Mahler - Symphony No.1 In D Major

Gustav Mahler  worked his way up through many opera houses in Europe until he became director of the Vienna Court Opera, one of the most prestigious opera houses in Europe. He was best known in his lifetime as a conductor, and it wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that his music became more well known.  This was partly due to his music being very modern (for the times), complex, most of the symphonies need a very large orchestra, and the works are lengthy. It also didn't help his cause when his music was banned during the Nazi era in Europe because of his Jewish heritage.

Composing for Mahler remained a part-time activity for most of his life, undertaken during the opera and concert off-season. Later in life he would do his composing in a small hut that he had built by the lake and away from his main house.

The 1st Symphony was completed in 1888.  He originally called it a two-part tone poem but after the premiere he made extensive revisions and called it his first symphony.  One of the decisions he made was to reduce it to a more traditional 4 movement symphony when he eliminated one of the middle movements.  The symphony calls for a very large orchestra, over 100 players.

I. Langsam, schleppend (Slowly, dragging) Immer sehr gemächlich (very restrained throughout) - Mahler was greatly influenced by a book of German folk poems called Des Knaben Wunderhorn, or The Youth's Magic Horn. He set some of these poems to music throughout his life beginning with four songs that he called  Lieder eines fahrended Gesellen, or Songs of a Wayfarer.  The opening movement of the first symphony uses the music of one of these songs,  Ging heut' Morgen übers Feld, or I Went This morning Over The Field. Mahler gave detailed tempo designations to the movements of this symphony. The movement opens in D minor with the note A played on the strings, the violins playing in high harmonics.

This note is held for an appreciable time and played at a very low dynamic level. A two-note motif is heard alternating in the woodwinds amid this primeval sound, which leads to another 6-note descending motif heard in the bassoons and oboes. A fanfare in triplets is heard in the clarinets. The motifs are heard again in the woodwinds and lead to another fanfare in trumpets that are off-stage to give the impression of distance. Clarinets imitate a cukoo's call with the two-note motif, and the horns also have a short melody to add. The music slowly builds in volume and after a short section of brooding sounding music,begins to lighten in mood as the two-note motif leads to the beginning of the exposition with the tune of the song Ging heut' Morgen übers Feld heard in the cellos. The tune is taken up by various instruments and developed until it reaches a climax. The exposition is heard once again.

The development section begins slowly with the opening high-pitched drone on the strings as motifs return and modulate into different keys. The music lightens and the horns take up another fanfare before the main theme returns. It slowly builds and modulates to a minor key as the tension increases until the recapitulation begins with a blaze of horns and trumpets and the first theme is heard. The two-note motif persists in the coda until the movement to a thunderous conclusion.

II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (Moving strongly, but not too quickly), Recht gemächlich (restrained) - The second movement, in the key of A major, is a German Ländler, a dance form that Mahler used frequently in his other symphonies. The original version of the 1st Symphony had 5 movements, the extra movement being inserted between the first movement and this movement. Mahler eventually removed this Andante movement with the name of Blumine (Godess of Flowers) after negative criticism, but there are a few references to it in the rest of the symphony that Mahler did not change. The secondary theme of the Ländler is a reference to the theme of the missing movement. The trio is more lyrical in its themes. The Ländler returns is a shortened version with heavier orchestration, and ends in a crash.

III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen (Solemnly and measured, without dragging), Sehr einfach und schlicht wie eine Volksweise (very simple, like a folk-tune), and Wieder etwas bewegter, wie im Anfang (once again somewhat more agitated, as at the start) - The third movement is based on the folk tune Frere Jaque (Bruder Martin in German), and is an example of Mahler's morbid sense of humor as it is transformed into a funeral march.  It begins with a solo double bass playing the tune along with a timpani:

 Mahler retains the tune as a round, as instruments take turns playing it before the previous rendition is through.  A counter melody is introduced, and then the mood changes as a cymbal and bass drum punctuate a new melody with the orchestration of a Jewish Klezmer band, perhaps as a bow to Mahler's Jewish heritage. Mahler accentuates this music with broad tempo changes and hesitations. The next section changes to a more gentle and lyrical mood. After this section, the beginning march returns in different orchestration. The movement slowly draws to a close with the tempo decreasing, and the march fading away. 

