Symphony No. 1 (Bax)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 1 by Arnold Bax
was completed in 1922 and dedicated to John Ireland
. Its outer movements were based on a Piano Sonata in E-flat
that Bax subsequently orchestrated, while the central movement was newly-composed for the symphony.
It is scored for 4 flute
s (1 doubling piccolo
), 1 alto flute
, 2 oboe
s, 1 English horn
, 1 heckelphone
or bass oboe
, 3 clarinet
s, 1 bass clarinet
, 2 bassoon
s, 1 sarrusophone
, 4 horns, 3 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s, 1 tuba
, timpani
, bass drum
, tenor drum
, snare drum
, tambourine
, cymbal
s, gong
, triangle
, bells
, xylophone
, glockenspiel
, celesta
, 2 harp
s and strings
.
It is in three movements:
Arnold Bax's Symphony No. 1 is in many ways autobiographical, with music critics at the time saying that they could find references within the work to The Great War (World War I) which occurred around the period it was written.
The opening movement begins with a significant motif in the symphony, one which is eventually turned into a triumphal march in the finale, which is relatively short for a Bax symphony. The second subject of the first movement is deeply expressive, almost romantic, as if evoking his deep love for his partner and pianist Harriet Cohen, for whom Bax wrote many works expressively (including Bax's most well known orchestral work, Tintagel
).
The second movement, which is in many ways a nostalgic elegy, is even more darkly scored than the opening movement. The movement uses new material, and contains an important motif that uses repeated chords, as if shaking a fist at heaven.
The finale sees a triumphal march made out of material from the first movement and containing the first signs of hope in this symphony, a deeply contrasting mood to the opening two movements of the symphony.
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
was completed in 1922 and dedicated to John Ireland
John Ireland (composer)
John Nicholson Ireland was an English composer.- Life :John Ireland was born in Bowdon, near Altrincham, Manchester, into a family of Scottish descent and some cultural distinction. His father, Alexander Ireland, a publisher and newspaper proprietor, was aged 70 at John's birth...
. Its outer movements were based on a Piano Sonata in E-flat
Piano Sonata in E-flat (Bax)
Arnold Bax composed his Piano Sonata in E-flat in 1921. It is the original version of Bax's First Symphony and was not performed in public or published in the composer's lifetime.-Movements:The sonata is in three movements and lasts approximately 35 minutes....
that Bax subsequently orchestrated, while the central movement was newly-composed for the symphony.
It is scored for 4 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (1 doubling piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), 1 alto flute
Alto flute
The alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range...
, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 1 English horn
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, 1 heckelphone
Heckelphone
The heckelphone is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. Introduced in 1904, it is similar to the oboe but pitched an octave lower.-General characteristics:...
or bass oboe
Bass oboe
The bass oboe or baritone oboe is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is about twice the size of a regular oboe and sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone not unlike that of its higher-pitched cousin, the English horn. The bass oboe is notated in the treble clef, sounding...
, 3 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, 1 bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, 1 sarrusophone
Sarrusophone
The sarrusophone is a family of transposing musical instruments patented and placed into production by Pierre-Louis Gautrot in 1856. It was named after the French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus who is credited with the concept of the instrument...
, 4 horns, 3 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, 1 tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, tenor drum
Tenor drum
A tenor drum is a cylindrical drum that is higher pitched than a bass drum.In a symphony orchestra's percussion section, a tenor drum is a low-pitched drum, similar in size to a field snare, but without snares and played with soft mallets or hard sticks. Under various names, the drum has been used...
, snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
, triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, bells
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, 2 harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.
It is in three movements:
- Allegro moderato e feroce - Moderato expressivo - Tempo I
- Lento solenne
- Allegro maestoso - Allegro vivace ma non troppo
Arnold Bax's Symphony No. 1 is in many ways autobiographical, with music critics at the time saying that they could find references within the work to The Great War (World War I) which occurred around the period it was written.
The opening movement begins with a significant motif in the symphony, one which is eventually turned into a triumphal march in the finale, which is relatively short for a Bax symphony. The second subject of the first movement is deeply expressive, almost romantic, as if evoking his deep love for his partner and pianist Harriet Cohen, for whom Bax wrote many works expressively (including Bax's most well known orchestral work, Tintagel
Tintagel
Tintagel is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The population of the parish is 1,820 people, and the area of the parish is ....
).
The second movement, which is in many ways a nostalgic elegy, is even more darkly scored than the opening movement. The movement uses new material, and contains an important motif that uses repeated chords, as if shaking a fist at heaven.
The finale sees a triumphal march made out of material from the first movement and containing the first signs of hope in this symphony, a deeply contrasting mood to the opening two movements of the symphony.