The rising and falling motif throughout Scheherazade, first introduced in the low strings near the beginning of mvt 1, creates a rocking motion that wonderfully imitates a ship at sea. When this motif appears with a dotted rhythm, such as in the clarinet, the feeling is even more powerful.
I really like the 8 minute piece in its entirety. The orchestration is awesome at the beginning to capture a strong sense of chaos, mystery and excitement.
I also really enjoyed how passionate the conductor was in this piece, he’s so in to it party cause he’s on stage, partly to put himself in the role and probably a few other things but nonetheless he IS in it to win it.
I really liked the combination of horns and the bells at the beginning of the Musorgsky. I thought it gave the piece a very earnest, folksy sound. Combined with the church-sounding chorale that follows, I really get a sense of the turbulent but spiritual Russian life that I think Musorgsky was trying to create.
6 thoughts on “Assignment – Tuesday, Nov. 26”