However, because of the nature of the publishing contract, Sibelius saw relatively little money in terms of royalties from performances of Valse triste. Breitkopf & Härtel published the later piece in 1905 as 'Op. The original version, presented in 1903 as Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto, has not survived. The weird gaiety reaches a climax there is a knock at the door, which flies wide open the mother utters a despairing cry the spectral guests vanish the music dies away. Back come the shadowy dancers, gyrating in a wild, mad rhythm. Presently she gathers all her strength and invokes the dance once more, with more energetic gestures than before. Then she seems to sink exhausted on her bed and the music breaks off. The dying woman mingles with the dancers she strives to make them look into her eyes, but the shadowy guests one and all avoid her glance. And now they appear, these strange visionary couples, turning and gliding to an unearthly valse rhythm. She waves her hands and beckons in time to the music, as though she were summoning a crowd of invisible guests. The sleeping mother awakens, rises from her bed and, in her long white garment, which takes the semblance of a ball dress, begins to move silently and slowly to and fro. The son, who has been watching beside the bedside of his sick mother, has fallen asleep from sheer weariness, Gradually a ruddy light is diffused through the room: there is a sound of distant music: the glow and the music steal nearer until the strains of a valse melody float distantly to our ears. The background to the music as it functions within the original play is expanded upon by the programme notes for the production: It was an instant hit with the public, took on a life of its own, and remains one of Sibelius's signature pieces. In 1904 he revised the piece, which was performed in Helsinki on 25 April of that year as Valse triste. The first was titled Tempo di valse lente - Poco risoluto. Sibelius wrote six pieces for the 2 December 1903 production of Kuolema. It was originally part of the incidental music he composed for his brother-in-law Arvid Järnefelt's 1903 play Kuolema ( Death), but is far better known as a separate concert piece. 1, is a short orchestral work by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |