, Sard una vipera, e cento trappole red ticks Prima di cedere fard gioear! Cesane Sten = Gioachino Rossini signed the contract to compose Il barbiere di Sivigha (The Barber of Seville) for the Teatro Argentina in Rome on December 27. 1815, less than two months before the opera was to be premiered. He was accustomed to working fa having composed sixteen operas over the previous four years, but a popular leg end that he wrote the opera in thirteen days is probably an exaggeration. Cesare Sterbini wrote the libretto based on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais's Le barbier de Séville and on the libretto for Giovanni Paisiello's 1782 opera on the same play. The first performance of Rossini’s version, on February 20, 1816, was a relative failure, perhaps because the production was hastily prepared or because it faced opposition from Paisicllo’s partisans. But the opera was a great success when it was revived at Bologna that summer. It quickly became Rossini's most famous comic opera, and many regard it as the best of alltime. In collaboration with his librettists, Rossini developed a standard pattern for solo scenes in operas. His format includes an orchestral introduction followed by an aria that expresses two or more contrasting moods in at least two sections: a slow cantabile (Italian for singable”) and a faster eabaletta: In most scenes, espe- cially in dramatic (as opposed to comic) operas, ascena (scene) in recitative pre cedes the cantabile, and a tempo di mezzo (middle movement) appears between the cantabile and cabaletts, during which something happens that changes the situa tion or the character's mood. Una voce poco fa contains only a cantabile and137 GLOACHINO ROSSINE Mbarbieredi Siviglia cabalotta. This is an entrance aria (the aria a characte known as acavatina. The librettist laid out the text in rhymed poetry, using seven-syllable Lines that endl on an accented syllable for the cantabile and mostly eleven-syllable lines for the cabaletta Rosinais the ward of old Dr. Bartolo, who strictly watches over her and wants to marry her. But she has also attracted the attention of a young Spanish nobleman named Count Almaviva, who plots to win her from her guardian. In Una voce poco ‘fa, Rosina reveals her interest in her new suitor. In the cantabile, she recalls being serenaded by Lindoro, a poor young man who is actually Count Almaviva in dis guise. The orchestral introduction announces rhythmic figures and motives that later appear during the eantabile. Although there is no separate recitative, Rossini sets the first six lines with brief phrases, mostly syllabic text-setting, and only pizrieato chords as accompaniment, recalling some of the characteristics of accompanied recitative. This style combines with the dotted rhythms to create an impression of tentativeness that nicely suits the text. Larger leaps (measures 16-21) and sudden effusions or florid figuration (measures 22-28) suggest Rosina’s passion as she resolves to win Lindoro. When she declares that she will refuse to obey the wishes of her guardian (measure 30), she sings rapidly repeated notes as in a comic patter song, and the violins seem to wink at her with a lightly skipping figure and grace notes. The cantabile closes with a repetition of the section in which Rosina vows to make Lindoro her own, The cabaletta begins with an orchestral statement (measure 43) followed by Rosina singing the same melody (measure g5). She claims to be docile, respectful, and obedient, but her music contradiets her text—her claborate embellishments suggest a willful coquette. Her truer nature becomes clear as she boasts that when she is crossed, she stings like a viper (measure 67). The stings are evoked by accented high notes in the voice and pizzicatos in the orchestra, and the viper illustrated by a quickly slithering descent in the vocal line. As she vows to play a hundred tricks before giving in, she first repeats a variant ofthe previous musical phrase (measure 70) and then introduces a new idea that contrasts pleading chro- ‘maticism (measures 74-76) with playful turns (measure 77) and dramatic scales (measures 81~82) that demonstrate the range of emotional tricks she can play. In ‘measures 83-89, as Rosina begins to repeat the entire text of her cabaletta, Rossini introduces a type of passage that became closely identified with him: a crescendo on a constantly repeating figure, ereating a rising wave of excitement. Here, the crescendo is humorously ironic: as Rosina vows that she is docile, obe- dient, and easily guided, the orchestra plays music better suited to a whirlwind. This leads to a repetition of the music set to the last three lines of the text (mea sure go repeats measure 66), followed by arousing coda (measure 107). Such rep tition of part or all of the cabaletta is typical for Rossini, as is the increase in energy toward the end of an aria The many contrasting musical ideas in both sections of the aria provide a well rounded portrait of Rosina’s character, combining attractive melodies, comic description, and vocal display. Given the close relationship between music and text, it may seem surprising that Rossini adapted the music from an aria to very dif ferent words, which he had composed the previous fall for Queen Elizabeth to sing inhis opera Flisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra (Elizabeth, Queen of England), staged in596 |. 137 Groscuive Rossivt Rbarions ign Naples. Rossini often borrowed from himself in this mannerespecially when writing a new opera for a different city—but he always chose music that was well suited for the new text and dramatic situation, and reworked it to fit perfectly. Except during introductions and interludes, the orchestra stays out of the way of the singer, offering light accompaniment. As was standard practice at the time, the singer in the accompanying recording freely adds embellishments, especially, whena section of music repeats (as at measure 35-42 and measures 90-107). and takes opportunities for cadenzas at cadences (as in measure 114)138 Vincenzo BecLint Nomar Casta Diva Betlind (iRd\-1G3s) ~ Nona st itiance (Norma harvests the mistletoe with her sickle. The priestesses gather it in wicker een ward nd aes herornstoth sy Teno All prostrate th from Akt, Sco OYA casa Din, china Queste sacre antiche piante, these sacred ancient plants, Nonwa ano CuoRus tt haste Goddess, who plates with ellver vB Senta me esonea el hou loude ond witout el Peuce Rowaw == Felice Romani (1786-1865) based his libretto for Norma on a verse tragedy by Alexandre Soumnet that tells the story of a Druid priestess in ancient Gaul after its conquest by the Romans. Soumet's play premiered in Paris on April 6, 1831, and by July, Romani and Bellini had agreed that it would be the basis for their new opere, commissioned by the famous Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Bellini received the first installment of the libretto on August 31, 1831, and completed the music by early December, frequently asking for revisions in the words. After about three weeks of rehearsal. during which Bellini continued to make revisions, the opera opened on December 26. The initial reception seemed cool because the first act lacked the conventional rousing finale with everyone on stage, and the audience did not know when to clap. But by the end the opera was greeted with wild applause and has remained a success ever since. sta Dive is the cantabile from Norma's cavatina (entrant of a scena (dialogue in accompanied recitative), cantabile (slow movement), tempo di mezzo (middle movement), and cabaletta (fast final section) Norma is the High Priestess of the Druids, the priests of ancient Gaul. In the scena, she entreats the Gauls and her father Oroveso, who are bent on rebellion, to have patience. counseling that the time is not yet ripe to fight the Romans and that according to ancient prophecies Rome will fall of its own corruption. The cantabile enacts a ritual in which she implores the chaste goddess, the moon, to bring peace with the Romans, and the Gauls join her in prayer. In the tempo di mezzo, she vows that when the time comes she will demand the blood of the Romans, and the people echo her, saying the first to fall will be the Roman pr consol, Pollione. But Norma is secretly in love with Pollione and has borne him. two children, although he has recently deserted her for another; in the cabaletta speaking her inner thoughts as an aside to the audience, she longs for his return and promises to defend him, while the chorus continues to sing of revenge 0 aria), which has the usual shap 607608, ~. 