MUS223 - Final Project

docx

School

Southern New Hampshire University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

223

Subject

English

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by belladonna132413

Ericka Mathis MUS 223 Final Project The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Paul Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, or L’apprenti sorcier in French, was composed by Paul Dukas . Dukas started writing the symphonic poem in 1896 and finished it in 1897 . Paul Dukas was a French composer who was born and died in Paris, France . He was a perfectionist who was known to destroy his own compositions to keep those that were not what he deemed as perfect out of the hands and ears of others . (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998) Dukas was a composer in the romantic era . This piece has characteristics of the romantic era, most notably the inspiration of the composition being a piece of literature, and also the purpose of this piece is to make the listener feel something . There is also Dukas’s use of melody all through the piece to show continuity and hold the interest of the audience . The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is by far Dukas’s most well-known piece and was inspired by Johann von Goethe’s poem of the same name, known in German as "Der Zauberlehrling" . (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998) Its orchestration includes a “piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings” and shortly after completing the piece Dukas conducted the

premiere at the Societé Nationale de Musique . (Redlands Symphony, 2020) It was instantly popular and has only grown more so throughout the years . As this piece was written and inspired by a poem it was meant to tell the story in the poem and does so with the use of a repeated melody to represent the magic, the sorcerer, and his apprentice . Dukas also uses differences in tempo and dynamics to tell the story of the apprentice who used magic without permission and lost control of it . Dukas brings in a chaotic element to symbolize when the magic gets out of hand the music is played in forte, there are melodies played on top of and around each other, and when it all comes to a head with the crash of the cymbals . We hear the muted and confident melody representing the sorcerer we heard at the start as he comes back at the end to put things right . This piece starts out sounding light with the strings and quickly we are introduced to clarinets and flutes, the melodic theme which is repeated throughout is slow and almost lazy until about the 1 minute mark where we are introduced to trumpets . The trumpets give way to a pianissimo flute melody, there is hesitation until the trumpets start again . Just after the 2 minute mark there is a break in the music and as it starts again it is choppier and a bit more frantic sounding . The melody is not as fluid and sure of itself as it was at the start, there are descending runs and we are introduced to a sort of chime that plays along with the melodic theme . The music continues in a tremolo fashion fading in and out, coming in stronger at times and quieting down at others . We hear the repeated melody get harsher with more brass until it crescendos to cymbal crashes that continue through more intensely until the 5 minute mark . After the crashing

the trumpets are back in unison chasing melodies and getting louder until there is silence . Slowly the woodwinds start again, the brass joins and the music has become more frenzied, additional rounds of the melody are played and they chase each other through the scale with a call and response until around 8 minutes and 30 seconds there are more crashes of cymbals . There is another silence and the light, airy sounds from the beginning of the piece return with the woodwinds and strings . We are reminded of the confidence of the start of the song, and there is a final flourish at the end . One thing that sticks out in this piece is the difference between the middle of the piece and the beginning and ending of the piece . The middle is faster paced, it fades in and out, and is slightly chaotic whereas the beginning and ending are more melodic and even . The differences are meant to showcase the difference between the sorcerer and his apprentice . When the sorcerer is present, the beginning and end, there is a stillness and calmness to the music . When he is not present the apprentice’s lack of training and confidence come across in the more choppy approach to the melody . This piece is truly iconic, when one hears “Fantasia” the first image brought to mind is the scene inspired by this piece . Which is fitting as the animators stayed true to the story from Goethe’s poem creating synchronization between the music and the animation . From the Sorcerer leaving his apprentice to gather water for the cauldron to Mickey Mouse, our apprentice, attempting to cast a spell which works a little too well . In the film we see our

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

protagonist fall asleep and from there chaos ensues until the Sorcerer returns and sets things right .

Works Cited Disney, W . (Producer), & Algar, J . (Director) . (1940) . Fantasia [Motion Picture] . United States . Dukas, P . (1989) . The Sorderer's Apprentice [Recorded by Philadelphia Orchestra] . Retrieved from https://open . spotify . com/track/0mTwh4PUZ5j9URVCX8WXSA? si=oGrokrnLQxyHg74lBYSSJg Encyclopaedia Britannica . (1998, July 20) . Paul Dukas | French Composer . Retrieved from Britannica: https://www . britannica . com/biography/Paul-Abraham-Dukas#ref282555 Redlands Symphony . (2020) . About Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice . Retrieved from Redlands Symphony: https://www . redlandssymphony . com/pieces/the-sorcerer-s- apprentice

MUS223 - Final Project

Related Documents