Beethoven's program symphonies. Musical works about nature: a selection of good music with a story about it
Word "symphony" translated from Greek as “consonance”. And indeed, the sound of many instruments in an orchestra can only be called music when they are in tune, and do not each produce sounds on its own.
In Ancient Greece, this was the name for a pleasant combination of sounds, singing together in unison. In Ancient Rome, an ensemble or orchestra began to be called this way. In the Middle Ages, secular music in general and some musical instruments were called a symphony.
The word has other meanings, but they all carry the meaning of connection, involvement, harmonious combination; for example, a symphony is also called the principle of relationship between the church and secular power formed in the Byzantine Empire.
But today we will only talk about a musical symphony.
Varieties of symphony
Classical symphony- This is a musical work in sonata cyclic form, intended for performance by a symphony orchestra.
A symphony (in addition to a symphony orchestra) may include a choir and vocals. There are symphonies-suites, symphonies-rhapsodies, symphonies-fantasies, symphonies-ballads, symphonies-legends, symphonies-poems, symphonies-requiems, symphonies-ballets, symphonies-dramas and theatrical symphonies as a type of opera.
A classical symphony usually has 4 movements:
first part - in fast pace(allegro ) , in sonata form;
second part - in at a slow pace, usually in the form of variations, rondo, rondo sonata, complex three-movement, less often in the form of a sonata;
the third part - scherzo or minuet- in three-part form da capo with trio (that is, according to the A-trio-A scheme);
fourth part - in fast pace, in sonata form, in rondo or rondo sonata form.
But there are symphonies with fewer (or more) parts. There are also one-movement symphonies.
Program Symphony is a symphony with a specific content, which is set out in the program or expressed in the title. If the symphony has a title, then this title is the minimum program, for example, “Symphony Fantastique” by G. Berlioz.
From the history of the symphony
The creator of the classical form of symphony and orchestration is considered Haydn.
And the prototype of the symphony is the Italian overture(an instrumental orchestral piece performed before the start of any performance: opera, ballet), which developed at the end of the 17th century. Significant contributions to the development of the symphony were made by Mozart And Beethoven. These three composers are called "Viennese classics". Viennese classics created a high type of instrumental music, in which all the wealth of figurative content is embodied in a perfect artistic form. The process of formation of the symphony orchestra - its permanent composition and orchestral groups - also coincided with this time.
V.A. Mozart
Mozart wrote in all the forms and genres that existed in his era; he attached special importance to opera, but also paid great attention to symphonic music. Due to the fact that throughout his life he worked in parallel on operas and symphonies, his instrumental music is distinguished by the melodiousness of an operatic aria and dramatic conflict. Mozart created more than 50 symphonies. The most popular were the last three symphonies - No. 39, No. 40 and No. 41 (“Jupiter”).
K. Schlosser "Beethoven at work"
Beethoven created 9 symphonies, but in terms of the development of symphonic form and orchestration, he can be called the largest symphonic composer of the classical period. In his Ninth Symphony, the most famous, all its parts are fused into one whole by a cross-cutting theme. In this symphony, Beethoven introduced vocal parts, after which other composers began to do so. In the form of a symphony he said a new word R. Schumann.
But already in the second half of the 19th century. the strict forms of the symphony began to change. The four-part system became optional: it appeared one-part symphony (Myaskovsky, Boris Tchaikovsky), symphony from 11 parts(Shostakovich) and even from 24 parts(Hovaness). The classical finale at a fast tempo was supplanted by a slow finale (P.I. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Mahler's Third and Ninth Symphonies).
The authors of the symphonies were F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, J. Brahms, A. Dvorak, A. Bruckner, G. Mahler, Jean Sibelius, A. Webern, A. Rubinstein, P. Tchaikovsky, A. Borodin, N. Rimsky- Korsakov, N. Myaskovsky, A. Scriabin, S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich and others.
Its composition, as we have already said, took shape in the era of the Viennese classics.
The basis of a symphony orchestra is four groups of instruments: bowed strings(violins, violas, cellos, double basses), woodwinds(flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone with all their varieties - ancient recorder, shawl, chalumeau, etc., as well as a number of folk instruments - balaban, duduk, zhaleika, flute, zurna), brass(horn, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, trombone, tuba), drums(timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, bells, drums, triangle, cymbals, tambourine, castanets, tom-tom and others).
