Capriccio Italy

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The Capriccio Italy op. 45 is an orchestral composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky .

history

Tchaikovsky uses Italian folk music in this piece. The popular song with the title Bella ragazza dalle trecce bionde begins with the lines “Babbo non vuole, mamma nemmeno, come faremo a fare all'amor” (“The girl with the blond pigtails” sings “Papa doesn't want it, mom just as little: how do we manage to love each other? ”). Tchaikovsky designed his work during a stay in Rome in 1879/80, during which he also experienced the Italian carnival ; the orchestration was written in May 1880. The composition falls into one of Tchaikovsky's most creative years. This year u. a. also the overture solenelle 1812 and the well-known serenade for strings op.48 . The dedicatee is the cellist Karl Davidow .

Capriccio Italy , lasting around 16 minutes , was premiered on December 6, 1880 in Moscow under Nikolai Rubinstein . The title is a linguistic hybrid and consists of the Italian word Capriccio and the French word Italy (also: Italian Capriccio ). Although the Russian composer and music critic Cesar Cui the Capriccio Italien denied the rank of a work of art, it was a great success at the Moscow audience. Some critics accused Tchaikovsky of “westernization” and “cosmopolitanism”. The subjects are indeed Italian and thus also western-oriented, but the techniques Tchaikovsky uses to process them are Russian. This criticism of “westernization” can also be traced back to the fact that listening habits in Russia at that time were largely determined by the so-called Mighty Heap , who tried very hard to produce typical Russian music.

Freddy Breck used the main theme of the middle section in his hit song "Bianca".

occupation

3 flutes (3 flute and piccolo ), 2 oboe and 1 English horn , 2 clarinets A , 2 Fagotte , 4 horns in F , 2 Pistons in A , 2 trumpets in E , 2 tenor trombone , 1 BassTrombone , 1 Tuba , timpani in A, E and C , glockenspiel , triangle , tambourine , bass drum , cymbals , 1 harp , violins , viola , cello , double bass .

Formal floor plan

In Capriccio Italy , the term Capriccio is not to be understood formally, but rather sentimental. The formal basis of the work goes back to the model of Glinka's Night in Madrid . Mili Balakirew advised Tchaikovsky to use this molding line. However, it also testifies to “western” formal basic principles: Tchaikovsky uses z. B. in two sections the form ABA and thus marks the beginning and end of the work. The result is a four-part structure: ABA-BC-DB-ECE.

Work analysis

The bar group order already given by the motifs accounts for a large part of the individuality of the work. In the Capriccio Italy , different bar systems are used in contrast to each other, which clearly sets the sections apart. Tchaikovsky makes use of several means, the most important of which are phrase entanglement and the asymmetrical period structure. The latter can be found in all sections, except in the D section and in the epilogue. Tchaikovsky consciously uses this asymmetry as a Russian stylistic device. The composer supports the asymmetry and above all the juxtaposition of asymmetrical and straight-beat periods with targeted instrumentation . In the overall context, this has a further function: The marking of the front and back sentences is also clear in the instrumentation. The use of asymmetrical periods has the consequence that the listener z. T. thinks that the music starts “too early” or “too late”.

The composer is just as versatile as he is with regard to the treatment of asymmetrical period construction with regard to the composition of the transitions between the individual sections. When using the B-theme or its accompanying figure in bar 15, a diminuendo emphasizes the end of the A-section preceding it. The dominant E major chord is still retained after it has been repeated four times, and the tonic is only reached in bar 22 for the first time. The now following B-theme contrasts with the A-theme in changed period formation, instrumentation, harmony and of course also in melody. It looks dark and mysterious. Here Tchaikovsky uses little thematic work, so that everything is a repetition in itself. There are only a few small rhythmic variations, but they represent a kind of "composed ornament". From bar 43 a dialogue develops between flutes, clarinets and solo oboe, which was obtained by splitting off the theme of the B section. At the center of this dialogue is imitation, which in itself also represents a kind of repetition. A figure emerges from this dialogue, which builds up a tension from bar 60 and transfers to the repetition of the A section.

This now appears clearly shortened; the last 8 bars, which represent pure repetition, are omitted here. As a result, the last bar does not contain a decrescendo as it did at the beginning, but ends with a fort chord of the entire orchestra. One has the impression that the memorable accompanying figure to the now recurring B part sounds "too early". This accompanying figure, which suddenly starts suddenly, means that the breaks are even more unexpected. The listener's sense of time and rhythm gradually disappears. The following B part is, like the A part, also greatly shortened and appears with a different instrumentation.

The C part, a kind of small waltz, is prepared by rhythmically shortening it down to the accompanying formula. The music stands still in the breaks; the listener's tact becomes confused. The waltz-like C theme that follows is performed by two oboes only above this accompanying figure. In this part the last jump in e-c sharp in the oboes is always repeated by the flutes (“echo”). This is the part of the work that has the greatest recognition value. The C part returns to a 3/4 time augmented from bar 456. Tchaikovsky then does more thematic work with the topic, as if the augmented should show how it actually "should be".

The transition to the following D part is to be compared with that to the C part; the composer in turn reduces the rhythm down to the accompanying figure, which goes hand in hand with the gradual switching off of the orchestral apparatus. Only the bassoon and strings play the thematic rhythm, above which the melody in the first violin and the flutes rises. With regard to the construction of the transition, the two parts C and D communicate with each other.

Tchaikovsky designed the transition to the recurring B-part from the D-part: two horns play a melody that the composer created by splitting off the D-part. The accompanying strings, whose voice represents a kind of well-composed ornamentation, gradually fall silent. The accompaniment rhythm typical for the B section appears again in measure 255.

From bar 281 an opposing voice begins to develop, which has arisen through the smallest rhythmic changes. This is retained throughout the first antecedent of the E part, which is a kind of tarantella . The basses, however, mark the use of the tarantella with their weighty "A".

A rhythmic confusion takes place from bar 449. Only the trumpets may bring clarity again with their threatening gait bagf-es-dcf. So this time it is the bass that urges the repetition of the (augmented) C section. The clear impulses of the new beginning are set by two fff chords (bars 455 and 456).

In bar 499 a forte chord ends the C part. A silent drum roll , supported by low strings, leads the transition to the E section. The melody-leading instrument is now the clarinet.

Finally, bar 572 (epilogue) is the point at which the tension built up over 39 bars discharges, which is supported by the change in time signature from 6/8 to 2/4.

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