Pelleas and Melisande (Suite)

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"Pelléas und Mélisande" , op. 46 is a theater music composed by Jean Sibelius for the play of the same name Pelléas et Mélisande by Maurice Maeterlinck from 1892. Many composers have written music for it. Claude Debussy even composed a five-act opera. Sibelius was satisfied with an eight-movement or nine-part orchestral suite that he composed in 1905.

sentences

  • 1. At the castle gate
  • 2. Mélisande
  • 3. On the sea beach
  • 4. At the Wunderborn in the park
  • 5. The three blind sisters
  • 6. Pastoral
  • 7. Mélisande on the spinning wheel
  • 8. Intermezzo
  • 9. Mélisande's death

In the first movement the strings begin with a short but atmospherically intense theme that is taken up by the woodwinds. This introduction ends with harsh chords. British television viewers are familiar with this passage from the BBC's long-running monthly astronomy program The Sky at Night , presented by Patrick Moore .

Then the character Mélisande is introduced in the next movement with a characteristic musical motif performed by the cor anglais. This is followed by a short interlude, followed by the piece “Am Meeresstrand”, which Sibelius said could be left out in concert performances (the order is changed from time to time).

The strings present the dense sonority of the fourth movement “Am Wunderborn im Park”, followed by the “Blind Sisters”, in which the English horn solo is again answered by monolithic harmonies of the orchestra.

The 6th movement, “Pastorale”, is designed for woodwinds and strings and features extremely subtle chamber music.

The 7th movement, “Mélisande on the spinning wheel” is a comparatively excited piece.

After the lyrical “Intermezzo”, the tragic love story ends with “Mélisandes Tod”, by far the longest piece.

occupation

1 flute with piccolo , 1 oboe with english horn , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , timpani , bass drum , triangle , strings

Web links

Pelleas and Melisande : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project