Sometimes other instruments are included in the orchestra: harp, piano, organ(keyboard-wind musical instrument, the largest type of musical instrument), celesta(a small keyboard-percussion musical instrument that looks like a piano and sounds like bells), harpsichord.
Harpsichord
Big a symphony orchestra can include up to 110 musicians , small– no more than 50.
The conductor decides how to seat the orchestra. The arrangement of performers in a modern symphony orchestra is aimed at achieving a coherent sonority. In 50-70 years. XX century became widespread "American seating": the first and second violins are placed to the left of the conductor; on the right are violas and cellos; in the depths there are woodwinds and brass winds, double basses; on the left are drums.
Symphony orchestra musicians' seating arrangement
Beethoven, having come to terms with an incurable illness, does not fight here with a hostile fate, but glorifies the great power of nature and the simple joys of rural life. This theme has been embodied in music more than once (The Seasons by Vivaldi, Haydn). Beethoven, who had an enthusiastic and pantheistic attitude towards nature, revealed it in his own way. His interpretation is close to the views of Rousseau. For Beethoven, nature is not only an object for creating picturesque paintings, not only a source of pure joy, but also a symbol of a free, free life, spiritual emancipation. As in Aurora, the 6th Symphony has a great role folk origin, since closeness to nature for Beethoven was tantamount to closeness to the people. That is why many themes of the symphony reveal kinship with folk melodies.
The 6th symphony belongs to the lyric-genre type of symphony (like the 2nd, 4th, 8th symphonies and most sonatas). Its dramaturgy is very different from the dramaturgy of heroic symphonies (3, 5, 9):
- instead of conflict clashes, the struggle of opposite principles - a long stay in one emotional state, which is diversified by the intensification of the coloristic principle;
- contrasts and edges between sections are smoothed out, smooth transitions from one thought to another are characteristic (this is especially evident in part II, where a secondary theme continues the main one, entering against the same background);
- the melodic beginning and variation dominate as the main method of thematic development, including in sonata developments (a striking example is II part);
- the topics are homogeneous in structure;
- in the orchestration there is an abundance of solo wind instruments, the use of new performance techniques that later became characteristic of the romantics (divizi and mutes in the cello part imitating the babbling of a stream);
- in tonal planes - the dominance of colorful tertian tonal comparisons;
- widespread use of ornamentation; abundance of organ points;
- wide implementation of genres of folk music - ländler (in the extreme sections of the scherzo), songs (in the finale).
The sixth symphony is programmatic, and, the only one of the nine, it has not only a general title, but also headings for each movement. There are not 4 parts, as was firmly established in the classical symphonic cycle, but 5, which is connected precisely with the program: between the simple-hearted village dance and the peaceful finale, a dramatic picture of a thunderstorm is placed. These three parts (3,4,5) are performed without interruption.
Part 1 - “Joyful feelings upon arrival in the village” (F-dur)
The title emphasizes that the music is not a “description” of the rural landscape, but reveals the feelings it evokes. The entire sonata allegro is imbued with elements of folk music. From the very beginning, a fifth of violas and cellos reproduce the drone of country bagpipes. Against this background, the violins produce a simple, repeatedly repeated melody based on pastoral intonations. This is the main theme of the sonata form. The side and final do not contrast with it; they also express a mood of joyful tranquility and sound in C - major. All themes are developed, but not due to motivic development, as was the case, for example, in the “Eroic” symphony, but due to the abundance of thematic repetitions, emphasized by clear cadences. The same thing is observed in development: the characteristic chant of the main part, taken as an object for development, is repeated many times without any changes, but at the same time it is colored by the play of registers, instrumental timbres, and a colorful tertian comparison of tonalities (B - D, C - E ).
Part 2 - “Scene by the Stream” (B-major)
Imbued with the same serene feelings, however, there is more dreaminess here, and in addition there is an abundance of figurative and onomatopoeic moments. Throughout the entire movement, the “murmuring” background of two solo cellos with mutes and a pedal of horns is preserved (only at the very end the “stream” falls silent, giving way to a roll call of birds: the trill of a nightingale performed by the flute, the call of a quail by the oboe and the cuckooing of the cuckoo by the clarinet). This part, like the first part, is also written in sonata form, which is interpreted in a similar way: reliance on song thematics, lack of contrasts, timbre variation.
