Frühlingsrauschen
Encyclopedia
Frühlingsrauschen, Op. 32, No. 3 (Rustle of Spring) is a solo piano
piece written by the Norwegian
composer
Christian Sinding
(1856–1941) in 1896. It is Sinding's most popular piece of music; indeed, it is the only piece of his that most musicians could name.
Bearing the expression marking agitato, much of the piece is played with a rapid arpeggio
in the right hand part, while the left hand carries the melody. The work's title indicates that its sense of constant motion is symbolic of the excited restlessness of springtime. The score has some technically challenging sections, but is, for the most part, easier to play than it sounds, with most of the rapidity made up of simply arpeggiated passages.
For its popularity and ability to impress, the piece is a common part of many pianists' repertoires. It appears in the second episode of Dennis Potter
's 1986 TV series, The Singing Detective
.
The piece is in D-flat major, and several times shifts to related keys such as F minor
and A-flat major, as well as modulating via chromatic harmonies to more remote keys like G minor
and A major
. Its form may be summed up thus:
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
piece written by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Christian Sinding
Christian Sinding
Christian August Sinding was a Norwegian composer.-Personal life:He was born in Kongsberg as a son of mine superindendent Matthias Wilhelm Sinding and Cecilie Marie Mejdell . He was a brother of the painter Otto Sinding and the sculptor Stephan Sinding...
(1856–1941) in 1896. It is Sinding's most popular piece of music; indeed, it is the only piece of his that most musicians could name.
Bearing the expression marking agitato, much of the piece is played with a rapid arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
in the right hand part, while the left hand carries the melody. The work's title indicates that its sense of constant motion is symbolic of the excited restlessness of springtime. The score has some technically challenging sections, but is, for the most part, easier to play than it sounds, with most of the rapidity made up of simply arpeggiated passages.
For its popularity and ability to impress, the piece is a common part of many pianists' repertoires. It appears in the second episode of Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's 1986 TV series, The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective is a BBC television miniseries written by Dennis Potter, which stars Michael Gambon, and was directed by Jon Amiel. The six episodes were "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It"....
.
The piece is in D-flat major, and several times shifts to related keys such as F minor
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. The harmonic minor raises the E to E. Its key signature has four flats ....
and A-flat major, as well as modulating via chromatic harmonies to more remote keys like G minor
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
and A major
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
. Its form may be summed up thus:
- (a) 16-bar main theme, starting in D-flat major, passing through F minor, and ending in A-flat major (the dominant);
- (b) 14-bar extension to main theme, beginning in F minor, and further developing the theme, and moving via sequence through G minor and A major, before shifting suddenly back to D-flat major as a climax;
- (c) Varied repetition of (a);
- (d) Varied repetition of (b);
- (e) Near-exact repetition of (a) (except for first 4 bars, which are varied yet again);
- (f) Exact repetition of (b);
- (g) Coda, consisting of shortened version of (a) (varied in the same manner as (c)), this time staying in D-flat major instead of modulating, followed by a cadence based on this theme, and decorated by extensive scale and arpeggio passages.