138 Vincenzo BELLINI Norma: Casta Diva Romans. The complexity of the scene, showing all the different sides of the situa tion and the emotions it arouses, illustrates the power of Italian opera ‘The cantabile is in ABA’ form with introduction. The long instrumental prel- ude builds anticipation and allows time for stage action: while Norma cuts the sacred mistletoe, other priestesses gather it, Norma raises her hands in prayer and all prostrate themselves. Gentle string arpeggios move from the Neapolitan Ghto a cadence onthe tonic F major, and then a solo flute plays the first half of the cantabile melody. Both the solo flute and the slow ifmeter had heen use for well over a century to symbolize nature and evoke pastoral settings, so that the music helps to set the scene. An oboe joins for the second half, but this is cut off early and without a cadence, making us even more eager to hear Norma sing the com- plete melody. Introducing the singer like this, with a truncated statement of the ‘vocal melody, became a frequently employed device in Italian opera. Bellini was the master of the long, supple melodie line, and none was more famous than Casta Diva, The melody of the A section, setting the first stanza of poetry, continually seeks a resting point but, skirting each opportunity, moves to higher levels of suspense and excitement. In the first segment (measures 16-17). a simple A-C-F descent seems suspended in mid-air by embellishment around each note and by delayed resolutions against the harmony and bass line. Next a melodie motion from A to Bris decorated by stepwise figures that rise to Aand fall to Bb. Though the melodic outline is simple, the ornamental figuration is contin ually active, unpredictable, and therefore fascinating and expressive. The second phrase (measures 20-28) begins to repeat the firsta step higher. Then, as the har~ ‘mony moves back to the tonic, the melody becomes more dissonant, emphasizing BborD (against Cin the bass) on every beat of measure 22, and Gt against the tonic F onthe next downbeat. As the melody continues, the level of dissonance increas es with diminished seventh chords and vocal appoggiaturas. The voice gradually rises in pitch and intensity to a repeated offbeat high A and 2 fortissimo climax on Bs (measures 27-28). As the voice gradually calms and descends, the yearning force of the melody continues with accented appoggiaturas on every beat of meas ures 28-29. The overall shape of the melody. from calm to climax, toward increas ing dissonance, and from regular two-measure phrasing to the irregular final phrase, gives the melody the sense of constant, restless striving that is typical of rausical Romanticism. Bellini’s seemingly endless cantabile melodies. arching through turns, appogeiaturas, grace notes, and other embellishments over a broken- chord accompaniment, were greatly admired by Chopin, who adopted their style ‘inhis nocturnes (see NAWM 127) ‘As Norma cadences, the chorus enters, repeating her words but not her music @B section, measures 30-40). As they declaim her reverent prayer sotto vo Crunder the voice,” meaning quietly) in parallel thirds marked by affecting sus- pensions and supported by the wind instruments, Norma adds light vocal col ratura above. The A section returns with the second stanea of the poem (at measure 41), but now the chorus accompanies the second half with dry chords, like a vocal pizzicato (at measure 48). A brief cadenza (measure 56) and final cadence bring the cantabile to a close Casta, Diva was originally composed in C major, but it appears in almost all manuscripts and printed editions in F major, apparently transposed down a step138 VINGENZO BELLINI Norma: Casta Diva to better suit the voice of Ciuditta Pasta, who sang the role of Norma in the first production. In the performance on the accompanying recording, Maria Callas, one of the leading sopranos of the mid-twentieth century, adds embellishment much less often than would have been likely in Bellini's day. But she treats the tempo very flexibly, lingering over some notes and moving more quickly through others, using the same sort of rubato as in Chopin's piano music. She also alters the text to suit her voice, singing several of the higher passages on “ah” to keep the vocal timbre as clear and open as possible.708 | ago Gant Mansa von Weare de Fuchs Wieck (L1Be-Raw) ACK UL finale, casman Goring convase ou ONE'S seme sami SS catitisenic iE SOM (Hleis thrown to the ground.) Hilf! Sieben! Help! Seven! SKUs va ura (Also tossed about by esto he res owe ofthe mage die grape brah Samiel! Semiel! (nan instant the storm begins to die doun. In place o stands the Black Huntsman, grasping Mas Gina frighsful voice) Hier bin ich (faz makes the sgn of (The clock strikes one. Sudden silence. Somiel has disappeared. Caspar remains ‘motionless, face tothe ground. Mas rises conculsvely.. ~LaBReTTO Br Jouaun Fruzpauctt Kino 2 The world of nature intertwines with supernatural incidents and human actions in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischitz, a pioneering work of German Roment opera that was first performed in Berlin in 182. Johann Friedrich Kind based the bbbretto om a story by Johann August Apel, who in turn drew on folklore and the model of Goethe's Faust, The story centers on the legend of a Freikugel. a magic bullet. The opera's name is difficult to translate succinctly; since Schutie mesas bhuntsman, marksman, or rfleman, Der Frischite might be rendered "The Magie Rifleman,’ Caspar and Max are assistant foresters who are both in love with Agathe, t daughter of the prince's head forester Kuno. Max has gained Agathe’s affection but according to tradition, he must win a test of marksmanship in order to ean Agathe’s hand in marriage. If he wins, he will be Kuno's successor as head forester. Yet as the date forthe test approaches, he is unable to hit anything at all Caspar, who has sold his soul to the devil in the form of Samiel, the legendary Black Huntsman, convinces Max to use magic bullets for the competition, Caspar informs Max that the bullets will obey the marksman's wishes, but he does not reveal to Max thatthe last bullet fired will be controlled by Samiel. Caspar believes that the lat bullet is destined for Agathe, but in the end, it is he whom it kills In the "Wolf's Glen” scene, included here, Caspar and Max meet in the ¢ ‘middle of the night to cast the magic bullets. The somber, diabolical forest serves140 CARL MARIA Yon WEBER Der Freischite as the background and is depicted through suggestive orchestration and a har- monic scheme that contrasts F# minor at the beginning and end of the scene with Cminor, a tritone away, for much ofthe middle. This tritone relationship is espe~ cially appropriate to the scene, given the medieval nickname of the tritone as dia- bolus in musica (the devil in music). The key of A minor, midway between them also plays a role in some of the spookiest passages (see measures 236 and 276). Eb ‘major also appears, at Max's entrance (measure 157), completing a full comple ment of keys related by minor thirds and tritones. These four keynotes are drawn from the diminished seventh chord E}-FE-A-C that appears whenever Caspar calls for Samiel (as at measures 43-47 and 274-75) At each appearance, this Samiel-chord features soft dynamics, dark timbres, and an ominous rhythm: oboes, clarinets, violins, and violas in their lowest registers over a repeated A in the timpani and pizzicato cellos and basses. In this orchestral coloring, the chord is a reminiscence motive, a recurring musical idea associated with a particular character or event, which first appeared in the opera's overture. But the same diminished seventh chord also appears in other guises throughout the scene, including as the main keynotes, binding the whole seene into a single supernatural experience suffused by the spirit of Samiel. ‘The scene begins with soft tremolos and chromatic harmony laced with dimin- ished seventh chords. Trombones and clarinets low in their range and a descend ing chromatic line in cellos and basses add to the gloom. An unseen ghostly horus sings, juxtaposing soft recitation on Ft (harmonized anew each time, but always centered on F# minor) with loud eries of "Uhui!,” accompanied by the C-B;-FEA diminished seventh chord. A distant clock strikes midnight (measure 40), Caspar calls on Samiel over the Samiel-chord, and the harmony suddenly shifts to C minor at Samiel’s appearance (measure 0). In a deft touch of charac- terization, Samiel only speaks; his inability to sing indicates that he is devilish neither human nor godly, beyond the reach of divine harmony. Almost seven ct turies earlier, Hildegard of Bingen had used the same technique to characterize the Devil in her Ordo virtutum. (NAWM 7) Although he has already sold his soul, Caspar was given a period of grace, which expires in one day. Here, as he pleads for Samiel to take a new victim~Max instead of himself (measure 51), the orchestra develops a single motive through many transformations and modulations, lending coherence to the music and excitement to the scene. The orchestra's obstinate insistence on this agitated hmically pointed motive seems to depict the chains that ensnare Caspar. His ine, in a style between recitative and aria, tends to draw its tones from the orchestra rather than being accompanied by it, a technique later used by Wagner, Verdi, and many others (see NAWM 141 and 142). Samiel frequently interrupts Casparto ay down the terms for granting the magic bullets, often accompanied by a diminished seventh chord, but he finally agrees to accept Max’s soul and promptly disappears to the sound of thunder Caspar waits for Max, who when he finally enters is frighteried by what he sees. The texture in this part of the scene (beginning at measure 110) is essentially that of accompanied recitative, but Caspar only speaks, either during rests in the music or as the music plays, and Max only sings, perhaps to indicate that he has, smbed to the devil's power. The fateful diminished seveS140 CARL MARIA Vow Wentn Der Frise appears in varied forms (see for instance measures 113, 133, and 149), and the ‘musical material changes often to reflect the happenings on stage. When Caspar takes a drink (measures 127~28), Weber briefly recalls a drinking song heard ear- lier in the opera. After Max enters (measure 157), some of his music recalls the previous scene with Agathe. He first appears at the top of a cliff, singing in Eb Iajor, the first major-mode musio we have heard in the scene. But as he resolves to go through with the plan despite his terror, the muste modulates into Caspar’s key of C minor. Clambering down into the Glen, Max sees apparitions of his mother (measure 210) and of Agathe (measure 236); each apparition is given highly descriptive music that begins in A minor and modulates away. the first time to F minor and the second back to C minor. Once Max arrives at the magic stone circle where Caspar will cast the bullets, he begins to speak as well (measure 259), and he sings no more during the