Happy Friday Music! This week we will be looking at how four composers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries treated the bassoon. A very well-known piece that the bassoon has an important role in is “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” In 1875, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) wrote 26 movements as incidental music to a play called ‘Peer Gynt’ – written by Henrik Ibsen. Over ten years later Greig took eight of the movements and made them into two Suites of four movements each. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” comes at the end of the 1st Suite, which is at 13.13 in the main video. If you get the opportunity to listen and watch all of this video there might be a lot of music that you are familiar with. (I’ve put the starting times of each movement to help you do this easily.) Suite 1 (Op 46) Morning Mood: starts at 00.00 The Death of Ase: starts at 04.30 Anitra’s Dance: starts at 09.37 In the Hall of the Mountain King: starts at 13.13 Suite 2 (Op 55) The Abduction of the Bride. Ingrids Lament: starts at 15:47 Arabian Dance: starts at 20.13 Peer Gynts Homecoming: starts at 24.56 Solveigs Song: starts at 27.35 At the start of this movement we hear the bassoons, cellos and double basses sharing the melody in their lowest registers. Written in B Minor, we hear the pulse gradually increasing and more instruments starting to play. From a gentle yet comical mood it turns into a frenzy. The harmonies and rhythms are kept very simple throughout. The orchestra is based in Madrid, being employed by the Radiotelevisión Española. The conductor, Guillermo Garcia Calvo (1978- ), is a Spanish musician who has conducted many orchestras around Europe as well as a few further afield. https://youtube/watch?v=wHAfvUFtCIY Piotr Tchaikovsky (1849-1893) wrote his 6th Symphony in 1893. It was the last of his compositions that were premiered in his lifetime – just nine days before he died. It is named the “Pathétique” (after the French for ‘passionate’ and ‘emotional’) in many countries. The opening (from 00.54), shows the really dark, mysterious side to the bassoon –so different from Grieg’s playful ideas. (They are both in the same key.) At 05.30 the strings introduce a beautiful yet quite sad melody. The woodwind answer this one minute later. This Symphony has four movements. Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) was an Austrian conductor. Using the technology available he could be seen as one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century. He is renowned for the marvellous musicianship he brings out from the orchestras he worked with. https://youtube/watch?v=U4yH4B9deok Paul Dukas (1865-1935) was a French Composer. Whilst having written many compositions, he is known primarily as the composer of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” It was written in 1896/7. The bassoons make their famous entry at 02.11. It’s a nice characteristic bassoon part! Other instruments run with the melody at higher registers later. The contrabassoon makes its short-lived mark at 06.26 before the bassoons re-enter with their theme again. The piece became more widely known in 1940 after the animated film ‘Fantasia’ was released. https://youtube/watch?v=MZKHGlDkyuo Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) wrote his “Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra” (Op 62) in 1910. Written in the Key of D minor, there are no comedic portrayals here. Long, melodic, sunny afternoon phrases and a wide note range lend themselves to this very graceful work. Elgar also wrote a transcription of it for the cello. There are some changes to the score from other performances I have heard.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 06:40:00 +0000
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