Hunter's Funeral Procession by Moritz von Schwind

Tradition has it that Mahler was inspired for this movement by a woodcut by the artist Moritz von Schwind that depicts a group of animals of the forest marching with the corpse of a hunter for burial. An ironic picture, and one that Mahler would have appreciated.

IV.  Stürmisch bewegt – Energisch (Stormily agitated – Energetic) -  With the previous movement ending practically inaudibly quiet, the opening of this movement is a jump starter. With a triple forte cymbal clash, the orchestra begins a loud introduction that will attempt to sort out some of the music heard in the first movement. The driving strings settle into a passionate version of the very first theme heard in the first movement, and after this is given a frantic treatment, there is a gradual lessening until a new expansive lyrical theme in D-flat major appears. 

The development section begins with fragments from the first movement opening, and then grows into a frenetic march. This march continues until a fragment from the discarded 'Blumine' movement appears, and leads to more of the first theme material, which in turn leads back to the frantic march. 'Blumine' returns once again, and leads to the first theme. This goes to a repeat of the very mysterious beginning of the first movement, Snatches of motifs are heard from the 2nd movement as all grows hushed. 

Themes are brought back and expanded until the second theme gets a brief return treatment. The first theme dominates the coda, with the horns adding strong punctuation until the fanfares from the first movement return in a rousing ending. 

Mahler once said, "A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."  His music is big in every sense of the word; in expression, forces used, length and complexity.  And each one of his symphonies is like a world unto itself.

Bruckner - Symphony No. 2 In C Minor

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)  wrote a total of eleven symphonies, although two go unnumbered. There is a certain amount of similarity within all of them, which some have said makes him repetitive, that he wrote the same symphony 11 times.  But these similarities are Bruckner's style. With careful listening and familiarity, the Bruckner Symphonies also show differences enough to make each a work of art in its own right.

Symphony No. 2 was finished in 1872, but as with many of Bruckner's symphonies it went through various revisions. The revisions for other symphonies of Bruckner can be quite substantial with marked differences, sometimes entire movements are rewritten. The revisions of the 2nd Symphony are many, most of them minor and are of a technical nature. The main difference between the original and the later version heard here are the changing of positions within the symphony of the 2nd and 3rd movements. That is, the Scherzo is now the 3rd movement and the Adagio the 2nd movement.  This symphony is sometimes called Symphony of Pauses due to the many  full orchestra rests within, which add to the overall form and expressive nature of the work.

I. Moderato (moderately, not too fast) - The music begins softly, with tremoloes in the violins and violas. Many of Bruckner's symphonies  begin with a string tremolo, but this one is different in that they are measured tremeloes; that is Bruckner designates a number of repetitions (the number 6 above the dotted half notes, which equals out to eighth note triplets, or twelve notes to the bar). Other times Bruckner designates an unmeasured tremolo which gives a different effect. The cellos play the first snatches of a theme high in their register: 

This becomes the main theme of the first theme group. An important rhythm first heard in the trumpet during the first theme group is:

This rhythm is as important as any theme in the first movement, as it is heard throughout the movement in many different tonal forms. The second theme group starts in the strings and the key shifts to E-flat major.  The third theme group is also in E-flat major, and begins with a persistent rhythm in the low strings of a quarter note - two eighth notes. 

The development sections begins with ominously quiet tremoloes in the low strings. Themes are elaborated upon with the trumpet tempo-theme cropping up many times. There is much thematic material to elaborate on, and Bruckner picks and chooses what to develop, and as well adds other material not heard before. The music dies away and pauses before the recapitulation begins.

The recapitulation repeats the opening material, and the music leads to a coda that begins in low strings, horns and winds. The dynamic gets louder and louder, and the music comes to a complete halt, with the first theme returning quietly. Suddenly the music gets louder, with the trumpets blaring out the tempo-theme and orchestra with timpani coming to a dramatic end.