rest of the scene. In the context of this scene, this isa sign that he has, at least temporarily, gone over to the dark side, Particularly notable is Weber's use of melodrama as the bullets are being cast (measures 264-430). Melodrama was a genre in musical theater that featured spoken dialogue accompanied by music. Here, Caspar's lines are spoken over con tinuous music in the orchestra. Caspar invokes Samiel's aid, over the Samiel-chord (measures 264-73). Then he casts each bullet in turn, calling out the nuaber of bullets completed as the mountains echo his voice. After each bullet is cast, Weber paints a miniature tone- picture of the terrifying setting, the dark forest's wildlife, and the supernatural events that intensify with, each bullet, joining music, lighting effects, and stage effects to create a series of spooky visions. The casting begins in A minor (measure 276), with rapid undula~ tions in the strings picturing the hissing and bubbling lead in the eauldron and scales in violins and flutes suggesting the greenish-white light of the fire and the cloud passing over the moon. When Caspar announces the first bullet (measure 283), the undulations continue, the fluttering of forest birds is pictured by stac~ cato figures in the winds, and the harmony moves again to the fateful diminished seventh chord. After the second bullet is cast, a black boar races out of the bush- es, depicted by a grotesque back-and-forth figure in the bass under harmonies saturated with diminished seventh chords (measure 293). Te third bullet brings astorm in D minor (measure 308), building from quiet rapid scales to a violent, variant ofthe boar motive. After the fourth bullet we hear cracking whips and gal- lopinghorses, imitated by triplet figures in G minor (measure 324), and four fiery wheels roll across the stage, their sparks of light again suggested by quick scales in flutes and violins. The fifth bullet heralds an even wilder scene (measure 336): dogs bark, horses neigh, and ghostly hunters pass high over the stage to the triplet sounds of hunting horns, as an unseen unison chorus of devilish hunters sings on a monotone Ab, The horns alternate an Ab major triad with a diminished seventh chord (AF-C!-D-F), a sound made doubly uncanny because it is a chord that is, impossible for human hunting horns, which are limited by the overtone series to ‘major triads and diatonic scales; Weber manages the miracle by using horns in three different keys, Bb, F, and E, and adding a trombone that oseillates on a tri- tone between Aband D (the “devil in music” again). As Caspar shouts “Six!,” the storm increases, the sky blackens, and flames shoot from the earth, accompanied by stormy music in C minor that was foreshadowed in the overture and in Max's1go CARL MARIA VON Wepen Der Freischate Act I aria (measure 373). Over the tumult, after casting the fatal bullet, Caspar shouts “Seven!” (measure 408), and the key shifts suddenly back to Ftminor. Max calls for Samiel, who appears and grasps his hand. Max crosses himself and falls The clock strikes one; this entire sixteen-minute scene has represented th after midnight. Suddenly there is silence, and the scene concludes with a return to the F¥ minor tremolo with which it began. 1e hourFa tense memati Wagar IBB-BO3y~ Rrevuds owed bows Musa ich leben’? Must Tlive? Conclusion of (Ghe falls, fainting, up Ack \ Branca (othe women) opera Helft der Herrin! Help your mistress! n hig chest.) “sa AES Wome oer Taskel rapture fll of cunning! \as7-S4 Acc THEM (ina general acdamation) Kornwall Heil! Cornwall, hail! (People have clit 1 over the ship's side, others have extent o bridge, and the =pectation ofthe arrival of those that have been awaited. The curtain falls quickly.) = Richard Wagner wrote his own libretto for Tristan und Isolde, based ona thirteeuth- century romance by Gottfried von Strassburg. He first worked out a prose sketch, then a prose draft, and finally finished a version in verse in September 1857. Using some sketches he wrote the previous year, he then began to write the music and finished the work in 1859. The Prelude was premiered separately in Paris in 1860, with a concert ending in A major adapted from the end of the opera. After the first rehearsal, Wagner wrote to Mathilde Wesendonck, wife of a former patron (and one of his inspirations for Tristan und Isolde) that “it was as though the scales had fallen from my eyes, allowing me to see how immeasurably I have travelled from the world during the last eight years. This short prelude was so incomprehensibly new to the musicians that I had to guide my people through the piece note by note, as if to discover precious stones in a mine.” The piano-vocal score and full score of the opera were both published in 1860, hefore the work was staged—unusual for an opera. Under the sponsorship of King Ludwig Il of Bavaria, Tristan und Isolde was finally premiered in Munich on June 10, 1863, The opera was too novel and complex for most members of the audience, but through subsequent performances, it came to be regarded as one of the most important and influential operas ever composed, ‘When Act I begins, the knight Tristan is bringing Isolde, daughter of the Irish king, on a ship to Cornwall to marry his uncle King Marke. Isolde is secretly in love with Tristan, buthe has offended her. Skilled in the magical ‘arts, she resolves to kill herself and Tristan with a poisoned drink before they reach land. She sus mons Tristan and offers to share with him a drink of atonement, claiming t through it she will forgive him for a wrong he had done to her in the past. But atmosphere i one ofA. 1c RIGHARD WAGNER Thstan nd folde Ibolde’s companion Brangine, unviling to go along with the plot, has substitmted 2 love potion for the poison. Tristan and Isolde fall instantly in love in effect, they can no longer avoid the attraetion that already existe bemvic® them. captured, shey are oblivious tothe excitement around them asthe ship arrives a ike crew bails the waiting king on shore. In Act [I Isolde and Tristan meet re tay and etzbrace in passionate love, despite her marriage to Marke, but they aor eeovered, and Tristan is wounded by another knight. In the final act, Tristan Ties dying at his castle in Brittany Isolde arrives in response to his summons but aaa eee ie, and he dies in her arms. Having learned ofthe potion from Brangine, Nresks hes followed Isolde and is willing to forgive both lovers. But Isolde bas no ve ilto live without Tristan and soon joins hisn in death, a death that Wagner Pres ents as the ecstatic consummation of their love. ‘numbers, as earlier operas were. Rather ction of the drama through each act. The vee ostra maintains the continuity, and the characters sing in melodies that vary from speech to soaring and passionate. Much ofthe music, bot vocal and orchestral, is woven from leitmotives (leading motives) that are associates with particular people, things, events, or ideas through the texts or slustions with which they appear. oe rate introduces many motives that will be used later, but in a wholly instrumental context without words or visual images to suggest specific dramatic voiations It also introduces the main issue in the opera—a desire so infense sea tenn be fulfilled only in desththrough melodies that never reach a cadence va harmony that points to its resolution but never grants it, Later we will mect the protagonists ofthe drama and learn the plot, but in the Prelude, we are P sented with pure emotion. The main motives in the Prelude are shown here, to make them easier to spot in the orchestral texture.1g1 RICHARD WAGNER THstan und Isolde The first sound we hear is ayearning cello line, motive a that arches up asixth and then sinks chromaticaly. It is answered by motive b, a plaintive oboe figure that rises chromatically, accompanied by dissonant chords in the winds. These ideas are developed in sequence, culminating in motive c, which combines the rising chromatic line of b with searing appoggiaturas over a deceptive eadence that clos es the opening section (measures 16-17). A new melody, motive d, then emerges, expressing longing through its placement high in the cellos’ range, large leaps, appoggiaturas, and passing tones lengthened by a dotted figure. Its diatonic char- acter contrasts strongly with the chromatic melodies heard so far. The next idea, motive ¢ (measure 25), lies even higher in the cello range; marked zart (tender) and in the bright key of A major, it suggests tenderness, while incorporating both the rising chromatic motion of motive b and the descending seventh and dotted rhythm of motive d. But its consoling message is undereut by motive fin the basses and low winds (measures 28-29), a foreboding figure that rises a half step and descends diminished seventh, almost an exact reversal of motive a. There is a brief dialogue between motive fand motive g (measures 29-30), anew combina- tion of elements from other motives. After a return to motive d accompanied by more chromatic harmony (measures 32-36), we hear motive h (measures 36-40), which combines the rhythm of motive d with the harmonic progression from augmented sixth to dominant seventh of motive b, ereating a sound that is somehow both wistful and suspenseful. Each of these motives draws elements from one or more previous ones, lending the music a sense of logical growth and conveying a complex emotional impression of different sides of longing, from urgency to gentleness and from hope to fear. Much later, motive i offers a vision of possible fulfillment through its bright major key, sweeping scales, and descending arpeggios, but is still marked with longing by the dotted rhythm and. chromatic appoggiaturas of earlier motives. None of these motives reaches a definitive cadence. Each urges the music on, allowing Wagner to string them together in various