Classics Explained: Beethoven - Symphony No. 6, 'Pastoral'

Jeremy Siepmann

125 SONGS • 2 HOURS AND 33 MINUTES • JUL 05 2002

1

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: On Beethoven's Openings

01:26

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Opening phrase of the 'Pastoral': ood, Symbolism and Musical Function

01:44

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Musical Acorns: the outline of melody; the shape of a question

00:42

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The 'question' in the 'Pastoral' repeated...

00:04

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: ...and answered

00:12

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The opening phrase ends on a note full of pregnant expectation

00:19

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Starting with a stop

00:36

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The rhythmic profile of the opening phrase; a two-part construction

00:52

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Phrase One, Part One

00:09

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Phrase One, Part Two

00:06

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The properties of rhythmic ambiguity; the 'question' of Phrase One answered

01:03

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Phrase Two: from meander to march

00:27

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The makings of a conversation: contrast and variation

00:47

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Repetition as A Major factor, but it's never mere repetition; each time something new is added

00:33

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: From soft to loud and back again; instrumental enrichment from horns and double-basses

00:18

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Mega-repetition: violins play exactly the same little fragment ten times in a row

00:29

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: But no two repetitions are quite the same; varieties of contrast

00:34

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: More variation: pitch rises; violins joined frist by the clarinet, then by the oboe

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Return to opening idea, but with new instrumentation and articulation

00:25

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Clarinets, horns, bassoons and flutes now join expansive variation

00:49

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: 'New' insistent rhythm derived from the first four notes of the piece

00:09

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: With the dawn chorus, a whole forest is waking up; feelings of rapture

00:36

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: First violins play a derivative of the opening figure, joined by wind and strings

00:32

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Sudden change of key, from the home key (tonic) to the dominant

00:30

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Arrival at the hightly contrasting second main theme

00:55

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Unusual properties of second main theme

02:15

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Rhythmic clash between simultaneous groups of three beats and groups of two

01:09

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: winds fall selent as the violins and violas interrupt with a new theme

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Winds answer with the same morse-like rhythm but at half the speed

00:51

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Crescendo leads to strings' acceleration of the pace with no increase in tempo

01:05

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Beginning of coda, directly based on morse-like rhythm of the main theme

00:22

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Strings reiterate small fragment of the new theme 13 times in a row

00:48

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: A simple, rising violin phrase leads to a repeat of the Exposition

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The nature and function of the Development section in sonata form; 'harmonic' rhythm explained

02:22

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The nature of harmonic rhythm illustrated

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: A typically Beethovenian exercise in the frustration of expectation

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Repetitiousness and magic effected largely through instrumental colour

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Then come four, almost identical bars

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Even greater magic, with sudden switch of key and tone colour

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Entire Development section up to this point

01:55

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: The Development continued

01:23

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Increased unease and suspense as harmonic rhythm accelerates

02:03

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Arrival at the point of Recapitulation; back to the beginning, as a reminder

01:50

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Beginning of Recapitulation

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: More Beethovenian frustrations of expectations which he himself has just set up

01:01

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Harmonic rhythm speeds up, giving the impression of an accent on every beat

00:34

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Prevailing mood restored; new theme from clarinets and bassoons

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Violins and violas take up theme; horns, cellos, double-basses accompany

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: A hush falls, followed by a return of the movement's most familiar tag in strings

00:58

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Clarinet takes up the running triplet figures of the main closing theme

00:32

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: First violins take up the opening phrase again, accompanied by double-basses

00:37

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: Beethoven slips in one last surprise; cue to complete movement

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": I. Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country: First movement (complete)

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: General introduction; the birth of a melody

01:59

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Brook music quickens; syncopated horns; theme changes hands; evocation of birdsong

01:19

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: The 'motto' theme introduced by violins and treated to round-like overlappings

00:52

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Transitional 'bridge' theme sets off for new key group. But is it? And does it?

00:39

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Will he, or won't he? Beethoven keeps us guessing

01:09

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: The run-up to the Second Group

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Arrival at the Second Group; but where is the actual Second Subject?

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: A new tune is introduced by the bassoon

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Tune is repeated three times

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: ...which the full orchestra now takes up in varied form

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Theme carried by flutes and first violins in a charmingly waltz-like development

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: A reminder of precedent

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Back to the prevailing triple-metre with violins, bassoons and flutes

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Another reminder of precedent...