II. Andante: Feierlich, etwas bewegt (solemnly, but a little fast) - Bruckner has been called a great 'adagio' composer, known for his slow movements. This movement is marked andante, but it unfolds slowly, so slowly that the sense of time can stand still, and a sense of form may not be discernible to the listener (which is not necessarily a bad thing)The key is A-flat major and begins in the strings:

This section slowly unwinds until the next section begins with pizzicato strings with a new theme in the horns:

These two sections are repeated, with the first section increasing in  harmonic diversity and passion. But Bruckner's increases of passion can sometimes lead to nowhere, as the music comes to a stop with no resolution. But there are other themes to explore, and the second section begins again. Towards the end of the second section, Bruckner quotes some of his music from a previous work, the Benedictus from his Mass In F Minor.  The first theme of the first section reappears in the coda gently played by the horn as the strings fade away.

III. Scherzo: Mäßig schnell - Trio: Gleiches Tempo  (somewhat fast - same tempo for trio) - After the other-worldly ending of the previous movement, the loud start of the scherzo is startling. It is in C minor, and once again a rhythm becomes just as important as the thematic material, as the scherzo is built upon the rhythm. The scherzo flat-foots it until a pause is reached. The trio begins in the key of C major, with tremoloes in the violins and the theme in the violas:

The scherzo returns after the trio and makes its way to a coda that brings a loud conclusion with the strings reaching the heights with runs of the C minor scale as the rest of the orchestra pounds out the opening rhythm.  

IV. Finale: Ziemlich schnell (quite fast) - The music begins quietly in the strings. The 1st violins play a sporadic motif, and after a lengthy buildup, a theme starts with a loud declaration by the orchestra:

This triplet rhythm Bruckner uses throughout the movement as well.  The next major theme is in A major and is of a more lyric character. These two themes, along with other material, return at different points in the movement, sometimes in radically different guises. The form of the movement is a cross between sonata form and rondo. And the movement is not without the pauses that today seem to be so much a part of the work, while in Bruckner's time the pauses caused critics and audiences bewilderment. 

The main theme of the first movement returns as the coda begins, and after the music goes through some stops and starts, the movement comes to a blazing close in C major in the triplet rhythm of the beginning of the movement.

Glière - String Quartet No. 2 In G Minor, Opus 20

Reinhold Glière lived from 1874 until 1956, and managed to please the Czarist and Communist regimes by his composing style and talent. Not an ultra-conservative (at least in his early years), nor was he a 'modernist' during Stalin's reign (which being labeled as such could get a composer in a lot of hot water, as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others discovered).  

He followed in the steps of the Mighty Five of Russian music; Rimsky-Korsakov ( Glière dedicated the 2nd String Quartet to him), Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Borodin, and Cui, as Russian folk song played a large role in his compositions. One of his most well known works is the 1911 epic 3rd Symphony 'Ilya Muromets', which uses Russian folklore and folk music.  As with many composers early in their career, he wrote chamber music as well.  He wrote two of his four string quartets early on, with the 2nd in G Minor in 1905. 

I. Allegro moderato - The first movement starts straight off with the first of two quite Russian sounding themes in the 1st violin:

This theme gets a short development before it is repeated in the 1st and 2nd violins.  A section of key changes and mood changes prepares the way for the 2nd theme in D major that is based on a Russian folksong:

The first theme reappears to start the development section. After fragments of it play, the second theme reappears. The music becomes more and more animated until a short pause ushers a working out towards the recapitulation. The first theme plays again in the home key of G minor, the second theme plays this time in the key of B-flat major. A coda brings the movement back to G minor, and the music ends solemnly. 

II. Andante - A theme in E-flat major opens the movement in the 1st violin, and on repetition by the cello:

 A middle section moves into different keys and increases movement slightly and has sections where it grows more passionate, but for the most part the music stays tranquil. The music slowly slows in volume as the theme returns. The music comes to a gentle, quiet close in the key in which it began.