combinations. The harmony is also ever restless, famously so. The first chord operates almost as a motive in its own right, so distinctive that it has earned the name “the Tristan chord.” There could hardly be a more enigmatic opening sonority; we have heard only three notes before it, too little to know how itis going to resolve. Wagner treats jt as an. augmented sixth chord in A minor (F-B-DEA) with a long appoggiatura on Ch, resolving to the dominant seventh chord of A, decorated with a chromatic appog: iatura of its own, so that there are four chromatically inflected, dissonant chords in a row~a great beginning to a piece focused on the painful pleasure of uncon: trollable desire.S141 RICHARD WAGNER Tristan und folde But the tonic A minor chord never appears, anywhere in the Prelude. First, the ‘opening phrase repeats transposed and varied, leading to the dominant of the dominant (measure 11). Wagner delays the resolution of this chord by repeating the last phrase an octave higher, and then twice repeating its last two notes, EE-FE When the resolution to an E dominant seventh chord finally comes in measure 16 ‘Wagner repeats the EHF! once again, creating a blistering dissonance. The expected resolution to A minor in measure 17 is evaded through a deceptive cadence to F major, made even more yearning with another scorching appog- giatura. Motive d unfolds overa sequence of chords that evades cadences on G and C major before settling temporarily on D minor (measure 21). The harmony wan- ders on to arrive at the first—and last—full cadence in the Prelude, on A major (measure 24). From there, the harmony keeps in almost constant motion, broken only by the long dominant pedal on E in measures 63~7o that undergirds motive i and prepares a varied return of the opening section. Throughout, the sense of ‘yearning is sustained by raising harmonic expectations that are only partially ful- filled, heightening our desire for more. ‘The motives and harmony of this Prelude are so unusual, itis no surprise that the form s novel as well. Itis simpler to hear than it sto describe, but it can be imag ined as a series of cycles through the motives, alternating variants ofthe first sec- tion (measures 1-17) with gradually diminishing statements ofthe other material Inthe chart on the facing page, parallel events are aligned vertically, to give a visual impression of the form. As the chart shows, the overall form is ABCC'A'B'A"B"A”, ‘The material of section B (motive d) returns in section C, but the change of key to A major for the latter, together with its immediate varied repetition, sets it off as a separate section. Even though the two statements of section C differ in the motives they present, they are remarkably similar in proportions, as shown by the measure numbers in the diagram The frst section never returns exactly. At measure 66, motive ais missing, and the three statements of motive b in measures 2-11 are overlaid with the sweeping figuration of motive i. Something closer to areal recapitulation occurs at measure 83, as a three-fold, overlapping statement of motives a and b in the brass begin measure eviated return of measures 2-11, with motive 4 interpolated between the phrases and motive h replacing motive b in the third phrase, The final, partial statement of section A is reharmonized to appear over the dominant of C minor, leading directly into the beginning of Act I During the act, motives from the Prelude return in new contexts, acquiring ‘ssociations with the words and situations of the drama and thus becoming let motives. Motive bis the first to return, as Isolde mentions magicand tries to sum~ ‘monupastorm to sink the ship. Motives a and b combine as she muses on Tristan, destined-for-her-yet-lost-to-her, and motive b returns in clearest Yorm when Brangine reminds Isolde of the magical love potion. Clearly these motives mean more than one thing, associated with magic, Isolde’s feelings for Tristan, and the love potion, and thus perhaps with passion in general. Others aré more focused Motive dappears when she speaks of Tristan and her feelings for him, especially her realization of love when she looked in his eyes. The ominous motive fis heard when she speaks of the poison, and the wistful motive h, sweeping motive i, and tender motive e when Brangine mentions the love potion and suggests that Isolde141 RICHARD WAGNER Tristan Measure 1" 2 28 2 36 40 Secon: EE ve xSSh ama: Measure: 45 48 52 55 58 63 Motives: (EB) a waRiy x SCREEN RSE Measure: 66 m4 77 80 Motives: BEGSUN ¥ g Measure: give it to King Marke to make him love her. By the time we reach the final scene of the act, there is alot of history behind these motives, and they are freighted with meaning. As the excerpt included here begins, wavelike music reflects both the motions of the ship as it heads into port and the turbulence Tristan feels as Isolde chal- lenges him to partake of a drink of atonement, perhaps suspecting that she intends to poison him. As he takes the goblet and pledges to her “Tristans Ehr hochste Trew!" (Iristan’s honor, highest truth, at measure 38 ofthis excerpt), he sings a leitmotive that becomes identified with this text. [tis developed throug the rest of his speech in many permutations, some close to the original (as in the orchestra at measure 56) and others quite distant (for instance, in the voice at measure 46, which reorders the pitches). After he drinks, Isolde grabs the goblet as ideas from the Prelude suddenly appear in the orchestra: motive d, motive a and the Tristan chord (measures 6163). Thinking that they are both taking poison, she ironically salutes him, singing “Ich trink’ sie dir!” (Idrink to you, measure 64)to motive a, the first motive in the opera, then drinks over a climactic statement of the Tristan chord. The opening of the Prelude returns in varied form, its yearning ‘motives and restless harmonies now embodied in the drama on stage, as the potion takes effect and the two fall hopelessly in love. Wagner laid out this section as « pantomime, prescribing particular gestures and actions to be performed by the two characters at specific points in the music. The two remain tongue-tied, star- ing longingly at each other and trembling with passion until the music reaches @ climax on the scalding dissonance and deceptive cadence of motive ¢ (measures 102-8). As motive d, by now strongly associated with Isolde's feelings for Tristan, unfolds in violas and cellos, Isolde and Tristan call to each other, using notes from the melody: this exemplifies Wagner's tendency to give the leading musical role to the orchestra and to extract the vocal lines from the ore! texture, After interruptions by the crew hailing King Marke (measure 113) and Brangine worrying about what she has done, the lovers’ dialogue (starting at measure 132) builds on motives already introduced, often developing them into new variants that are then repeated and developed in turn. At the words “Sehnender Minne” (passionate love, at measure 160), motive i returns in varied form. Combined with motive b (at measures 166~72), as it was in the Prelude, it leads ecstatically onward to motive e, as [solde sings "Welten entronnen, Du mir gewonnen!” (Escaped from the world, you have won me, at measure 174) Throughout, all these motives are invested with far greater meaning for us they otherwise would have because we have heard them developed at length i Prelude, where they conveyed pure emotion, and have heard them again during significant moments in Act I, a8 we learned about the history of the protagonists" relationship and their complex feelings for each other. Often what is familiar is more meaningful, and we are familiar with these musical ideas before Wagner uses them to portray Tristan and Isolde’s impassioned love, giving us a far deepe understanding of their emotions. Atmeasure 192, the music hailing the king begins to penetrate the lovers' co sciousness, and Tristan’s friend Kurwenal comes to summon them, Tristan and Isolde realize what has happened but are powerless to change it, and the act draws to aclose amid the crew's raucous celebration of returning home. ‘Wagner used such alarge orchestra and gave it such a commanding role that he needed new, more powerful kinds of stngers—a Heldentenor (hero-tenor) and 4 dramatic soprano—whose voices would not be drowned out. To sing such roles requires a heavier, more robust and penetrating voice than is needed to sing Fealian opera. The vocal lines are almost entirely syllabic, a sign of how important the text had become. A recording offers only part of the experience Wagner sought to provide, which combined music, poetry, scenic design, staging, and action to forniwhat he ealled a Cesamitkunstwerk (total or collective artwork). The-conclusion of Act I is given here in piano-vocal score, to make it easier to follow the vocal Lines and the harmony. In many passages, the instrumentation {s indicated in small letters (for the abbreviations, see the table of Instrument Names and Abbreviations on pages 1099-1102). The Prelude is shown here in ful orchestral score to facilitate study of the orchestration. In both scores, the instructions in italics beginning with the letter “B." were added by the conductor Felix Mott and reflect his own approach to performing and staging the operaga Gluseere VeRot Lomvicts ordi WRI Hai) Le mie colle tue lacrime My tears with yours Confondere de Tmmust mingle! Ma pit che mai, deh! credil, But more than ever, for pity's sake! believe it, M’2 d'wopo di costanza, for me cons Abt tutto alla speranza Aah! do not Non chiudere il to cor! close your heart to hope. Viousrca Oh! Alfredo, ilerudo termine Oh! Alfredo, the eruel end Serbato al nostro amor! remains despite our love! Aurnep0 Ab! Violetea mia, deb! calmati Ah! My Violett for pity’ sike, calm yourself, Muecide il tue dolor. your sorrow