Sinfonia characteristica: Difference between revisions
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The '''sinfonia characteristica''' (or ''sinfonia caractéristique'', characteristic symphony) was a type of symphony composed mainly in the eighteenth century which was embellished with a printed text (either one line or many paragraphs long) which pointed the listener in a specific direction, so that the music would convey a thematic expression, i.e., “tell a story”. Music scholar Richard Will has identified over 225 such works written between 1750 – 1815, the majority of subjects being these five: pastoral, military, hunts, storms, and national or regional expressions.<ref> Will, Richard. ''The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 1.</ref> As a term, “characteristic symphony” is the forerunner of the “program symphony” of the nineteenth century which gained major prominence with Hector Berlioz’s ''Symphonie Fantastique''. | The '''sinfonia characteristica''' (or ''sinfonia caractéristique'', characteristic symphony) was a type of symphony composed mainly in the eighteenth century which was embellished with a printed text (either one line or many paragraphs long) which pointed the listener in a specific direction, so that the music would convey a thematic expression, i.e., “tell a story”. Music scholar Richard Will has identified over 225 such works written between 1750 – 1815, the majority of subjects being these five: pastoral, military, hunts, storms, and national or regional expressions.<ref> Will, Richard. ''The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 1.</ref> | ||
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 (1808), the ''Pastoral'', includes subtitles written by the composer for each movement: | |||
I. Cheerful Impressions on Arriving in the Country | |||
II. By the Brook | |||
III. Peasants' Merrymaking | |||
IV. The Storm | |||
V. The Shepherd's Hymm; Happy, thankful feelings after the storm | |||
As a term, “characteristic symphony” is the forerunner of the “program symphony” of the nineteenth century which gained major prominence with Hector Berlioz’s ''Symphonie Fantastique''. | |||
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Revision as of 13:33, 25 October 2007
The sinfonia characteristica (or sinfonia caractéristique, characteristic symphony) was a type of symphony composed mainly in the eighteenth century which was embellished with a printed text (either one line or many paragraphs long) which pointed the listener in a specific direction, so that the music would convey a thematic expression, i.e., “tell a story”. Music scholar Richard Will has identified over 225 such works written between 1750 – 1815, the majority of subjects being these five: pastoral, military, hunts, storms, and national or regional expressions.[1]
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 (1808), the Pastoral, includes subtitles written by the composer for each movement:
I. Cheerful Impressions on Arriving in the Country
II. By the Brook
III. Peasants' Merrymaking
IV. The Storm
V. The Shepherd's Hymm; Happy, thankful feelings after the storm
As a term, “characteristic symphony” is the forerunner of the “program symphony” of the nineteenth century which gained major prominence with Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.
- ↑ Will, Richard. The Characteristic Symphony in the Age of Haydn and Beethoven (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 1.