III. Vivace -  The 2nd violin begins the movement playing a fifth of A and E,  sounding like a village fiddler beginning a dance:

The 1st violin plays the melody that is punctuated by trills. A contrasting section is in the key of D-flat major and modulated to other keys and moods before the music returns to the opening dance. The movement ends with a quiet refrain of the dance, and a hushed chord of string harmonics.

IV. Orientale: Andante - Allegro - The final movement begins with 1st and 2nd violins playing in unison, and the viola and cello playing the same melody in unison an octave lower. the music is in the key of G minor, but the ear detects something different about it:

This is a type of minor scale that is heard in different kinds of folk music, sometimes from quite different areas. I have heard it called the Hungarian Gypsy scale, some call it the harmonic melodic scale. No doubt Glière came across the scale in the research he did in Russian folk music. It has an exotic sound to it, and fits quite well in a movement called Orientale. 

After this short introduction, the music grows faster and has a persistent dotted rhythm accompanying the theme that begins in  the viola:

There is a second theme with the same persistent dotted rhythm accompanying it. The rest of the movement has both themes being stated and elaborated upon, and episodes of new material, or at least new workings out of other themes that is done so well they sound different. There is not much let up in the rhythmic drive until the end. 

Saint-Saëns - Symphony No. 3, "Organ"

Camille Saint-Saëns music has been accused of many faults. Superficiality, emotionally detached, conservative, and other words have been used to describe the music of Camille Saint-Saëns  There are reasons for such harsh criticism of the man and his music, despite his incredible musicianship and craftsmanship. As a direct opposite to his perfection in the craft of his art, his private life was less than orderly, which in his later years had a profound effect on his personality and dealings with his fellow composers.

His father died when he was a baby and he was raised by his mother and aunt. Thus he became very attached to his mother, who was a profound influence, perhaps to the point of dominating him and turning him into a Momma's boy. Saint-Saëns was a bachelor until his was nearly 40 years old, and despite his mother's objections, married a woman twenty years younger than himself. The couple had no honeymoon and directly moved into the apartment that Saint-Saëns shared with his mother.  The couple had two boys, both of whom died very young. The older child fell out of a window to his death and the younger one died only six weeks later from pneumonia.  These tragedies set an already rocky marriage on a downhill slide. Saint-Saëns was influenced by his mother (who loathed her daughter in law), and  blamed his wife for the death of both children.

A few years later the couple were on vacation in the summer of 1881, and with no warning Saint-Saëns left the hotel they were staying in. A legal separation was quickly obtained and he never saw his wife again.  The death of his mother in 1888 came close to driving him to suicide. He could no longer remain in the apartment he shared with her and began a life of wandering around the world. His personality also changed as he became cantankerous and overly critical of his fellow composers, especially the modern composers of the time such as Debussy. His musical output slowed and he became a very bitter, ultra-conservative musician. As a result of his misanthropy, opinions of him as a person and composer became just as nasty, a heritage that still taints his music, a heritage created by his own bitterness.

His Symphony No. 3 was composed on commission from the Royal Philharmonic Society of London. Saint-Saëns was a very popular composer in England, and he conducted the premiere of the work there in 1886. He also conducted the French premiere of the work in 1887.  His friend Franz Liszt died shortly after the premiere of the symphony, and Saint-Saëns dedicated the work to the memory of Liszt. A very appropriate dedication, for Saint-Saëns uses not only cyclical composing techniques in the work, but created a slightly different form for the symphony. The composer included the following description of his symphony in the program of the premiere:

This Symphony, divided into two parts, nevertheless includes practically the traditional four movements: the first, checked in development, serves as an introduction to the Adagio, and the scherzo is connected after the same manner with the finale. The composer has thus sought to shun in a certain measure the interminable repetitions which are more and more disappearing from instrumental music.