is Killing me, (Wioletta collapses onto the sofa.) {apnert0 ny FRANCESCO MARIA PAVE = Giuseppe Verdi composed La traviata on a libretto that Francesco Maria Piave based on La Dame aux camélias, a play by Alexandre Dumas fils. The opera was first performod at Teatro La Fenice, Venice, on March 6, 1853. Most of Verdi's operas tell stories eet inthe historical past, but La travita is set in his own tine toe middle nineteenth century. and the realistic characters, situations, and emo tions inspired some of his most impassioned music Violetta, the “traviata” fallen woman) of the title, decides to give up ber career as a courtesan and marry Alfredo, who has fallen in love with her. But Alfredo's father is concerned that Violetta's reputation will reflect badly on his family and min his daughter's chance to marry a respectable suitor. He persuades Violetta to eave Alfredo, and while Alfredo is away from the home they are sharing in the suburbs of Paris, Violetta packs her things and returns to the eity, leaving him a note that does not explain the real reason she has left. That night, Alfredo finds her at a pany with one of her old admirers, Baron Douphol. Alfredo insults Violetta and the Baron, and the two men fight a duel. Alfredo wounds the Baron and leaves the count ‘As Act III begins, Alfredo's father has repented and told his som of Violetta's sacrifice. Alfredo returns to Paris to ask her fongiveness: and in'this scene he serives at her shabby apartment and finds her gravely ill with tuberculosis. ‘Violeta is overjoyed to see Alfredo and agrees to leave Paris with him. But her ill- nnovs has weakened herso nuch that she eannot even dress to leave the apartment. She is thrown into despaie, and at the end of the act, she dies in his arms.A 1g2 Gloseeee Vernt Lamoviata cene follows the structure that was common for duets since it was devel: oped by Rossini: ascena (scene) in recitative, accompanied by the orchestra; a tempo d'attacco (opening section) in which the characters trade phrases of ‘melody in dialogue; slow, lyrical cantabile, that expresses a relatively calm feeling such as sadness or hope; a tempo di mezzo (middle section), in which something happens to alter the situation or the characters’ moods; and a fast eabaletia that expresses a more active emotion such as joy or anger. Verdi fills out this conventional structure with a variety of contrasting styles and textures that delineate the plot ui intensify the drama, He also introduces a har monic plan that highlight the sharply different moods ofthe three main sections by focusing on three keys related by major thirds—E major forthe tempo d'attaco, Abmajor for the cantabile, and C major forthe cabaleta The opening dialogue between Violetta and her maid Annina isin blank verse of mixed seven- and eleven-syllable lines, with poetic lines often split bet characters as they rapidly converse. (Note that in Italian poetry, successive vowels are elided as one syllable, even fom one word to the next.) Instead of using the traditional style of accompanied recitative, Verdi sets the dialogue in short phras~ es above a contisuous melodic fabric in the orchestra, whose skipping melody in four-measure phrases and throbbing accompaniment suggest Annina’s excite at having seen Alfredo. A Rossiniesque crescendo begins when Alfredo appears and build to aclimax as the lovers embrace, their reunion symbolized by the long melodic phrase they share in octaves (measure 28). The ensuing dialogue between Alfredo and Violetta (measure 35) comprises empo daitaceo, featuring more tuneful melodies in the voices over simple accompaniment, Here, the poetry turns to rhyming pairs of five-syllable lin which Verdi sets in balanced, four-measure phrases. Each character repeats the other's melodies in urgent rising or falling lines that conv together again while also suggesting the pain and despair each has suffered ‘A.quick modulation from E major to Abmajor precedes the cantabile, “Paigi. 0 cara" (measure 75), in which the lovers vow that they will leave Paris to spend their life together and express hope that they will be rewarded with future happiness for their past suffering. The form is simple, AABB with coda. In the A section, first Alfredo and then Violeta sings a melody whose rhythm and accompani resemble a slow waltz and whose regular phrasing, limited range, and lack of embellishment make its direct and appealing as a popular song. In the B section (measure 125), both characters repeat text from the A section, but Alfredo sings grandiose, legato melody, and Violett sings a chromatic, stageato line. At the end of the section, the characters join together to sing a cadenza-like coda (measures. 169-76). In the following tempo di mezzo (measure 177), hope gives way to despair as it becomes clear that Violett’ illnes is too far advanced to allow for her to begin a new life with Alfredo. Verdi expresses the characters’ emotional transformations14a Giuserre VeRo! Latraviota through stark contrasts of style, including orchestral interjections, singing that varies from recitative to arioso, and even a lighthearted attempt at aria style as Violetta claims to be strong and smiling (measure 191). Instead of increasing dur. ing the scene as was customary, the momentum seems to collapse when Violetta acknowledges that she will not improve (measure 227). The cabaletta (measure 238) does not provide the usual rousing close, but expresses Violetta’s despera~ ion through plodding rhythms and quickly changing dynamies, The form is ‘ABA’ with coda. Alfredo responds to Violetta in the repetition of the A section (measure 254) and tries to calm her in the contrasting passage (measure 270) Finally, the coda (measure 300) builds to a climax of despair. 79709Oa \aod /_setoncow recat asaaasety — Pytih ((B68 -184u) A Eacerer frm Act Ra In 1900, Giacomo Pucci ‘American playwright David Belasco’s drama Madam ately decided to turn it into an opera. Belasco had based his play ona short story by John Luther Long, who drew the plot in part from an incident told to him by his sister, the wife of a missionary in Nagasaki. Thus the play had a greater sense of realism than most tales of east Asia, and Puceini was attracted by the combination of realism with the exoticism of the Japanese setting and characters. liven the Americans in the play were a novelty, a people who had only rarely been represented on the European operatic stage. Once Puccini obtained the rights to turn Belasco’s play into an opera, he and his librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Ilica completed the scenario by November 1902, and Puccini finished the score in December 1903. The premiere at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in February 1904, was a failure, rare for Puccini, marked by noise, laughter, and catcalls from the audience. Puccini withdrew the work after one performance and reshaped it, making cuts in the first act, adding an aria for the tenor, and dividing the long second act in two. This revised form of the opera was produced at Brescia in May 1904 and was a resounding success Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton of the United States Navy. statiomed in Nagasaki, Japan, loves and is about to be married toa fifteen-year-old geisha, Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly. The marriage broker, Goro, has also arranged for Pinkerton t lease a house, complete with servants, Pinkerton plans to live with Butterfly Butterfly in London and izm whe American cons in Nagosai, warns hima thet But erfly trusts hit. and her family have arrived at Pinkerton's house for the w As this excerpt begins, the guests take refreshments, and Butterfly and Pinkerton have a brief moment of privacy. She shows him the few possessions she brings to their new home and tells him that she has converted to Christianity so that together in they can pray to the same God. Then the Imperial Commissioner conducts the brief marriage ceremony. After this excerpt, Butterfly's uncle, a priest, arrives erted from the religion of her ancestors. He renounces her, joined by her family and friends, and they leave her alone with Pinkerton, forever cut off from her people. Although the act closes with a love duet, the story ends tragically: when Pinkerton returns to Japan with his American wife after a three-year absence, Butterfly realizes her faith in him was in vain and, with nowhere to tarn, commits suicide. Aswas his typical practice, Pucei sontrasts of style to convey t ters and the course of the drama. In this excerpt, there are five styles: () Puceint's e; (2) a hybrid, Westernized Japanese style; ( itivistic “Japanese” style: (q) a deliberately simple "official and (5) abrief srence to American music. As the excerpt begins, Pinkerton invites Butterfly into their new home (mea- sures 1-8), using Puccini's normative style, unmarked by any of the special qual- ities that make the others distinctive. This style is European in sound, with ly melodies and the standard harmonic vocabulary of the late nineteenth century, and reveals that she b harac- 21822 ies L143 Gracomo Puccint | tonal yet often chromatic. The orchestra plays the music that accompanied Butterfly’s entrance earlier in the act: a simple, sweet, diatonie melody, immedi~ ately varied in sequence a step higher, harmonized with major triads and. chro~ matic chords (an augmented triad and augmented sixth chord) that resolve normally. Pinkerton joins in with recitation on the last note of each phrase, but lets the orchestra carry the main melody for the moment. By using an unmarked and therefore “universal” style, Puecini depicts Pinkerton as a familiar type of person, here in the role of tender lover. Butterfly responds at firot in the same style (measure 9), but shifts her music to the hybrid style (measure 13). Puccini makes the style specific by