Part 3 - “A cheerful gathering of villagers” (F-dur)
Part 3 is a juicy genre sketch. Her music is the most cheerful and carefree. It combines the sly simplicity of peasant dances (Haydnian tradition) and the sharp humor of Beethoven's scherzos. There is also a lot of visual concreteness here.
The first section of the 3x-partial form is based on a repeated comparison of two themes - abrupt, with persistent stubborn repetitions, and lyrically melodious, but not without humor: the bassoon accompaniment sounds out of step, as if by inexperienced village musicians. Another theme sounds in the transparent timbre of the oboe accompanied by violins. It is graceful and elegant, but at the same time, the syncopated rhythm and the suddenly entering bassoon bass also add a comic touch to it.
In a busier trio A rough chant with sharp accents is persistently repeated, in a very loud sound, as if the village musicians were playing with all their might, and, sparing no effort, accompany the heavy peasant dance.
In the reprise, a full introduction of all topics is replaced by a brief reminder of the first two.
The closeness to folk music is manifested in the 3rd part of the symphony both in the use of variable modes, and in the variability of three and bipartite sizes, characteristic of Austrian peasant dances.
Part 4 - “Thunderstorm. Storm" (d-moll)
<Бесхитростный деревенский праздник внезапно прерывает гроза - так начинается 4 часть симфонии. Она составляет резкий контраст всему предшествовавшему и является единственным драматическим эпизодом всей симфонии. Рисуя величественную картину разбушевавшейся стихии, композитор прибегает к изобразительным приемам, расширяет состав оркестра, включая, как и финале 5-й симфонии, флейту - пикколо и тромбоны.
Musical thunderstorms “rage” in many works of the 18th - 19th centuries of various genres (Vivaldi, Haydn, Rossini, Verdi, Liszt, etc.). Beethoven's interpretation of the image of a storm is close to Haydn's: a thunderstorm is perceived not as a devastating disaster, but as a grace necessary for all living things.
Part 5 - “Shepherd's tunes. Joyful and grateful feelings after the storm" (F-dur)
The free form of the 4th part has as its prototype a real life process - a thunderstorm, which gradually intensifies from the first timid drops, reaches a climax, and then subsides. The last weak rumble of thunder dissolves in the sounds of a shepherd's pipe, which begins the last, 5th movement. All the music of the finale is permeated with folk song elements. The slowly flowing melody of the clarinet, answered by the horn, sounds like a genuine folk melody. It is like a hymn celebrating the beauty of nature.
Pictures of the changing seasons, the rustling of leaves, bird voices, the splashing of waves, the murmur of a stream, thunderclaps - all this can be conveyed in music. Many famous people were able to do this brilliantly: their musical works about nature became classics of the musical landscape.
Natural phenomena and musical sketches of flora and fauna appear in instrumental and piano works, vocal and choral works, and sometimes even in the form of program cycles.
“The Seasons” by A. Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi's four three-movement violin concertos dedicated to the seasons are without a doubt the most famous nature music works of the Baroque era. The poetic sonnets for the concerts are believed to have been written by the composer himself and express the musical meaning of each part.
Vivaldi conveys with his music the rumble of thunder, the sound of rain, the rustling of leaves, the trills of birds, the barking of dogs, the howling of the wind, and even the silence of an autumn night. Many of the composer's remarks in the score directly indicate one or another natural phenomenon that should be depicted.
Vivaldi “The Seasons” – “Winter”
"The Seasons" by J. Haydn
Joseph Haydn
The monumental oratorio “The Seasons” was a unique result of the composer’s creative activity and became a true masterpiece of classicism in music.
Four seasons are sequentially presented to the listener in 44 films. The heroes of the oratorio are rural residents (peasants, hunters). They know how to work and have fun, they have no time to indulge in despondency. People here are part of nature, they are involved in its annual cycle.
Haydn, like his predecessor, makes extensive use of the capabilities of different instruments to convey the sounds of nature, such as a summer thunderstorm, the chirping of grasshoppers and a chorus of frogs.
Haydn associates musical works about nature with the lives of people - they are almost always present in his “paintings”. So, for example, in the finale of the 103rd symphony, we seem to be in the forest and hear the signals of hunters, to depict which the composer resorts to a well-known means - . Listen:
Haydn Symphony No. 103 – finale
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“Seasons” by P. I. Tchaikovsky
The composer chose the genre of piano miniatures for his twelve months. But the piano alone is capable of conveying the colors of nature no worse than the choir and orchestra.
