8th Symphony (Butting)

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The symphony No. 8 op. 84 , nicknamed "The Vacation Trip", is a work by the composer Max Butting from 1952.

Stylistic position

The predominantly cheerful work was deliberately conceived as a contrast to the composer's previous, conflict-laden symphonies. Buttings biographer Dietrich Brennecke commented: “After all of the above, he now wanted to form his pastorals with a light hand, initially for his own pleasure ; He brought the suggestions, emotional charge and creativity back home with him from a beautiful summer hike through Thuringia. "

occupation

2 flutes , 1 piccolo , 2 oboe , 1 English horn , 2 clarinets in B, 1 alto saxophone in It, 1 bass clarinet in B, 2 Fagotte , 2 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones , contrabass , drums , drums ( xylophone , Glockenspiel , 2 tom toms , triangle , snare drum , bass drum , cymbals ), violins I and II, violas , cellos , double basses .

The work

While Symphony No. 8 is only one of many easier compositions in the overall context of Butting's work, it is quite isolated in the composer's symphonic oeuvre. It is formally simpler and, with its four-movement structure, more traditional than the very complex symphonies No. 7 and No. 9 . Compared to the previous and the successor work, the clearly less dissonant harmonics and a simple melody structure reminiscent of Hanns Eisler's “Neue deutsche Volkslieder” stand out. In contrast to many other works by Max Butting, who thinks more linearly, the composition technique here is largely chordal. The playing time is approximately 25 minutes.

The symphony does not follow any extra-musical program . In a preliminary remark added to the score, the composer made the following comments about its title: “I didn't want to describe a pleasure trip or country trip; Rather, the reason for me was a few situations that I assume that everyone knows who has taken a vacation after a long period of hard work. "

1st movement: Allegro

According to Butting's foreword, the first sentence characterizes “the daring enterprising spirit with which one storms on vacation and is ready for all sorts of deeds and gimmicks until the first reassurance sets in.” It begins and ends with a striking fanfare motif. The action is predominantly characterized by lively 6/8 time rhythms, against which thematic contours often take a back seat. The processing of the material is rather playful, there are hardly any conflicts. In terms of form, the movement is based on the main sonata form . Before the recapitulation, the composer inserts an Allegretto part in ¾ time, which finally accelerates to a quasi Presto . It speaks for the loose structure of the whole symphony that this section (110 of 335 bars) is marked ad libitum and can therefore be left out at the discretion of the interpreter.

2nd movement: Allegretto

The second movement is a scherzo in 2/4 time. It starts in E minor and ends in A major . Serves as a central part Animato in which the clock changes greatly. According to Butting, "there is [in this sentence] a feeling of carefree, comfortable happiness."

3rd movement: Lento

The slow third movement ( C minor ) is probably the most important part of the symphony . It differs considerably from the rest of the work in its sombre mood and also shows more clearly stylistic similarities to earlier Butting symphonies, especially the sixth . The composer himself explained: “I don't think that on a real vacation one can avoid serious hours in which one consults with oneself, and one even drives past the Buchenwald camp on the trip , then - yes, then can that even induce a composer to write about it musically very seriously while on vacation. ” The movement begins with a linear section in woodwinds and alto saxophones, which essentially represents the basic material for the entire later development. An important secondary element is a massive four-tone motif with two soaring sixth leaps , which first appears in horns and trombones. Later, conduct-like dotted rhythms occasionally appear. In the middle of the sentence the music climbs to a climax in fortissimo , in which the mood of mourning is broken with protest signals. The same thing happens again at the end of the movement, before the dynamic drops rapidly within two bars and the Lento fades out in pianissimo .

4th movement: Allegro vivo

At the beginning of the last movement there is the same signal motif that introduced the first movement, followed by the four-tone motif of the third movement. The rest of the motivic and thematic material also draws on the previous movements and combines everything into a lighthearted, cheerful finale that fades out powerfully in E major . Butting writes: "In the end, the return home remains: all the vigor of liberation from everyday life, all happiness, all seriousness together create the new joy in continuing work."

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