I. Adagio – Allegro moderato – As described by the composer, the symphony is in two parts with each part containing two of the usual movements of a symphony.  The first section is a slow introduction. The strings slowly and quietly begin and swell to a slight crescendo as the oboe enters. The movement proper begins (after string pizzicatos) with a nervous accompaniment in the strings. The main theme of the entire symphony is stuttering and anxious music, reminiscent of the first part of the ancient Dies Irae chant, a theme used by Berlioz and Liszt along with other composers. The second theme enters but is only less stuttering than the main theme and is akin to it.  Saint-Saëns uses Liszt's technique of theme transformation throught the first movement. Just as the development section is starting to change into the recapitulation, Saint-Saëns manipulated the music into a seamless segue into the second movement:

Poco adagio - As in the transition from introduction to first movement, the pizzicato strings bring forth the next movement. After this slow introduction the organ makes its first entrance with long held, slowly progressing low tones. The strings play a lyrical theme as the organ continues to accompany. The main theme returns in the pizzicato strings and slowly combines with the new theme. The combination reaches a climax, and the music reduces in volume as the main theme slowly vanishes as the movement ends with hushed tones in the organ and strings.

II. Allegro moderato – Presto - A new theme in the agitated rhythm of the first movement enters, and is followed by another variant of the main theme. The trio of this scherzo has another variant of the main theme and includes the piano in the mix. The scherzo is repeated, parts of the trio are repeated after which the music slowly leads to the first theme  that has shifted from C minor to C major and acts as a segue to the last movement:

Maestoso - Allegro -  A huge C major chord begins the last movement, the strings and organ alternate until the strings and piano (played 4 hands) transform the first theme in a rippling chorale. Saint-Saëns pulls out all the stops of the organ (and orchestra) in a repeat of the main theme chorale, after which a short fugue discusses the main theme in a different variation of it.  The main theme continues to grow and mutate throughout the movement until Saint-Saëns goes completely over the top with full orchestra and organ as the tempo increases and the music races to a grand ending.

Saint-Saëns was a master of the piano, as well as the organ (Liszt called him the best organist in the world) and orchestra. This symphony combines his mastery of instruments and instrumentation into one of the most popular symphonies ever written. The composer himself thought that this symphony was his last, as he said:

I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again.

There are of course listeners that don't like the 3rd Symphony, as with any piece of music. Music is a very personal thing after all. But from time to time the symphony still receives harsh criticism, perhaps left over from a tradition of throwing rotten eggs at Saint-Saëns because of what he became late in life.

 

Mahler - Symphony No. 6 In A Minor 'Tragic'

Mahler's 'Big Bang'

While Mahler was inspired in his compositions by Beethoven, Liszt, Bruckner and Wagner, like all of the masters he developed his own style of composing. He was known as one of the world's greatest opera conductors, but wrote no operas himself. He was more than a passable pianist but left no piano compositions of any consequence, likewise with his chamber music. His instrument of expression was the orchestra, and he was a master of orchestration with a lifetime of practical knowledge gained from his conducting duties and a gift for creating themes that lent themselves to orchestral development. 

Mahler's symphonies 1-4 were influenced by the German folk poem collection Das Knaben Wunderhorn.  Each of the first four symphonies used material from songs Mahler had written to the texts of selected poems from the collection, but his symphonies 5,6 and 7 were purely instrumental.  The Sixth Symphony is one of Mahler's most conventional as far as the first movement structure. He sticks to the traditional sonata form with exposition, development, recapitulation and coda.  The symphony consists of four movements. There is some controversy as to the proper order of the two middle movements. Some conductors put the Scherzo directly after the first movement, some revers the two. The following video of the symphony has the Scherzo as the second movement, the Andante as the third. 

I. Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig -  The work begins with the orchestra playing the first theme, a brisk march in the home key of A Minor.  The first theme is rounded off by a motif that happens throughout the symphony, a major chord played in the trumpets accompanied by a march rhythm in the percussion, and while the trumpets play the home note and fifth of the chord, one of the trumpets lowers the third of the chord and transforms it to a minor chord.  The second theme is heard, a soaring melody that Mahler's wife Alma, claimed to represent her.  The exposition begins with a development of the march theme, which is suddenly transformed into an idyllic setting complete with the gentle clinking of cowbells. The march theme reappears with  vengeance and is whipped into a climax which leads directly to the recapitulation. The march rhythm persists, and begins a coda that develops the march theme even further. The 'Alma' theme reappears in a grand manner and ushers in the triumphant ending of the movement.