Here is the spring rejoicing of the lark, and the joyful awakening of the snowdrop, and the dreamy romance of white nights, and the song of a boatman rocking on the river waves, and the field work of peasants, and hound hunting, and the alarmingly sad autumn fading of nature.
Tchaikovsky “Seasons” – March – “Song of the Lark”
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“Carnival of Animals” by C. Saint-Saens
Among musical works about nature, Saint-Saëns’ “grand zoological fantasy” for chamber ensemble stands out. The frivolity of the idea determined the fate of the work: “Carnival,” the score of which Saint-Saëns even forbade publication during his lifetime, was performed in its entirety only among the composer’s friends.
The instrumental composition is original: in addition to strings and several wind instruments, it includes two pianos, a celesta and such a rare instrument in our time as a glass harmonica.
The cycle has 13 parts describing different animals, and a final part that combines all the numbers into a single piece. It’s funny that the composer also included novice pianists who diligently play scales among the animals.
The comic nature of “Carnival” is emphasized by numerous musical allusions and quotes. For example, “Turtles” perform Offenbach’s cancan, only slowed down several times, and the double bass in “Elephant” develops the theme of Berlioz’s “Ballet of the Sylphs”.
Saint-Saëns “Carnival of the Animals” – Swan
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Sea elements by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov
The Russian composer knew about the sea firsthand. As a midshipman, and then as a midshipman on the Almaz clipper, he made a long journey to the North American coast. His favorite sea images appear in many of his creations.
This is, for example, the theme of the “blue ocean-sea” in the opera “Sadko”. In just a few sounds the author conveys the hidden power of the ocean, and this motif permeates the entire opera.
The sea reigns both in the symphonic musical film “Sadko” and in the first part of the suite “Scheherazade” - “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship”, in which calm gives way to storm.
Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko” – introduction “Ocean-sea blue”
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“The east was covered with a ruddy dawn...”
Another favorite theme of nature music is sunrise. Here two of the most famous morning themes immediately come to mind, having something in common with each other. Each in its own way accurately conveys the awakening of nature. This is the romantic “Morning” by E. Grieg and the solemn “Dawn on the Moscow River” by M. P. Mussorgsky.
In Grieg, the imitation of a shepherd's horn is picked up by string instruments, and then by the entire orchestra: the sun rises over the harsh fjords, and the murmur of a stream and the singing of birds are clearly heard in the music.
Mussorgsky's Dawn also begins with a shepherd's melody, the ringing of bells seems to be woven into the growing orchestral sound, and the sun rises higher and higher over the river, covering the water with golden ripples.
Mussorgsky – “Khovanshchina” – introduction “Dawn on the Moscow River”
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It is almost impossible to list everything in which the theme of nature is developed - this list will be too long. Here you can include concertos by Vivaldi (“Nightingale”, “Cuckoo”, “Night”), “Bird Trio” from Beethoven’s sixth symphony, “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Goldfish” by Debussy, “Spring and Autumn” and “Winter road" by Sviridov and many other musical pictures of nature.
At the same time as the Fifth, Beethoven completed the Sixth, “Pastoral Symphony” in F major (op. 68, 1808). This is the only Beethoven symphonic work published with the author's program. The title page of the manuscript bore the following inscription:
"Pastoral Symphony"
or
Memories of rural life.
More an expression of mood than sound painting.”
And then there are short titles for each movement of the symphony.
If the Third and Fifth Symphonies reflected the tragedy and heroism of life's struggle, the Fourth reflected a lyrical feeling of the joy of being, then Beethoven's Sixth Symphony embodies the Rousseauian theme - “man and nature”. This theme was widespread in the music of the 18th century, starting with Rousseau’s “The Village Sorcerer”; Haydn also embodied it in his oratorio “The Seasons.” The nature and life of villagers unspoiled by urban civilization, the poetic reproduction of pictures of rural labor - such images were often found in art born of advanced educational ideology. The thunderstorm scene of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony also has many prototypes in 18th-century opera (Gluck, Monsigny, Rameau, Mareu, Campra), in Haydn's The Four Seasons, and even in Beethoven's own ballet The Works of Prometheus. “A Merry Gathering of Villagers” is familiar to us from numerous round dance scenes from operas and, again, from Haydn’s oratorio. The image of birds chirping in the “Scene by the Stream” is associated with the cult of imitation of nature, typical of the 18th century. Traditional pastoralism is also embodied in the serenely idyllic pastoral picture. It is palpable even in the instrumentation of the symphony, with its delicate pastel colors.
