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Spaceways, v. 3 issue 3, whole no. 19, March 1941
Page 18
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18 SPACEWAYS FANTASY MUSIC by JAMES B. BLISH Arthur Bliss' skilful score for the motion picture "Things to Come" is but a recent example of a source of musical inspiration drawn upon by composers of greater fame. Scientifictional subjects have a limited range for music--Prokofieff's Age of Steel is perhaps the closest approximation to it outside of the films. Fantasy and weird subjects, however, appear to have exerted considerable influence over musical composition. Greatest among the living composers is Richard Strauss, and one of the most popular of his many symphonic works is Death and Transfiguration. This tone poem, depicting the struggles of a dying man, his final passage, and his exaltion after death, belongs to this composer's early period, when he was still imitating Wagner; nevertheless, it contains many of his finest pages. The pathos of his memories, the sudden attack of death, and surge of hope, and the last terrible cry as the Enemy strikes his last blow are all very realistically depicted; the struggle is terminated by the solemn tolling of a gong, and over this echoing sound Strauss builds slowly the long melody of Transfiguration, using orchestral coloring seldom equaled in any other work. In contrast is the diabolical Waltz-Scherzo of Prokofieff. This is an infernal scene from his satirical opera, The Love for Three Oranges, depicting a card-game between the court magician and the wicked witch, attended by hordes of little devils. The music (none of which, incidentally, is in waltz tempo) is brilliant and crystalline, Satanically sneering, and in places highly dissonant. It is a highly intriguing bit for fantasy fans, but may offend sensitive ears. Saint-Saen's famous Danse Macabre is substantially the same type of tone-painting, depicting a similar scene, but in comparison with the Prokofieff style it is ultra-conservative. Notable in the score is the eerie sound of Satan tuning his violin, and the xylophonic rattling of bones as skeletons dance upon overturned gravestones. Finally the cock (an oboe) crows and all is tranquil again. The music is more whimsical than impressive, featuring a pleasant folk-like melody as its main theme; it is recommended as a tonic to those who do not like the moderns. Turning back the pages of time discloses an unsuspected host of composers who found material in fantasy. The ever-popular Tchaikowsky's morbid imagination was aroused by a reading of Dante's Divine Comedy, and he chose from this great epic the story of Francesca da Rimini for a dramatic overture. In this composition the Russian master of melody turns unexpectedly to what is for him orchestral chaos, imitating with moderate success the whistling of the winds which batter the lost souls about. Toward the middle of the work a melodic theme representing the protagonists appears in the clarinet and is subjected to a little development, but in the end the roaring of infernal winds overpowers all. To look back even further, we find Hector Berlioz writing a Fantastic Symphony, probably the first work for symphony orchestra to which the term "modern" in its broad sense can be applied. The story is that of a young, hyper-sensitive musician (Beriloz) who is driven by the pangs of unrequited love to opium, and eventually dreams of himself attending his own hanging. There is a wicked march to the scaffold, and then the French composer piles Pelion upon Ossa by adding a witch's Sabbath to the death of the young man, in which the Dies Irae is parodied mercilessly and the whole orchestra is involved in a wild rhythm. It is a most impressive work, especially considering the time in which it was written. More recent is Stravinsky's treatment of the Russian legend of the Firebird. The music here is from a ballet suite, and demonstrates all the blazing coloring for which this composer is famous. The dance of the Firebird itself is especially suggestive, and suggestions--horrors!--of jazz are to be found in the hair-raising dance of the infernal king, Koschei the Deathless. In calmer mom- (concluded on page 23)
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18 SPACEWAYS FANTASY MUSIC by JAMES B. BLISH Arthur Bliss' skilful score for the motion picture "Things to Come" is but a recent example of a source of musical inspiration drawn upon by composers of greater fame. Scientifictional subjects have a limited range for music--Prokofieff's Age of Steel is perhaps the closest approximation to it outside of the films. Fantasy and weird subjects, however, appear to have exerted considerable influence over musical composition. Greatest among the living composers is Richard Strauss, and one of the most popular of his many symphonic works is Death and Transfiguration. This tone poem, depicting the struggles of a dying man, his final passage, and his exaltion after death, belongs to this composer's early period, when he was still imitating Wagner; nevertheless, it contains many of his finest pages. The pathos of his memories, the sudden attack of death, and surge of hope, and the last terrible cry as the Enemy strikes his last blow are all very realistically depicted; the struggle is terminated by the solemn tolling of a gong, and over this echoing sound Strauss builds slowly the long melody of Transfiguration, using orchestral coloring seldom equaled in any other work. In contrast is the diabolical Waltz-Scherzo of Prokofieff. This is an infernal scene from his satirical opera, The Love for Three Oranges, depicting a card-game between the court magician and the wicked witch, attended by hordes of little devils. The music (none of which, incidentally, is in waltz tempo) is brilliant and crystalline, Satanically sneering, and in places highly dissonant. It is a highly intriguing bit for fantasy fans, but may offend sensitive ears. Saint-Saen's famous Danse Macabre is substantially the same type of tone-painting, depicting a similar scene, but in comparison with the Prokofieff style it is ultra-conservative. Notable in the score is the eerie sound of Satan tuning his violin, and the xylophonic rattling of bones as skeletons dance upon overturned gravestones. Finally the cock (an oboe) crows and all is tranquil again. The music is more whimsical than impressive, featuring a pleasant folk-like melody as its main theme; it is recommended as a tonic to those who do not like the moderns. Turning back the pages of time discloses an unsuspected host of composers who found material in fantasy. The ever-popular Tchaikowsky's morbid imagination was aroused by a reading of Dante's Divine Comedy, and he chose from this great epic the story of Francesca da Rimini for a dramatic overture. In this composition the Russian master of melody turns unexpectedly to what is for him orchestral chaos, imitating with moderate success the whistling of the winds which batter the lost souls about. Toward the middle of the work a melodic theme representing the protagonists appears in the clarinet and is subjected to a little development, but in the end the roaring of infernal winds overpowers all. To look back even further, we find Hector Berlioz writing a Fantastic Symphony, probably the first work for symphony orchestra to which the term "modern" in its broad sense can be applied. The story is that of a young, hyper-sensitive musician (Beriloz) who is driven by the pangs of unrequited love to opium, and eventually dreams of himself attending his own hanging. There is a wicked march to the scaffold, and then the French composer piles Pelion upon Ossa by adding a witch's Sabbath to the death of the young man, in which the Dies Irae is parodied mercilessly and the whole orchestra is involved in a wild rhythm. It is a most impressive work, especially considering the time in which it was written. More recent is Stravinsky's treatment of the Russian legend of the Firebird. The music here is from a ballet suite, and demonstrates all the blazing coloring for which this composer is famous. The dance of the Firebird itself is especially suggestive, and suggestions--horrors!--of jazz are to be found in the hair-raising dance of the infernal king, Koschei the Deathless. In calmer mom- (concluded on page 23)
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