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Fanfare Idea

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Fanfare Idea

INTRODUCTION

Structure

FANFARE IDEA

Appears 3 times.         1) bars 1-2 in D- minor. 2) bars 7-8 in F. [relative major]

                                       3) bars 14-15 back in D-minor

Triumphant/arresting quality is due to: Full orchestra playing in octaves; use of double dotted rhythms on repeated notes; leap of 5th from tonic to dominant and timpani rolls.

Bar 2 answers bar 1 by falling from tonic to dominant instead of rising. Bars 7-8 - brass and timpani are silent (can’t play F and C) which helps make D more important than F as the tonic for the piece.  Bars 14-15 the second bar now falls to the sub dominant. Haydn highlights the change by reducing the dynamic to pp and introducing the Neapolitan 6th at bar 8 beat 4.

SECONDARY MATERIAL

Music between appearances of fanfare figures, mysterious in quality due to: quiet dynamics and reduced scoring; confirmation of minor tonality after ambiguous open 5th in bars 1-2; double dotted pattern now moving by step rather than leaping upwards; frequent use of 1st inversion chords and use of chromatic colour.

Melody

Intro melodies are motivic in nature and contrast between:

  1. Fanfare idea which: rises by leap of a 5th and answered by a falling 4th, which complements opening leap while maintaining tonic-to-dominant identity.
  2. The secondary idea which: falls by a step [often a semitone] and uses nervous staccato reiteration of final note in the bar.

There is also a chromatic countermelody in the first violins at bar 12.

[MELODIES: ascending, descending, scalic, conjunct…etc.] – TALK ABOUT

Harmony

[CHORDS]

Bars 1-2

Fanfare idea is heard in octaves (without harmony) but strongly gives a tonic-dominant context. The lack of a third keeps open the option to be in either D major or D minor.

Bars 3-6
Arrival of F in bass clarifies key as D minor. The harmony uses inversions of the tonic and dominant chords which are less stable than the previous octaves. This coupled with the minor tonality give the music its sense of mystery. Third bar in this progression promises to be the same as the previous two, small changes in harmony (C natural instead of C# in the violin; Bb rather than A in viola and bassoon) moves music away from D minor and to its relative major of F.

Bars 7-8

Fanfare idea returns but moved up a third to suggest F major, the relative major.

Bars 9-13

This passage inhabits the same musical world as bars 3-6, although it is a bit quieter. However, the mood of suspense is heightened by: an increased use of chromaticism that gives some sense of tonal uncertainty; a rising sequence in bars 9-11; the melodic motif occurring more frequently from bar 11.

Bar 13 brings the music back to the home key of D minor, which is reached with a Ic-V7-I perfect cadence on to the downbeat of bar 14.

Bars 14-16

Fanfare idea returns in D minor, but with a twist In bar 15. Here Haydn uses the Neapolitan chord (chord based on flattened 2nd, i.e. Eb)

By ending with an imperfect cadence (on chord V7), Haydn can immediately start the Allegro in D major (since A7 is the dominant 7th of both D minor and D major).

Texture

The fanfare idea is always presented in octave texture.

  The secondary idea has a homophonic texture, with an element of dialogue between the second violins in the first half of the bar and the first violins in the second half of the bar.

   At bar 12 the main melody passes into the bass line (played by the cellos), with a countermelody in the violins.

Instrumentation

FANFARE IDEA

The fanfare idea is heard as an orchestral tutti in bars 1-2. At bars 7-8 the brass and timpani do not play due to the limitations they would have faced in Classical period.

At bars 14-15 the strings alone play the second bar, to aid the pp effect.

SECONDARY MATERIAL

Bars 3-6 are mainly played by strings, with bassoon doubling the violas for a little extra colour and sonority. Bars 9-13 the scoring is initially the same, until the introduction of the flute in bar 12 provides some additional warmth. The solo oboe at bar 16 creates a plaintive effect.

Rhythm

The intro adopts a slow tempo (Adagio) and a sense of formality in 4/4 metre.

Most distinctive rhythmic feature is the double dotted patter in the fanfare idea.

This is echoed in the quieter passages. Here some instruments enter after a quaver rest (e.g. first violin bar 3), creating a sense of unease as a result of displacement.

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