It should not be thought that Beethoven returned to the musical style of the past. Like all his mature works, the Sixth Symphony, with well-known intonation connections with the music of the Age of Enlightenment, is deeply original from beginning to end.
The first part - “Awakening vigorous feelings upon arrival in the village” - is all imbued with elements of folk music. From the very beginning, the fifth background reproduces the sound of bagpipes. The main theme is a plexus of pastoral intonations typical of the 18th century:
All the themes of the first part express a mood of joyful tranquility.
Beethoven resorts here not to his favorite method of motivic development, but to uniform repetition, emphasized by clear cadences. Even in development, calm contemplation prevails: development is based primarily on timbre-coloristic variation and repetition. Instead of the usual sharp tonal tensions for Beethoven, a colorful comparison of tonalities is given, spaced from each other by a third (B-Dur - D-Dur for the first time, C-Dur - E-Dur when repeating). In the first part of the symphony, the composer creates a picture of complete harmony between man and the world around him.
In the second part - “Scene by the Stream” - a mood of dreaminess dominates. Here moments of musical imagery play an important role. The sustained background is created by two solo cellos with mutes and a horn pedal. This accompaniment resembles the babbling of a brook:
In the final bars it gives way to an imitation of bird chirping (nightingale, quail and cuckoo).
The three subsequent movements of the symphony are performed without interruption. An increase in events, an acute climax and release - this is how their internal structure develops.
The third part - “A cheerful gathering of villagers” - is a genre scene. It is distinguished by great figurative concreteness. Beethoven conveys in it the features of folk village music. We hear how the lead singer and choir, the village orchestra and singers call each other, how the bassoonist plays out of place, how the dancers stomp. The closeness to folk music is manifested in the use of alternating modes (in the first theme F-Dur - D-Dur, in the trio theme F-Dur - B-Dur), and in the metrics reproducing the rhythms of Austrian peasant dances (change of three- and two-beat sizes ).
“Thunderstorm Scene” (the fourth part) is written with great dramatic force. The growing sound of thunder, the sound of raindrops, flashes of lightning, whirlwinds of wind are felt almost with visible reality. But these bright visual techniques are designed to highlight the mood of fear, horror, and confusion.
The thunderstorm subsides, and the last weak clap of thunder dissolves in the sounds of the shepherd's pipe, which begins the fifth part - “The Shepherds' Song. Showing joyful, grateful feelings after the storm.” The intonations of the pipe permeate the thematic theme of the finale. Themes are freely developed and varied. Calmness and sunshine are poured into the music of this movement. The symphony ends with a hymn of peace.
The "Pastoral Symphony" had a great influence on the composers of the subsequent generation. We find echoes of it in Berlioz’s “Symphony Fantastique,” and in the overture to “William Tell” by Rossini, and in the symphonies of Mendelssohn, Schumann and others. Beethoven himself, however, never returned to this type of program symphony.
Orchestra composition: 2 flutes, piccolo flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, strings.
History of creation
The birth of the Pastoral Symphony occurs during the central period of Beethoven's work. Almost simultaneously, three symphonies came out of his pen, completely different in character: in 1805 he began writing a heroic symphony in C minor, now known as No. 5, in mid-November of the following year he completed the lyrical Fourth, in B-flat major, and in 1807 he began composing the Pastoral. Completed at the same time as the C minor in 1808, it differs sharply from it. Beethoven, having come to terms with an incurable illness - deafness - here does not fight a hostile fate, but glorifies the great power of nature, the simple joys of life.
Like the C minor, the Pastoral Symphony is dedicated to Beethoven’s patron, the Viennese philanthropist Prince F. I. Lobkowitz and the Russian envoy in Vienna, Count A. K. Razumovsky. Both of them were first performed in a large “academy” (that is, a concert in which the works of only one author were performed by himself as a virtuoso instrumentalist or by an orchestra under his direction) on December 22, 1808 at the Vienna Theater. The first number of the program was “Symphony entitled “Memories of Rural Life”, F major, No. 5.” Only some time later she became Sixth. The concert, held in a cold hall where the audience sat in fur coats, was not a success. The orchestra was a mixed one, of a low level. Beethoven quarreled with the musicians during the rehearsal; conductor I. Seyfried worked with them, and the author only directed the premiere.
