The Symphony
The most famous of all musical forms. It means an
orchestral composition in four sections with distinct pauses in between
sections. The four sections are called movements. But there are symphonies with
more or less than the standard four movements. The first movement is usually
the most important movement of a symphony and it sets the mood of the whole
symphony. It usually deals with two melodies or themes as they are called,
which are displayed, developed and brought to a conclusion. The first movement
is usually fast paced, magnificent and noble. The second movement is in
contrast, lyrical, personal, meditative and slow moving. It is intimate in
mood. The third movement is a dance and full of vivid motion. This dance
movement has two melodies, one stated by the full orchestra and the other by a
few instruments grouped together. The constant contrast that these two melodies
produce is the charm of this movement. The last movement or finale is a
blazing, triumphant fast paced piece of music of epical grandeur. The symphonic
message is the triumph of the human will over tragedy and the infinite
possibilities of human endeavor. Though there are symphonies that end
tragically in a slow piece of music, most symphonies conclude with a blazing
panorama of sound.
The great symphonies are the symphonies of Haydn,
Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler,
Sibelius, Dvorak and Tchaikovsky. If you can listen to some symphonies of these
composers you will get a good idea of the sound of the symphony. Symphony has
become part of the English language and it means a richly blended outpouring of
different strands of sound. The word symphonic suggests grand scale and size.
Musically it means just that, a large scale work of tremendous passion and
grandeur.
I have provided a list of 10 important symphonies
below. Click on the link, you will be followed to Youtube. Track the movements
and their pace each time you listen one. Sometimes the movements and their
lengths are written below the Youtube title in the description section. For
example, if you pick up Beethoven 3rd Symphony you will find 4
movements;
0:20
I. Allegro con brio
16:13
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
32:02
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
37:57 IV. Finale: Allegro molto
Here, time of each movement is mentioned in HH:MM (
hour:minute) format. The term Allegro means Fast pace and Adagio means slow
pace. Vivace means lively.
Likewise you can read a description of movements of
each symphony from Youtube or Internet to learn the separate pace and mood of
movements. About naming some symphonies as Eroica or Farewell or Unfinished, I
shall share anecdotes in a separate post.
Ten Great Symphonies
1. Beethoven
: 3rd Symphony ‘Eroica’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InxT4S6wQf4)
5th
Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2WJMVPQi8)
9th
Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOjHhS5MtvA)
2. Mozart
: Symphony no.40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sGqkMU-mGQ)
Symphony no.25 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApvqOhbsriA&t=130s)
3. Dvorak : New World Symphony (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoeDafIQvNM)
4. Haydn : Symphony no.45 ‘Farewell’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpD9ofCm6Ak&t=265s)
5. Schubert : Symphony no.8 ‘Unfinished’
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW0-75f8ov4)
6. Mendelssohn : Symphony no.4 ‘Italian’
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HX_jF1_Tgc)
7. Tchaikovsky : Symphony no.5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2JBT0HC98I)
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