II. Scherzo: Wuchtig - This scherzo is one of the strangest Mahler ever wrote. It opens with the timpani beating out a rhythm, almost as if to mock the preceding seriousness of the timpani's rhythm of the first movement march.  The brass also chimes in with slurs and slides after the end of the first section of the scherzo, almost as if they thumb their noses at the preceding drama. Through it all, the orchestra keeps up the parody and the sarcasm until with a few quiet titters, the movement ends.

III. Andante moderato -  This movement serves as a contrast to the drama of the first movement and the bitter sarcasm of the second.  It also gives the listener a chance to breathe easy before the last movement.

IV. Finale: Sostenuto - Allegro moderato - Allegro energico - There is really nothing in the previous three parts of the symphony that prepares the listener for what happens within this movement. The movement begins mysteriously and has a shattering reprisal of the timpani rhythm of the first movement. The orchestra wanders as if it is caught in a maze. It breaks out here and there, but returns to its brooding meditation. The orchestra breaks out in a march similar to what has been heard in the first movement, but it is even more frantic. The orchestra reaches two climaxes, after which the celebrated 'hammer blow of fate' occur. The timpani motif of the first movement is heard throughout the final section as the orchestra gets more and more frantic, as if it is struggling to avoid the inevitable.  There is a quiet agitation before the end, and the orchestra slowly dies away before a shattering, incredibly loud climax signals that all the energy expended in the struggle has been concentrated into one last 'big bang' that creates nothing but destroys all.

There is no wonder why Mahler's sixth is among the least performed of his works. Mahler's world of the Sixth Symphony, in the final cataclysmic climax, shows that it is all for naught. We cannot escape our fate.  The world of the Sixth Symphony can seem like a world of senseless struggle, bitterness, heartache and loss. For most people to reflect on this is not an easy thing.  It has been noted that on the night that he was to premiere the work Mahler paced backstage, wringing his hands and sobbing.  He did not authorize the symphony to be subtitled 'Tragic', but the work does fit the title.

Haydn - Piano Sonata No. 53 In E Minor Hob. XVI/34

Only the later keyboard sonatas of Joseph Haydn were for piano, as the earliest ones were for harpsichord. Some of the middle sonatas were for harpsichord or piano, at the performers discretion.  But the transition from harpsichord to piano was inevitable, as the piano was capable of a much wider dynamic range, variety of tone color, and expression.

Haydn lived through a time of transition of forms of music as well. What modern listeners would call a sonata was derived from various multi-movement works of the Baroque era. Haydn himself did not begin to call his keyboard sonatas by that term until 1771. His early works were called partitas or divertimenti. Haydn was also influential in the development of the forms of the string quartet and symphony.

There are two numbering systems primarily used for the keyboard sonatas. The oldest is the one created Anthony van Hoboken, the other by H. C. Robbins Landon. The Hoboken system is categorized by genre, thus all of the keyboard sonatas fall under the heading of Hob. XVI. The Landon system was based on chronological order as much as possible, and is under the heading of L. Thus the sonata in this post is Hob. XVI/34 in the Hoboken system and L.53 in the Landon system. To add to the confusion, Landon lists 62 sonatas, but not all of them are extant while some are spurious.  Hoboken also has a total of 62 sonatas (including the lost ones), but his numbering system only goes as high as 52. He gives alternate numbers and letters to the lost or spurious ones. Many times, both numbers are given for a sonata in an effort to securely identify it.

The sonata is in three movements:

I. Presto - The first movement begins with a theme in the home key:

This theme goes through a short development and leads to the second theme in G major. This theme is in 5-bar phrases, and after 15 bars the exposition is repeated. The development section begins with the first theme, now in E major and transformed into one 5-bar phrase. After this theme is developed, the second theme is likewise, and leads to the recapitulation of the first theme. The second theme returns, now also in the home key of E minor. As is customary, (a holdover from the binary beginnings of sonata form) the entire second section of development and recapitulation is repeated.