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: ...and a cue to some unexpected departures

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: The transformational magic of Beethoven's 'tone-painting' - and a new varation

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Conversation of clarinet, flute and oboe on the way to the Development

00:43

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Harmonic movement emphasised by violins; oboe takes up the First Subject

00:39

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Flute and oboe discuss the First Subject, before arriving together at the Transition

01:04

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Gains in volume and intensity lead to a new key-change

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: More thematic transformation through the agency of tone-colour

01:11

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Harmonic fluideity - instability - as the central engine of the Development section

01:40

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Harmonic instability, thematic dissolution increase, then lessen with approach of Recapitulation

01:41

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Recap. and transformation: key and material are right, but what a change of presentation!

01:29

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Just when we know what's coming, Beethoven changes the rules (or at least the harmony)

00:53

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Transformation by reorchestration; switch to long sustained chords; then everything stops

01:20

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: The silence is broken by voices of nightingale (flute), quail (oboe) and cuckoo (clarinet)

00:40

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: First violins bring back motto theme

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Second Movement: Scene by the Brook: Cue to complete movement on CD 2

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Second movement (complete)

12:03

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Beethoven and the Scherzo: an introduction; Part One of opening phrase taken by the strings

01:32

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Immediate response; Part One is answered by a march more singing, continuous legato

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Entire orchestra gives out opening theme, this time fortissimo and with powerful accents

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: A mustical ball game. The contrast of this and the first two movements could hardly be greater

00:33

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: After quietly teasing suspense, Beethoven mocks village band, first the oboe, then the bassoon

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Clarinet joins in, then horn takes the tune - the dance no longer boisterous but lyrical

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Strings sweep the village musicians aside and hurtle us into the new, boisterous 'Trio' section

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: The air is alive with the sound of (mock) bagpipes, tambourines and fifes

01:00

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Coda; begins as the movement itself begins, but soon diverges in harmony and instrumentation

01:18

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Original layout compressed; order of events is changed nd Beethoven springs a big surprise

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": III. Merry Gathering of Country Folk: Third movement (complete)

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Unparalled portrait of nature's power over humanity, with some stupendous orchestration

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Self-generating form and terror of total unpredictability; 'anxiety motif' from the violins

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: The 'lashing rain' motif - downward-driving arpeggios from the first violins and violas

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: The 'lightning' motif, and its recurrnece later in the movement

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: 'Rain' motif, derived from descending scale pattern from the violins at the outest

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Shivering tremolandos from the strings and increasingly eerie harmonies from the wind

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Steady crescendo in strings; terrifying, downward spelling-out of chords in the violins

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Extremes of dynamic contrasts; the unsettling, disturbing, undermining effects of chromaticism

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Abandonment of melody, and most traces even of rhythm; sustained, discordant harmony

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Storm dispersed, the sun reappears, bathing sodden earth below with its life-giving rays

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Cue to complete preformance of Fourth Movement

00:09

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Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68, "Pastoral": IV. Thunderstorm: Fourth movement (complete)

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: 'Yodelling' figure from clarinet, then horn, the violins, who introduce the main theme

00:59

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Details of instrumental magic in the interplay of horns, cellos, clarinets and bassoons

01:06

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Main theme heard three times in a row - and yet never the same way twice

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Now we get the whole orchestra, playing full out, with violins all double-stopping

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Transition to the next section, based on the last two notes of the main theme

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: The rhythmic basis of new transition theme, first in violas, then takes up by first violins

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Another rhythmic details of extended transition comes increasingly into the foreground

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: ...and is then heard in expanded version, taken in sequence by the strings, from the top down

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: New phrase, introduced by violins, brings us resoundingly back to the opening material

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Main theme, re-orchestrated; unexpected drift into another key and a new, gently flowing theme

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Hints of a return to main theme; long 'pedal point'; running commentary from the violins

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Main theme returns, but significantly altered, and not entirely intact

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Running commentary now heard in the middle, with alternating pizzicatos both above and below

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Part Three of main theme given to entire orchestra, leading to final appearance of Theme two

01:21

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Extended coda; overlapping variations of main theme, rather in the manner of a round

02:09

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Suddenly the scene changes. A variation of the 'running commentary' cited in Tracks 34 and 36

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: The crowning glory, as the Shepherd's Song of Thanksgiving takes on a 'heavenly' magnificence

02:11

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Cue into complete performance of Fifth Movement through the 'gateway' of the Fourth

01:09

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Fifth Movement: Shepherd's Song - Happy and Thankful Feelings After the Storm: Fourth and Fifth movements (complete)

13:47

℗© 2002 Naxos