The pastoral symphony occupies a special place in his work. It is programmatic, and the only one of the nine has not only a general name, but also headings for each part. These parts are not four, as has long been established in the symphonic cycle, but five, which is connected specifically with the program: between the simple-minded village dance and the peaceful finale there is a dramatic picture of a thunderstorm.
Beethoven loved to spend the summer in quiet villages in the vicinity of Vienna, wandering through forests and meadows from dawn to dusk, rain or shine, and in this communication with nature the ideas for his compositions arose. “No person can love rural life as much as I do, for oak groves, trees, rocky mountains respond to the thoughts and experiences of man.” The pastoral, which, according to the composer himself, depicts the feelings born of contact with the natural world and rural life, became one of Beethoven's most romantic compositions. It is not without reason that many romantics saw her as a source of inspiration. This is evidenced by Berlioz's Symphony Fantastique, Schumann's Rhine Symphony, Mendelssohn's Scottish and Italian symphonies, the symphonic poem "Preludes" and many of Liszt's piano pieces.
Music
First part called by the composer “Joyful feelings upon arrival in the village.” The simple, repeatedly repeated main theme sounded by the violins is close to folk round dance melodies, and the accompaniment by violas and cellos is reminiscent of the hum of village bagpipes. Several side topics contrast little with the main one. The development is also idyllic, devoid of sharp contrasts. A long stay in one emotional state is diversified by colorful comparisons of tonalities, changes in orchestral timbres, increases and decreases in sonority, which anticipates the principles of development among the romantics.
Second part- “Scene by the Stream” is imbued with the same serene feelings. The melodious violin melody slowly unfolds against a murmuring background of other strings, which persists throughout the entire movement. Only at the very end does the stream fall silent and the roll call of birds becomes audible: the trill of a nightingale (flute), the cry of a quail (oboe), the cuckoo’s cuckoo (clarinet). Listening to this music, it is impossible to imagine that it was written by a deaf composer who has not heard birdsong for a long time!
The third part- “A cheerful gathering of villagers” - the most cheerful and carefree. It combines the sly simplicity of peasant dances, introduced into the symphony by Beethoven's teacher Haydn, and the sharp humor of typically Beethovenian scherzos. The initial section is based on the repeated juxtaposition of two themes - abrupt, with persistent stubborn repetitions, and lyrical melodious, but not without humor: the bassoon accompaniment sounds out of time, as if from inexperienced village musicians. The next theme, flexible and graceful, in the transparent timbre of the oboe accompanied by the violins, is also not without a comical touch, which is given to it by the syncopated rhythm and the sudden entry of the bassoon bass. In the faster trio, a rough chant with sharp accents is persistently repeated, in a very loud sound - as if the village musicians were playing with all their might, sparing no effort. In repeating the opening section, Beethoven breaks with classical tradition: instead of going through all the themes in full, there is only a brief reminder of the first two.
Fourth part- "Storm. Storm" - begins immediately, without interruption. It forms a sharp contrast to everything that preceded it and is the only dramatic episode of the symphony. Painting a majestic picture of the raging elements, the composer resorts to visual techniques, expanding the composition of the orchestra, including, as in the finale of the Fifth, the piccolo flute and trombones, which had not previously been used in symphonic music. The contrast is especially sharply emphasized by the fact that this part is not separated by a pause from the neighboring ones: starting suddenly, it also passes without a pause into the finale, where the mood of the first parts returns.
The final- “Shepherd's song. Joyful and grateful feelings after the storm.” The calm melody of the clarinet, answered by the horn, resembles the roll call of shepherd's horns against the background of bagpipes - they are imitated by the sustained sounds of violas and cellos. The roll call of instruments gradually fades into the distance - the last one to carry out the melody is the horn with a mute against the background of light passages of strings. This is how this unique Beethoven symphony ends in an unusual way.
A. Koenigsberg
Nature and the merging of man with it, a sense of peace of mind, simple joys inspired by the gracious charm of the natural world - these are the themes, the range of images of this work.
Among Beethoven's nine symphonies, the Sixth is the only programmatic one in the direct sense of the term, that is, it has a general name that outlines the direction of poetic thought; in addition, each of the parts of the symphonic cycle is entitled: the first part is “Joyful feelings upon arrival in the village”, the second is “Scene by the stream”, the third is “Merry gathering of villagers”, the fourth is “Thunderstorm” and the fifth is “Shepherd’s song” (“Joyful and grateful feelings after the storm”).