quoting in the orchestra two songs from Rudolf Dittrich’s Nippon Gakufi, a collection of Japanese melodies arranged for piano that was published in Germany in 1894 Puccini uses the opening of Ha-Uta (in measures 13-18, 23-26, and 37-40) and ura (in measures 27-36 Rudolf Dittrich, Sakura, measures s—10 Semplce J = <.112 : = Puccini quotes not only the tunes themselves but also Dittrich’s settings, with some changes of harmony. Dittrich was a teacher of Western music in the 18808 at the Tokyo School of Music, invited to teach there by the Japanese government. By that time, the government was vigorously “modernizing” Japan by importing Western technology and, along with it, Wester culture, including Western music. sie Puccini borrows was created in the environment of this exchange, a8 part ofthe Japanese government's efforts to "clean up" what were perocived to be vulgar popular songs by arranging them in the respectable manner of European lon music. Had he wanted an authentic Japanese sound, Puccini could have used the melodies alone. But the hybrid style is a perfect fit for the dramatic situation Butterfly knows the tastes of Westerners and how she is viewed by them. By evok~ ing Westernized Japanese music, she presents herself as a charming exotic woman for Pinkerton’s Western gaze. She is very perceptive about how Pinkresponds, Hisbref questions do aot interrupt he hybrid style, but when she asks Toeveaseurance, he is charmed and responds in his original tender style sures 20-22) Tiga Butterfly brings outa narrow box, the style changes. As Goro explains Pees that ito the Eafe her father used to commit suicide atthe behest ofthe emperor, we hear an wnharmonized melody ia Japanese sie inder a drone caeares 48-34). beard earlier inthe actat the first mention of her dead father Caer fms Westernization of the styl. Instead, the drone and lack of harmo ny mark the musie as primitive and foreign, and the low regitel colors it as aernping, not exotic and charming, Linked tthe father's death, this ale 0 gests that ritual suicide is a dark, barbario aspect of Japanese culture, ie tay realizes that she may have alienated Pinkerton by bringing owt the Le aie again to ingratiate herself, Returning to the hybrid style and fs sang Ha-Uia (measures 60-69), she shows him small stanues that cont the Spirits ofher ancestors (this is a invention of the libretto: there 1s such prac- cee Japan) Then she tells him of her conversion to Christianity first in mi wens tanner masked by parallel triads in second inversion (measures 74 ? Tore aaemvats normative style (measures 78-81). This blossoms into a bref ta, "To segue il mio destino” (I follow my destiny, measure 85). Her melody, Pre ndowed earlier in the scene, is mostly pentatonic, suggesting one® again he Tapanese syle, butts phrasing and con‘ours also suggest a Prosestant hymn, end Jape a coompaniment isin Puceini’s European style. The combination of sfylistic allusions suggests that Butterfly s ying 0 forge a personality Pinkerton sa evotie enough to stay interested, and Western and Christian enovg .0 take fully to his heart, Ar the end af her ari, she briefly refers once m0 eto Ha: take ful¥ due orchestra plays the motive associated with hes father's death (mea sures 103-6). “Te final pat of tis excerpt isthe marriage ceremony itself, conducted by fhe Imperial Comenissioner ina dry reeitation that serves in contest as musical r dP of an official reading a legal document aloud (measure 1o7). He see bole only for am allusion to Pinkerton's native United States through 2 quotation of Te Star-Spangled Bonner (measures 126-28), 8 =p sesentation of the aipntry trough its music that parallels Puccini's easier uses of Japanese 008% We have seen the use of contrasting styles to delineate characters and sitiation in many previous operas, from Mozart's Don Giovanni (NAWM 117) through Wagner's Trston und leolde (NAWM 143), 80 Puccini's practice Bis into a long tra~ Meeee, What i notable here isthe variety of his references, embracing Japan an ‘America, along with the subtlety of his characterizations14 JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony Ho. 4m Minor. 98 Dycn ong LE Croce, ANNU COOL € GUS ESE Johannes Brahms wrote his Symphony No. 4 in E Minor in 1884-85. It was pre miered in October 1885 by the court orchestra at Meiningen in Germany, con- ducted by Brabms himself, and was an immediate success. Brahms and the -a went on tour together with the piece throughout western Germany and. etherlands before it was published in 1886, By the 1880s, Brahms was well off, with more income from performances, sales ofis works, and investments than he needed for his modest lifestyle. He was ina position to compose when and what he wished, rather than serving a patron or writing music for a wide public. In this symphony, he sought to write a master: piece for the ages, combining elements from the nineteenth-century symphonic tradition and the more distant past in a unified vision that was distinctly his own. This combination of 3 is exemplified in the finale, which draws from ‘music spanning the previous two hundred years yet ends up sounding like pure Brahms, finale isa chacomne or passacagiia, a Baroque form consisting of a series of variations over a repeating bass line in triple meter. Brahms was familiar with chaconnes by several Baroque composers and used some of them as models for this movement. The key of E minor and some aspects of both the theme and cer- tain variations appear to stem from Dieterich Buxtehude’s Ciaccona in E Minor for organ. The idea of returning to or echoing earlier variations (described below) may derive in part from Frangois Couperin's Rondeau-Passacaille from the Eighth Ordre (harpsichord suite), a work Brahms edited for the Couperin com plete works edition. According to friend's recollection, Brahms adapted the bass ostinato in this movement from the final chorus of J. S. Bach’s cantata Nach dir Herr, verlanget mick, BWV Bach's four-measure ostinato Fe == Brahms'seight-measure theme: Both motives have a similar rising scalar contour culminating in a descending octave leap, but Brahms introduces a chromatic passing tone and stretches the theme out to double its length, ending back on the tonic. His finale consists of thirty-one variations on this cight-measure theme, varying both the theme itself and the figurations that accompany it, and ends with a substantial coda. Another apparent model is Bach's chaconne finale from Partita No. 2 in D Minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004, which Brahmas had transcribed in 1877 asa left hand exercise for piano. Both finales are in a minor key with a middle section in the parallel major; many variations in both are grouped in pairs; and the return to147 JomANNEs BRAHMS Symphony No. ¢ia EMinor, Op. 98 rminor is sigaaled with a reappearance ofthe opening idea and texture. There are tven details of figuration that the two pieces share, all characteristic of Baroque rusies sarabande rhythm, stressing the second beat with a dotted quarter note followed by an eighth note (variations 5~7, measures 33-56) eighth-note figures that begin just after rather than on the beat (variation 6, measure 4a): dotted rhythms (variation 8, measure 57): and boriolage a figuration im which the violin~ {st alternates rapidly between strings, playing repested note on one and amoy- ing line on the other (variations 9-10, measures 65-60). But all is not Baroque. By ending with asetof variations, wausual for asympho ny finale, Brahms recalls Beethoven's Evca Symphony, the most famous previ- us symphony o end witha variations movement. In both finales, the bass line is first presented in the upper and middle registers, only later being placed in the bass; in the Brahms, the theme is in the top voice in variations 1g, is in the mid~ dle for variations 3-4, and arrives in the bass only with variation 5, Several other variations also place the theme in the middle or upper registers. Each time, takes the opportunity to introduce new harmonic progressions, avoiding je monotony that might otherwise ensue from so many repetitions of the same sequence of chords. Indeed, several variations strongly hint at Cxmajor, the key of the third movement of the symphony and an iraportant secondary key in the first two movements. ‘Another similarity to the Eroica finale is that Brahms groups variations into large sections that suggest aspects of sonata form, There are five main sections, 1. Variations 1-12 (measures 1-96) serve as an exposition. ‘The next four variations (13-16, measures 97-128) constitute an interlude inf meter, moving tothe parallel major and concluding with two chorale like variations that feature trombones and borns, an effect reminiscent of Schumann's Third Symphony finale. Variation 17 (measure aseries of variations that resemble a development section, revisiting and reworking rhythmic and melodie motives from the first several variations. The fourth section then serves asa recapitulation. Variations 24-27 (measures 185-216) are varied restatements of variations 14, decorated with the two-against-three rhythmic patterns that are practically a Brahms trademark. Variations 28-29 (measures 217-32) are more distant relatives of variation 6, and variations 30-31 (measures 233-ga) introduce falling chains of thirds, adirect reference to the first theme of the first movement. Like the Eroiea finale, Bralums's finale ends with a faster coda (measure 2g3) that begins with a recollection of the movement's opening; develops the thematic material in a new way, finally freed of the theme’s recurring eight- measure phrases; and builds excitement to a stirring close ‘Throughout, Brahmas constantly varies the theme itself through figuration and registeal placement and by giving each variation a distinctive the other voices. Yet almost everything