Music Records Experiences
Music is often used as a way to record experiences. These experiences can be from the natural world around us. I contemplated this when listening to the storm as rain fell against my windows. As humans we strive to reproduce what is familiar to us – whether through words, images, movements or sounds.
In a previous post I chose to include Vivaldi’s first movement “Spring” from”The Four Seasons.” The melodic lines, harmonies, instrumental techniques and even the choices made regarding the sound created to replicate the impression of the season of Spring are very different from the other three movements of Summer, Autumn and Winter. However Antonio Vivaldi was not the only classical composer to replicate nature.
Richard Wagner is famous for the cycle of four operas entitled “The Ring Cycle.” The four separate operas, “The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods” are based upon characters from Norse legends. Although these operas have influenced much of western culture and are familiar due to their unique musical motifs, for the purposes of this post I will only mention the second opera “The Valkyrie”. During the prelude to this opera the main character, Siegfried is looking for shelter from his enemies as a storm rages. The orchestra uses continuous triplets from violins to depict rain and a driving bass line to imitate thunder.
The William Tell Overture was written for the opera William Tell by Gioachino Rossini. It tells the tale of a villager who refused to bow down to an Austrian overlord. As a punishment the villager, William Tell, was forced to shoot an apple placed on his son’s head with a crossbow. The Overture has four parts but I intend to only highlight the Storm or second part with this post. Using the full orchestra in E minor, the stringed instruments begin and then are joined by woodwinds, brass and percussion as the volume increases. This part of the overture has often be used in animation when a storm is depicted.
Instruments are not the only method of reproducing storms in music. Often choirs have used body percussion to create realistic storm-like sound effects. Although this choir begins with snapping their fingers, other choirs rub their hands together first. The snapping fingers change to patting legs and then add coordinated jumps. Notice that the conductor directs the singers when to begin, change or stop their body percussion. Hopefully these three examples of storms will encourage you to listen to Mother Nature differently and to notice how repeating or random sounds can be musical.