In his attitude to the problem " nature and man“Beethoven, as we have already mentioned, is close to the ideas of J.-J. Rousseau. He perceives nature lovingly, idyllically, reminiscent of Haydn, who glorified the idyll of nature and rural labor in the oratorio “The Seasons”.
At the same time, Beethoven also acts as an artist of modern times. This is reflected in the greater poetic spirituality of the images of nature, and in picturesqueness symphonies.
Keeping intact the basic pattern of cyclic forms - the contrast of compared parts - Beethoven forms the symphony as a series of relatively independent paintings that depict different phenomena and states of nature or genre-related scenes from rural life.
The programmatic and picturesque nature of the Pastoral Symphony was reflected in the features of its composition and musical language. This is the only time that Beethoven deviates from the four-part composition in his symphonic works.
The Sixth Symphony can be seen as a five-movement cycle; if we take into account that the last three parts go without interruption and in a sense continue one another, then only three parts are formed.
This “free” interpretation of the cycle, as well as the type of programming and the characteristic nature of the titles, anticipate future works by Berlioz, Liszt and other romantic composers. The very figurative structure, including new, more subtle psychological reactions caused by communication with nature, makes the Pastoral Symphony a harbinger of the romantic direction in music.
IN first part Beethoven himself emphasizes in the title of the symphony that this is not a description of a rural landscape, but feelings, called by him. This part is devoid of illustrativeness and onomatopoeia, which are found in other parts of the symphony.
Using a folk song as the main theme, Beethoven enhances its characteristicity with the originality of harmonization: the theme sounds against the background of a sustained fifth in the bass (a typical interval of folk instruments):
The violins freely and easily “bring out” the spreading pattern of the melody of the side part; “It’s important” is echoed by the bass. The contrapuntal development seems to fill the theme with ever new juices:
Serene peace and transparency of the air are felt in the theme of the final part with its naively ingenuous instrumental strumming (a new version of the primary chant) and the roll call against the backdrop of the fading rustling of the bass, based on the tonic organ sound of C-dur (the tonality of the secondary and final parts):
The development, especially its first section, is interesting due to the novelty of development methods. Taken as an object for development, the characteristic chant of the main part is repeated many times without any changes, but it is colored by the play of registers, instrumental timbres, and the movement of keys through thirds: B-dur - D-dur, G-dur - E-dur.
Techniques of this kind of colorful comparisons of tones, which would become widespread among the romantics, are aimed at evoking a certain mood, a feeling of a given landscape, scenery, picture of nature.
But in second part, in "Scene by the Stream", as well as in fourth- “The Thunderstorm” - an abundance of figurative and onomatopoeic techniques. In the second part, short trills, grace notes, small and longer melodic turns are woven into the fabric of the accompaniment, conveying the calm flow of the stream. The soft colors of the entire sound palette paint an idyllic picture of nature, its tremulous calls, the slightest fluttering, the whisper of leaves, etc. Beethoven completes the entire “scene” with a witty depiction of the colorful hubbub of birds:
The next three parts, connected into one series, are scenes of peasant life.
The third part symphonies - “A Merry Gathering of Peasants” - a juicy and lively genre sketch. There is a lot of humor and sincere fun in it. Great charm is given to it by subtly noticed and sharply reproduced details, such as a bassoonist from a simple village orchestra entering out of place or a deliberate imitation of a heavy peasant dance:
A simple village celebration is suddenly interrupted by a thunderstorm. The musical image of a thunderstorm - a raging element - is often found in a variety of musical genres of the 18th and 19th centuries. Beethoven's interpretation of this phenomenon is closest to Haydn's: a thunderstorm is not a disaster, not devastation, but grace, it fills the earth and air with moisture and is necessary for the growth of all living things.
Nevertheless, the image of a thunderstorm in the Sixth Symphony is an exception among works of this kind. It amazes with its true spontaneity, the limitless power of reproducing the phenomenon itself. Although Beethoven uses characteristic onomatopoeic techniques, the main thing here is dramatic power.
the last part- “Shepherd’s Song” is a logical conclusion to the symphony that follows from the whole concept. In it, Beethoven glorifies the life-giving beauty of nature. The most significant thing that the ear notices in the last part of the symphony is its songfulness, the national character of the music itself. The slowly flowing pastoral melody that dominates throughout is saturated with the finest poetry, which spiritualizes the entire sound of this unusual finale:
