Beethoven and his nine symphonies . y been hinted, that it is the mostromantic of the nine, or, in other words, that it is full of swiftunexpected changes and contrasts, exciting the imaginationin the highest degree, and whirling it suddenly into new andstrange regions. There are some places in this Vivace wherean instant change occurs from fortissimo to pianissimo, whichhave an effect unknown elsewhere. A sudden hush iromff topp in the full hurry and swing of the movement is a favouritedevice of Beethovens, and is always highly effective; but 246 SEVENTH SYMPHONY. here, where the change from
Beethoven and his nine symphonies . y been hinted, that it is the mostromantic of the nine, or, in other words, that it is full of swiftunexpected changes and contrasts, exciting the imaginationin the highest degree, and whirling it suddenly into new andstrange regions. There are some places in this Vivace wherean instant change occurs from fortissimo to pianissimo, whichhave an effect unknown elsewhere. A sudden hush iromff topp in the full hurry and swing of the movement is a favouritedevice of Beethovens, and is always highly effective; but 246 SEVENTH SYMPHONY. here, where the change from loud to soft is accompanied bya simultaneous change in harmony, or by an interruptionof the figure, or a bold leap from the top to the bottom ofthe register—the most surprising and irresistible effect iffproduced. Two such passages may be quoted— No. 4—*h2l U- ^P W — ?. 1=3: ff gy ft-* Vr~-*r jS^£S &0. -dfcd£ ?*?-?£: *£- —and then the following, with its beautiful variant fou*bars later:— No. 8. £. In the second example the resolution of the harmony (theF sharp and E in the violins on to F natural) is an inventionof Beethovens, and adds greatly to the effect of the plungethrough two octaves, and the sudden hush in the tremolando.(An analogous effect will occur to many hearers in thethird Overture to Leonora—a work which surely deservesthe epithet of romantic if anything in music does—nearthe beginning of the Allegro, at an abrupt transition from thekey of C major to that of B minor, accompanied with achange from loud to soft.) But, indeed, this Vivace is full of STRONG ROMANTIC PEELING. 247 these sudden effects—especially in its second portion; andthey give it a character distinct from that of the openingmovements of any of the other Symphonies. What can be more arresting, for instance, than the way inwhich, at the beginning of the second half of the movement,immediately following the double bar, after a rough ascent ofall the strings in unison,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectsymphon, bookyear1896
