Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 2)
About this video
Gerard Schwarz explains the second movement of Schumann's 'Rhenish' Symphony, once titled 'Morning on the Rhine'. After a flowing first theme comes a little fugue of short staccato notes, then a chorale for winds and horns accompanied by those short notes, before the opening returns and a short coda ends the movement.
You'll be able to
- explain why Schumann removed the movement's title and how it still helps performers.
- describe a fugue-like passage where voices enter one at a time.
- explain how Schumann combines the chorale with the short notes.
Key words
- Fugue
- Music where voices enter one after another with the same idea.
- Staccato
- Short, detached notes.
- Chorale
- A hymn-like melody played in full chords.
- Recapitulation
- The return of the opening material.
Transcript
- The second movement was initially called "Morning on the Rhine". But like so many composers, he eliminated the title, and he felt oh, the music should stand for itself, it shouldn't need a title. But these days it's always interesting for us, not that we're gonna listen to this music and say oh, I can see the Rhine River moving along, I mean I certainly don't see that.
But I could see that one might see that. Anyway, it does help us with the kind of ebb and flow of the way the movement should sound. (calm orchestral music) After the first theme, quite beautiful, repeated a few times, then there's this absolutely charming little section with a bunch of short notes.
It's like a little fugue. Each voice comes in separately, coming in, and you have bassoon, and you have the cellos, then you have the violins and violas, then you have oboe. Everyone jumping in at different times with this staccato figure. (lively orchestral music) So we have the first section, which is the Rhine melody, then we have the short little notes and a little fugue, and then he combines a chorale for the winds and horns with the short notes, so the short notes become the accompaniment of this chorale section.
(calm orchestral music) After that he leads us back to the recapitulation, or the beginning of this absolutely magnificent movement. (triumphant orchestral music) And a little coda, comes it to an end. (calm orchestral music)
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