new is an extension of something we have hheard before, all ultimately deriving from the ideas presented at the very beginning. Amold Schoenberg called this process of «147 JOHANNES BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98 germinal motives developing variation, and it is characteristic of Brahms. (For further discussion of this concept, see NAWM 148.) In contrast to Wagner, Brahms had a reputation as a conservative. Bat his bar ‘monies and the links he created between movements were quite up to date, and it ‘was novel indeed to synthesize these elements with an old form like the chaconne and to blend elements borrowed from music across a two-hundred-year span. In his awareness ofthe past and his ability to create something new and highly indi Vidual in response, Brahms was a quintessentially modern composer and an inspiration for many in the twentieth centuryea Richard Strauss composed his tone poem Don Quixote in 1897, and it was pre miered in March the following year. The work is an instrumental dramatization of Miguel de Cervantes's picaresque novel of 1603 about a bunglin Don Quixote, who imagines himself a knight in the days of chivalry: his hozse. Rosinante; and his servant, Sancho Panza, who plays the role of squire to Don Quixote. The music closely follows the events of the novel, depicting them in ver, sometimes literal ways. In one adventure, Don Quixote imagines fighting nits, but they are actually windmills, and in another a flock of sheep appears toagg RroHann STRAUSS Don Quite, Op-35 Don Quixote as an army that he must battle in order defend a weaker brigade. al to philosophical, Don Poche continuum of tone poems from representatom Quinte is the former, offering a strong Fontes the less overtly deseriptive aaret ot Also sprach Zarathustra, written the year Defoe itor a prologue (not incuded here), Strauss prisent the two principal ete tab ist on Don Quixote, the second on Sanche Panza-in two separate tpettons. Tn. Don Quizote der Ritter von der trouri Gestalt (Don Quixote, the night of theSorrowtol Countenance) the olo cello states the knight's theme in D aeimor, echoed and joined by solo viotia end English horn. The theme soars, then gradually sinks, then soars again, ‘na rausical analogy to Don Quixote's ever tae gd but always renewed idealism. Then bass canine! ‘and tenor tuba present Seacho Panaa’s theme in F major, using turning 6-5 and wide leaps to sug- gent the lumbering, roly-poly servant on his donkey. These ideas alternate with a Seriery of motives in the solo viola that suEBES* Don Quixote's horse Rosinante. varie atic” variations and an Epilogue make uP (he remainder of the piece. rannapuation ofthe themes with pares ole inst eieaes gives the musical larity The variations do not preserve amelody, harmonic progression, or form. Instead the themes of the two main characters appear within Protrmieal contexts and are subjected to transfornstione which the head of @ i lodic continuation, This method suggests an St there ofthe main characters with a series of ingideo™ Combining a program, eon op instruments and variations strture, the plese © amalgamation of genres, including elements of concert ‘and variations as well as tone poem. ‘The first variations built. oe veaifolding supplied by transformations of the wo tn ovat instruments, We overhear an abstract and Se Tpresn cello and bess clarinet. Tis leads tothe SER wih windmills (measures 60-78). Their creaking Dplades are suggested by fast Tepeated notes payed ol egno with the revod ofthe bow) inthe orchestral cellos and ert inthe flute and piecolo, and their slow but ‘elentless turning, represented bya repeated downward arpeggiation by Hh rds, knocks Don Quixote off his horse Cyeasures 71-72). He picks himself up. remount. sand goes ont the next adventure taethe second variation of the knight's theme, Bence in the strings portray Don Quisote’s atempts to be bold and heroic, his efforts are immediately oo ciedby the winds’ mocking transformation ofthe ‘Sancho theme. This varia res ct the encounter with the sheep veginning # AOTETE 101), with flut~ ter tonguing (rapid tongue motions while otnere playing normally) in the verge and winds to imitate the bleating of the shee Here Strauss anticipates 2 technique that Arnold Schoenberg called ‘langfarbenmelodie (tone eolor melody), Tea struments maintaining constant pitches d'9p © ‘and out of an orches: tral texture, creating a melody of tone colors (Schoenberg experimented with this tee in Farben (Color), which he ater called Surret Morning by a Lake, the Third of his Five Orchestral Pieces, Op: 16. of 1909.) Strauss’s changing colors transport us into a dream world, where the raormal dimensions of melody and armen no longer pertain. Naturally. the sheep Wi the “battle,” but once again Don Quixote reassert his heroism and is ready [of ‘nothertrial. "Fantastic" is am apt word for these variations, where familiar shemes and relationships lose their normal thread and footing. texture a transparent theme usually leads toa ‘main themes in their times abstruse conversation51 PLOTA [t'vtcH TCWAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Op. 74 Tonaivovs 3rd provement, , mt Ae ga Mote Vivace (gua) ‘Tehaikovaky sketched his Symphony No. 6 in B Minor from Rebruaty to April893 Sergnsuy orchestrated tin August. In February, he wrote to his aephew Viadimir Davidov that he would call the Piece A Program. Symphony but would not announce the pro- ry gram, leaving it "a riddle to everyone.” The most novel aspect ofthe symphony, he ‘rote, was its form, especially ending with a slow movement rather than afast one. He conducted its premiere (titled simply as Symphony No. 6) in St. Petersburg on October 28, where its unusual features puzzled the audience and provoked a mixed reception. Tchaikovsky became ill five days later and died November 6 That evening it was performed a second time, now with the subtitle Symphonie Pathétique, which Tehaikovsky had apparently been considering since September and added to the manuscript soon after the premiere. At this second perform- ance, the symphony was hailed as a masterpiece. The slow, lamenting finale which had seemed so odd nine days carlier, was now seen as a valediction, a farewell to life, even—by some—a suicide note. It gems far more likely that ‘Tehaikovsky’s death so soon after the premiere was a coincidence, and that he intended the novel form of the symphony to suggest a dramatic are in which apparent triumph was succeeded by tragedy, upending the traditional symphonic scenario, going back to Beethoven's Third and Fifth Symphonies, of a struggle that culminates in victory. Mapping the are of Tchaikovsky's symphony onto his life story Limits its meaning: recognizing that it follows a narrative course familiar from countless tragic plays and operas reveals its significance as an archetype that is widely understood, even universal, though entirely new for a symphony. In this scenario, the third movement embodies the moment of victory before the tragic end. Indeed, it has the character of a triumphant symphonic finale, Yet {nits own way, this movement is as remarkable as the Adagio lamentoso that ends the symphony. It becomes a march, but the marchlike elements only gradually ‘emerge from a completely different, scherzo-Like texture. With a recurring main theme that alternates with other material, the form has some characteristics of a rondo, a form one would expect in a finale, but ultimately follows a different path ‘Most remarkable, the main theme does not appear until well into the movement, hhaving first been anticipated by some of its constituent motives. When it does appear, it is in the wrong key, requiring a later resolution to the tonic—like the second theme of a sonata form. The diagram on facing page 1059 summarizes the form, using'T for the main theme and for its opening motive, The theme itself forms the A section of a ternary (ABA) form that appears first in Emajor (measures 71-138) and then, somewhat expanded, in the movement's tonic, G major (measures 229-315). This ternary form itself serves asthe B section in an overall form of ABA'B' plus coda. (In order to keep the levels clear, the ternary form in the B section is bere labeled as TST'—theme, secondary idea, and theme again.) In its definitive form, reached at; measure 229, the theme is characterized by several repeating elements. The opening motive t features melodic motion by fourths (C-D-G-D-G-C) and a rhythm ($7.26 16/1) that recurs in variousagn Poore H } 1059 terion TOHALKOYSKY Symphony Ne 6.08.14 0: By Re WORT’ E. eS a ] a : ones Bo eee Key: FREE erie) Aveta aS S esse: 19947 157 165175 168106 my__228 28 raage of the theme (measures 229-20) Tessendingeale inthe bess. Inthe seo 3), an abbreviated formof the rhythmic pattern from ae figure in quarter notes, answered PY arisingand falling sale figure in eighth notes i Te first past repeats, followed ing oger variant of the seoond PREIS omplete the theme (measures My 94)- Along the way besides the Woe ‘mnajr, the harmony moves briefly f° For (measures 235-27) and Ebmaioe (rmeasures 245-46). mao these elements of the theme, mote vind harmonic, are anticipated in wat precedes it, 80 that when the -aeve finally appears it sounds familia Toreover, the movement gradually cbaset Character, reaching the triumpbant Mofeh at measure 229 only after s1o¥ ane formation froma scherzo” ike begin vning, Thus in theme, barmenys af character. the movement comeys 2 S5D8¢ of becoming. ‘The movement ope strings and winds. The rapid the theme. The first p! forms throughout ‘tive overarepeated d ‘varies the opening ‘ond phrase (measures 23 tembellishes a descending os with twittering staceato triplets thas alternate between lee motion, soft dynamic. and be orchestration Peete is opening the sound ofa scherzo ee tiple and scaer chasacter wil Continue througout the Asection: Sper nally punctuated with Lowder NPS con ler textures. The first phrase, DS" © Paablishes C major as the tonic ta pe repetition azeady moilates ro 5 "TE ‘As we have seen, the keys of C pat wll prove to be the harmonic fora! pont of he movement. A measyre 9; whe oboe introduces motive t in E mink Tie alternating fourths and dotted thyhm hin atthe mare it will Beco”, rat ite soft dynamic and staceato act lion ft the seherzo character. At mea snd horns introduce & fare 1g. the strings a! septive b, which combines the ehythma ‘of motive t with a descending also be part of the Die ne hough embellished eiferea) sai armory moves ack to G major at HS sire 37, where the opening motive & rae in counterpoint with anew tunes ATT Ghpiccolo, violin 1. and ello) ware features several clements of ae ie fourths, arising and falling 8167 Tight notes, and the melodie geste rt follows ¢ in the theme itself ee the pitches &"-b'-a"-d-¢" in violin hat pes 39-40 and 230-81). Asuddden Prange to Ebmajor brings motive ds 2 hr form of the descending seal FE shins the firetloud and bombastic mone ‘athe movernent, hinting that pettaps this ie not justa scherzo afterall A repetition in B major completes progression ‘new melody scale that will1g1 Prote [L'VtcH TOMATKOYSEY Sympbony No.6. OP. 74 hy major thirds (G to Eb to B) that we have seen before in Schubert (NAWM 133) and Ligat (NAWM 128) and was common in Russian music. Having arrived on B major, Tehaikovle uses tas dominant preparation forthe first statement of the complete theme, in E major, at measure 72, The passage i= measures 43-70. which serves as a bridge from the A section to the B section Tntieipates the theme with dotted figures derived from t measures 53-65) ovr an F# pedal point, then t itself in the bassline starting on B (measures 61-70). ‘This transposition of the motive ends with the rising fourths FF-B-E,& mice” Team ofthe large-ecale harmonic motion inthis passage from F¥(as Vof B) to B19 at measure 71. During this bridge, the music repeatedly oreseendos, then quiets again. “Then the theme arrives at measure 7, its first phrase still has the light char- acter of the scherao, played leggieramente Cightly) and accompanied by triplets Dat the triplets are gone for most ofthe B section, which increasingly takes on the Character of a march everywhere except for repetitions of the theme's opening phrave. Part of the movement's sense of becoming has been achieved the ele- Pee. fthe theme introduced in the A.section have been assembled into the fll vheme itself, But ivas not yet fully assumed its martial stature, and its notin the tonic. Resolving these two issues is the business of the second half ofthe movement Fit Tehailewsly repeats the A section, but changes its endingto settle ona pedal point A, the dominant of the dominant in the tone key of C major (surasuts 198). eon this, ctatements of motive t ricochet among instruments, prolonging and delaying the resolution to dominant. When the energy seems ready boil over, Teheikovsly whips up the froth with rapid, swirling scales exchanged berween strings and winds (measures 221-26). These scales mark the resolution £9 the sings nt and lead directly into the climactic restatement ofthe B section in the fonie at measure 229. In comparison with the first bridge, the bridge passage i tneavures 19g-220 is greatly expanded and much more energetic, making @ long acasunddo. Iealao entirely lacks the triplets that suffused the A section, the earl srbridge, and parts ofthe first statement ofthe B section. With the triplet accom, peniment gone and ata dynamic level of frtsisimo, the main these now finally Paoee © triumphant march and maintains that character to the ect of the aeeovment The few remaining triplets are heard as flourishes within the marc style. The B section is lengthened with an extension after it middle secton and bya long eoda, both of which include further reiterations of motive & (measures 275-82 and 316-47). hort, the march theme slowly comes together from its elements and erans— forms its character to reach a climactic conclusion. This movement would make = perfect culmination for a sympboay. And thai heightens all the more (he iron) that it is not the end of the story. .ga Antonin DYORAE Stovonic Dances Dvo¥d w& Cigul-\ao 2 1071 Og, We iNO.1, Presty CONG -for Piarw four narae™ VT mag Brecon i at Sa Dances, Op. 46. atthe request A ooeesce exblishor Frit Simrock, who wrote him in easly March 1878 sia oc Bahomian and Moravian dances for piano fur handsaloag he ines of Man or oneenan Dances, Dotik unmediaely st to work, finishing No. are nate whole set of eight by May. Their publfation in November within dave mous, Helen orchestrated them, and in that version No.1 ad it aren May 16 in Prague, along with two other. The orchestral versions Pee oe wey. august and published later that yea. Publishing these pieces were co es that came out almost simultancously was typical of the time. dong them wae goo fr anes piano duets were rarely played in concer, Orcs ee dances played by an orcbestra was a good adrerisement forthe repeal sion Inthe nineteenth century, when playing et aie piano Was vinceco were bes known in their original form, Sine Sf eeordangs in the twentieth common reereation, these the decline of home music-making and coutury, they have become better known in their orchestral versions rhentic national style, and Dvotéke obliged, uma, sousedska, and skaéna. He did Chopin's mazurkas Simrock wanted dances in an aut using Gzech dance types such as the polka, di not use folk melodies, but wrote stylized dances analogous to (eee NAWM 126), polonaises, and waltzes. ‘The Brst dance isa feriant, a couple dance in triple meter and four-measure larases that typically begins with hemiolas, a5 ifthe fxs two measures Of each phrase were three dupe measures instead. Later the dance moves ina steady iple Eine ike the Austrian lindler. The Czech word furiant means "proud, swaggering venn.” and one mid-nineteenth century description of the dance suggests that the hemiolae at the beginning were intended to imitate the swagger of aproud farmer, ‘eith bis chest puffed up, hands om hips, and elbows out as he stomps his fect DvoFil laid out the piece in a lange ABA’ form with coda: Section: Motives: a0 ARGH eS NCTE, We UATE Key: Measure: 18 26 47 8 ca Section: Motives: dl (Og ae Measure: 153163177 198_214 236 jing the overall also reflected ‘The A section itself is a small ternary form with codetta, parall onic arc of the whole form on a smaller scale. Moreover, the biL152 ANTONIN DYOAAK Slavonic Dances on smaller levels: the piece moves from C major (in the A section) to A major (in the B section) and back, as does the A section itself; the opening strain of the A section moves from C major to A minor and back; and the B section moves from A to Ftmajor and back, echoing the piece's overall motion a third lower. These for mal and harmonic devices help to unify the piece. So do the rhythmic motives: in both the A and B sections, phrases often end with a short-long rhythm (quarter note to half note, with the quarter note on the beat), and both parts 6f the A sec- tion highlight a motive of two eighth and two quarter notes, In all these respects, this dance is as tightly constructed as a sonata movement. ‘The dance opens with a repeated tonic chord with a fermata, often used in dance tnusic to signal the dancers that the music is about to start. The opening strain (a, measures 2-17) pounds out the characteristic furiant hemiola rhythm in the first two measures of each phase, while the second two can be heard in hemi- ola (because of the short-Long rhythm in the fourth measure) or in triple meter, depending on the performers’ emphasis. The harmony moves to A minor, then back to C major, giving the musica modal sound. The middle part of the A section begins in A major with a variant of the opening gesture, now recast into a lilting triple-meter dance melody (b, measures 18-27), then moves to G major for avari- ation of the opening strain. Here too there is a modal tinge, as G-major changes briefly to G Dorian (measures 40-45).’The return to the opening strain (meastire 42) is again varied, and the A section ends with a codetta focused on elements irom the middle section, The B section spins out variations on a new tune (c, measures 83-98), with another figure for contrast (d, measures 107-16). Here there are no hemiolas, and the only rhythmic reminder of the A section is the short-long rhythm at the ends of some phrases. By the time the A section returns (measure 153), we have grown accustomed to the lilting triple meter, and the opening hemiolas make a strong contrast. The piece ends with a coda that recalls the new tune from the B section and then the opening of the A section, both over the figure from the middle strain of the A section, combining all the major motives of the piece. DvoFék composed the piece in score, with the two staves for the Primo part (the player on the right end of the piano bench, playing in the treble range) above the two staves for the Secondo (who plays in the bass range). This dance is presented in that format here, to make it easier to follow the music while listening. But these dances were published in the standard format for piano duets, with the Primo part on the right-hand page and the Secondo on the left-hand page of each pair of fac ing pages, placing the music for each part in front of the respective player. As was true for string quartets (see NAWM 111) or sixteenth-century madrigals published in partbooks (see NAWM 52), each player sees only his or her notes, and part of the fun was hearing how one’s own part ft with the rest of the music. The Primo often has the melody and the Secondo the accompaniment, but the Secondo sometimes gets the melody as well, especially in the B section,