II. Adagio - This slow movement in G major has the right hand playing a decorated melody with a simple accompaniment in the left hand:

Haydn varies the melody until the movement segues directly to the finale, something that happens infrequently in Haydn's sonatas.

III. Molto vivace - Marked by the word innocentemente (innocently), the final movement begins briskly with a theme in E minor that is accompanied by an Alberti bass in the left hand:

Haydn varies this material between repeats of the theme.  Unlike Mozart whose music could be a never ending stream of new melodies, Haydn could make the most of basic material heard at the beginning of a movement.

Telemann - 'Burlesque de Quixotte' For Strings

Music can be looked at as belonging to one of two broad categories; absolute music or program music. Absolute music is music that has no apparent story attached to it, is not about anything, while program music has some sort of story or outside influence guiding it. Those two definitions are quite vague, but they can at least be taking-off points for a superficial categorization of music (if the listener needs one). Superficial for there are many instances of 'absolute' music that do have a story behind them, real or contrived. And program music also has a sense of  absoluteness to it in that while it may be possible to relate specific actions through sound (the bird calls in Beethoven's Sixth Symphony come to mind), music's strength is in evoking an atmosphere or feeling rather than specific actions.

Franz Liszt and the creation of the tone poem put program music 'on the map', but music written to tell a story had been written long before that. Many composers used flutes to imitate birds, drums and trumpets to imitate martial music, horns to imitate the hunt. Music like this was not common, but it did exist. French composers of the Baroque era especially wrote music with a 'program', at least in the sense that the pieces carried a title that helped express the music. The French orchestral suite was developed into a form that made use of descriptive titles for the individual pieces, and Georg Philipp Telemann helped to popularize the French orchestral suite in Baroque-era Germany.

Don Quixote by  Gustave Doré

Friend to Handel and Bach (he was godfather to C.P.E. Bach), Telemann was born four years earlier than either and outlived both.  One of the most prolific composers of his or any other generation (he composed some 3,000 pieces), he came from a family of mostly non-musical members, and except for a two-week stint of lessons with an organist had no musical instruction. He taught himself how to play many instruments, and composed sacred and secular music as well as music for the stage. He kept abreast of trends in the music of his time and was an important composer in the transition from the Baroque era to the Classical era.

Telemann's Suite For Orchestra 'Burlesque de Quixotte',by its very designation as a burlesque,  is meant to be a light-hearted tribute to the novel Don Quixote by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes. The book was itself looked upon (and was written to be) a humorous one as the translation from the full title shows: The Ingenious Low-Born Noble Don Quixote of La Mancha. Telemann's suite is written for strings and consists of an overture with six titled pieces in the form of Baroque dances:

Miguel Cervantes

Overture - Written in the French Overture style, the music begins with a slow section in dotted rhythms. After this, the tempo increases and the music becomes fugal. When the fugue is done, the slow tempo and dotted rhythms return and lead to the end of the overture.

Don Quixote Awakens -  Don Quixote's dream to become a chivalrous knight on a quest for adventure and romance is begun, with long notes and pauses

Don Quixote Attacks The Windmills - In his rag-tag armor, make-shift helmet and lance, Don Quixote's delusions of grandeur have caused him to see windmills as monsters and dragons to be slain. The music's rapid tempo and repeated notes represent his imagined foes.

Pining For The Princess Dulcinea - Of what use is a knight's courage if he has no princess to fall in love with?  Don Quixote imagines a peasant woman he has seen as his princess and names her Dulcinea, and longs to tell her how much he loves her. The strings play hushed sighs and the music stops and starts in sympathy with his feelings.

Sancho Panza - Don Quixote's rotund manservant Sancho is portrayed as he is jostled and mocked by villagers.

The Galloping Of Rosinante and Sancho's Galloping Donkey -  Don Quixote's horse Rosinante is heard galloping in a steady in three tempo. Sancho's stubborn lurching donkey is portrayed in music that pauses and dotted rhythms. Rosinante is heard once again to finish the scene.

The Sleep Of Don Quixote - Telemann's Don is put to sleep and has happy dreams of his conquests in jaunty music that ends gently.
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